(Bloomberg) -- Hennes & Mauritz AB is expanding its online marketplace presence in China, planning storefronts on e-commerce platforms including Pinduoduo and Douyin.
The Swedish fashion retailer outlined its plan for the digital stores come fall in its most recent earnings report on Thursday. A quick check of the two Chinese e-commerce platforms shows the H&M stores are already up and running, offering products ranging from women’s wear to household supplies.
The fast-fashion giant, which already has stores on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Tmall and JD.com, is expanding its online footprint as it seeks to reach more customers in the world’s second-largest economy.
While retailers of clothing, cosmetics and jewelry have been experiencing a negligible increase or even a drop in sales so far this year amid a consumption slowdown in China, data from analytics firm Hangzhou Zhiyi Technology show H&M’s Tmall store recorded 75% sales growth in the 12 months through August.
Once the darling of many young Chinese consumers, H&M became the target of consumer nationalism in China in 2021, when social media users dug out an undated company statement expressing concern about accusations of forced labor in Xinjiang. That triggered a boycott, leading to some H&M stores being closed, including the removal of its online store from Tmall.
The Tmall storefront was reopened in 2022.
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