Retailer Profile October 9 th, 2010

Philosophy and Product  “ To bring you fashion and quality at the best price.”  H&M offers on trend women’s, men’s, teen, and children’s apparel  The company also has their own-brand of cosmetics, accessories and footwear  H&M strives to be able to outfit its customers fro every occasion by offering and extensive product line, form everyday basics to the classics

About H&M  First store was opened in 1947 in Sweden  H&M currently has 2,000 stores in 37 countries  Germany is their largest market  Online shopping is currently available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the UK.  There are currently 196 stores in the United States  They opened their first store in the United States in 2000 in New York City  First west coast store was opened in 2005 in San Francisco  The company currently employ 76,000 people worldwide  H&M has their own-brand of cosmetics, accessories and shoes

H&M’s market  H&M looks to locate its stores in metropolitan cities and trendy shopping centers  Store sizes range, depending on the market, from a few hundred square meters to several thousand square meters  Before opening a store H&M assesses market potential by looking at: “demographic structure, purchasing power, economic growth, infrastructure and political risk...”

SWOT Strengths  The H&M in Portland is the only one between Seattle and San Francisco  Always on trend  Affordable clothing with appeal to all customers  Guest designers collaborate to produce exclusive lines for H&M  Trendy  Rapid delivery rates allows the company to keep up with the fashion industry Weaknesses  Clothes aren’t always of the best quality  Due to wide range of customers, it is to difficult to have specific target market that they aim for  Limited locations  Cannot purchase products online in the United States

SWOT Opportunities  Licensed with designers  H&M’s brand new location in Portland, OR will be its only store in Oregon, increasing customers desire to shop there  H&M continues to expand, opening new stores in several different countries  By having quality apparel at a reasonable price, H&M competes with popular retailers, giving them the opportunity to increase sales  Opening three total stores in the Portland area, gives the company a great chance at becoming the new favorite retailer for Oregonians Threats  Forever 21 is expanding their product lines  Being that H&M is such a new and unique concept, there are very few threats that come along with the company

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