H&M sales fall back after warm weather dented September shopping

H&M Group has reported stagnant sales in recent months as the fashion brand faces a slowdown in consumer spending and the knock-on impact of closing stores in Russia.

Between September and November 2023, net sales fell by 4% in local currencies compared with the same period last year, totalling £4.8 billion (62.6 billion SEK).

However, the quarterly sales update showed an improvement from the 10% decline that the firm warned it would face in September.

H&M said it was expecting sales to tumble as unusually hot weather across European markets dented demand for autumn ranges.

Analysts at Jefferies suggested the improved performance reflects a return to colder weather in October and November, after the unseasonably warm September.

But the brand has fallen further behind rival Inditex, which announced "strong" sales ahead of Christmas earlier this week.

The Spanish owner of Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear said sales jumped by 14% over the six weeks to 11 December, adding that its autumn/winter collection was "well received" by shoppers.

H&M has seen its trading take a hit from discontinuing operations in Russia and Belarus, over the war in Ukraine.

The group, which was founded in Sweden in 1947 and listed in Stockholm, will publish a full-year report at the end of January.