H&M business more than doubles in India in last nine months, sales clock over 700cr

H&M's Indian business clocked sales of Rs 704 crore (SEK 874) during December 2016- August 2017, compared to Rs291 crore (SEK 361) a year ago, it said in its nine-month performance report on Thursday. With about 17 stores until August, each generating an average of Rs 58 crore annually in sales, H&M's performance is the best within the apparel space in the retail market.

"The customers response to H&M's global fashion, quality and prices as well as our expansion strategy of opening stores in metros and tier 2 cities continues to drive strong growth," said Janne Einola, Country Manager, H&M India.

After opening its first store in October 2015, H&M's Indian unit posted Rs 194 crore in sales during year-to-March 2016, with a net profit of Rs1.4 crore. It rose sharply to about Rs640 crore with net profit of Rs15 crore during last fiscal ended March 2017 through 15 stores, many of them barely few months old then.

Spanish chain Zara, a direct competition to H&M has opened its first store in India in 2010, had set the benchmark as the fastest-growing - and now the biggest international apparel brand in India - with sales of Rs 1,023 crore during FY16-17.

H&M, the world's second-largest clothing giant, had said it will open 50 stores in India with an investment of Rs 700 crore by 2020. So far, they have opened 20 doors. The Stockholm-based brand stocks fast fashion items created in-house and teams up with designers for one-time collections. It keeps a large inventory of basic, everyday items sourced from places including India and Bangladesh that carry a lower price tag than most of its rivals.

"Next year we plan to continue our online expansion into further countries, including India. The plan is that in the future we will offer online shopping in all store markets as well as in other markets," H&M said in their investor

The Indian retail market was worth $641 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2026, according to the India Business of Fashion 2017 report.