H&M Set To Open Stores In Coimbatore, Indore, Kolkata As Well As Amritsar Soon

Swedish fast fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) plans to open four new stores this month, according to its official statement.

H&M will open its store in Indore on September 16 at Treasure Island Next, in Coimbatore on September 22 at Prozone Mall, in Kolkata on September 23 at Woodburn Central and in Amritsar on September 30 at the Mall of Amritsar. Together, these stores will add a total retail space of 75,000 square feet for H&M in India.

The company’s Indore store will have an area of 19,000 square feet, while its Coimbatore store will come up with a 18,000 square feet area, its Amritsar store will be of 19,000 square feet and its Kolkata store will be of 19,000 square feet approximately.

These stores will retail women’s, men’s, teenagers and children’s apparel as well as accessories, besides footwear and lingerie.

The company has planned investments worth €100 million (Rs 765 crore) in the country. By the end of 2017 it plans to have more than 25 stores in India which will be opened in malls and high street shopping centres in the four cities. The expansion strategy is to always open at the best business location, even as the company looks at different options at the same time.

Incidentally, H&M presently operates 17 stores in India, including those in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Mohali, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. It is looking at opportunities to open stores in tier-2 as well as tier-3 markets.

Among H&M’s biggest rivals in India are Spanish fast fashion retailer Zara, which was brought to India in a joint venture with Tata’s retail firm Trent Ltd. Another close competitor is American fast fashion retailer Forever 21, licensed by the Aditya Birla Group.