Article Titled: H&M Launches Home Textiles in Bid to Offset Fashion Slowdown
H&M aims to introduce fashionable home textiles into selection stores and its new online home-textile business to make up for the slowing sales of its stores. This will include a range of pillows, towels, curtains and other textile products.
There has not been a lack of advertising for the H&M Home's launch because of the uncertainty of the retail markets. A retail analyst, Anne Critchlow, states that "When you're launching a completely new concept , which Home is, you're not sure immediately what's goin to work...This is a way of testing the range and build it up over time."
H&M is currently seeing a slowdown in the fashion business with record drops each month since August. In its biggest market, Germany, H&M generates a quarter of its revenues, the unemployment rate has risen to 7.9%. Home furnishing sales overall have fell to 5.2% from a year ago in Germany.
H&M states that it has no immediate plans to open H&M Home stores but it will be sticking to its plans of opening 225 new clothing stores this financial year.
I do not think that now is the time for H&M to launch their new division to the brand. The fact that the economy will not get any better for a period of time shows the H&M needs to potentially hold off expanding its brand with the opening of 225 stores as well. If its largest market base is experiencing high unemployment, there are few people that have disposable income right now, so, in my opinion, H&M can potentially practice money savings techniques and possible downsizing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment