H&M celebrates Spring 2024 as a time of rebirth and new beginnings in a fresh and sophisticated campaign with equally upmarket clothes. For the women’s portion, models include Anok Yai, Bibi Breslin, Precious Lee, Raquel Zimmermann and Vittoria Ceretti styled by Kate Phelan.

Photographer Rafael Pavarotti [IG] is behind the lens, working with Albert Moya on what’s an exceptional and esoteric campaign film — the entire director’s cut. / Hair by Eugene Soulemain

Positive March Response to H&M Collections

In recent days, H&M received some much-needed positive news in response to the Spring 2024 collections. New H&M Group CEO Daniel Ervér, who abruptly replaced Helena Helmersson at the end of January, will be the first person to tell you that he had little to do with the encouraging March results. Although he was head of H&M, the largest business within the brand portfolio; and no one will replace him in that position.

Few professionals can pull off Ervér’s plans, formulated with the very involved board of directors approval: a mix of fashion-forward clothing with a stronger emphasis on design, while decreasing prices, particularly in the U.S.

The Worst Possible Retail Double Squeeze: Shein and Zara

H&M under Helmersson got caught in the worst possible squeeze and Ervér was her partner in that squeeze, being in charge at H&M for the last four years. Shein has hit many retailers hard with their really fast, fast-fashion design at throwaway prices. [We won’t update the concerns about Shein and the environment in this post.]

Zara is another matter, however. Zara was priced above H&M before their tradeup decision, initially making H&M look attractive to more cost-conscious customers.

Zara’s trading up of design and materials has been very successful with positive revenue growth and increased profits while selling fewer units, which makes environmental action types pleased.

Many of us now believe that only selling fewer units will truly get at the problem of overconsumption and throwaway fashion. Zara is the first big brand to test the hypothesis.

Shein’s hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, saturate the planet with cheap stuff mentality is saturating the American consumer’s brain. The TikTok crowd is in love. France is taking major legislative action against fast fashion like Shein and now Temu in terms of restricting advertising and assessing penalties on too cheap products. But that will never happen in America.

From 2010 to 2020, Helena Helmersson was head of sustainability at H&M, and I recall being surprised and concerned, when she was named CEO. As much as AOC respected all her initiatives in the sustainability sector, her lack of fast fashion sharpshooter skills was on my mind.

Fast Fashion Gunfight in America

Metaphorically-speaking, once Shein entered the picture in 2015, it became a fast fashion gunfight at the O.K Corral. Except the shoot-out is not short like the Tombstone, Arizona 1881 gunfight between the law and a gang of outlaws. It takes nerves of steel, plenty of moxie, solid experience and money to be standing, given the place of Shein in America.

Then came COVID, an event that really put Shein on the map with young consumers locked up at home. Shein took off like an online rocket ship.

H&M controlled 16% of the fast fashion market in the US in November 2022, behind Shein's 50%. H&M’s $24.9 billion market cap as of November 2023 is approximately 35% of Shein's 2023 private valuation of $66 billion.

In 2021, Shein’s app had more downloads than Amazon in America. This epic challenge to H&M [not the only other player in US fast fashion] is a last-man-standing gunfight. How does one digest such an assault in a few years!

H&M New Concept Store

H&M has opened a new concept store on King’s Road in London, with the intention of revamping 250 stores worldwide on the new London store. All of this work was done under Helmersson, with Ervér, so it’s understandable that she was shocked over the change in her executive status. Still, she came to the CEO position

H&M will net close 60 stores in 2024, opening 100 new doors in growing markets while shuttering 160 across the globe. About 30 % of H&M sales are online.

Everyone is watching this situation closely. Meanwhile, this campaign looks great. Best of luck to H&M, but America is Shein country now, so saddle up and be sure to get a horse that gallops REALLY fast. I’ll do my best to be helpful but AOC isn’t exactly followed by the TikTok crowd. ~ Anne