Johan Granlund, Head of Controlling, and Carolin He, Commercial Advisor at H&M, held a presentation about the future of physical retailing. They highlighted the importance of analysing the whole market both on a macro and micro perspective to further understand trends and patterns of where to go next in terms of physical stores. Johan and Carolin addressed some consequences and changes that have been seen after the pandemic who has accelerated the digital shift, and how it has affected the consumer expectations of brands. For H&M, the biggest focus right now is omnichannel. The physical store will be important in the future according to them, but it needs to offer an experience and to be tailored for each location in terms of assortment. The H&M stores have gone from being product centric, to store centric and now to being more customer centric. Thus, the stores are moving from a transactional hub into a more social style experience.

Karin Östberg, Key Account Manager, H&M's Retail Club