STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) - Swedish apparel retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (HNNMY.PK, HMRZF.PK, HEN.L) Tuesday reported growth in sales for the month of March, supported by new stores.
Total sales including Value Added Tax or VAT increased 13 percent in local currencies compared to March last year.
While announcing the first-quarter results on March 27, the firm had said that the new year started well and sales during the period between March 1 and March 25 improved 12 percent in local currencies.
The sales growth in March is an improvement over the previous month, which reported an 11 percent increase. However, the growth is lower compared to the 15 percent increase in January.
The total number of stores amounted to 3,216 on March 31, 2014 compared to 2,853 on March 31, 2013.
The company's target is to open 375 new stores in 2014. Australia, the Philippines and India will become new H&M countries in 2014, and Peru and South Africa will join in 2015. It intends to increase the number of stores by 10-15 percent annually with continued high profitability, while increasing sales in comparable units.
Hennes & Mauritz, popularly referred to as H&M, was founded in Sweden in 1947. Apart from the namesake H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories as well as H&M Home. The group has more than 3,200 stores in 54 markets.
The company is slated to publish percentage sales development for April on May 15.
The stock is up 0.5 percent in early morning trading in Stockholm at 272.50 Swedish kronor.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX