H&M pushes ahead with Indian expansion despite global closures

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 7, 2020

Although fast fashion retailer H&M plans to shut around 250 stores across the world and focus on e-commerce, it plans to continue expanding its brick-and-mortar presence in India and will next open a store in Lucknow.

 
H&M does not plan to alter its store expansion plan for India, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Janne Einola, who will leave his role as H&M’s India country manager at the end of the month, told Livemint in an interview. The Swedish business has seen its online customer base increase by 60% year-on-year in India, but does not foresee offline retail diminishing in importance in the country.
 
“Online will also grow in the future because there is still a sentiment in the country where people do not feel safe going to physical stores, despite our efforts to make shopping experience as safe as possible,” Einola told Livemint.

“Also, there are still a lot of local restrictions and some stores are still closed. Almost no store is working with normal operating hours. So, yes, online stores and the share of that business is much bigger than it was. However, how big, I cannot say. It is important to understand that online is improving, but we believe that physical stores are very important for us, especially here in India.”
 
H&M’s next India store launch will be in Lucknow and, although the brand may see some delays in its store openings due to local lockdown restrictions, it plans to continue opening stores next year, according to Einola. The lockdown and continued regulations have also led to an increase in the popularity of children’s wear, lounge wear, and basics. However, women are continuing to shop fashion-focused collections as well.