TSR Fashion: Dang, the Rona got another one. H&M is planning to close 250 stores next year as the fashion retailer struggles with sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
Even though H&M is closing hundreds of stores, it sounds like officials plan to put more focus into their online offerings.
“More and more customers started shopping online during the pandemic, and they are making it clear that they value a convenient and inspiring experience in which stores and online interact and strengthen each other,” said H&M CEO Helena Helmersson in a statement, according to ABC News. “To ensure that our offerings are relevant to customers and improve availability in all channels, speed and flexibility will be even more important in the future, particularly in the supply chain.”
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H&M currently has more than 5,000 stores, and the upcoming closures will account for 5% of them.
“Although the challenges are far from over, we believe that the worst is behind us and we are well placed to come out of the crisis stronger,” said Helmersson. “Demand for good value, sustainable products is expected to grow in the wake of the pandemic and our customer offering is well positioned for this.”
She added, “We are now accelerating our transformation work so that we continue to add value for our customer.”
The Swedish retailer joins a slew of other companies, such as Victoria’s Secret, JCPenney and several others, that have announced store closures during the pandemic.
It does seem that a lot of these stores have emphasized their online selections during this time as many countries had to shutter businesses to fall in line with coronavirus guidelines.
Other stores and businesses such as Lord & Taylor have filed for bankruptcy while Chuck E. Cheese reported its at risk of closing all its locations.
We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
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