PROFILE: H&M

H&M has been at the forefront of affordable chic for some time now. From its Swedish base,
Hennes and Mauritz has grown into a major multinational clothes and cosmetics retailer. Just
the place for fashionistas, it now has over 1500 outlets in 28 countries and a turnover in 2007
of over SEK92bn. H&M was one of the first to challenge the retail clothing sector by
delivering fast fashion at low prices. The company offers different concepts for women, men,
teenagers and children and includes everything from modern basics to high fashion. The
collections are supplemented by matching accessories, nightwear, underwear and cosmetics.
However H&M does not have factories of its own but has a multitude of designers and buyers
and works with around 700 independent suppliers to produce clothing collections for almost
everyone, all at affordable prices. H&M lives by its business concept, fashion and quality at
the best price.

Expansion at H&M is the name of the game with 168 new stores being opened last year. The
availability of attractive business locations is the major deciding factor but most recently
there has been specific focus on the US, Spain, Germany, France and Canada. That said, a
weather eye is also being kept on emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, China and
Japan. The companys expansion has been entirely self-financed and with sales over the past
5 years increasing by 72% and earnings per share by 183%, the company can certainly afford
it.
H&M is not solely reliant on new fashion store openings however: it also aims to expand its
product range organically. Alongside launching H&M home, extending its ladies footwear
range and growing its online shopping, it has recently launched a new chain called Collection
of Style, or COS, which is an upscale version of its current H&M stores which merges high
fashion with extremely competitive pricing. H&M mixes cool organised efficiency with zany
fashion pizzazz. Or, to put it more practically, they have combined good basics with the hot-
off-the-catwalk designs which keep people talking all at a low prices. Store displays are
designed to inspire but the essence of H&M is that it allows customers to find and experiment
with their own style, irrespective of occasion and on a limited budget. Turnover is fast and
stock is changed on a daily basis.
Although global in reach, H&M also recognises the power of local. Whereas other firms
provide a ubiquitous retail experience with the same product range in San Francisco, Paris
and Tokyo, H&M thrives on tailoring the ever-changing product mix to local tastes and
buying preferences. This is attributed to the companys fast feedback from each store into a
central IT and logistics operation that pushes the right products out from its Hamburg
distribution hub. In a world where product innovation is the apparent differentiator, H&M
also gains from expertise in process innovation.
Collaboration has also worked well for H&M. Following on from the breakthrough Karl
Largerfield range in 2004, subsequent celebrity endorsements have included Madonna,
Viktor and Rolf, Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli. H&M have even won the support of
the pop princess herself, Kylie Mingoue, whose clothing range was launched in Shanghai in
2007. Alongside this, H&M is also a big supporter of UN programmes, the Designers Against
Aids initiative and campaigns to increase the use of organic cotton, reduce the use of
chemicals and the implement more energy efficient transportation. H&M is the undeniable
leader in global fashion retail and looks like maintaining this position for some time to come.
About This Company .
H&M is one of the worlds largest fashion companies and an exciting place to pursue a
career within the fashion industry. Our business idea is to offer our customers fashion and
quality at the best price, and with more stores and new markets added every year the group is
constantly growing. This means that were always looking for new talents to join the team!
The H&M Group employs over 104,000 people and there are more than 3,000 stores in more
than 50 markets in Europe, the Americas, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.


We have a strong corporate culture based on core values that describe how we work. The
most central value is our belief in people: All H&M employees get to take responsibility and
everyones ideas are important. Looking after people and our planet is a natural part of our
daily work everyone within the company is working to achieve a more sustainable
environment and a more sustainable society. Our values also include teamwork and
constantly trying to improve: together we challenge ourselves to do things better and to
always offer the customer an even better H&M.
Planning
Overall Job function: Responsible for maximizing sales to drive profitability. Leads,
manages, and organizes the store according to H&M's shared values, standards, policies and
procedures along with the District team. Serves as manager on duty, manager of a department
and support on the floor when needed in a Symbolic leader function.

Job Responsibility including but not limited to:

People
Manages, recruits, on boards, trains, develops and provides succession planning for all staff
and management team in store
Follows up with management team to ensure proper training and staff assessment is being
completed
Creates and acts on plans for future people development needs within the store
Maintains an overview of all Employee Relations responsibilities in store to ensure a
positive work environment

Commerciality
Actively works with garments, including processing, stocking, replenishing, folding,
hanging, displaying and merchandising per H&M guidelines to maximize selling
opportunities
Responsible for overseeing the maintenance and upkeep of department(s)
Maximizes sales through joint operational and commercial focus and takes action to obtain
highest level of profitability for the store
Manages and ensures stock level is appropriate to maximize selling
Ensures the garment presentation, garment level and visual standards are presented
according to H&M's expectations
Ensures and follows up on all activities concerning campaigns, promotions and sales
activities in his/her store

Operations
Performs cash office operational functions
Ensures proper staff planning according to budget, SPH and store needs
Establishes, monitors and follows up on sales goals, sales plans and sales budgets with
District team to optimize profit
Executes reductions, price changes, and transfers
Unloads delivery truck, receives, opens and unpacks merchandise and labels merchandise
with security tags
Follows and executes safety and security routines to prevent loss and guarantee employee
and customer safety
Has working knowledge and oversees use of all Company systems in store

Customer Service
Provides direct customer service on the sales floor
Leads by symbolic example mentoring staff in providing high quality H&M direct and
indirect customer with the 5 basic demands on the selling floor, in the fitting room and at the
cash point
Rings on the register, reports and handles all required transactions, issues receipts and packs
merchandise

Financial Accountability:
Establishes and oversees plans, budgets and variable cost for store; works with comparable
sales to last year, sales to budget and future trends to maximize profitability within District
team
Accurate recording of sales figures

Minimum Candidate Qualifications:
High School Graduate or equivalent
Preferably 2-3 years of retail management experience or comparable experience

Ability to lift in excess of 20 pounds
Ability to stand for long periods of time, bend, stretch, engage in repetitive motions, push,
pull and carry items (mannequins, clothing, totes, torsos, etc) for a short distance
Ability to climb a ladder and use a step stool

Skills, Abilities and Other Requirements:
Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills
Proven organizational and analytical skills
consistently shows ability to be sales driven and results-oriented by taking action, relating
all decisions back to store results and working to improve P&L
Strong merchandising skills with the ability to drive the business through creativity and
extensive fashion knowledge
Ability to take own initiative and take responsibility for actions
Ability to work strategically, tactically and operationally
Ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment and prioritize effectively
Ability to be clear and convincing when communication goals, information and
expectations to staff
Ability to plan and achieve long and short term goals
Ability to coach and apply appropriate developmental tool for each individual
Experience with preparing and administrating progressive discipline process and
performance management as well as succession planning
Basic computer skills, such as browser navigation, software interaction and data entry are
needed
Open availability including evenings and weekends
Around 5% travel required as necessary (District meetings, workshops, etc)

Organisation

H&M has a matrix organisation in which the Managing Director appoints the
members of the executive management team and country managers.
The executive management team consists of the Managing Director and fifteen other
individuals, six of whom are women. The executive management team is responsible for the
following departments: Finance, Accounts, Buying, Sales & Marketing, Production,
Sustainability, Expansion, New Business, Brand, Communications, Investor Relations,
Human Resources, IT, Logistics and Security.
H&Ms matrix organisation means that the members of the executive management team are
responsible for their departments support, training and best practice, and for each country
working efficiently in accordance with the policies and guidelines issued by the Head Office.
Country managers have overall responsibility for sales, profitability and all departments in
their country.
CEO Karl-Johan Persson
Finance Jyrki Tervonen
Accounts Anders Jonasson
Buying Stina Westerstad
Sales & Marketing Mattias Ankarberg
Production Karl Gunnar Fagerlin
Sustainability Helena Helmersson
Expansion Fredrik Olsson
New Business Madeleine Persson
Brand Anna Tillberg Pantzar
Communications Kristina Stenvinkel
Investor Relations Nils Vinge
Human Resources Sanna Lindberg
IT Kjell-Olof Nilsson
Logistics Jonas Guldstrand
Security Cenneth Cederholm


Leading
Fashion retailer H&M puts ethical sourcing at the centre of its business model, and has been
untouched by the scandals that have dogged some apparel players. Retail Week reports.
When the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed a year ago, tragically killing 1,138
workers, shock waves were felt through the global fashion industry.
Some of the worlds biggest apparel retailers used suppliers based in the factory and as a
result their supply chain practices have come under huge scrutiny.
However, there was one notable name missing from the list of retailers that came under fire,
and that was because of its already robust sustainability and ethical stance: Swedish giant
H&M, one of the largest fashion retailers in the world.
More than most of its peers, H&M has for many years strived to put sustainability at the heart
of everything it does. The retailer says it is investing heavily to secure better lives for those
who work in the factories it buys from, and it was the first retailer to create a far-reaching
strategy to improve the lives of textile workers in developing countries.
One of its priorities is to ensure workers earn a fair living wage. Speaking at the retailers
global headquarters in Stockholm, H&Ms social sustainability manager Anna Gedda says
the retailer is leading the way. Weve been working on wages for a long time, she points
out. We have seen progress but its been a bit slow. Its the single most important question
on sustainability, across the industry and definitely for H&M.
H&Ms fair living wage initiative aims for its strategic suppliers to pay their employees
enough to live adequately on by 2018, affecting 850,000 textile workers.
We were the first brand to come up with this kind of plan, a holistic roadmap towards
achieving something like this, says Gedda. For us its a long-term investment. If we want to
be able to expand or grow we have to do it in a sustainable way.
Fair Wage Method
The retailer has launched trials in three factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia, where it has
implemented the Fair Wage Method, a model whereby wages reflect skills and experience
and salaries are regularly negotiated.
H&M has committed to buying stock from the trial factories for five years, to give them
security, according to Gedda. It will assess the results after 12 months. Environmental
initiatives will also be tested further down the line.
To further improve relations between the factory managers and the workforce, in March the
retailer opened an H&M Training Institute in Dhaka. The retailer wants to train its suppliers
in Bangladesh to encourage dialogue between management and workers. This year it wants
15% of its suppliers to be trained in social dialogue and to install freely elected Workers
Participants Committees. By 2018 it wants to put all its Bangladesh suppliers through the
training.
H&M is also launching a Centre of Excellence in Dhaka, in partnership with the International
Labour Organisation and the Swedish Development Agency. The three-year project, which
starts in the autumn, is intended to provide vocational training that meets textile industry
needs and at the same time drives wages.
About 5,000 students will be trained through the centre by 2016 as H&M aims to help plug
the skills gap in Bangladesh. It says there is an estimated shortage of 250,000 skilled textile
workers in the country.
We want a sustainable solution, not a quick fix, says Gedda. Our vision is that all
suppliers should pay a fair living wage. They should be able to live on the wage and the wage
should be established by fair practices.
If its wider plan is to succeed, Gedda says H&M needs to engage suppliers and their
employees as well as governments, NGOs and trade unions. But she also says the retailer
needs the support of peers. H&M cannot do it on its own. It requires collaboration to reach
the whole industry, says Gedda.
We hope its going to set an example for the rest of the industry. We have a lot of
discussions with other brands. We hope the industry is going to follow.
Sustainable influence
She believes H&M is better placed than many to drive change and says the retailer has an
obligation to lead the charge. With size comes a responsibility and an ability to influence,
she says. We have the muscle to be able to carry it out. Smaller companies may not.
Gedda, clearly passionate about forcing sustainability up the agenda, is lucky in that she has a
boss who is as dedicated about it as she is.
H&M chief executive Karl-Johan Persson went to Bangladesh in 2012 and Cambodia in 2013
to push the sustainability agenda. Theres a very clear commitment from the top, says
Gedda.
Persson said last month: We take a long-term view of our business, and investing in our
sustainability means investing in our future.
But if H&M, a leading fast fashion retailer, is having to plan further in advance, will it be
able to react quickly to trends in the market?
Emphatically yes, says Gedda. Were forcing ourselves to plan better. We can keep the
flexibility. We will ask ourselves what item do we need more flexibility on?
H&M is clearly making a big investment in sustainability although Gedda declines to put a
figure on it but is it really what value-conscious customers want, and will the costs be
passed on to the consumer?
This is not a PR initiative for us. Its important for our customers, we see this as an
investment in our customer offer, Gedda insists. We want our customers to know we take
responsibility.
Were willing to pay suppliers more. We dont think it will have a negative impact on the
prices customers pay. Its a shared responsibility between us and the suppliers. There are
productivity and efficiency gains.
Convincing suppliers
H&M is building a business case to convince suppliers, but it is also being firm if they
refuse to conform, H&M will not do business with them.
It will be a requirement for us, says Gedda. But it is challenging trying to convince them.
Gedda argues there are wider benefits of delivering a living wage, highlighting the recent
high-profile protests in Cambodia and Bangladesh, when workers went on strike against low
pay.
She observes that in those factories with strong employee practices, there were no strikes.
That alone is a business case to the supplier, she says.
Gedda says the Rana Plaza disaster was a wake-up call for the industry. She and her
colleagues were devastated when they heard of it. Everyone in my department had been to
Bangladesh a number of times, she says.
But something good came of the tragedy: Gedda is convinced it was a turning point for the
industry. Weve seen the emergence of the Accord and Alliance [safety initiatives] and we
now have a standard on fire safety. That is a great result, she says.
The wider industry agrees H&M is leading the way. In March it was named one of the
worlds most ethical companies by the Ethisphere Institute.
And after releasing its sustainability report in April Janet Mensink, the international
programme coordinator Cotton & Textiles for Solidaridad Network said: H&Ms
commitment to sustainability and the transparency on targets and achievements serve as an
inspiration for other brands in this sector. Considering the fact that H&M sources from 1,900
factories reaching 1.6 million people, the potential for change is immense.

Controlling
Where strategy rules
Business Controllers at H&M turn analysis into actions. Your skills are crucial to solving
complex work tasks in every department from Sales, Online and Production to Buying,
New Business and IT. Wherever you work, the one thing we all share is a sense of
responsibility, a passion for business and unlimited career opportunities.
As a Business Controller, you are trained to be a future leader in a fast-paced environment.
You need to be able to make complicated matters seem crystal clear to your entire team
where youre usually the sole analyst. Some of us work in Stockholm at the Buying Office or
within our other centrally based departments, while others work in Sales or Production,
placed in any of our worldwide markets.
In short, Business Controlling is a field full of opportunities, with placements available
throughout our organisation. We reach our business goals by turning analysis into actions.
E-shop
How t o shop
Orders can be placed on our website, using our app or by phone 03 44 736 9000 (calls from a
UK landline will be at the basic national call rate-mobiles may vary, please check with your
provider). You must be aged 18 years old or over and provide a UK residential address. If
you have seen an item in the catalogue, just enter the article number in Order from
catalogue. Items are saved in the shopping bag for 7 days but dont wait too long, the items
are not reserved.
When you're finished shopping, click on the Shopping bag to place your order. Price and
availability will be displayed. You may also edit your order at this time. When youre happy
with your order, proceed to checkout.
Once you have placed your order, you will receive an email confirmation. An additional
email will be sent to notify you when your order is ready to be shipped. You can track your
order by logging in toMy H&M.
Pri ces and del i ver y char ge
The prices displayed on our website do not include delivery costs.
The cost of delivery for each order is 3.90, regardless of the size or weight of your order. If
we are unable to deliver your order in full and have to make more than one delivery, there
will be no additional charge for the subsequent deliveries. For more information, go
to Shipping and Delivery. Orders must be over 6.00 for the parcel to be dispatched, this
excludes delivery charges.

Strategic plan
We are growing with quality, sustainability and high profitability. H&M offers a
wide range of inspiring fashion for everyone, and is growing with new stores the
world over and online. There is room for further expansion for the Group in
existing markets as well as in new countries.
H&Ms expansion target is to increase the number of stores by 1015 percent per year.
We continue to grow in new and existing markets with a focus on quality, sustainability and
continued high profitability.
H&Ms growth target is to increase the number of stores by 1015 percent per year, and at
the same time increase sales in comparable units. Expansion includes H&M as well as COS,
Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories and H&M Home.
The strong pace of expansion continues into 2014 with a planned 375 new stores net. Most
new stores in 2014 are planned to open in China and the US. There are also still opportunities
for expansion in other existing markets and in new markets.
Sustainable growth
Years of success and solid growth have resulted in a strong financial position. This allows us
to make the most of each business opportunity and create potential for continued expansion
with focus on quality, sustainability and continued high profitability.
Before we move into a new country or city an assessment is made of the markets potential.
Factors such as demographic structure, purchasing power, economic growth, infrastructure,
political risk, human rights and environmental sustainability are analysed.

Our stores

Our stores should always be in the best locations for business. By leasing store premises
instead of owning them we remain flexible in a constantly evolving retail landscape, and can
make sure we are represented in the most attractive streets and shopping centres in all our
markets.
H&M stores are run by H&M, with the exception of some markets where we collaborate with
franchising partners. Franchising is not part of the general expansion strategy.
Sustainability is key to the company business and we are working actively to make both
existing and new stores sustainable in the long term. This includes recycling waste, changing
to more energy and water efficient systems and selecting the more environmentally
responsible materials, such as certified wood or recycled materials.
Online expansion
To meet the rapid development of the online market, in particular shopping via smart phones
and tablets, our investments into distance selling continues.
H&Ms shop online is available in 12 markets, including the US. The easily navigated digital
store is fully mobile-adapted and very popular with our customers. Roll-out of shop online to
other markets of the H&M Group will follow.
COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday offer sales online in 18 European markets and
COS also offers shopping online in the US, while & Other Stories is available online in 12
European markets.