H&M

H&M, short for H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, is a big clothing company from Sweden. It is known around the world for its fast fashion, which means it makes and sells new styles very quickly. H&M sells clothes, accessories, and home items in thousands of stores in many countries, and it has lots of people working for it.

The company was started in 1947 by Erling Persson and was first called Hennes. It became very successful and is now one of the biggest clothing companies in the world, just after Inditex. From 2020 to 2024, the company was led by Helena Helmersson, and since January 2024, the CEO has been Daniel Ervér.

History

The business began in 1947 when Erling Persson opened his first shop in Västerås, selling women's clothing. The shop was named Hennes. In 1968, Persson added men's clothing and changed the name to Hennes & Mauritz.

H&M grew quickly, opening its first store outside Scandinavia in London in 1976 and its first U.S. store in New York City in 2000. In 2008, H&M started selling home furnishings. Over the years, H&M has launched new brands like COS, Weekday, and Monki, and opened thousands of stores around the world.

In 2020, the company closed some stores because of the COVID-19 pandemic and moved more sales online. In 2022, H&M stopped operating its stores in Russia. H&M gets its clothing from factories in many countries, with China and Bangladesh being the biggest suppliers.

Corporate affairs

The H&M Group shows important trends for the year ending 30 November.

H&M in India

H&M started in India in 2015. You can find H&M stores in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Lucknow. These stores are often in fancy malls.

Designers

In November 2004, some H&M stores had a special collection made by famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. People waited in long lines, and the clothes sold out quickly in big cities.

Over the years, H&M worked with many well-known designers. In 2006, they had collections by Stella McCartney and Viktor & Rolf. In 2007, H&M worked with pop star Madonna and Italian designer Roberto Cavalli.

In 2008, Finnish company Marimekko made a guest designer collection for spring. That same year, H&M partnered with Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons, creating clothes, accessories, and fragrance for both adults and children.

British designer Matthew Williamson made two special collections for spring and summer 2009. In November 2009, Jimmy Choo made a limited edition collection of bags and shoes, plus some clothes too.

Other designers who worked with H&M include Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin, fashion blogger Elin Kling, Versace, Marni, Anna Dello Russo, Maison Martin Margiela, Isabel Marant, Alexander Wang, Balmain, Kenzo, Swedish singer Zara Larsson, Naomi Campbell, Moschino, Richard Allan, Lebanese designer Sandra Mansour, and Irish designer Simone Rocha.

Sustainability and environmental awareness

H&M has taken steps to help the environment and promote recycling. In 2013, they started giving vouchers for old clothes, which were then recycled. In 2021, they began a campaign with actress Maisie Williams to encourage using recycled materials in all their products by 2030. They also started a program where men could rent suits for job interviews.

H&M works to protect forests and ecosystems by changing how they get their materials. In 2014, they stopped using a certain type of material that harms forests. After wildfires in the Amazon in 2019, they paused buying leather from Brazil until they could be sure it wasn’t harming the environment. They have also stopped using wool from sheep treated in harmful ways and aim to stop using new down and feathers by the end of 2025.

In 2014, H&M started the H&M Foundation with $180 million to support projects that help the environment and people. The foundation gives out a yearly prize to encourage new ways to recycle clothes.

The company has faced questions about some of its environmental claims.

Concept stores

Six concept brands

Besides the H&M brand, the company has six other brands, each with its own style. These brands are Afound, Arket, COS, Monki, Weekday, and & Other Stories.

COS

COS opened its main store on Regent Street in London in March 2007. The store’s style is simple and inspired by art and design.

COS sells modern clothes for men and women. The clothes are made to last longer than one season. COS has stores in many countries. It also sells online.

Labor practices

In 2011, workers at a factory in Cambodia that made clothes for H&M felt unwell because of bad air and other problems. In Bangladesh, groups suggested better safety rules for factories, but H&M and other companies did not agree at that time.

After a big building fell down in Bangladesh in 2013, H&M joined efforts to make factories safer. There have also been worries about workers being paid too little and not having good conditions.

H&M has said it wants to pay fair wages to all workers by 2030 and has worked on making its factories safer. The company has also faced questions about whether it uses materials from places where workers might be treated unfairly.

Controversies

Boycotts by China

In March 2021, H&M faced criticism in China for saying it would not use cotton from a certain area. This led to some Chinese people not wanting to buy H&M clothes. As a result, some stores stopped selling H&M products, and two famous people in China stopped working with the brand. By August 2022, H&M started selling in China again.

Israel

H&M opened its first store in Israel in March 2010 in Tel Aviv. As of December 2023, it has 24 stores there, but none in certain areas. Some people have asked H&M to leave Israel, which has caused protests in Europe. The company closed its stores for a short time but later reopened them.

Australia

In January 2024, H&M’s Australia branch faced criticism for an advertisement about school uniforms. The company later removed the ad and said sorry.

Other controversies