Business

H&M sales miss as retailer struggles to compete with Zara

Swedish group says third-quarter got off to ‘a weak start’

H&M has substantially underperformed in comparison to market leader Inditex, the owner of Zara, Photograph: iStock

Thu Sep 15 2022 - 15:06

H&M reported on Thursday lower-than-expected quarterly sales as shoppers tighten their belts with energy and food bills soaring and the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer struggles to compete with rival Zara.

Third-quarter net sales at the Swedish group were up 3 per cent from a year earlier at 57.5 billion crowns (€5.4 billion), short of the 5 per cent which analysts polled by Refinitiv had forecast for the June-August quarter.

“The third-quarter got off to a weak start, in common with the industry in many of the group’s major markets,” H&M, which does the bulk of its business in Europe, said in a statement.

“Sales improved sequentially during the quarter, with a better start for the autumn collections than last year.”

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Measured in local currencies, sales were down 4 per cent.

Shares in H&M, which have lost more than two-thirds of their value this year, were down 1.9 per cent in early afternoon trade.

“As we saw from Primark last week, we think the more value conscious end of the sector is proving very challenging in Europe ex-UK, reflecting where pressures on household cash flow are most acute,” RBC analysts said, noting German industry data showing falling store sales in the period.

They said in a note H&M’s smaller chains such as Cos and Arket have been more resilient lately than the H&M brand.

The Swedish retailer has substantially underperformed in comparison to market leader Inditex, the owner of Zara, which this week posted sales growth in constant currency terms of 16 per cent for its May-July quarter. The Spanish group’s growth pace however slowed to 11 per cent in the August 1st to September 11th period. – Reuters

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