Retail and Fashion Solutions

Season 2 of the Mere Merchants Podcast is here! Tune in on Spotify to listen to Tom Ott and friends engage in quality conversation regarding the dynamics of building a team. #Teamwork #MereMerchant #Podcast #Retail #Fashion

#H&M just published their Q2/H1 update. In summary: 📈 Sales up by +3% to SEK 59,605m 📈 Gross profit up by +11% to SEK 33,569m 📈 Upgraded stores in London, New York, Seoul and Tokyo have been well received by customers 📈 30% of sales for the first half came from online 📈 The store count has decreased by 80 on last year, or -2% 📈 During the first six months of the current financial year 43 (41) new stores have opened and 93 (107) stores have closed. 📈 A total of 264 (280) of the group’s stores are operated by franchise partners. 🏭 Regional Q2 sales split: Nordics SEK 5514 Western Europe SEK 20,470 Eastern Europe SEK 5561 Southern Europe SEK 7519 NAM/LATAM SEK 13,005 Asia, Oceania and Africa SEK 7536 🏭 Regional store split: Nordics 381 Western Europe 1033 Eastern Europe 478 Southern Europe 595 NAM/LATAM 750 Asia, Oceania and Africa 1082 🏭 Stores by brand H&M 3832 COS 238 Monki 59 Weekday 49 & Other Stories 71 ARKET 36 H&M Home 34 Outlook ✅ June 2024 sales are expected to decrease by 6% in local currencies compared with the same period last year. The June figure is to be seen in the light of strong comparative figures from 2023. The unstable weather in many of the H&M group’s large markets at the start of June 2024 had a negative impact on sales, but sales recovered as the weather normalised at the end of the month. ✅ Investment is increasing in the 2nd half: new store formats with the latest in digital services, local specific assortments for stores in Paris, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Munich, new stores in New York and London ✅ c250 stores globally are being refurbished, a significant increase v PY. ✅ First store in Dominican Republic opens in ’24 (via franchise) ✅ Arket opens stores in Ireland, Poland, Spain and Italy in 2024. ✅ & Other Stories will open on About You marketplace, which serves around 25 markets in Europe. ESG  Sustainability goals 🌎 Environmental organisation Stand.earth awarded the H&M group the highest overall score among leading brands in the fashion industry for its climate work. 🌎 11 leading fashion brands were assessed in the Clean Energy Close Up: H&M, Puma, Nike, Levis, adidas, Gap, VF, Inditex, Lululemon, Fast Retailing, Shein 🌎 Stand.earth awarded H&M the highest total score because of their leading supply chain emissions and renewable electricity targets, and for offering the most tangible financial support, supplier engagement and effective supply chain advocacy 🌎 H&M now offers grants to suppliers to decarbonize – the only brand to do so – by installing rooftop solar, for example. 🌎 Note: Among the most concerning findings in the Stand.earth report is that fast-fashion giant Shein, which earned a 2.5/100 score, increased its absolute emissions by nearly 50% in just one year – now emitting more pollution annually than the nation of Paraguay. The e-retailer’s staggering growth alone threatens to undermine decarbonization progress made by more traditional brands."

Webinar Alert: How Greener Choices can Lead to Better Margins for Brands and Retailers July 9th at 10:30 am EST! We're kicking off a collaboration between Green Story and Sangrove | Impact Shopping™ platform to empower brands to achieve significant sustainability goals and boosting margins. By offering a complete solution, we aim to reduce waste, minimize carbon footprints, and improve business margins, all while supporting informed consumer choices and driving impactful change. Moderating the discussion will be Alexander Shapiro, Head of Strategy at Keko Frankfurt, who will be joined by Akhil Sivanandan, CEO of Green Story and Tatiana Alexa, CEO of Sangrove. We will delve deeper into how you can leverage these technologies to make a meaningful difference! An important event for fashion strategy and sustainability heads to navigate trying times. Integrated Solutions: Understand how the joint offering from Sangrove and Green Story combines to provide comprehensive solutions for waste and carbon footprint reduction and improvements of the bottom line. Innovative Tools: Learn about the cutting-edge tools and platforms provided by Sangrove and Green Story that facilitate sustainable profitable practices for brands. Enhanced Insights: Gain deeper insights into how consumer behavior data from Green Story and Sangrove’s Impact Shopping technology can drive effective change in brands Collaborative Impact: Discover the amplified impact of combining Sangrove’s and Green Story’s expertise and technologies to support sustainable consumption and profitable business practices. #webinar #impact #sustainability #costreduction #consumerreach #fashion