Hennes & Mauritz India posts sales growth of 40% in FY18

MUMBAI: Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz’s sales in India grew 40% in the year to March 2018, helped by addition of new stores as well as merchandise priced lower than that of most rivals.

The Indian unit of the world’s second biggest clothing chain posted sales of Rs 893 crore last fiscal, compared to Rs 640 crore a year ago, according to latest Registrar of Companies filing.

The brand had opened its first India store in October 2015, competing mainly with Spanish chain Zara, which entered in 2010.

Inditex Trent, which runs 20 Zara stores in India, saw its revenue increase 19% to Rs 1,221.67 crore in 2017-18.

“H&M’s fashion offering and great prices have seen a very good response from customers since we launched three years ago. Expanding our presence with 14 new stores in the year has also been a driving factor,” said Janne Einola, country manager H&M India Retail.

Unlike Zara with 20 outlets in India, H&M has been more aggressive in store expansions, averaging nearly a store every month since its entry taking the tally to 34 outlets now. The retailer plans to open 50 stores in India by 2020 with an investment of Rs 700 crore. Globally, H&M is also increasingly integrating online and physical stores in most markets including India where it launched its online store in March this year.

H&M and Zara set the benchmark in terms of growth in a market where several brands, including Levi Strauss, Benetton and Marks & Spencer had tepid performance for many years.

The development was first reported by ET Retail.com

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