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interface news reporter | zhou fangying

interface news editor | lou qiqin

h&m has also started its own "high-end" reform.

recently, the group's new ceo daniel ervér said in an interview with fashion industry media business of fashion that h&m's current value positioning is to get rid of price competition, provide a wider range of products from low to high-end, and become a competitive brand in the fast fashion market.

so, what consumers can see is that h&m has cleared its instagram social account in order to promote the new autumn and winter series to be launched next month. this is also the first major move made by daniel ervér since he took office in early 2024.

now, on h&m’s revamped instagram account, only two photos of british pop singer charli xcx and model lila moss starring in h&m’s 2024 autumn and winter advertising blockbuster were simply posted, foreshadowing the major reform of this old fast fashion brand starting with the new series.

h&m's 2024 fall/winter collection will be available in its global retail channels from september 12. the highlight of the 2024 fall/winter collection is the fusion of fashion and music, and many musicians, models and cultural leaders have been invited to the fall/winter collection.

h&m told interface fashion that the brand renewal will start in eight cities around the world, where a series of events combining fashion and music will be held. then, by 2025, the overall reform will be expanded to other cities around the world, including china.

in the aforementioned interview, daniel ervé said his plan is to go all out to convince consumers that the h&m brand is worth buying at all costs, whether it is a $15 knitted top or a $200 soft leather skirt.

although h&m, like similar fast fashion brands such as zara and forever 21, first faced the impact of the epidemic on offline retail, and then faced the pursuit of emerging fast fashion e-commerce companies such as shein, zara has gradually begun to transform towards high-end. its parent company inditex group has set a new performance record for two consecutive years, with revenue of 35.947 billion euros in fiscal year 2023, and gross profit margin and net profit margin reaching a five-year high.

h&m group's performance over the past five years has always been stuck at the revenue threshold of 2019, hovering. in 2023, h&m group's sales increased by 6% year-on-year to 236 billion swedish kronor (about 20.84 billion euros).

it was at the 2023 fiscal year results conference that former president and ceo helena helmersson announced her resignation, expressing the idea that she did not have enough energy to continue serving as ceo.

as helena helmersson's successor, daniel ervér is also an "old man" working in the h&m group. he has worked in the company for 18 years, holding different positions, most of the time in the sales department, and his most recent position before becoming the helm of the group was head of the h&m brand.

for h&m, "high-endization" is bound to be related to the reform of the supply chain. during the epidemic, h&m's global supply chain was affected, resulting in higher delivery times and transportation costs. after that, former ceo helena helmersson tried to increase production in europe and set her sights on the possibility of latin america to achieve "nearshore outsourcing."

daniel ervér said that although h&m's current product development cycle has not changed fundamentally, the company has cut some management levels to speed up decision-making. the current h&m design team has 500 people and will develop insights based on customer sales data. the design team has also changed the supply chain structure to include more new materials and accessories. h&m is also working hard to increase localized manufacturing capabilities to adapt to the rapid changes in fashion trends.

currently, the delivery time of some h&m products has been shortened to six weeks. however, according to the comments of analysts in the above report, most of h&m's production is still carried out in asia, and the products are transported by sea rather than by air, which means that the speed of response to new trends still needs to be improved.

store upgrades will also be the highlight of h&m’s reform in the coming year.

at the 2023 earnings conference, h&m group executives said that the store portfolio has reached a level where the number of store closures will gradually decrease in the future, while new stores will continue to be added. in 2024, the company plans to open about 100 new stores and close about 160 stores. this will result in a net reduction of about 60 stores. most of the new stores will be opened in emerging markets, while store closures will mainly occur in mature markets.

daniel ervér revealed that this year h&m will take the lead in rebuilding 250 stores, while also opening a series of pop-up stores in major cities and renovating its official website.

the new store plan aims to improve the shopping experience, with fewer shelves, more experience space and better fitting rooms. some stores will also have rental services and second-hand goods to choose from. more stores will adopt rfid (radio frequency identification) tag technology to provide higher inventory visibility and replenishment efficiency.

compared with new fast fashion e-commerce brands such as shein, h&m's advantage lies in its global retail network of 4,000 offline stores, which is crucial to the actual experience of clothing quality. however, h&m has been lagging behind similar brands because its operating efficiency has stagnated for too long. to start over, it needs greater execution and consistency than clearing social media accounts.