--- title: Fast-fashion apparel giant H&M opening more stores as profit soars description:

H&M also unveiled a plan to launch a new beauty concept with an initial debut in about 900 stores and online beginning this fall. The new concept will comprise of a range of make-up, body care, and hair care items, and will replace H&M’s current own-brand cosmetics line.

image: https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3655642639-jpg/blog-files/187941795-600x346.jpg --- - [Home](https://www.regencycenters.com/) - [Properties](https://connect.regencycenters.com/properties) - [In Development](https://connect.regencycenters.com/in-development) - [Regency](https://connect.regencycenters.com/regency) - [Contact](https://connect.regencycenters.com/contact) - [Investors](http://investors.regencycenters.com) - [Tenants](https://connect.regencycenters.com/tenants) - [Blog](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog) - [Corporate Responsibility](https://www.regencycenters.com/corporate-responsibility) - [Leadership](https://www.regencycenters.com/leadership) - [Investors](http://investors.regencycenters.com) - [Tenants](https://www.regencycenters.com/tenants) - [Careers](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency/careers) [![Regency Centers](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/regency-centers.svg)](https://www.regencycenters.com/) [![Search](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/icon-search.svg) Properties](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties) ![Menu](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/icon-menu.svg) Menu - [Properties](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties) - [In Development](https://www.regencycenters.com/in-development) - [Regency](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency) - [Contact](https://www.regencycenters.com/contact) Search - [Inside Regency](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/inside-regency) - [News Releases](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/news-releases) - [Retailer News](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/retailer-news) # Fast-fashion apparel giant H&M opening more stores as profit soars [Jessica Sheard](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/author/jessica-sheard) [Retailer News](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/retailer-news) [News Releases](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/news-releases) February 2, 2015 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) *From Fortune.com* [![H&M storefront in Times Square](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3655642639-jpg/blog-files/187941795-600x346.jpg?width=383&height=221&name=187941795-600x346.jpg)](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3655642639-jpg/blog-files/187941795-600x346.jpg) Hennes & Mauritz AB, more commonly known as H&M, has announced plans to open 400 new stores in 2015, a move that comes after the Swedish retailer reported profit leapt 17% for the latest year. Here are the most important points from the retailer’s latest earnings report. **What you need to know:** H&M, a major powerhouse in the world of retail, is accelerating store opening plans in 2015 and intends to open an additional 400 stores on top of the 3,511 locations it already operates. In 2014, H&M opened 379 new stores. The new store openings for this year will mostly occur in China and the U.S., although H&M said it will debut in several new markets this year, including South Africa, India, and Peru. The U.S. is the company’s second-largest sales market after Germany, and an important growth market. H&M opened 51 stores in the U.S. last year — that’s more than any other market outside China, where 86 stores were added. Sales in the U.S. leapt 26%, among the better-performing markets for the year ending on Nov. 30, although H&M’s sales grew broadly across all major markets H&M is a fast-fashion purveyor that turns around trend designs quickly, taking away business from teen-focused retailers and other rivals that take a longer time to respond. Sales growth in the U.S. has far outpaced those reported by Gap , for example, while teen retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch have seen their businesses suffer a bruising decline as tastes have changed in favor of H&M and rival Forever 21. **The big number:** Profit for the full year after taxes totaled 19.98 billion Swedish kroner ($2.4 billion in U.S. currency), up 17% from a year ago. H&M gave an early indication that sales growth will continue to remain strong early in 2015, with sales up 15% in December and expected to rise 14% in January. **What you might have missed:** H&M also unveiled a plan to launch a new beauty concept with an initial debut in about 900 stores and online beginning this fall. The new concept will comprise of a range of make-up, body care, and hair care items, and will replace H&M’s current own-brand cosmetics line. H&M didn’t say much about the line, or why it was changing its strategy in beauty, although the move is the latest step by the apparel chain to diversify its product range. H&M last year debuted a sport-focused line, and also expanded the amount of shoes it sold in some of its stores. Sportswear, which has been an increasingly popular apparel trend that has boosted results for Nike and Under Armour in the U.S., has lured H&M, Forever 21, and other rivals that haven’t traditionally focused on that category. For example, H&M’s U.S. online store lists 124 items for women under sportswear, selling a range of clothes meant for the gym or even to be worn more casually, and not necessarily for athletic purposes. That’s a dominant trend in retail today, as yoga pants take the place of jeans for everyday wear (in one of many examples). To view original article, [click here.](http://fortune.com/2015/01/28/hm-profit-leaps-opening-400-stores/?sf35878148=1) ##### Connect With Us [Join Our Mailing List](https://www.regencycenters.com/connect-with-us/)  > [Explore Our Markets](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties/our-markets)  > [Find a Space For Your Place](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties)  > ##### Related Stories [Aug 19 CVS Health on a roll as earnings rise](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/cvs-health-roll-earnings-rise/) [Apr 16 Get the balloons ready for Party City's $428 million IPO](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/get-balloons-ready-party-citys-428-million-ipo/) [Mar 11 Harris-Teeter helps Kroger beat Street in Q4 as company racks up another impressive year](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/harris-teeter-helps-kroger-beat-street-q4-company-racks-another-impressive-year/) [Jan 23 The Shops at Stone Bridge Takes Shape With Exciting New Retailers](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/the-shops-at-stone-bridge-takes-shape-with-exciting-new-retailers) [Dec 05 Tatte Bakery & Café Opens at Regency’s Westbard Square](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/tatte-bakery-café-opens-at-regencys-westbard-square) [Nov 15 New Grocers Expand in Regency’s Portfolio With Two Southern California Openings in 30 Days](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/new-grocers-expand-regencys-portfolio-with-two-southern-california-openings-in-30-days) [Feb 05 Regency Centers Announces Lone Tree Village Development in Colorado](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/regency-centers-announces-lone-tree-village-a-king-soopers-anchored-retail-destination-serving-the-ridgegate-community) [Sep 24 Regency Centers Unveils Ellis Village Center in Northern California](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/regency-centers-unveils-ellis-village-center-in-northern-california) [Jul 24 Regency Centers Completes $357M Portfolio Acquisition in Southern California](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/regency-centers-acquisition-southern-california) Subscribe [![Regency Centers](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/regency-centers.svg)](https://connect.regencycenters.com/) - [Careers](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency/careers) - [Investors](http://investors.regencycenters.com/) - [News](http://investors.regencycenters.com/news-releases) - [Fresh Look](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency/fresh-look) - [Tenants](https://www.regencycenters.com/tenants) - [Contact](https://www.regencycenters.com/contact) [Find a Property](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties) [Leasing Agent](https://www.regencycenters.com/contact) ![Reg Listed NYSE](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hubfs/blog2018/images/stock-ticker.svg) [Regency Centers Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/RegencyCenters) [Regency Centers Twitter](https://twitter.com/RegencyCenters) [Regency Centers Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/regencycenters/) [Regency Centers LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/regency-centers/) MEMBER **S&P 500** Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. ©2026 Regency Centers [Terms of Service](https://www.regencycenters.com/terms-of-service) [Privacy Policy](https://www.regencycenters.com/privacy-policy) Cookie Settings ![Quantcast](https://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-XHwFJLhjBpfmt.gif) ![](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/hub/1624561/file-3655642639.jpg) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Jessica Sheard", "url" : "https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/author/jessica-sheard" }, "dateModified" : "2025-01-03T17:35:57.571Z", "datePublished" : "2015-02-02T10:06:47.000Z", "headline" : "Fast-fashion apparel giant H&M opening more stores as profit soars", "image" : [ "https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3655642639-jpg/blog-files/187941795-600x346.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/fast-fashion-apparel-giant-hm-opening-stores-profit-soars/", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4081/img/vast.png" }, "name" : "Regency Centers" } } ```