H&M and Zara are closing stores to boost e-commerce
Hennes & Mauritz, (the Swedish company behind H&M, & Other Stories and Weekday), and Spanish Inditex, (which includes Zara and Massimo Dutti) have started benefiting from the decision to shunt physical stores (in an effort to boost online offerings) which was initiated last year.
According to a recent Fortune article, the closure of 140 stores helped H&M to get back on track (from struggling earnings), as a result of which the company wants to continue the strategy. Whereas this year, 175 new stores of the Swedish fashion giant was to open, that number has now been reduced to 130. Zara closed 355 stores last year and reportedly wants to close 250 more, although it does plan on opening 300 more.
Both companies will focus more on e-commerce stores with shopping experiences getting better and more extensive. For example, Inditex recently opened online stores in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Israel, and Indonesia (where their new sustainability objectives will undoubtedly also play a role). In their own words, H&M also has plans to offer better navigation on their web stores, clearer product descriptions and images and shorter delivery times.
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