H&M to close 170 stores as it posts biggest profit drop in six years

H&M's gross profit margin for the financial year to November 30 fell to 54 per cent from 55.2 per cent a year earlier, in contrast to the Inditex gross profit margin

Fashion retailer H&M said on Wednesday it would open far fewer stores in 2018 as it responds to the shift to shopping online and announced plans to launch a new outlet to sell external brands alongside its own ranges.

Following decades of rapid expansion, the world's second-biggest clothes group after Zara owner Inditex has struggled to respond to the growth of ecommerce. Its image was dented further last month by an ad slammed by many as racist.

H&M, in which the founding Persson family owns a 33 per cent stake, reported an unchanged dividend but said it might give shareholders