Retail Giant H&M Will Open Stores In Australia

H&M, a Swedish fashion retailer, has been focusing its local expansion on the capital of Australia. It will open branches in Queensland's regional cities Townsville and Rockhampton this year.
This move runs counter to the sluggish trend in retail business, where many stores have closed down and many retailers have gone bankrupt. It also shows that WAL-MART is expanding its retail hub, which is hit by the downturn in the resource sector.
China and China will open two stores in the shopping center of Stockland, a listed real estate group. Stockland is already the landlord of the group's CBD in Sydney.
Schroder, chief executive of John Schroder, said the global fashion brand is investing in Queensland.
Schroder said: "in recent years, we have completed the reconstruction project with partners AMP Capital and Stockland Rockhampton in Townsville, Rockhampton (Stockland Townsville). We will continue to attract the largest and best brands to maintain our leading position as the two largest shopping destination in the city."
Many retail chains have failed this year, including Topshop's local branches, as well as Herringbone, Rhodes & Beckett, pumpkin patches and pelis shoes.
However, a handful of international retailers, including the brand of France, the H&M of the French giants, the fast fashion chain Zara of Spain and the UNIQLO of Japanese department store, are still booming in the local market.
H&M will continue to expand in all parts of Australia.
In 2015, H&M opened the Sydney flagship store at Glasshouse, Pitt Street shopping center. There are 21 stores in Australia and more than 5000 stores in 66 countries.
Overnight, the global Swedish giant announced that its second quarter profits were higher than expected, thanks to the opening of new stores and better cost control.
The net profit from March to May was 5 billion 900 million Swedish kronor (about 691 million US dollars), an increase of 10% and a 10% increase in turnover.
The Swedish group said in a statement: "the second quarter profit growth is mainly due to continued expansion and strict cost control."
H&M continues to set up stores around the world to make up for the decline or even slide in the fierce competition from online sales platforms.
"Customer behavior and expectations are changing faster and faster, and more and more sales are happening online," said Carle, chief executive of H&M Karl-Johan Persson, in a statement. He added that this "brought enormous opportunities for H&M group".
"I heard that we are behind in e-commerce, but we believe our strategy ensures our long-term growth conditions," he said.
H&M expects its online sales to grow by 25% in the next few years, while its total sales in June are expected to grow by only 7% (less than 8% growth in June 2016), and June is the key month for summer sales in the north.