Fashion giant H&M has published very disappointing results for July yesterday. The Swedes sold 6% less on a like-for-like basis (not including new stores), which is even worse than the already low expectations of -5.1%.
Including the 240 stores that H&M opened since July 2010, the chain managed a 3% turnover growth – also lower than analysts’ expectations. The German branch, the most important market for H&M, even witnessed a status quo. The new results were the worst in 16 months for the world’s second largest fashion retailer.
Experts fear that these negative results for one of the world’s fashion powerhouses are an indication that smaller colleagues will experience even steeper turnover falls. However, the world’s number one, Inditex, has managed to avoid such a scenario by heavily betting on growth markets, where demand keeps on rising – as opposed to the stagnating European markets.
