IN GERMANY
Chris Vorbeck
HISTORY OF H&M
 1947: First Hennes
opens in Sweden
 1968: Hennes buys
Mauritz Widforss –
becomes H&M
 Today, H&M has over
3,000 locations in 53
countries
“Fashion & quality at
the best price.”
H&M IN GERMANY
 In 1980, H&M opened
their first store in
Germany
 Unlike other German
clothing-retail stores
 H&M’s top market
 Represents just 2% of
German clothing-retail
market
TARGET AUDIENCE
 18-35 year olds, especially females
 Middle Class- Power Distance
 Individualistic
 Brand Loyalty
H&M COMPETITORS
 H&M’s top competitor
 World’s number one apparel retailer
 Doesn’t advertise; spends that money on new
stores
 Produces around 11,000 unique items
 1770 stores worldwide, 69 in Germany
 Successful because of speedy product development
 Takes 4-5 weeks compared to industry standard
of 6 months
 Based out of Los Angeles
 Very new in Germany
 1st German store opened June 8th, 2013
 Opening stores in Munich and Frankfurt
 480 Forever 21 locations worldwide, 2 in
Germany
 Also new to Germany
 Founded in England
 440 shops in 37 countries
 Sells out of the department store Karstadt
 Plans to open 30,000 stores in Germany
Township
 3 Karstadt-Topshop stores in Germany
 Founded in 1969 out of San Francisco
 World’s second largest apparel retailer
 Operates Athleta, Banana Republic & Old
Navy
 GAP has over 3,100 locations internationally
 In 2004, GAP had 10 German locations
 H&M bought them out
H&M IN THE MARKET
 ZARA is number one in sales worldwide
 H&M dominates the German market
 High concentration of stores
 German stores bring in most money
worldwide for H&M
 Followed by US
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
 Established brand, particularly in Germany
 Leader in global market
 Quality clothing at low price-points
 “Fast fashion” = fast production cycle
 Focus on sustainability and environmentalism
 Continuously increasing profits
 Offer trendy products and staple items
 Collaborations with celebrity designers
 Something for everyone
WEAKNESSES
 Quality of clothing perceived low
 “Throw-away






fashion”
Overstocking of goods with no guarantee of
selling
Online shopping not available in all markets
Lack of innovation – “copycat” clothing
Large target audience – no real focus
Fit of clothing not consistent throughout brands
Definition of “trendy” not the same everywhere
OPPORTUNITIES
 Continue expanding into new and existing
markets
 Promote current sustainability practices
 Establish stores as one-stop shop
 Focus on price conscious consumers and
advertise accordingly
 Online and mobile shopping capabilities
 Collaborate with country-specific fashion
designers
THREATS
 Primary competitors: Forever 21, Topshop, Gap, ZARA
 Secondary competitors: Urban Outfitters, Express,




Charlotte Russe
Trends change quickly and frequently
Chinese market threat to German market
Long term investments potentially not panning out
External changes




Government policies
Politics
Taxes and exchange rate fluctuations
Unemployment/bad European economy

Decrease in discretionary spending
GERMAN MAGAZINE ADS
GERMAN WEBSITE IMAGES
GERMAN BILLBOARD ADS
GERMAN TELEVISION COMMERCIAL
TELEVISION COMMERCIAL
(ACROSS EUROPE)
DAVID BECKHAM
AUTOGRAPH SIGNING IN BERLIN
STOREFRONT IN BERLIN
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
 Triple Bottom Line Approach
Seven Commitments:
1. Provide Fashion for Conscious Customers
2. Choose and Reward Responsible Partners
3. Be Ethical
4. Be Climate Smart
5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
6.Use Natural Resources Responsibly
7. Strengthen Communities