A Critical Analysis of Hennes Maurit

A Critical Analysis of
Hennes & Mauritz’s Business Strategy

Introduction:

Hennes & Mauritz, better known as H&M, is a clothing retail chain store, founded in Sweden in 1947. Nowadays, under the responsibility of Karl-Johan Persson who succeeded Rolf Eriken in July 2009, H&M has become an international reference of fashion and quality at the best price, covering 34 markets, in Europe, North America, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (Egypt), and with around 1,800 stores worldwide.

H&M offers a broad and varied selection for women, men, teens and children from clothes to accessories, cosmetics and jewellery and launched, this year, H&M Home, which offers fashion for the home via Internet and catalogue (H&M Annual report 2008, part I). H&M mainly offers its products through its existing stores, but started in 1999 to sell via catalogue and over the internet in few markets, such as: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria and will extend it in the UK, in autumn 2010.

One often forgets that H&M is part of a broader group called H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) (a limited company domiciled in Stockolm), which recently bought 60% of the shares of the Swedish fashion company FaBric Scandinavien, which includes the following chain stores: Weekdays, Monki and Cheap Monday brand (H&M Annual report 2008, part I). In addition, H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB opened a new chain store, COS, Collection of Style, in 2007, C.O.S. ‘Collection of Style’, in 2007, which sells a more expensive range of clothing items.

Mission, Values, Goals and Objectives:

H&M’s mission statement is: “to offer fashion and quality at the best price” (H&M Annual report 2008, part I, p.13), keeping sight of the core values of quality, design, respect for the environment and for the individual. Quality is maintained through continual testing of the material. As to the design, H&M clothing collections are always composed of a balance between basics and

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