Inspired by his trip to New York City the year before, Swedish entrepreneur Erling Persson opens a new womenswear store in Västerås, Sweden. He calls it Hennes, Swedish for “Hers”. The soon-to-be-famous Hennes logotype is designed by the founder himself.

The first Hennes store opens in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm.

Hennes takes out a full-page colour ad in Sweden’s largest daily, a pioneering belief in the power of marketing.

Hennes acquires the Stockholm-based hunting apparel and fishing equipment retailer Mauritz Widforss, and the name is changed to Hennes & Mauritz. The stores start offering men’s and children’s clothing, covering fashion needs for the entire family.

The expansion is rapid: Hennes & Mauritz has 42 stores.

Long before the term “e-commerce” was born, sale of H&M fashion moves into customers’ homes through the acquisition of Rowells, the Swedish mail order company.

The company gets its second ever CEO, as Erling Persson steps aside to make room for his son, Stefan Persson.

Throughout the 1990s, models from “The Big Six” – Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell – are featured in H&M’s campaigns.

A major H&M flagship store opens on Fifth Avenue in New York, realising Erling Persson’s dream. The opening of the first store in the US marks the start of the expansion outside Europe.

H&M publishes the first Corporate Social Responsibility Report, marking the beginning of our Sustainability reporting journey.

H&M and Karl Lagerfeld take the world of fashion by surprise, teaming up to show that design isn’t a question of price.  
 

Weekday, Monki, and Cheap Monday are welcomed to the H&M group through the purchase of FaBric Scandinavien AB.

– Home styling becomes more fun thanks to the launch of H&M HOME.

H&M launches its first collection made entirely out of sustainable materials, with many more sustainable initiatives to follow.

 

The new brand ARKET, created as a modern-day market offering a broad yet selected range of functional and timeless essentials, opens its first physical store on Regent Street in London, and online in 18 European markets.

They are known for there jeans as well as slouchy tailoring, paired with casual basics. It’s about the effortless look, to let go of the ordinary and surrender to the extraordinary. You can find Weekday both online and in our Weekday stores, with curated in-season trends and limited-edition collections. They’re all about boosting circular fashion and offer Studio Made capsules re-made from previous collections, along with our resale initiative Weekday Curated 2nd-hand, a shop-in-shop in selected stores.

Environmental responsibility 

Ethical responsibility 

Economic responsibility