H&M India to debut e-commerce, plans 8 new stores

H&M plans to launch an India-dedicated e-commerce this year, as well as several new store openings, in a bid to reach customers across all of India, not just major metropolitan hubs.

The Swedish fast-fashion giant is planning to add 8 new stores within the next 6 months, adding five more stores in Tier 1 cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, and three and in Tier 2 cities.

H&M will add two new stores in Mumbai, two at Bengaluru and one in Delhi’s National Capital Region (NCR) of Ghaziabad.

The brand will also foray into new cities of Coimbatore, Indore and Amritsar this year, the company said in a statement.

“H&M is especially excited to expand its reach in India, a market that poses tremendous potential both in Tier I & Tier II cities”, said Janne Einola, Country Manager at H&M India.

Meanwhile, H&M’s online vertical is on the verge of deployment. The venture into online market would see it cater to Tier 2 and tier 3 cities where H&M does not have any physical presence as of yet.

The group’s Indian operations turned profitable this year, posting remarkable sales of Rs 435 crore (US$67 million) in six months from December 2016 to May 2017.