H&M, the Swedish fast fashion giant, reported falling sales in September as a result of unusually hot weather across many European markets and declined demand for autumn ranges.

Operating profit in the June-August period, the Swedish group’s third quarter, was SEK 4.7 billion (€ 404 million) against a year-earlier SEK 902 million.

The year-ago figure included a one-off cost of SEK 2.1 billion for the group’s exit from Russia, which also accounted for four percentage points of the 10 per cent September sales decline, H&M said.

The company reported that the sales during September 2023 are expected to decrease by 10 per cent in local currencies compared with September 2022 with the discontinued operations in Russia accounting for 4 percentage points of the decrease.

Helena Helmersson the CEO of the company states, “Having now moved into September, we can see that the start of the autumn season has been delayed because the month so far has been marked by unusually hot weather in many of our European markets’’.

Previously, H&M failed as compared to its fashion rival, Zara owner Inditex, which recently reported a 14 per cent leap in constant currency sales between 1st August and 11th September.

The company said it was on track to reach its goal to increasing operating margin to 10 per cent by the end of next year and added that the group’s cost-cutting programme was continuing ‘at full speed’ and plans to gradually reopen most of the temporarily closed stores in Ukraine from November 2023 onwards.