H&M, a Fashion Giant, Has a Problem: $4.3 Billion in Unsold Clothes

[SummerMadness]

H&M, a Fashion Giant, Has a Problem: $4.3 Billion in Unsold Clothes

In the world of fashion retailing, where shopping is fast moving online and stores try to keep inventories closely matched to sales, even a small stack of unsold clothes can be a bad sign.

What about a $4.3 billion pile of shirts, dresses and accessories? That is the problem facing H&M, the Swedish fashion retailer, which is struggling with a mounting stack of unsold inventory.

I am curious how much this can be summed up to people not liking their clothes versus possible boycott/backlash over their monkey ad. At the same time, retail stores have been struggling as of late, so they could simply be a casualty of the changing economic landscape (similar to how digital media affected many newspapers).

 

[Rion]

You mean the boycott from people who were looking to be outraged? The one where they started attacking his mother after she called the outrage ridiculous?

 

[iluvatar5150]

H&M, a Fashion Giant, Has a Problem: $4.3 Billion in Unsold Clothes


I am curious how much this can be summed up to people not liking their clothes versus possible boycott/backlash over their monkey ad. At the same time, retail stores have been struggling as of late, so they could simply be a casualty of the changing economic landscape (similar to how digital media affected many newspapers).

I couldn't even tell you where to find an H&M store.

 

[SummerMadness]

I couldn't even tell you where to find an H&M store.

I've never shopped there, but I remember someone saying how much he loved getting clothes there, but that was over 15 years ago.

 

[Goonie]

Wow! They could hold the worlds biggest jumble sale!

 

[bhsmte]

Maybe they just have crappy clothes and or the prices are too high. Also, I'll bet the 4.3 billion number, is retail price and not what they acquired the stock for.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

I don't think I ever heard of H and M clothing store. Or the monkey add.

 

[mina]

I like H&M, but they have new clothes collections literally every week. And when you shop in store it's overwhelming with all the clothing and too loud. Their clothing is cheap and some of it is nicely made while other things are super cheaply made. Also, their online shopping experience used to be awful. There were only things you could get in store. I have no idea what their website is like now; after a bad experience I never tried to shop online with them again. If I'm near one I'll go into the store if I really need something.

 

[Rion]

I don't think I ever heard of H and M clothing store. Or the monkey add.

One of the ads had a black kid wearing a shirt with "I'm a little monkey" or something similar on it. As his mother pointed out, all of the kids wore a ton of different clothes for the shoot, and they were used in various ads. No one thought about it at the time, and there was no intention of being racist, the kid just happened to get the shirt. Wasn't good enough, and the mother was threatened, insulted, and people literally rioted in the stores and tore them up.

 

[dgiharris]

I've noticed that some of the Execs of clothing manufacturers try to run their business as if manufacturing more clothes equates to automatic profits as if clothes were equivalent to a consumable like oil or gasoline...

Fashion is a very fickle business and you have got to have an accurate reading on the pulse of the public as relates to your products.

I had one client that owns a successful television show (the show featured hot girls talking about current events). He wanted to launch a clothing line based on the success of his show. There was only one problem... My client, who is a 72 year old male, wanted to design the clothes himself. He figured because his show was so popular that fans of the show would instantly buy the clothes. So. a friend of his recommended me as a business consultant and I was the only voice of reason in the board room. I told him that he didn't understand todays fashion and he was designing clothes for old people that think they know what young people like. I told him, you have several young people on staff that would design clothes 10 times better than you and to let them do the designing... they were literally chomping at the bits.

But no, he didn't want to listen to me. He spent around $10k designing clothes and building up a small inventory. The plan was to make the clothes to order but he wanted to have some on hand for the studio audience.

His clothes wouldn't sell.

The young people on his staff made their own show clothing that they personally wore, and audience members kept asking them where they could buy those T-shirts and they often asked them in front of the owner. The owner would get mad and say, "Well, we have better Shirts right over there" and he'd point to the shirts he designed. They'd laugh and say, "Those suck". This happened time and time again.

Now, you'd think the owner would eventually acquiesce and let the young kids design the clothes. Nope. Never happened, even to this day he refuses to design new clothes. So he's been carrying the inventory of horrid shirts all the while his fans have taken to designing their own shirts which they wear constantly to the show. It is hilarious and every week he steams a little bit...

I could only imagine what would happen if someone like him was at the head of a Fashion and Apparel company... perhaps $4.3B in unsold clothing

 

[HannahT]

One of the ads had a black kid wearing a shirt with "I'm a little monkey" or something similar on it. As his mother pointed out, all of the kids wore a ton of different clothes for the shoot, and they were used in various ads. No one thought about it at the time, and there was no intention of being racist, the kid just happened to get the shirt. Wasn't good enough, and the mother was threatened, insulted, and people literally rioted in the stores and tore them up.

OH I remember this now! Yes, the mother felt it was an over reaction. That's when people got all over her family. I'm glad she didn't live here! (Shrugs) Sounds like Sweden's reaction to the whole thing, and here were completely different. After the online reaction was over hopefully their family got some peace there. They wouldn't have it here - that's for sure!

 

[durangodawood]

One of the ads had a black kid wearing a shirt with "I'm a little monkey" or something similar on it. As his mother pointed out, all of the kids wore a ton of different clothes for the shoot, and they were used in various ads. No one thought about it at the time, and there was no intention of being racist, the kid just happened to get the shirt. Wasn't good enough, and the mother was threatened, insulted, and people literally rioted in the stores and tore them up.

I dont really care if a company that hooks kids on updating their wardrobe every single moment gets caught up in someone elses moment. Live by fashion. Die by fad. Boo hoo.

 

[Liza B.]

H&M, a Fashion Giant, Has a Problem: $4.3 Billion in Unsold Clothes


I am curious how much this can be summed up to people not liking their clothes versus possible boycott/backlash over their monkey ad. At the same time, retail stores have been struggling as of late, so they could simply be a casualty of the changing economic landscape (similar to how digital media affected many newspapers).

Their clothes are subpar and that's as kindly as I can say it. That's subpar even for the inexpensive market.

 

[trunks2k]

I personally don't shop at H&M simply because I'm tall and very, very few of the clothes they sell actually fit me. I'm also sorta beyond the idea of cheap clothes. I'm now more likely to spend a lot of money on clothes that fit me well and will last (hello Untuckit) than spend a small amount of money on clothes that fit OK and will start falling apart quickly.