H&M Store Closings 2022: Retailer Plans To Shutter 240 Locations

Apparel retailer H&M said it plans to close 240 stores in 2022 while it expands into a series of new markets.

H&M said it will open 95 new stores this year and mark its entry into six new markets, including Cambodia, which opened in March through a franchise.

Other markets slated to open in 2022 include Ecuador, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and also through a franchise, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

An additional store will open in Albania in 2023, which will be H&M’s first in the country.

While H&M has vast plans to expand its operations globally, its cut-back plans include shuttering 240 stores or 145 net stores. Newly open stores will most likely be located in markets of expected growth, while the majority of store closures will find themselves in established markets, the company said.

H&M has felt the effects of pulling out of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine amid the war as it reported a slowing in sales as it closed 185 stores in early March after pausing all sales in the region. It has also halted all online sales to Russia.

H&M did report a 6% growth for March, but it was still down 11% from two years earlier ahead of the start of the pandemic and down from the three months proceeding it, which saw a 23% gain.

Operating profit for the retailer was $458 million for the quarter, which H&M attributed to a rise in full-price sales. Other impacts affecting profit included the rise and spread of the Omicron variant, as well as strict restrictions impacting some countries.