Swedish H&M Garment Group plans to open a more upscale fashion chain store in Regent Street in London in the spring of next year. Unlike the flagship store in Sweden, the store has a high grade and high price to attract higher-level customers. About nine similar European clothing stores will also be in operation, including: Berlin, Hamburg in Germany, Brussels in Belgium, and The Hague in the Netherlands.
In the past few years, low-priced clothing has flooded the market, especially with the increase in the quality of clothing in supermarkets, the decline in prices, and the increase in fashion and practicality of models, and the competition in the low-cost clothing market has become increasingly fierce. H&M, which has opened stores in 24 countries, posted an average sales growth of only 2% in the first ten months of 2006, and it has been slowing in recent months. Compared to its Spanish rival, Inditax, it lost a lot of market share, and Inditax is benefiting from the success of developing multi-level chain stores to attract more customers.