Our business concept
Our business concept is to give the customer unbeatable value by offering fashion and quality at the best price. To be sure we can offer the latest fashions we have a design and buying department that creates our clothing collections.
We ensure the best price by:
- having few middlemen
- buying large volumes
- having a broad, in-depth knowledge of design, fashion and textiles
- buying the right products from the right market
- being cost-conscious at every stage
- having efficient distribution
Good product quality is ensured through continuous quality controls. In addition to product quality itself, quality also means producing the items with minimal impact on the environment and under good working conditions.
Growth target
H&M’s growth target is to increase the number of stores by 10–15 percent per year, but also to increase sales at existing stores. The availability of attractive business locations is the major deciding factor in our rate of expansion. In 2007, 193 new stores were opened and 16 were closed.
H&M is an expansive and financially strong company. The objective is to grow in a controlled manner while maintaining profitability. In the past five years sales including VAT have increased by 73 percent and earnings per share by 139 percent. This expansion has been entirely self-financed.