While walking around in my new city of residence until Christmas, the beautiful city of Madrid, I saw something that reminded me of home, namely the H&M store at Gran vía. Being a Scandinavian, more precisely a Norwegian, I always feel a bit at home when I see an H&M in a foreign country.
The shops of H&M have always been around as long as I can remember and have always been a place where you buy your, usually “basic” pieces of clothing. The first H&M shop only opened in Spain as late as in 2000, but in Norway, we have had shops since 1964. The Swedish company with the strange name, (Hennes= Hers, and Mauritz, name of Stockholms old hunting and equipment store), famous for selling and making fashionable clothing designs at cheap prices, was first founded by Erling Persson in 1947. After the Second World War, companies that were efficient and of high-volume became very important in production of clothes as well as other things. During a trip to the U.S, Persson noticed companies such as Barneys and Macys, and got impressed as well as inspired to create a similar company in Scandinavia. Today, H&M has over 70.000 employees and more than 1900 stores in 34 different countries.
From the 70´s and onward, H&M experienced a major expansion in Europe and by the 90´s there were stores in France, Belgium, Germany and most of Europe. The H&M company experienced a major boom in their sales in the late 90´s and more and more stores were created, thus making it necessary to have more designs and “Pret à porter” items in the store. The company now started making shoes, underwear, cosmetics, hair accessories, bags, jewellery, scarves and hats in addition to the clothing pieces. There was also created sport clothing, outerwear, swimwear and a very improved line of men’s clothing that included men’s accessories.
The design of the shops also improved very much, from being a bit unorganized to achieving a very simple and Scandinavian design which would make it easier for the costumers. Very clean and cut lines using brushed metal and clear colours are typical at H&M. The stores were divided into different stories for men, women and children. Today you also find departments for the teenage customers (DIVIDED) both for guys and girls, for pregnant women and for the more adult woman. There are often different stores for cosmetics and underwear but they are also found in different stories of the same H&M.
The H&M that is found in the Gran vía here in Madrid is truly amazing. However, it does not have the same design as the ones in Scandinavia, but the location in which it is found also makes it impossible. The building (a former movie theatre) is the most beautiful building I have ever seen an H&M in. It gives the store a romantic and southern-Europe look.
This autumn, the famous brand accessory “Jimmy Choo” will have a both men and woman bag and shoe collection at H&M. The collection will be available from November 14th in most stores.
In the later years, the company has collaborated with famous designers and celebrities.
Some names that are to mention should be British Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson, Italian Roberto Cavalli, Japanese Rei Kawakabo and celebrities like the pop-singer Madonna or Kylie Minogue. This can certainly be seen as one of the reasons why H&M has been such a success these previous years as these star and designer appearances received a lot of media attention.
The two biggest competitors to H&M are said to be Zara and the American Gap. Although the Swedish company has progressed enormously, it does not have the same efficiency such as the Spanish Zara in renewing their collections. It takes a slightly longer time before new clothes are in the stores compared to at Zara where new collections appear every second week. However, the fact that H&M has a much larger cosmetic and jewellery collection than Zara makes it a good competitor.
The key points in the success of H&M have been to manage to copy the American business companies in Europe, making fashionable clothing at very low prices. The company is careful to assure that products are manufactured under good working conditions and has a set of strict environmental policies. Conversely, H&M´s production does not at all take place in its country of origin, in difference to Zara where 50% of production occurs in Spain. The company depends upon cheaper labour to exist. Sweden is not famous for clothing production and labour is very expensive so this may be why no production happens in Sweden.
On the other hand, H&M comes out after several comparisons as one of the worst clothing stores when it comes to customer service. One reason may be because the stores are far too big for the number of assistants available, as the company is more focused on the gains of large scale productions and is not famous for its customer service. The fact that they have reorganized their store and its design so that you easily find what you are searching for is also a key point in its success, but the customer is left to him or her-self while shopping. While collaborating with famous names, H&M has gained media attention – this may also show a weak point in the company as they rely on famous names for their sales. Then again, H&M manages to balance classic style with high fashion – meaning you can find the basic pieces you need and also the latest fashion.
Hennes and Mauritz has been called the “one stop shop”, the name says it all – you can find everything from baby clothes to men’s ties in one single store, but it will be up to you as a customer to look for it.
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