As cities stay locked down due to COVID or open with major restrictions, major clothing retailer H&M has decided to close about 250 stores in the U.S.
The pandemic forced H&M to temporarily shutter about 80 percent of its shops earlier in the year and continued to hammer its business in its fiscal third quarter, which runs from June through August.
Sales: The chain said its net sales dropped 19 percent to 50.8 billion Swedish krona, or about $5.7 billion, during the three-month period and remained 5 percent below last year’s levels in September even though most stores have reopened.
Brick & Mortar retail apocalypse: BDO announced a report that U.S. American retailers have announced plans to close a record 10,226.
Online sales for the company however: Saw a 27 percent surge in online sales over the course of the quarter. The Stockholm-based company reported a quarterly pre-tax profit of about 2.4 billion krona (roughly $265.7 million), which beat estimates of about 2 billion krona despite falling from roughly 5 billion krona in the year-earlier period.
H&M CEO Helena Helmersson said: “More and more customers started shopping online during the pandemic, and they are making it clear that they value a convenient and inspiring experience in which stores and online interact and strengthen each other.”