Private: H&M sales dampened by second Covid-19 wave

H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Tuesday that local-currency sales fell 10 per cent in its fourth quarter, with a pronounced slowdown in the final month as the second wave of coronavirus restrictions curbed spending.

The Swedish rival to Zara owner Inditex said a recovery seen in the previous quarter had continued through much of the fourth quarter but that sales had been hit again from the end of October.

“Between 22 October and 30 November sales decreased by 22 percent compared with the corresponding period last year, as the recovery transitioned into a new slowdown as a result of the pandemic’s second wave,” H&M said in a statement.

H&M said sales in the quarter fell to 52.5 billion Swedish…