Business Services

H&M and the Concept of Fast Fashion

By Phin Upham

H&M has been growing in popularity all across America, but it’s a Swedish brand. Today, the company employs more than 100,000 people all over the world, and it has 3,500 stores spread across 55 countries.

It was opened in 1947, after Erling Persson took a trip to the United States. Either our fashions were behind the times or too expensive, because Persson got the idea to offer affordable high-fashion. He began with a shop called “Hennes,”which means “for her” in Swedish, and sold women’s clothing only.

Upon acquiring the hunting apparel company “Mauritz Widforss,” H&M began its earliest iteration. The hunting apparel company brought men’s clothing to the store, and the company officially changes its name in 1998. Signified ritualistically with the purchase of a domain name.

The company did not pioneer fast-fashion, but it has shown to be quite adept at it. The practice involves fashion that moves quickly from catwalk to consumer, and it’s typically fashion made cheaply. This is why H&M offers such bargain boutique prices with clothing that feels new. H&M’s design team in Sweden controls all aspects of production. They outsource most of their work, but the planning and sale of merchandise is handled primarily by the company itself.

H&M also offers accessories, including jewelry and purses, in addition to its clothing line. It also announced plans to sell furniture in its stores as of 2009, but none of the H&M Home stores are available in America. The closes, should one feel so inclined, would involve a trip to Mexico.

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About the Author: Phin Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or Twitter page.