Fashion Retailer H&M Seeks To Double Turnover By 2030

Swedish fashion giant H&M has announced ambitious goals for the rest of the decade recently, in clear expectation of an end to the coronavirus pandemic that has dampened shoppers' enthusiasm, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Photo Insert: An H&M outlet in Munich, Germany

The company said it plans to double its 2021 turnover by 2030 at the latest, with growth to be supported by the expansion of the company's online business and its entry into new markets. H&M also announced plans to reduce its carbon footprint and to increase its investments.

The long-term goal is to increase revenues by 10 to 15 percent per year while maintaining high profitability, it said.

This year, H&M plans to open shops in six new countries, including Ecuador, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. Online retailing is also to be rolled out in more countries. The group simultaneously aims to halve its 2019 carbon footprint by 2030.

For 2022, H&M announced investments of 10 billion Swedish kronor ($1 billion.) In the 2020/21 financial year, the company turned over 199 billion kronor - up 12 per cent year-on-year in constant currency. Profit during the same period climbed from 1.2 billion kronor to 11 billion kronor.

Shareholders are to receive a dividend of 6.50 kroner per share. In addition, the group intends to spend 3 billion kroner to buy back its own stock to support the share price. Shareholders have recently been unhappy with the share price, which fell by about 15 percent during the past two years.

By comparison, the Swedish benchmark index OMX Stockholm 30 rose by almost 30 percent during the same period.

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