Fashion industry Fashion chain H&M with weak June sales due to bad weather

Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has made a weak start to its third financial quarter (to the end of August). Sales in June are likely to be six percent below the previous year's figure in local currency, the Swedish company announced in Stockholm on Thursday.

Bad weather in numerous markets had a negative impact on business, especially at the beginning of the month. In addition, there was a high comparative value for sales in June 2023.

The new H&M CEO Daniel Ervér is nevertheless sticking to his annual target and is still aiming for an operating margin of 10 percent in 2024. "However, the conditions to reach this level have become more challenging," said Ervér according to the press release. He referred to more expensive materials in purchasing and less favorable exchange rates, which are likely to have a stronger negative impact on sales in the second half of the financial year.

H&M was also disappointing in the second quarter. Sales rose by three percent to 59.6 billion Swedish kronor (around 5.1 billion Swiss francs). Operating profit climbed from 4.7 billion kronor in the same period last year to 7.1 billion kronor. After tax, H&M earned just under 5 billion kronor, a good half more than a year ago.