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Understand any stock in simple English
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H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ)

H&M sells affordable clothes and accessories in stores and online around the world.

H&M is a fashion company. It designs, makes, and sells cheap-but-stylish clothes, shoes, and accessories for men, women, and kids. It sells through thousands of physical stores in dozens of countries and through its own websites and apps. Customers pay at the register or online, and H&M keeps the difference between what it charges and what the clothes cost to make and ship. That gap is its profit. Think of it as a giant global closet: it stocks trendy basics fast, sells them at low prices, and relies on huge volume to make money. Its biggest markets are Europe and the United States, and its headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden.

The company runs several brands, but the main one is H&M itself, which brings in most of the revenue. Other brands include COS, which sells slightly more upscale minimalist clothing, and Arket, Weekday, Monki, and & Other Stories, each targeting a different style and price point. Most sales still come from the flagship H&M brand, roughly 90% or so. The business has struggled with slower growth in recent years as rivals like Shein and Zara grab shoppers, so H&M has been cutting costs, closing some stores, and investing more in online shopping and faster delivery. It also faces pressure from regulators and activists over how its clothes are made and thrown away, which pushes it to use more recycled materials and improve working conditions in its supply chain.

H&M was founded in 1947 in Sweden and grew into one of the world's biggest fashion retailers by offering cheap copies of catwalk trends. It pays out a big chunk of its profit as dividends to shareholders and has bought back some of its own shares. The family of founder Erling Persson still holds a large stake, so the company tends to think in decades, not quarters. In short: it's a volume business built on speed, low prices, and global scale, and its future depends on keeping shoppers interested while cleaning up how its clothes are made.

Saved answer · last researched 14 Oct 2026