H&M opens its 1000th store

H&M is about to open its 1000th store and is celebrating with a campaign of special offers in all H&M stores in each of the company’s 19 markets around Europe and North America. Store No. 1000 will open in Boulogne-sur-Mer near Lille, north-west France, on 25 August.

H&M is enjoying a rapid rate of expansion. In 2004 around 140 new stores will be added, among them stores in the new markets of Canada, which opened in the spring, and Slovenia, which will become market No. 20 in the autumn. This autumn H&M will be opening a new store every other day. Over the past three years H&M has increased the number of its stores by nearly 40 per cent, increased turnover by nearly 60 per cent and profit after tax by 150 per cent.

Establishing stores in the best location has been an abiding principle of H&M since its inception in Västerås, Sweden in 1947. The company’s first store outside Sweden was established in Norway in 1964, followed by a move into Denmark three years later. Expansion beyond the Nordic countries began in 1976 when H&M opened a store in the UK, followed by stores in Switzerland in 1978 and Germany in 1980. Since then H&M has opened stores in a further 13 countries, including the USA and Spain in 2000. Last year H&M stores opened in Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Italy.

H&M’s development is described at www.hm.com, About H&M, under Press services  Press releases finance, in the form of statistics on expansion and turnover, a historical briefing and pictures of the first store. To download the images, enter the username press and the password design.

Contact person:
Annacarin Björne, Press Officer
Telephone: +46-8-796 57 57, +46-70-796 55 50