Romania is a relatively new market for the company, which entered in Poland and Czech Republic in 2003, in Hungary in 2005 and in Slovakia two years after that.
H&M expanded fast in Romania until 2017, opening up to ten new stores a year and covering major cities, Bucharest included, and secondary cities. Last year, however, it kept the number of stores flat at 56 after one opening and one closure. It closed its store in Bucharest’s Old Town, its only street front store, as the brand prefers to work with shopping centers and malls.
Therefore the growth in the 2018 revenue was organic, driven by the rise in consumer spending and purchasing power rather than by expansion.(EUR1=RON4.7586)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)