H&M expands its third-party marketplace

The news: H&M will sell more third-party brands in stores and online to help reach its goal of doubling revenues by 2030, CEO Helena Helmersson told Reuters.

Branching out: H&M currently has partnerships with 70 brands in six markets, which Helmersson says have been well-received by shoppers so far. The company also has deals with adidas and New Balance to sell products via its & Other Stories, Cos, and Arket labels.

• Helmersson noted the partnerships have been effective at getting shoppers to supplement their H&M baskets with items from other brands. But the challenge going forward is ensuring the retailer has the supply chain and organizational capabilities to expand its efforts to new markets without hurting profitability.

Looking ahead: Despite H&M’s early successes, scaling its third-party offering will be difficult given heavy competition from both established platforms like Amazon and Zalando, as well as retailers like Shein and Macy’s keen to expand their own marketplaces.

• That said, expanding the number of brands, products, and potentially even categories available to shoppers will help H&M grow customer visits and lifetime value, as well as give it an edge over competitors like Inditex that lack those partnerships.

Go further: Check out our latest US Ecommerce Marketplaces forecast.