H&M sales rise during third quarter, despite logistics hitches

Global H&M sales rose 9 per cent during the third quarter to August 31 as the fast-fashion retailer made the most of a new supply chain system put in place in Europe and North America.

On a constant-currency basis, sales rose by a more modest 4 per cent.

According to a brief announcement, which did not include any geographical breakdown of the company’s quarterly performance, sales excluding VAT reached $8.67 billion (SEK 55.821 billion).

“The H&M group’s continuous transition, to face the major shift within the industry, has contributed to a gradually improved sales development and increased market share in many markets in the third quarter,” the company said.

“However, sales and cost development in some of the group’s important markets such as the US, France, Italy and Belgium were in the third quarter considerably affected by the issues that emerged during the implementation of new logistics systems in the spring.”

The new logistics systems enable a faster and more efficient supply chain as well as a continued integration of store and online.

A more detailed set of figures is expected with the release of nine-month results on September 27.

This story originally appeared on sister-site Inside Retail Asia.

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