H&M Confirms Ximending Store to Close by Year-End, Continues Search for New Locations

(CNA Taipei, July 3, 2024) It was recently reported that H&M, the Swedish fast-fashion brand, would close its largest store in Taiwan, located in Taipei's Ximending district, by the end of this year. H&M confirmed this to CNA today, stating that due to the lease expiring, the store will cease operations by the end of this year following negotiations with the landlord. The brand currently has 13 stores remaining in Taiwan and will continue to seek suitable locations for expansion.

H&M told CNA that Taiwan has always been a very important market with significant growth potential in the Greater China region, and the company remains confident in the Taiwanese market. In the future, H&M will continue to optimize its store portfolio and will search for new, suitable locations across the country, hoping to meet consumers with a new look.

The H&M Ximending store is situated in Taipei's Ximending commercial district and is one of H&M's key locations in Taiwan. It was also H&M's largest store in Taiwan and was once touted as the largest flagship store in Asia. Market insiders privately pointed out that after the pandemic severely impacted the Ximending commercial district, consumer and tourist sources have continued to change in recent years. Coupled with factors such as rental costs, these have affected the location strategy of international apparel brands. However, H&M officially stated that the closure is primarily due to the lease expiring.

H&M entered the Taiwanese market in 2015, with its first store opening at Breeze Songgao in Taipei. In recent years, its expansion pace has become more conservative, with its latest store opening being the Taipei Zhongxiao store in 2020.

Observing international fast-fashion brands in Taiwan, UNIQLO and GU, under Japan's Fast Retailing Group, have continued to open stores in recent years, with 72 and 27 stores respectively in Taiwan. The Spanish fast-fashion brand ZARA currently has 7 stores in Taiwan, and the American affordable fashion brand GAP has 16 stores.

Market insiders stated that in recent years, the location strategy of international fast-fashion brands in Taiwan has gradually shifted from aggressive expansion to optimizing store portfolios, with greater emphasis on single-store operational efficiency, the consumption structure of commercial districts, and rental costs. Therefore, location adjustments have become the norm. (Editor: Yang Kai-hsiang) 1150703

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