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H and M Opens U.S. Web Store

Hennes & Mauritz (HMB:SS)—H&M, to you—finally started taking online orders in the U.S. this morning on its HM.com website, more than 2½ years after first promising to open an American Web store and almost two years behind a digital-shopping option from rival Zara(ITX:SM). Fast Retailing’s (9983:JT) Uniqlo, the world’s No. 4 retailer, also beat sluggish H&M to the punch by opening an e-commerce platform in U.S. ahead of the 2012 holidays. Stay tuned for more.” Those who did stay tuned were treated to at least two delay announcements over the following months, even as the retailer managed to run online operations in the U.K., Germany, and many other countries. The company is offering some free shipping throughout August for the debut before charging a flat $5.95 fee. The Web store gives H&M access to a $54 billion U.S. market in apparel and accessories bought online, according to eMarketer, and sales are growing by almost 20 percent a year. Apparel is second only to consumer electronics when it comes to sheer scale of Web commerce, and clothes now command twice as many Internet dollars as books, music, and videos. The Web presence also gives H&M another shot at consumers who like its clothes and prices but consider a trip to its stores a special kind of Swedish hell—the kind with legions of sharp-elbowed teens and piles of castoff polyester, and without any of those Ikea meatballs. While inventory management at a brick-and-mortar store isn’t easy, at least it’s tangible—customers see only what’s there. There are other challenges more or less specific to running an online-apparel operation in the U.S. American shoppers are fickle and prone to returns. The sheer size of the country and its various climates presents a constant challenge of what to stock online. In the end, the Swedish giant couldn’t afford to ignore U.S. Web shoppers any longer as it looked to broaden its sales base.

di 1:07 PM
 
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