Marketing Plan for H&M
Background of the Brand H&M
Hennes & Mauritz, better known as H&M, is a worldwide apparel company, which sells clothing for women, men and children as well as cosmetics and home furnishings. H&M is continually working toward the goal of "giving the customer unbeatable value through the combination of fashion, quality and price" and it is no surprise that the corporation is homed in Sweden, which is the home of all things affordably trendy or trendily affordable such as IKEA, Ericsson, and ABBA. Hennes (Swedish for "hers") was founded in 1947 by Erling Persson following a post-WWII trip to the States during which time the novelties trader was much impressed by efficient, high-volume outfits like Macy’s and Barney’s. In the 1960s the company added the hunting, outdoor gear and menswear store Mauritz, scrapping the hunting and the outdoor but keeping the men. Expanding through Europe, H&M entered and prospered in neighboring Finland, Norway and Denmark, moving later, and profitably, to the UK, France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It is in these outside countries that H&M reaps more than 80% of its US$ 15 billion-plus in sales. H&M has continual growth over the last three decades, and the company now counts more than 1,900 stores across 37 countries and employees 74,000 people and hopes to reach 2,000 stores by the end of 2010.
Brand Planning and Assessment
Position of H&M’s Brand
H&M is the 21st best global brand in the world and is worth an estimated 15 billion. A great deal of H&M’s success can be attributed to the ability of its in-house designers, and its ability to quickly recognize trends and act before competitors. They are making designs and products that look very much like what other more modish, more chic, more expensive, designers are releasing but for much less. H&M is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing clothing retailers. The company is also a pioneer of fast fashion, a term used to
Hennes & Mauritz, better known as H&M, is a worldwide apparel company, which sells clothing for women, men and children as well as cosmetics and home furnishings. H&M is continually working toward the goal of "giving the customer unbeatable value through the combination of fashion, quality and price" and it is no surprise that the corporation is homed in Sweden, which is the home of all things affordably trendy or trendily affordable such as IKEA, Ericsson, and ABBA. Hennes (Swedish for "hers") was founded in 1947 by Erling Persson following a post-WWII trip to the States during which time the novelties trader was much impressed by efficient, high-volume outfits like Macy’s and Barney’s. In the 1960s the company added the hunting, outdoor gear and menswear store Mauritz, scrapping the hunting and the outdoor but keeping the men. Expanding through Europe, H&M entered and prospered in neighboring Finland, Norway and Denmark, moving later, and profitably, to the UK, France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It is in these outside countries that H&M reaps more than 80% of its US$ 15 billion-plus in sales. H&M has continual growth over the last three decades, and the company now counts more than 1,900 stores across 37 countries and employees 74,000 people and hopes to reach 2,000 stores by the end of 2010.
Brand Planning and Assessment
Position of H&M’s Brand
H&M is the 21st best global brand in the world and is worth an estimated 15 billion. A great deal of H&M’s success can be attributed to the ability of its in-house designers, and its ability to quickly recognize trends and act before competitors. They are making designs and products that look very much like what other more modish, more chic, more expensive, designers are releasing but for much less. H&M is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing clothing retailers. The company is also a pioneer of fast fashion, a term used to
Cited: 1. Alexander, Hilary. "H&M Nabs A Piece of Fashion History." The Daily Telegraph [London] 18 Jan. 2010, 2nd ed., sec. 7: 1-3. Print. 2 3. Berwin, Lisa M. "H&M Moves In On Home." Retail Weekly 5 Feb. 2010: 1-2. Web. 4 5. Dietz, Jaclyn. "Profile of H&M: A Pioneer of Fast Fashion." Textiles Intelligence 13.2 (2009): 1-28. Business Research Markets. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. 6 7. Jupiter, Ryan A. "Number Crunch for H&M." Business Archives 27.1 (2009): 1-23. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. 8 9. Lully, Stacy S. "H&M Joins Zara With Expansion Plans As New Players Enter Sector." LexisNexis Academic. 5 Mar. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. 10 11. Michael, Jennifer M. "H&M Keeping Fast Fashion Fresh and Profitable." The New York Times [New York City] 10 Nov. 2009: 1-4. Print. 12 13. Ramio, Rosalyn. "H&M Fashion Statement." Sarasota Magazine 12 Sept. 2009: 1-37. Regional Business News. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. Shumbin, Nihon Keizai Shimbun