Using civilian prices to sell products that represent top-level design standards, and relying on the grasp of fashion trends and the control of downstream supply chains, this model has been transformed to the point where H&M is highly favored by urban white-collar workers.

H&M will not take the route of Baleno

Just when the H&M brand had not yet opened a store in Beijing, Beijing white-collar workers had a special trip to Shanghai to buy H&M's fashion. At that time, Kaixin.com had such a vote and asked, “Why do you see Beijing white-collar workers flying to Shanghai to buy H&M brands?” and 9% of netizens said that “it is normal to catch this trend”; 16% of netizens said “What? "H&M"; 23% of netizens said "this white-collar worker is relatively rich"; 12% of netizens (probably netizens in Shanghai) said "poor Beijing sister"; 7% of netizens said "airport tickets for reimbursement"; 33% The netizens said "Is it right?" More people said: "H&M was almost the same as Barney Road and many Hong Kong and Taiwan fashion brands when they first entered the mainland."

H&M, one of the world’s largest fashion apparel sellers from Sweden, means “she and him” in Swedish. Since the first store opened in Huaihai Road in Shanghai in April 2007, H&M has established 13 stores in mainland China in two years. When H&M opened its first store in Hong Kong in 2007, the reporter personally saw people who lined up to try out clothes being squeezed into sandwiches. The H&M store reporters who opened in Beijing this year also experienced even worse situations. Each fitting lane has a long queue of “Z” characters, and people who buy clothes must wait 40 minutes to try again. clothes. In the Chinese clothing market, high prices have proved to be a failed market position. However, when it has more and more customers, it also accumulates the risk of brand mediocrity.

The brand expert's remarks are: “The impact of the financial crisis on the rich is far less than the impact on the poor. The rich still have the money to enjoy luxury goods. This fits ZARA’s brand positioning, and the poor’s consumption will be reduced. H&M's positioning of such a brand has a great influence."

In fact, some people have already begun to question whether H&M fever will become a “fast-food fashion”. After the enthusiasm for H&M, will the rapid expansion rate make it eventually become the fate of “Balnyy Road” and become a cheap low-end brand? Although H&M is now on the market, compared with ZARA, Esprit, Uniqlo, MNG and other brands, in fact, compared with light companies with similar competitive models, the risk of H&M “how long can the fire” is the deepest time bomb.

Most light companies are "copying" out

Every year at the conference of Milan or Paris Fashion Week, don't think that everyone who takes the T stage is Armani or other famous brand designers. In fact, many of these audiences come from H&M. However, there are actually commercial spies of the ZARA and MNG brands. They used a digital camera lens, equipped with a huge design team, and stared at the new notices that the popular brands on the T stage were launched six months later. They completed the design in 2 to 5 weeks and launched them in stores around the world. Maybe what you just bought today is the latest model to be listed on Dior and Valentino tomorrow. Usually, they only need a few days to complete the attire of a singer or the imitation of a top fashion master's creative work. This is not H&M's patent. This is a similar competition model for ZARA, MNG, and H&M brands. However, most of these brands have a sound legal protection system, and high profits are also used to pay for those infringements after “a big copy of the world”. The verdict after the trial of the lawsuit. The pattern of ZARA, MNG, and H&M brands lies in "copying and copying styles." The product cycle of these brands is very short, and the more popular the products, the shorter the lead time.

H&M's business model is very uniform around the world, except in Dubai and other places in the Middle East, due to local policy restrictions, all of them are direct-store models. H&M does not seek localization. Global styles are similar and prices converge. However, the actual situation is that domestic consumers have unique needs. In the two stores in Beijing, the style of clothing is similar to that of New York, and the design concept has not changed. Reporters on the first and second floor of the clothing rack, to European and American common strap evening dress for many, many styles of clothing are also filled with Western elements, bold and revealing. Xidan store salesman also admits: "H&M's style is too European, and some clothes are too avant-garde to wear in the usual, some conservative style of clothing sales is better."

It is reported that H&M had suffered a loss of land and water when it entered the Danish market in neighboring countries. Although almost all languages ​​are similar, due to differences in the retail system in Denmark, it took H&M almost 10 years to make a profit in the Danish market.

Foreign apparel giants enter the Chinese market

In fact, H&M's problem is that although there is no ZARA expensive, there is no faster ZARA. Basic trousers such as black trousers and white shirts are based on the trend of previous years one year or six months ahead of schedule, in addition to those popular elements more products test the brand companies faster shipments. Most light companies are such that the fastest time from design and production to transportation is 12 days. This can be done by ZARA and H&M by 20 days.

At the same time, costs are reduced by reducing the number of middlemen. Just like ZARA, Esprit, Uniqlo, and MNG, after mastering the terminal and R&D, the biggest internal strength lies in the quick and cost-saving aspects of supply chain logistics management. Due to H&M's large number of product lines, the series is very rich, and it looks more like a mass-market brand, but it has to emphasize its own fashion advantages, which is tantamount to increasing the cost of product management and the inconvenience of freight inventory.

It is reported that China is the bridgehead for H&M's Asian strategy. In 2008, H&M's global sales amounted to more than 90 billion yuan, and China’s sales contribution was only 770 million yuan. Although H&M began to increase its procurement efforts in Asia, particularly in China, and hoped to further reduce fixed costs in the economic crisis, the increasingly difficult-to-find profit margins in Asia's cheap labor force, the weaker US dollar weakened its low-cost advantage. Its pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2009 fell 12.6%, which is the first decline in H&M's five-year experience. And its competitor Inditex Group, with its high-end brand ZARA, the first quarter profit increased by 0.2%.

H&M will intensify the expansion of the Chinese market and at the same time, it will intensify its procurement efforts for the Chinese market. However, as long as the respect for the Chinese market is respected in design and R&D, the style of the goods will become less “original” and will be followed closely by The original position of the H&M brand in the eyes of Chinese consumers will be reduced.

“China's clothing brand market has always been fired with new brands for three to five years, and several old brands have died five to seven years ago. It’s like the fire-breeding of Benny Road, and later Iger and attachment, always Reflecting the trend of 'later waves pushing forward', compared with the cautious attitude of the rest of the apparel industry giants entering China, the H&M brand can be said to be 'stupid and naive' on fire,” said a senior Chinese apparel brand expert. Compared to Esprit's customer management, H&M does not have a steady pace of market advancement. Compared with ZARA's low-key and high-priced, H&M appears to have no parity advantage. Compared to Uniqlo's simple practicality, H&M is like a grocery store, more than a hot special MNG, H&M looks bland."

The business performance of 13 stores with 770 million yuan, which is the average monthly performance of a single store of 5 million yuan, is a very good performance. However, many foreign high-end brands have lost in this deadlock in China. With the growth of sales and the laying of branches, these high-priced brands can only be forced to cut prices, and then they fall into an embarrassing situation: they hurt high-end customers. With brand loyalty, it is impossible to establish brand recognition for low-end and mid-tier customers. It may be too early to comment on the H&M brand.