P12: H&M planning discount e-commerce store for other brands

By

Marion Deslandes

Published
Jan 8, 2018

What is H&M secretly up to now? While the Swedish fashion giant remains relatively coy on the finer details of its newly announced Nyden brand, the group is preparing the launch of multi-brand e-commerce store, centred on fashion, and discount fashion, in particular. The new venture was announced by Swedish news source Breakit, a specialist in reporting new technologies and information on start-up brands in Sweden.

The new project, which has been called 'P12', could come as early as mid-April. According to the online news source, some sixty brands have already been signed up to sell with H&M group. And its motto is "the style and dealhunting paradise."

The journalist was even able to visit the site where the new project team is working from, describing it has having some 100 employees and an estimated investment of at least 50 million euros.

The P12 name has already been mentioned in 2016, pertaining a secret project being undertaken by the Swedish company.

When contacted by FashionNetwork.com, the firm explained that it was "not commenting on the rumours," describing itself as being in "a period of silence."

The potential e-shop, in any case, looks to join the fast-fashion company's overall new digital strategy, which it announced during its most recent - and disappointing - financial results, where it said the group would close more H&M stores in 2018 and open less new stores than previously planned.

In spring, the group will also launch its H&M lines on Tmall, the mega Chinese e-commerce platform, while its upcoming and eighth brand, Nyden - a fashion brand targeted at millennials, will only be sold online and in limited flagship stores. 

For the fourth quarter 2017, H&M group sales fell 4% (down 2% in local currencies) to 58.4 billion Danish kroner, over the fiscal period (6.1 billion euros).

For the full year, total revenues lifted 4%, to 231.7 billion kroner, or 22.2 billion euros (up 3% in local currencies).