H&M Cutting The Cloth!

H&M is trimming stores.

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So once again, I say this I am not a fan of this new interface. 

I hope Google gets their act together because I don't want to end on a sour note! 

The retail apocalypse is happening in real time. Donald J. Trump brags about how he's great for the economy. His failure to handle the coronavirus has finally taken a toll on many retailers and companies.

Some of your favorite name brands are going out of business. 

Enter, H&M. 

Fashion retailer H&M will permanently close 180 stores by the end of the year and an additional 350 in 2021, the company announced.

The company also plans to open 130 new shops within this year and 100 new store locations next year, including its first shop in Panama. More than 50% of the new stores planned for this year are already operating. The openings and closures are dependent on commercial lease agreement negotiated each year as well as a push for a bigger online presence prompted, in part, by the coronavirus pandemic.

"COVID-19 is speeding up the digital shift in the industry as more and more shopping takes place online," the company wrote in a report. "To meet customers' expectations of a convenient, inspiring experience enabled by interacting channels, the company's transformation work is being further accelerated." 

The retailer said it will focus on "increased digital investments, further integration of online and physical stores" and "store consolidation." 

The Swedish-based H&M, which is the parent company of eight brands popular across the world, is the second largest retailer, according to Fast Company. The largest is Spanish-based Inditex, which owns eight brands as well and is parent company to Zara.

H&M has over 5,000 stores internationally.

The pandemic did hit the company. The company reported sales in September decreased by only 5% compared to the same time last year. H&M reported only 3% of the stores it plans to reopen are still closed due to the coronavirus-related shutdowns and restrictions.

H&M CEO Helena Helmersson said that the company is expected to come out of this crisis more stronger. 

Stores on the bubble include those in the Rust Belt. Of course, Dayton, Ohio, Flint, Michigan, Rochester, New York, Syracuse, New York, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Detroit, Michigan, Cleveland, Ohio, Erie, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland, St. Louis, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, Evansville, Indiana, South Bend, Indiana, Lansing, Michigan, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Moline, Illinois, Springfield, Illinois, Appleton, Wisconsin and Saginaw, Michigan are likely to lose H&M locations. We can only tell in the coming months.