H&M to open first store at Kolkata in September

Swedish fast fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) as part of its India expansion plan will open its first store at Woodburn Central Mall, Kolkata in September. The Kolkata store will also mark the brand's entry into the East Indian market.

The new store will have two storeys spreading over 18,000 square feet and will open on September 23.

H&M had posted sales exceeding 460 crore rupees (approx $69 million) for their previous six months’ sales ending in May which exceeded sales for the whole previous year.

After witnessing a surge in sales and profits, the company is planning to aggressively expand its presence across India and will open 8 more stores before the end of the financial year in tier 1 and tier 2 cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Indore, Amritsar and Ghaziabad.

H&M aims to open a total of 50 stores by 2020 and has earmarked investment of 700 crore rupees (approx $105 million) to do this.

H&M will also look to tap India’s booming online fashion market with the launch of its online portal later this year. The country's online fashion market is expected to grow four-fold to $30 billion (nearly Rs 2 lakh crore) by 2020, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in collaboration with Facebook.

“We are delighted to open our first store in Kolkata just in time for the festivities. We look forward to exceed customer expectations with our varied range of inspiring fashion that lets them explore their personal style,” H&M India’s Country Manager Janne Einola said in a statement.

H&M currently has 17 brick and mortar stores in India and more than 4,400 stores in 66 markets.

H&M to open first store at Kolkata in September

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