Solid results from restructure have been dented, but fast-fashion label sees potential online.
A recovery in fast-fashion retailer H&M’s sales and profit has been muted by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on stores across Asia. First-quarter data for the company showed global sales growth of almost eight per cent, despite sales in China, the company’s second-largest market, plunging 24 per cent in local currency.
Demand collapsed in February when more than two thirds of the chain’s stores in China were closed, driving sales down 84 per cent.
Kate Ormrod, Lead Retail Analyst at GlobalData, said that while a slow recovery in the Chinese market offered hope for the brand as stores began to reopen, the spread of coronavirus through other markets including Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan saw March sales slump by 46 per cent, contrasting with a seven per cent rise in the same month a year ago.
Online has provided some respite with H&M’s e-commerce sales lifting 17 per cent during the first month of the second quarter, and 47 out of 51 online sites it sells through still operating.
