STOCKHOLM: Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz on Friday said sales fell below expectations in the fourth quarter and it would close more stores as customers increasingly prefer to shop online. "I can't remember when H&M had a quarter in which the sales fell," he added. "This includes continued integration of the physical and digital stores, and intensifying the optimisation of the H&M brand's store portfolio -- leading to more store closures and fewer openings," he added. H&M had announced earlier this year that it would open physical stores around the world to compensate for the downturn due to fierce competition from online sales platforms. H&M group, which owns other popular brands such as COS, Monki and Weekday, has 4,553 physical stores around the world as of August 31.--AFP

Source: New Strait Times December 15, 2017 14:37 UTC