H&M, the Swedish-owned budget fashion retailer, has bucked the retail downturn by managing to double its profits to just over €1.6m.
Sales at the group rose from €44.9m to €45.9m in the year to November last. The increase was put down to the full-year impact of stores opened in the previous year, and the reduction of Vat from 21.5% to 21% effective in 2010. During the year, the chain also opened its higher-end COS (Collection of Style) brand as a concession in Brown Thomas, which would have boosted margins.
The company said cost of sales were reduced due to savings made on “sourcing, production and logistics” costs.
Quoted on the Swedish stock market, Hennes & Mauritz first entered the Irish market in 2005 and has