In this report, an inside look will be taken on Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M). We will analyse on it using PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces and SWOT to get a clear concept of what H&M is today and where it can go. This positioning will be helpful in strategy designing.
Company activities
H&M was established in Västerås, Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson. We now sell clothes and cosmetics in around 2.200 stores around the world.
* H&M offers fashion and quality at the best price * H&M offers fashion for women, men,teenagers and children. * H&M also sells own-brand cosmetics, accessories and footwear * H&M doesn't own any factories, but instead buys its goods from around 700 independent suppliers, primarily in Asia and Europe. * H&M employs about 87000 people * The turnover in 2010 was 126.966 million
PESTEL analysis
It is a part of the external analysis when conducting a strategic analysis or doing market research, and gives an overview of the different macro-environmental factors that the company has to take into consideration. It is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations.[1]
- Political
Being a Swedish based company, H&M follows the Swedish legislation and the Swedish Company Act.
- Economic
Because of the economic crisis in 2008, people are still in recovery. Most of them intend to buy products with better price. Since H&M provides fashion and quality at the best price, it will attract customers.
- Socio-cultural
The fashion trend nowadays tends to be more environment-concerned. H&M has done quite well in sustainable improvements. (Activities about sustainable improvements are shown in the appendix.)
- Technological
Media technology and printing machines are two types of technology that will affect the business. The improvement of printing machines can make sure the quality of their products. The development of media