Fashion retail company Hennes & Mauritz AB, popularly known as H&M, sees strong growth potential in the digital medium. It is now ramping up its focus on this segment in India to expand its customers base, according to Fredrik Olsson, Managing Director, H&M.

“At the end of 2018, online sales were roughly 15 per cent (of the total) globally. In India we have been online for less than a year and the Indian online business has grown higher than the average so it is more than 15 per cent. It is an indication that this segment is working here,” he added.

The Stockholm-headquartered company has now collaborated with Flipkart-owned fashion e-commerce firm Myntra to strengthen its omni-channel strategy. The H&M collection will be available on Myntra from Tuesday.

Digital investment

“The first step was to enter the market and get the foundation right, get the stores in place. Now that we are growing we thought to go digital, which happened last year and now we are collaborating with Myntra so as to reach more and more customers. We will continue to invest online,” said Olsson.

The company also opened its own digital store in India last March. “We are collaborating with Myntra because consumers are interested in the digital experience. Having said that the physical stores won’t go away. The key is to find a balance,” added Olsson.

Expansion in tier 2 cities

“Currently our portfolio is such that we are 70 per cent present in tier 1 cities and 30 per cent in tier 2 cities. However, under our long-term plan, we want to be a pan India company. So, in the years to come, it would be 50: 50 between tier 1 and tier 2,” said Janne Einola, Country Manager at H&M India.

Tier 2 cities have great potential as there is wide interest in global fashion, Einola said. However, the supply of real estate is a challenge in these cities, he added.

comment COMMENT NOW