H&M CEO Daniel Ervér acknowledges that the fashion retailer’s growth is not satisfactory, but defends the company’s performance and shareholder returns. He says this in an interview with EFN Finansmagasinet.
Ervér points out that H&M has increased its profitability from 3 to 9 percent and that the focus is now on creating the conditions for profitable growth.
“I am completely convinced that this will also be reflected in our share price going forward. The price of an H&M share is one component, but the overall assessment is broader than that,” says Ervér.
Over the past five years, H&M has paid out SEK 54 billion to shareholders. Total returns over the same period have amounted to 32 percent, compared with around 64 percent for the large-cap index OMXS30. At the same time, competitor Inditex has delivered total returns of 82 percent.
In the interview, Ervér also rejects the perception of H&M as slow-moving in the competition with, among others, Shein, Temu and Inditex. According to him, the company can go from idea to finished product in six weeks, which he considers comparable with the industry’s leading players.
