Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a Swedish global clothing retailer that manufactures fast-fashion clothing items for men, women, youngsters, and children.
H&M is based in Stockholm with 126,000 full-time, applicable employees in 74 countries, with over 5,000 stores under several company names.
H&M is the world’s second-largest fashion brand, after Spain’s Inditex (parent company of Zara). H&M’s founder was Erling Persson, and now it’s owned by his son Stefan Persson and the CEO, Helena Helmersson.
In this article, we’ll look at whether or not H&M is a good brand. Are their products of good quality? Is it any good compared to Zara? Let’s dive into it!
H&M’s History
Erling Persson started H&M in 1947 and launched his first store in Västers, Sweden.
Hennes (Swedish for “hers”) was a business that only offered women’s fashion at the beginning.
In 1968, Persson purchased the Stockholm-based hunting gear retailer Mauritz Widforss, which resulted in the addition of a men’s fashion line to the already-existing women’s product line, and the company was renamed as Hennes & Mauritz.
The company went public on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1974. And in 1976, they opened their first store outside of Scandinavia, in London.
According to Whois data, H&M continued to evolve in Europe and started their business online, with the domain hm.com which was registered in 1997.
In a news release in 2008, the company stated that it would start offering home goods as well. H&M home goods are now available in stores all over the world, initially supplied through the company’s online listing.
Is H&M A Good-Quality Retailer? Is It Fast-Fashion?
H&M is one of the most well-known brands in the world, and their apparel is loved by millions worldwide!
H&M uses environmentally friendly materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester in some of its items. The company was one of the first to carry a “conscious” line of sustainable clothing in its stores.
Unfortunately, the production process of H&M is reported to be energy-intensive and thus is unfortunately not environmentally friendly. The company continues to run in an unsustainable manner.
H&M clothing production involves the use of harmful dyes, solvents, and pesticides daily, which results in yielding large amounts of carbon emissions. The production process also consumes a huge quantity of fresh water and pollutes land resources.
You must realize that H&M’s business model is based on the consumer’s view of clothing as disposable.
It is not beneficial to the environment to mass-produce and push out clothing for 52 tiny fashion seasons. It encourages people to throw out what they have and get the next best thing.
These businesses that are built on fast fashion and disposable products are damaging to the environment because they focus on quantity and not quality.
Their efficient supply lines rely on factory employees who are often unpaid and also on outsourced materials, which are harmful to the environment and the company’s impact is difficult to assess.
Although it is an industry-wide issue, fast fashion companies are producing more garments through a non-environmentally friendly system, and it’s uncertain if H&M’s environmental initiatives are enough to counteract its adverse effects.
Zara Or H&M: Which Is Preferable?
When we talk about fashion nowadays, we usually prefer clothing and accessories that are chic, trendy, and stand out from the rest of the world. Many of us are conscious that the clothes we wear can tell a lot about our personalities.
Several brands come to mind when choosing an outfit, such as H&M and Zara.
People want what’s trendy, and they want to have it before others. Therefore these businesses must continue to produce new apparel at a constant rate to meet the growing demand for fast fashion.
Both H&M and Zara appear to offer low-cost clothing and meet high fashion styles. They produce these quickly and at a minimal cost.
Zara, in particular, is best in reducing the amount of time between design and production.
Zara sells their products at a low price as long as the quality is good. They don’t underprice to keep customers coming in.
They also offer discounts, although not as generously as the H&M brand. Instead, they place a greater focus on the quality of their product. They generate a sense of value around their products, making you believe that what you’re buying is worth the money.
The brand Zara is known for not being interested in advertising. There will be no banners, billboards, or other forms of advertising. Building more outlets is significantly more crucial to them than publicizing their products.
The company, instead, uses a strategy known as evangelism. As a result, rather than bringing their brand to their customers as adverts, they invite them to become part of it.
They cultivate their consumers as brand influencers, allowing them to expand their operations and, more crucially, tell their own stories.
Zara is far quicker than H&M in getting products on the shelves. The brand does not have a manufacturing facility. They instead purchase from other distributors.
H&M and Zara have both expanded more successfully over time than other quick fashion firms. The evolution of the Zara brand demonstrates why the cost isn’t everything.
Unlike H&M, they place a greater emphasis on the value of their products. Despite its underpricing efforts, H&M has nonetheless sustained significant losses.
The constant evolution in trends, on the other hand, keeps demand alive in a quick fashion, but what’s more crucial is that all these fast fashion firms make these things available.
