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Fast fashion retailer H&M has confirmed that it will be closing a number of stores across the UK in Burton, Hartlepool, Maidenhead and Newport on the Isle of Wight.
The decision follows H&M Group’s financial results which indicated a 87% year-on-year fall in operating profit to £64.5m in the fourth quarter of 2022.
According to H&M Group, which also owns high street brands Cos, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories and Arket, the downturn in sales is due to “a rapid change in customer behaviour”.
In addition, the company attributed its waning profits to its retreat from the Russian market as a result of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as its cost-cutting drive that was also announced last year.
An H&M spokesperson said: “We continuously need to evaluate and develop our business to meet our customer’s needs and offer the best possible shopping experience, whether it’s online or in our physical stores. Our ambition is to continue investing in our customers, open new stores where we see opportunities and develop our digital channels.
“We continuously evaluate how we should invest in stores and sometimes decisions must be made to enable long-term growth. This means that we sometimes need to close stores.”
