H&M to go online in India next year

Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) is gearing up to enter the online fashion space in India and will launch its e-commerce portal in India early next year.

H&M fierce competitor Zara last week had announced that it will foray into the Indian e-commerce market by starting online sales in the country from October 4.

H&M was expected to start online sales in November this year, however the company seems to be in no hurry as it is doing reasonably well in India with its brick and mortar model.

The brand has witnessed a huge surge in sales in India clocking sales of Rs 703 crore during the December 2016 and August 2017 from its 17 stores across the country, up from Rs 291 crore in the year-ago period, as per the company's nine-month report for the period from December 2016 and August 2017.

"Next year, we plan to continue our online expansion into further countries, including India. The plan is that in the future we will offer online shopping in all store markets as well as in other markets," H&M CEO Karl Johan Persson said.

"We are continuing to improve the online store and are adding more and faster delivery options, while at the same time further broadening the range of products online," Persson said.

As part of their expansion plans most global brands are now taking the online route in India in order to cash in on the booming e-commerce market. Online stores also help these brands cater to the tier II & tier III markets which contribute significantly to sales of majority of leading e-commerce firms in the country.

H&M currently has online stores in 41 countries and a total of 4,135 H&M stores across the globe. The company is rapidly expanding its presence in India and is likely to add 5 more stores this year.

H&M to go online in India next year

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