SWEDEN: Fashion Statement Was Costly For H&M

Hennes & Mauritz, the Swedish apparel retailer, blamed its slide in profits on discounts on hard-to-sell clothing which cost the retailer SEK 350m, news swervice di.se reported today."We have had too much high fashion compared to basic fashion, which meant we had to lower prices. But we've corrected that imbalance now," CEO Rolf Eriksen said.The company said that measures to reduce costs were taken during the third quarter, which will reduce costs by SEK 500m on an annual basis.Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) profits for the first nine months fell by 19 per cent to SEK 2.6 billion. This was somewhat lower than most analysts expected. But despite the slide in profits, H&M shares gained substantially on the Stockholm Exchange.