Editing H&M (section)

==History==
[[File:H & M - Store (51396227419).jpg|thumb|H&M store on [[Fifth Avenue]] in [[New York City]]]]

===Foundation===
The business was established in 1947 by [[Erling Persson]] when he opened his first shop in [[Västerås]], Sweden.<ref name="h&m">{{cite web|url=http://about.hm.com/AboutSection/en/About/Facts-About-HM/People-and-History/Our-History.html |title=H&M: Our-History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319073126/http://about.hm.com/AboutSection/en/About/Facts-About-HM/People-and-History/Our-History.html |archive-date=19 March 2013 }}</ref> The shop was called Hennes (Swedish for 'hers') and only sold women's clothing. Another store opened in Norway in 1964.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hm.com/no/abouthm/theworldofhm/europe/norway__worldofhm_countrycode_no.nhtml;jsessionid=C2725F05113C12482E28CB6626118089|title=Mote og kvalitet til beste pris – H& NO|website=Hm.com|access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref> In 1968, Persson acquired the hunting apparel retailer Mauritz Widforss, located in Stockholm, which led to the inclusion of a menswear collection in the product range, and the name was changed to Hennes & Mauritz.<ref name="h&m" />

The company was listed on the [[Nasdaq Stockholm|Stockholm Stock Exchange]] in 1974.<ref name="h&m" /> Shortly after, in 1976, the first store outside Scandinavia opened in London.<ref name="h&m" /><ref name="The World of H&M">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hm.com/gb/abouthm/theworldofhm/europe/unitedkingdom__worldofhm_countrycode_gb.nhtml|title=Fashion and quality clothing at the best price – H& GB|website=Hm.com|access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref> H&M continued to expand in Europe and began to retail online in 1998<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=1998 |title=Annual Report 1998 |url=https://about.hm.com/content/dam/hmgroup/groupsite/documents/masterlanguage/Annual%20Report/Annual_Report_1998.pdf |access-date=7 March 2022 |website=hm.com}}</ref> with the [[Domain (Internet)|domain]] ''hm.com'', which was registered in 1997, according to data available via [[WHOIS]]. The opening of its first U.S. store on 31 March 2000 on [[Fifth Avenue]] in [[New York City]] marked the start of its expansion outside of Europe.<ref name="h&m" />

=== Home furnishings ===
[[File:H&M Home.jpg|thumb|H&M Home section in an [[Antwerp]] store]]
In 2008, the company announced in a [[press release]] that it would begin selling home furnishings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hm.com/us/press/pressreleases/fashion/theamericasfashionpressrelease.ahtml?pressreleaseid=741&nodeid=334|title=H&M Home Fashions|date=28 November 2008|publisher=H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB|access-date=10 April 2009}}</ref> While initially distributed online, the home furnishing items are now sold at H&M Home stores worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Markets and expansion |url=https://hmgroup.com/about-us/markets-and-expansion/ |access-date=7 March 2022 |website=H&M Group |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Other brands ===
Concept stores, including [[COS (fashion brand)|COS]], Weekday, Monki and [[Cheap Monday]], were launched following H&M's expansion in Asia. In 2009 and 2010, brand consultancy Interbrand ranked H&M as the twenty-first most-valuable global brand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/best-global-brands-2008/best-global-brands-2010.aspx|title=Best Global Brands Ranking for 2010|access-date=15 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212184731/http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/best-global-brands-2008/best-global-brands-2010.aspx|archive-date=12 February 2011}}</ref> Its worth was estimated at $12 billion to $16 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx?year=2009&langid=1000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813125924/http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx?year=2009&langid=1000|title=Interbrand, Best Global Brand List|archive-date=13 August 2010|access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brandz.com/upload/brandz-report-2009-complete-report(1).pdf|title=BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820214201/http://www.brandz.com/upload/brandz-report-2009-complete-report(1).pdf|archive-date=20 August 2010}}</ref> Under the "H&M with Friends", H&M will partner with Good American, a brand founded by [[Khloé Kardashian|Khloe Kardashian]] and [[Emma Grede|Emme Grede]], to feature their products in H&M's Swedish and German e-commerce shops.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Velasquez |first=Angela |date=16 December 2022 |title=Good American Makes Friends with H&M |url=https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-brands/good-american-hm-with-friends-khloe-kardashian-sweden-germany-398070/ |access-date=27 December 2022 |website=Sourcing Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2017 H&M founded a new concept store Arket.

=== Store openings worldwide ===
H&M operated 2,325 stores at the end of 2011. At the end of August 2012, they were operating 304 more stores, bringing the total to 2,629.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-17/hennes-mauritz-sales-miss-estimates-after-august-heatwave.html |title=Hennes & Mauritz Sales Miss Estimates After August Heatwave |date=17 September 2012 | work=Bloomberg}}</ref> In September 2013, the retailer opened its 3000th store in [[Chengdu]], China.<ref name="AR2013">Compare: {{cite web |url= http://about.hm.com/content/dam/hm/about/documents/en/Annual%20Report/Annual-Report-2013_en.pdf |title= Annual Report 2016 |access-date= 30 December 2017|publisher= Hennes & Mauritz |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140606232428/http://about.hm.com/content/dam/hm/about/documents/en/Annual%20Report/Annual-Report-2013_en.pdf |archive-date= 6 June 2014 |df= dmy-all | quote = Operating profit amounted to SEK 22,168 m (21,754). | page = 53}}</ref> In 2023, the company announced that it will enter the [[Brazil|Brazilian market]] in both physical and digital formats, expected to begin operations in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infomoney.com.br/negocios/varejista-europeia-hm-vai-desembarcar-no-brasil-em-2025/|title=Varejista europeia, H&M vai desembarcar no Brasil em 2025|date=2023-07-17|accessdate=2025-01-14|website=InfoMoney|language=pt}}</ref>

=== COVID-19 ===
In October 2020, H&M announced that it was planning to close 5% of its worldwide stores in 2021 as a result of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/h-m-heads-into-winter-with-a-sharper-new-look-11601553221|title= H&M Heads Into Winter With a Sharper New Look|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|last=Ryan|first=Carol|date=1 October 2020|access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref> The fashion retailer H&M closed 250 shops throughout the globe and moved the majority of its operations online. The H&M Group's sales growth remained at −34% year-over-year from 2020 week 12 to week 22.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=IEJRD |date=10 June 2022 |title=Impact of Covid-19 on H&M |website=Center for Open Science |url=https://osf.io/7yhxg/ |url-access=subscription|language=en |doi=10.17605/OSF.IO/7YHXG}}</ref>

[[File:H&M Global map Including Georgia.png|thumb|Countries in which H&M operates in (2025)]]

=== Withdrawal from the Russian market (2022) ===
Along with [[Boycott of Russia and Belarus|hundreds of other global companies]], H&M announced on 2 March 2022, an end to retail operations of its more than 150 stores in [[Russia]] as a result of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. H&M cited that it stands "with all the people who are suffering" in Ukraine as well as for "the safety of customers and colleagues" in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 March 2022 |title=H&M Group temporarily pauses all sales in Russia |url=https://hmgroup-prd-app.azurewebsites.net/news/hm-group-temporarily-pauses-all-sales-in-russia/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605053931/https://hmgroup-prd-app.azurewebsites.net/news/hm-group-temporarily-pauses-all-sales-in-russia/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 June 2023 |access-date=6 March 2022 |website=H&M Group |language=en-US }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 March 2022 |title=Ukraine conflict: Growing numbers of firms pull back from Russia |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60571133 |access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref> Having recently expanded via its Weekday and & Other Stories formats, Russia was H&M's sixth-biggest market at the time, representing 4% of group sales in the fourth quarter of 2021. The company also temporarily closed its Ukraine stores, which remain closed as of 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maheshwari |first=Sapna |date=2 March 2022 |title=H&M halts sales in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/business/hm-russia-ukraine.html |access-date=6 May 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 2022 |title=H&M to sell off stock before leaving Russia |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62203816 |access-date=6 May 2023}}</ref>

=== Supplies ===
H&M sources its clothing products from various countries globally. The primary manufacturing locations for H&M products are [[China]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[India]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zara, H&M among brands accused of exploiting Bangladesh workers |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/11/fashion-brands-paid-less-than-production-cost-to-bangladesh-firms |access-date=9 August 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> While H&M's headquarters is in [[Sweden]], it operates 21 supplier and factory locations within the country.