H&M to open in Australia in 2014

Swedish giant H&M has officially announced it will be opening its stores in Australia in 2014.

In a Facebook and Twitter post, the company wrote: “We are happy to announce that we will open our first H&M store in Australia, in 2014! Stay tuned for more details.”

Also, during the company three month sales report, CEO Karl-Johan Persson said Australia will become a new market for H&M.

“We are ramping up the rate of expansion to approximately 350 new stores net compared to the originally planned 325. We will open in five new countries in 2013 and are also preparing to open in other countries in 2014, such as in Australia,” he said.

The company has suggested in the past that it has been searching for sites in Australia. It currently has 2,800 stores worldwide in 48 markets.
H&M follows a growing list of international retailers entering the local market, such as Topshop, Zara and Gap.