Spanish fans of H&M might have a harder time finding a store close to them, as the Swedish fashion retailer is reportedly shutting down 28 of its stores in Spain and laying off about 590 workers.
The brand, which has 133 stores in the country, didn’t reveal any solid reasons behind the closures. But Comisiones Obreras and Unión General de Trabajadores, two trade unions in Spain, told Reuters the decision was made for “unspecified organizational, productive, and economic reasons.”
The brand employed about 4,000 workers in its Spanish stores as of 2022, and in another statement to the Sourcing Journal, it emphasized that “having stores in the right locations and staying competitive was a priority.” It further added that regularly assessing its portfolio includes “enhancing the shopping experience in our existing stores, actively seeking out new opportunities and making informed decisions about closing stores when necessary.”
The news comes after the retailer’s somewhat disappointing Q4 results, and follows layoffs that eliminated ~1,500 positions a little over a year ago.
H&M is far from the only retailer in Europe struggling under inflationary pressures. Paul Smith recently shuttered its three stores in Germany—Europe’s only country hit by a recession.
As Retail Brew recently reported, a Paul Smith spokesperson told WWD that “the leases for our shops in Germany were all negotiated pre-Covid when shopping habits were vastly different from today. The decision to close shops is never easy particularly given the dedication and efforts of all of our local staff.”
Many other retailers, like Showfields, REI, Levi’s, and Scotch & Soda, have also been strained by the current economic climate and reduced consumer spending.
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