Karl-Johan Persson is a fashion mogul with understated aggression. It’s on display as the 40year-old billionaire and chief executive leads Hennes & Mauritz AB, better known as H&M, on conquering fashion retailing in India.
They plan on entering the market irrespective of the size and potential. Their aim is to provide something fantastic to the consumer.
On his watch, Swedish giant H&M has emerged the most potent disruptor of fashion retailing globally . H&M has revved up US and stormed China markets to deliver strong double-digit growth in recent years, baffling its rivals.
Arguably the biggest name in fast fashion, H&M operates 3,900 stores across 59 countries, generating $22 billion in revenue.
H&M is the first international fashion retailer to enter India alone after government allowed 100% foreign direct investment in single brand retail. Its launch, starting with the first store in New Delhi in early October, is being closely watched by fashion and retailing industry experts. It had announced plans for 50 stores and $115 million investment when it received the government nod in early 2014, but didn’t any mention timelines for the same.
H&M’s aggressive pricing for the Indian market -average pricing of t-shirts at Rs 799, denims at Rs 1,999 and outerwear at Rs 2,999 -and its agility in striking real estate deals to build a store network may worry many home-grown, mainstream fashion retailers.
Spanish rival Zara has 18 stores in nine cities five years after entering India. US fashion retailer Gap is promising a faster expansion with 10 stores across four cities in the first year of operations.
Persson says the company will bring in e-commerce and m-commerce channels in sync with the huge interest in the country’s digital market.
