Fashion brands don’t get more ubiquitous than Sweden’s H&M retail empire. Arguably one of the most famous “fast-fashion” companies in the world, it currently operates in 72 countries and has over 4,900 stores that employ some 132,000 people. Founded by 31-year-old entrepreneur Erling Persson in 1947, it began life as one shop in the central Swedish city of Vasteras and was initially known as Hennes, meaning “hers” in Swedish. The first store in Stockholm opened in 1952 and was soon joined by another when the brand proved immediately popular. In 1968, Hennes acquired the hunting and fishing brand Mauritz Widforss and became H&M for the first time. At this point, expansion increases rapidly and, by the following year, has 42 Swedish stores. The rest of Scandinavia and Switzerland follows and, in 1974, Hennes & Mauritz is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. It also rebrands permanently to its current moniker H&M. The 80s and 90s bring global expansion and the company’s second CEO, Stefan Persson, who takes over from his father in 1982. The brand then becomes synonymous with large billboards featuring the world’s most famous models and celebrities and, in 1998, H&M is one of the earliest retailers to begin offering online shopping. Collaborations with the world’s best designers follow and global expansion continues into Asia, as well as a number of extensions to the brand itself: H&M Home and H&M Sport being two. In 2009, Stefan Persson stepped down to allow his own son, Karl-Johan, to take over. According to their 2016 Annual Report, group revenue was $25.191 billion.
- Family name: Stefan Persson family
- Sector: Consumer Products & Retail
- Founded: 1947
- Founder: Erling Persson
- Country: Sweden
- Company headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
- Revenue: 20.7
- Employees: 148,000
- Website: www.hm.com
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