H&M cashing in on tighter purse strings

H&M, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer, grew sales last month in a sign of robust demand for budget clothing from austerity-hit shoppers.

The Swedish low-cost fashion company yesterday said that sales growth at stores open a year or more was “steady” at 3 per cent, slightly below analysts’ forecasts for a 5 per cent rise.

Fast-expanding H&M, which does the bulk of its business in Europe and trails Zara-owner Inditex by market value and turnover, said the number of stores in its 44 markets amounted to 2,596 at the end of the month.

In Germany, H&M’s single-biggest market by far, the overall clothing market was down 2 per cent, according to industry data.

Stefan Stjernholm, an analyst at Nordea, said: “The company delivers good figures despite the global worries. They are clearly taking market share.”

Primark last week posted a double-digit rise in its sales.