HENNES & MAURITZ (H&M), the world’s second largest clothing retailer, reported monthly sales that missed estimates as shoppers delayed purchases of coats and sweaters amid mild weather.
Revenue at stores open at least a year slipped 1 per cent, Stockholm-based H&M said in a statement yesterday. Same-store sales were predicted to advance 0.3 per cent, according to an SME Direkt poll of analysts.
Total sales last month rose 9 per cent, compared with estimates for growth of 9.9 per cent.
Retailers, including Britain’s Next, have said warmer-than-average temperatures in recent months have affected sales.
H&M’s larger competitor, Zara’s Spanish parent Inditex, yesterday reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in two years in the third quarter.
H&M fell as much as 1.4 per cent in Stockholm trading and were unchanged at 210 kronor as of 9:32am. The shares have fallen 6.2 per cent this year, compared with a 13 per cent rise for Inditex.
H&M’s collaboration with Italian fashion house Gianni Versace, that started on November 17th, has failed to offset the impact of the weather. – (Bloomberg)
