Swedish fashion retailer H&M managed to increase its revenue by 9 % in the fourth quarter of its financial year. The strong investments that have been made in recent years, in order to adapt to the changing market, seem to be bearing fruit.
Negative calendar
During the last quarter of H&M’s financial year, sales increased by 9 % to 61.7 billion Swedish kroner (6 billion euros). The fashion chain also points out that Black Friday was not included in the fourth quarter this year, with the consequence that an estimated 500 million Swedish kroner (50 million euros) will only appear in the books in the next quarter. Without this negative calendar effect, there would have even been a growth of 10 %.
For the year as a whole, H&M achieved a turnover of 232.7 billion Swedish kroner (22 billion euros), which is an increase of 11 %. Analysts are forecasting that the group’s annual profit will increase for the first time since 2015, according to Reuters.
Investments
Over recent years, the Swedish-based retailer has invested heavily in online services, new store concepts and independent brands to broaden its customer base and adapt to the changing market. It would now appear that H&M is reaping the benefits of this.
H&M will present its full annual report at the end of January next year.
