Swedish clothing chain H&M will open two stores in Ecuador, the first will be in Quito at the end of 2022

A new international chain will open two stores in Ecuador. This is the Swedish fashion giant H&M, which is testing new business areas to boost its growth strategy. Since the beginning of the month he has been testing his transformation as marketplace in Sweden and Germany, and now its arrival in the country is announced.

Its directors met with the Minister of Production, Julio José Prado, and it was he who announced that this multinational will have stores in Quito and Guayaquil. The first will open before the end of the year, and this pays for investment and full employment.

“They had been evaluating Ecuador for four years, they decided now, due to the change in the business environment,” the minister said on his Twitter account.

The chain is present in 75 countries with 4,750 stores.

The company’s web portal operates in 54 countries, with new launches since the beginning of the year in Belarus, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Peru and Ukraine. It also plans to be deployed before the end of the year to Ecuador, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and also, through franchises, in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Cambodia, registers the specialized website Peru Retail.

Another international brand arrives in Ecuador: Vans opens its first store in Quito and projects a second in Guayaquil in 2022

H&M’s sales in local currencies increased by 18% year-on-year in its first fiscal quarter (December-February). The total turnover in that period rose to 49,166 million Swedish crowns ($ 5,130 million), and the increase recorded in that currency was 23%.

However, shares of the fashion chain fell 3% in early trading. According to analysts, they focused on the potential impact of the Ukraine crisis on its business in Central and Eastern Europe and broader global repercussions.

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H&M temporarily suspended its sales in Russia due to the war conflict. Russia is the sixth market for H&M, and on November 30 it had 168 stores open in the country. The Swedish firm obtained from its sales in Russia in the last quarter of its last fiscal year (September-November) revenue of 2,071 million crowns ($ 215 million), according to its balance sheet.

In the last quarter of 2021, other international brands arrived in Ecuador. In October, Vans and its emblematic shoes opened its first store in Quito and its plans include a second store in Guayaquil in 2022. In November, Bath and Body Works also opened its own store in Guayaquil. And in December Victoria’s Secret did it in this same city. (I)