This week, I was with my friend in the H&M shop in Rovaniemi, and I decided to speak with one of the saleswoman of the shop to know a bit more about the brand, the marketing strategy of H&M, and how does the brand adapt to the country in which it is implanted. 

So let’s speak about the history’s brand…

Founded in 1947 by Erling Persson, H & M is a Swedish ready-to-wear business for women, children and men. Her initials mean Hennes & Mauritz. Originally, the brand was christened Hennes, which means “she”. After buying a hunting and fishing store, Mauritz Widforss, he decided to rename his brand Hennes and Mauritz, which became H & M. It is headquartered in Stockholm. The Swedish brand now has more than 3,000 stores in 53 countries around the world. The H & M group brings together six independent brands: H & M, COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday and Other Stories. It employs 116,000 people around the world for an estimated turnover of 150 billion Swedish kroner or 17 billion euros (2013). In addition to selling its own collections, the Nordic brand also offers its clients temporary collections designed in collaboration with internationally renowned designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Viktor & Rolf, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, etc.

H & M wants to reach a rather young target. The brand targets a clientele of women and men, rather young (between 18 and 35 years old), urban and with an average purchasing power.

H & M uses mass marketing to reach its customers. Indeed, they offer a wide range of clothing for a large part of the population.

To increase sales, the Swedish brand does not hesitate to associate with major fashion designers. It adopts what is called a “masstige” strategy, a contraction of “mass market” and “prestige”. It is a question of associating commercially the Swedish mark with that of a famous creator. The goal is clearly to increase sales from both parties. H & M has collaborated with big names in fashion such as Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney. This commercial association benefits its customers since they can live a unique and rewarding experience by buying these collections “haute couture” at an affordable price.

The Swedish fashion brand allocates 3.5% of its turnover to communication. Its main strategy is to use co-branding. By associating its name with that of a celebrity, the brand values its image with its customers. H & M uses different communication media, mainly “mass media”.

The display

This is the most used media medium by the brand. Its display campaigns are simple, they consist in putting forward only the garment with the attractive price on a neutral background.

TV campaigns

The Swedish brand does not hesitate to use the “star strategy” via celebrities from all walks of life. In 2013, she called on footballer David Beckham for the release of a collection of men’s underwear. The choice to seek David Beckham flowed from source since it inspires men and seduces women. The goal of H & M is to “starify” its collections. The star who wears a garment gives her her own identity, whether singer, actress, etc.

Social networks

The Swedish ready-to-wear banner brings together a community of 12 million people on Facebook. Thanks to its YouTube channel organized into different sections (H & M Campaigns, H & M Love Music, etc.), H & M can broadcast content to more than 47,000 people.

In Rovaniemi, the brand did not adapt its collection to the country’s climatic conditions. It’s a shame because the Finns can not really buy a coat there in the winter because they are not hot enough. The tourist season is winter in Lapland, the tourists who come here are attracted by the brands they know and often enter the store. The problem is they do not buy anything because the collection is the same and they will not be able to put these clothes in lapland. They therefore prefer to buy these clothes in their country, which is a small turnover for the rovaniemi store.

For more informations about H&M, do not hesitate to visit the website : https://www2.hm.com/fi_fi/index.html

Thank you for listening !