Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) yesterday reported a quarterly loss and said that it was dedicated to regaining the trust of shoppers in China following a recent backlash there after comments it made last year about Xinjiang region.
The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer has come under fire from consumers and officials in China after an H&M statement from last year resurfaced on social media.
In those comments, H&M had expressed concern over reports of forced labor in the western region of Xinjiang, saying it would no longer source cotton from there.
Photo: Reuters
In a statement alongside quarterly results yesterday, H&M said that its commitment to China remained strong, and it was dedicated to regaining the trust and confidence of customers, colleagues and business partners there.
“By working together with stakeholders and partners, we believe we can take steps in our joint efforts to develop the fashion industry, as well as serve our customers and act in a respectful way,” it said.
The latest statement made no specific mention of Xinjiang.
China is H&M’s fourth-biggest sales market and its biggest sourcing market.
“We have seen brands like Nike and H&M weather similar controversies in the past and maintain relatively strong sales; however, short term we think H&M may see a negative impact on its sales in the large and growing Chinese market,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Richard Chamberlain said in a note.
With many of its shops closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, H&M reported a pretax loss for the December-February period, its fiscal first quarter, of 1.39 billion kronor (US$159 million) against a year-earlier profit of 2.5 billion kronor.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast a loss of 1.41 billion kronor.
Sales from March 1 to Sunday were up 55 percent measured in local currencies.
H&M said that it would not propose a dividend at its annual general meeting, but saw good prospects of one in the second half of the year.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS