Fashion giant H&M's sales recover in March as stores reopen after lockdowns | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
June 08, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JUNE 08, 2025
Fashion giant H&M's sales recover in March as stores reopen after lockdowns

World+Biz

Reuters
15 March, 2021, 03:25 pm
Last modified: 15 March, 2021, 03:28 pm

Related News

  • ICB moves to recover stuck FDRs from troubled NBFIs and banks
  • Govt prepares to reclaim $4.52b pre-independence assets from Pakistan
  • Affordable luxury: Bangladeshi shoppers turn to A-grade replicas
  • Weak banks may take 5-10 years to recover: Cenbank governor
  • Jessia’s ideal Valentine’s Day date

Fashion giant H&M's sales recover in March as stores reopen after lockdowns

Reuters
15 March, 2021, 03:25 pm
Last modified: 15 March, 2021, 03:28 pm
FILE PHOTO: Clients wait in front of a re-opened H&M clothing store after the Swiss government relaxed some of its COVID-19 restrictions, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, at the Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
FILE PHOTO: Clients wait in front of a re-opened H&M clothing store after the Swiss government relaxed some of its COVID-19 restrictions, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, at the Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Sales at fashion group H&M fell slightly less than expected in the three months through February and rose in the first half of March as pandemic restrictions were eased in some markets, allowing hundreds of stores to reopen.

The world's second-biggest apparel retailer said on Monday net sales fell 27% from a year earlier, or 21% when measured in local currencies, to 40.1 billion crowns ($4.72 billion).

Analysts had on average forecast a 30% decline in net sales for the period - the Swedish group's fiscal first quarter - according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"Sales development was significantly affected by the Covid-19 situation, with extensive restrictions and at most over 1,800 stores temporarily closed," H&M said in a statement.

"Since the beginning of February, a number of markets have gradually allowed stores to reopen and at the end of the quarter around 1,300 stores remained temporarily closed," it said, adding that online sales had continued to develop very well.

RBC analyst Richard Chamberlain, who has a "sector perform" rating on H&M's shares, said the figures implied that online sales had provided a stronger-than-expected boost in February.

H&M said sales in the March 1–13 period were up 10% in local currencies as many countries, including single-biggest market Germany, began allowing some stores to reopen. However, about 900 of H&M's approximately 5,000 stores remained closed due to pandemic lockdowns as of March 13.

Chamberlain said most stores should be open by mid-April bar new lockdowns in Europe, H&M's main market.

"As such, we see potential for a strong sales recovery in the remainder of the year, with potential for gross margin to surprise on the upside, due to the weaker U.S. dollar," he said.

Market leader Inditex, the owner of Zara, last week forecast a return to healthy sales as soon as lockdown are lifted, as it reported a 70% fall in profit for its fiscal year through January. It predicted all its shops would be open by mid-April.

H&M, whose full December-February earnings report is due on March 31, is bracing for a loss in the quarter after the pandemic slashed 2020 profits by 88%.

Shares in H&M were up 3% in early trading, taking a year-to-date rise to 32%

lockdowns / Fashion / recover

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • A car burns in Los Angeles during protests against US immigration agents. Photo: Reuters
    Trump deploys National Guard as Los Angeles protests against immigration agents continue
  • Bodies of Palestinians at Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, who were killed in Israeli strikes, on 7 June 2025. Photo: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
    Israeli airstrikes kill over 70 in Gaza on second day of Eid, including 16 in one family home
  • Rawhide collected from various parts of the city. Photo taken on 7 June in Old Dhaka. Rajib Dhar/ TBS
    Rawhide prices see slight increase, but below fair value

MOST VIEWED

  • Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and his wife exchange Eid greetings with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka today (7 June). Photo: CA Press Wing
    Army chief exchanges Eid greetings with CA Yunus
  • Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal
    From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics
  • BNP Standing Committee criticises chief adviser's speech, calls for national election by December
    BNP Standing Committee criticises chief adviser's speech, calls for national election by December
  • Rawhide collected from various parts of the city. Photo taken on 7 June in Old Dhaka. Rajib Dhar/ TBS
    Rawhide prices see slight increase, but below fair value
  • CA’s televised address to the nation on the eve of the Eid-ul-Adha on 6 June. Photo: Focus Bangla
    National election to be held any day in first half of April 2026: CA
  • BNP leaders lay a wreath at the grave of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka on 7 June 2025. Photo: BSS
    April not suitable for national polls: Fakhrul

Related News

  • ICB moves to recover stuck FDRs from troubled NBFIs and banks
  • Govt prepares to reclaim $4.52b pre-independence assets from Pakistan
  • Affordable luxury: Bangladeshi shoppers turn to A-grade replicas
  • Weak banks may take 5-10 years to recover: Cenbank governor
  • Jessia’s ideal Valentine’s Day date

Features

Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

20h | Bangladesh
Illustration: TBS

Unbearable weight of the white coat: The mental health crisis in our medical colleges

3d | Panorama
(From left) Sadia Haque, Sylvana Quader Sinha and Tasfia Tasbin. Sketch: TBS

Meet the women driving Bangladesh’s startup revolution

4d | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

The GOAT of all goats!

5d | Magazine

More Videos from TBS

Power shift in Chinese politics, Is Li Qiang emerging in Xi Jinping's shadow?

Power shift in Chinese politics, Is Li Qiang emerging in Xi Jinping's shadow?

14h | TBS World
Commercial cultivation of red and black grapes on the soil of Bangladesh

Commercial cultivation of red and black grapes on the soil of Bangladesh

1h | TBS Stories
Eid joy fills the capital, with residents busy performing animal sacrifices

Eid joy fills the capital, with residents busy performing animal sacrifices

21h | TBS Today
Chief Advisor offers Eid prayers at National Eidgah

Chief Advisor offers Eid prayers at National Eidgah

21h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net