H&M to expand retail in India, push up store count to 20 by 2017

H&M is looking to have about 20 stores in India by December 2017. The Swedish retailer entered India 18 months ago and as of now it has 15 stores spread across nine cities. The long-term plan for India is to grow to 50 stores. The strategy for growth will be to locate stores in malls in Tier I and II cities and to run own outlets.

H&M entered the country through a 100 per cent FDI approval for single brand trade route. It has production offices in Delhi and Bangalore. It is the world’s second largest retailer after Zara. Currently, H&M has one warehouse in Delhi-NCR which caters to its pan-India needs. It will be looking at having one more warehouse in future to meet the growing demand, improve efficiency in its supply chain and also to ensure its products reach its stores as soon as they are launched globally.

The group feels GST implementation and the saturation in Chinese textile market along with problems facing Bangladesh should hold big promise for the Indian textile sector growth. H&M is known for fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way and offers casual to formal wear.