H&M launches third-party market plan to allow third-party brands to enter

According to foreign media reports, H&M is trialing an online marketplace model in Germany and Sweden, allowing third-party fashion brands to sell products on its official website to cope with increasingly fierce competition in the fast fashion market.

It is understood that as early as 2019, H&M announced that it would adopt a market model similar to retail giants such as Amazon and ASOS. As third-party sellers finally entered H&M's online platform, H&M officially launched their third-party market plan. Prior to this, H&M only sold beauty products of other brands.

H&M said: "The choice to start the test in Sweden and Germany is based on the long history of retailers in these two countries. H&M launched its online mall in Sweden in 1998 and has been operating in the German market for 15 years. In the future, the third-party market model will be launched in more countries and regions. "

The new fashion brand was launched on H&M's official website in early March to better compete with e-commerce markets such as Amazon, Zalando and Asos. Now, in addition to its growing own sub-brands, H&M's online mall also has 13 women's clothing brands and 15 men's clothing brands from third parties. It is understood that more than one-third of H&M's sales last year came from the Internet.

H&M's second quarter financial report for 2021 showed that H&M's sales in the Chinese mainland market fell by 28%, with direct losses reaching US$74 million. China also retreated from H&M's previous top three markets to sixth.

In addition, H&M is also facing competition from fast fashion brands and platforms such as SHEIN and Amazon in its online channels. Industry insiders said that H&M launched the third-party market plan at this time to save its online business and profits.

H&M tends to be secretive about their plans. When H&M first announced the marketplace model a few years ago, they remained silent to the media who contacted them. Similarly, H&M seems to be keeping quiet about its expansion plans.

According to foreign media reports, the CEO of H&M Group said that the company is making great efforts to expand sales and plans to open stores in Ecuador, Kosovo and Cambodia, and expand its online business to Belarus, Colombia, Kazakhstan and other places.

H&M

Germany

Third Party