H&M to launch H&M Home in India in March

The move comes at a time when the demand for home-related products has seen a spurt post-pandemic. H&M Home operates over 350 shop-in-shops and 27 standalone stores worldwide, with a presence in 52 markets.

H&M Homes, launched online in 2009, offers furniture, bedlinen, dinnerware, textiles, furniture and lighting.

“We are going to start it online and it will happen in the spring. Hence, it will launch through H&M.com first as well as marketplace Myntra, but at the same time we are planning to launch shop-in-shop. It will be a little later depending on the situation but the plan will be that it will launch in our store in Vasant Kunj between spring, late spring,” Yanira Ramirez, country sales manager, H&M India, told Mint in an interview.

Ramirez said the retailer has yet to open a stand-alone H&M Home store in India. “At the moment we are going to focus on shop-in-shop. We need to see how our customers are responding.”

Ramirez said the brand will sell the full range it has to offer around the world, including products for living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms as well as dining and children.

Price of range will start going up to 149 7,999. Meanwhile, 30% of the products sold here will be sourced locally.

H&M opened its first store in India in 2015 under the foreign direct investment route for single brand retailers. The brand currently operates 50 stores here. In 2018, it introduced online commerce through its local website and app. In 2019, it partnered with Flipkart-owned online fashion retailer Myntra to sell its fashion wear online.

Ramirez said the retailer is happy with online sales in India, but declined to share numbers. “At the same time, though, I can tell you that the stores have performed very well, even though we have less footfall,” she said.

For the year ended 31 March 2021, the retailer reported an 11% drop in sales as the pandemic hit demand for fashion and occasion wear. this watch 1,402 crore in sales during this period.

Ramirez said the retailer is seeing higher conversions despite lower footfalls.

She told Mint in an interview, “Obviously the restrictions are being lifted, the day is going to be lifted and we still have to wait for the rest of the country, but again we are very positive for the months ahead.” “

Ramirez declined to share future store opening projections.

The uncertainty cast by the pandemic has prompted retailers to tread with caution. Apart from restrictions, the pandemic has also delayed the influx of fresh real estate, especially in malls.

The retailer will continue to strengthen its omni-channel offerings, Ramirez said.

“We need to consider a range of external factors to open any store, but part of our strategy is to open physical stores and India is a super important market for us,” he added.

Globally, the H&M Group has brands like H&M and H&M Home, COS, Weekday, Monkey among other stories. The retailer continues to evaluate opportunities for expansion of these brands in the Indian market.