Latest news with #Erver
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
H&M reports sluggish start to spring sales
By Helen Reid LONDON (Reuters) -H&M's sales were up just 1% in March after a weaker than expected first quarter, the Swedish fast-fashion retailer reported on Thursday, in a sign of a slow start to its spring and summer season. H&M has ramped up marketing spend in a bid to boost its brand but the returns on that investment have been slow to appear. Its shares, down 11% since the start of the year, fell 1% in early trading in response to the anaemic sales growth and lower profitability. "Even if we are taking important steps, we are not satisfied with our result in the first quarter," CEO Daniel Erver said in a call with analysts. "We are still in a high inflation climate where the customers' spending power is limited, so we stay very focused on providing outstanding value for money." Erver, who has led H&M for just over a year, is trying to turn its fortunes around through better marketing and more fashionable clothes, spending on pop stars like Charli XCX to model its collections as he tries to make the brand more desirable and able to compete more effectively against Zara and Shein. The company's sales of 55.3 billion Swedish crowns ($5.52 billion) for the December to February quarter, were up 2% in local currencies but below analysts' mean estimate of 55.9 billion Swedish crowns. March sales growth was weaker than the 4% increase reported a year ago. Sales were slightly weaker in the U.S., the Nordics and the UK in the first quarter, Erver said, while Germany and Poland performed better. In the U.S., H&M will likely hike prices to mitigate the impact of import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, chief financial officer Adam Karlsson told analysts. "We will follow how competitors do this and we will be very diligent in how we assess that we continue to give relatively better value than anyone else," Karlsson said. H&M's biggest manufacturing hubs are China, where the U.S. has already placed an additional 20% tariff on imports, and Bangladesh, one of the countries at risk of so-called "reciprocal" tariffs Trump plans to announce on April 2. Increased discounting, marketing investments and "negative external factors" impacted H&M's profitability in the quarter, with the operating profit margin falling to 2.2% from 3.9% in the same period a year ago. Markdowns were higher than expected due to a later Black Friday, RBC analysts said. Erver said the hit to profitability from investments in the brand would be smaller in the second quarter, and improvements to H&M's womenswear product assortment were starting to have a positive effect. After hosting a string of Charli XCX concerts last year, H&M has continued to invest in big-name brand ambassadors, hiring musicians Tyla and FKA Twigs to model its spring and summer collection launched last week. The retailer, which also owns brands including Arket, Cos, & Other Stories, and Weekday, has been upgrading stores and sharply reducing its overall number of stores. H&M has 4,213 stores globally, it reported on Thursday, its smallest store footprint since 2016. ($1 = 10.0259 Swedish crowns) Sign in to access your portfolio
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-03-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
H&M First-quarter Sales Weaker Than Expected
Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M reported weaker than expected sales for its first quarter on Thursday and said sales were up 1% so far in March, in a sign of a slow start to its spring and summer season. H&M reported sales of 55.3 billion Swedish crowns ($5.52 billion) for the December to February quarter, missing analysts' mean estimate of 55.9 billion Swedish crowns, Reuters said. "Our sales and earnings in the quarter were somewhat weaker than planned – but the first quarter is the smallest quarter of the year for us in terms of sales and margin, and we are confident going forward," CEO Daniel Erver said in a statement. Increased discounting and marketing investments impacted H&M's profitability in the quarter, the company said, with the operating profit margin falling to 2.2% from 3.9% in the same period a year ago. Erver, leading H&M for just over a year, is trying to turn its fortunes around and has ramped up marketing, spending on pop stars like Charli XCX to model its collections as he tries to make the brand more desirable and better compete against Zara and Shein.
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
H&M reports sluggish start to spring sales
H&M's sales were up just 1% in March after a weaker than expected first quarter, the Swedish fast-fashion retailer reported on Thursday, in a sign of a slow start to its spring and summer season. H&M has ramped up marketing spend in a bid to boost its brand but the returns on that investment have been slow to appear. Its shares, down 11% since the start of the year, fell 1% in early trading in response to the anaemic sales growth and lower profitability. "Even if we are taking important steps, we are not satisfied with our result in the first quarter," CEO Daniel Erver said in a call with analysts. "We are still in a high inflation climate where the customers' spending power is limited, so we stay very focused on providing outstanding value for money." Erver, who has led H&M for just over a year, is trying to turn its fortunes around through better marketing and more fashionable clothes, spending on pop stars like Charli XCX to model its collections as he tries to make the brand more desirable and able to compete more effectively against Zara and Shein. The company's sales of 55.3 billion Swedish crowns ($5.52 billion) for the December to February quarter, were up 2% in local currencies but below analysts' mean estimate of 55.9 billion Swedish crowns. March sales growth was weaker than the 4% increase reported a year ago. Sales were slightly weaker in the U.S., the Nordics and the UK in the first quarter, Erver said, while Germany and Poland performed better. In the U.S., H&M will likely hike prices to mitigate the impact of import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, chief financial officer Adam Karlsson told analysts. "We will follow how competitors do this and we will be very diligent in how we assess that we continue to give relatively better value than anyone else," Karlsson said. H&M's biggest manufacturing hubs are China, where the U.S. has already placed an additional 20% tariff on imports, and Bangladesh, one of the countries at risk of so-called "reciprocal" tariffs Trump plans to announce on April 2. Increased discounting, marketing investments and "negative external factors" impacted H&M's profitability in the quarter, with the operating profit margin falling to 2.2% from 3.9% in the same period a year ago. Markdowns were higher than expected due to a later Black Friday, RBC analysts said. Erver said the hit to profitability from investments in the brand would be smaller in the second quarter, and improvements to H&M's womenswear product assortment were starting to have a positive effect. After hosting a string of Charli XCX concerts last year, H&M has continued to invest in big-name brand ambassadors, hiring musicians Tyla and FKA Twigs to model its spring and summer collection launched last week. The retailer, which also owns brands including Arket, Cos, & Other Stories, and Weekday, has been upgrading stores and sharply reducing its overall number of stores. H&M has 4,213 stores globally, it reported on Thursday, its smallest store footprint since 2016. ($1 = 10.0259 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Jan Harvey and Jane Merriman)
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
H&M must raise the bar to counter fierce fast-fashion competition, says CEO
By Helen Reid STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - H&M cannot win on price alone and must make its clothes more trendy and of higher-quality in the fiercely competitive fast-fashion sector, its CEO Daniel Erver told Reuters. In his first year as CEO, Erver has spearheaded investments in marketing to boost the H&M brand's appeal, as well as a push to speed up product development as the retailer tries to regain market share from rivals like Inditex-owned Zara. H&M must keep improving its products in terms of quality and trendiness in order to give customers value for money, Erver said in an interview on Thursday after the Swedish company's fourth-quarter sales missed expectations. "Just competing on lowest price will not cut it for us, we need to step up and raise the bar," Erver said. Online-only retailer Shein has undercut H&M and Zara with ultra-low prices for dresses, tops, jeans and accessories, forcing them to find new ways of differentiating themselves. H&M will keep investing in social media influencers and collaborations with pop stars like Charli XCX, Erver said, to reach more fashion-conscious young women. "To start accelerating the work of gaining market share and ... positioning ourselves, it's been really important to win the fashion-interested female customer, and especially the young generation, because she will shape the industry for the future," Erver said. As well as increasing its reach through social media, drawing more customers through its doors is key for H&M, which has been cutting its overall store count but refurbishing some in key cities. H&M's premium Arket brand is opening its first stores in Austria, Norway, Greece and Ireland this year. These will include cafés, as part of a push to get shoppers to linger for longer. While not satisfied with the overall performance, Erver said H&M's higher fourth quarter operating profit margin was partly thanks to a stronger product mix. H&M's chief financial officer, in a separate interview on Thursday, said changes it is making to shorten its supply chain and speed up its design process could cut the time between product idea and arrival in-store by as much as 50%. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
30-01-2025
- Business
- Reuters
H&M must raise the bar to counter fierce fast-fashion competition, says CEO
STOCKHOLM, Jan 30 (Reuters) - H&M cannot win on price alone and must make its clothes more trendy and of higher-quality in the fiercely competitive fast-fashion sector, its CEO Daniel Erver told Reuters. In his first year as CEO, Erver has spearheaded investments in marketing to boost the H&M ( opens new tab brand's appeal, as well as a push to speed up product development as the retailer tries to regain market share from rivals like Inditex-owned Zara. H&M must keep improving its products in terms of quality and trendiness in order to give customers value for money, Erver said in an interview on Thursday after the Swedish company's fourth-quarter sales missed expectations. "Just competing on lowest price will not cut it for us, we need to step up and raise the bar," Erver said. Online-only retailer Shein has undercut H&M and Zara with ultra-low prices for dresses, tops, jeans and accessories, forcing them to find new ways of differentiating themselves. H&M will keep investing in social media influencers and collaborations with pop stars like Charli XCX, Erver said, to reach more fashion-conscious young women. "To start accelerating the work of gaining market share and ... positioning ourselves, it's been really important to win the fashion-interested female customer, and especially the young generation, because she will shape the industry for the future," Erver said. As well as increasing its reach through social media, drawing more customers through its doors is key for H&M, which has been cutting its overall store count but refurbishing some in key cities. H&M's premium Arket brand is opening its first stores in Austria, Norway, Greece and Ireland this year. These will include cafés, as part of a push to get shoppers to linger for longer. While not satisfied with the overall performance, Erver said H&M's higher fourth quarter operating profit margin was partly thanks to a stronger product mix. H&M's chief financial officer, in a separate interview on Thursday, said changes it is making to shorten its supply chain and speed up its design process could cut the time between product idea and arrival in-store by as much as 50%.
