As H&M’s Sales Rebound, Is Fast Fashion Really at Risk of Pandemic-Fueled Decline?

With consumers and investors more attentive than ever to the fashion industry’s environmental impact, there has been speculation that fast-fashion companies — whose business models rely on churning out massive quantities of inexpensive products season after season — may soon be out of favor. These shifting attitudes don’t seem to be hurting H&M’s pockets just yet, however. The Swedish fast-fashion giant reported first-half results on Thursday that beat expectations, with pretax profit coming in at 3.59 billion Swedish crowns ($419 million) up from a loss of 6.48 billion last year. Analysts had forecast a profit of 3.42 billion. The group’s net sales also jumped from last year, up 12% in local currencies during the first half of 2021 to 86.6 billion ($10.1 billion), though they still remained below 2019 levels of 108.5 billion. This was largely due to store closures, however: At one point during the first half of this year, about 1,800 of the group’s stores were temporarily closed, accounting for about 36% of its total footprint. “With our much-appreciated collections, our ongoing transformation and the fact that markets are gradually being opened up, our recovery is strong,” said H&M Group CEO Helena Helmersson in a statement. “Online sales have continued to

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