Fast fashion chain closing 200 stores, ending physical brand

While people want affordable clothes, fast fashion brands have faced pushback over sustainability issues.

Some of the expert opinions on the industry are quite harsh.

“When an industry doesn’t care about how people are treated, no consideration of sustainability is possible. You can’t just care about the environment and forget about the fair and ethical treatment of people,” United Nations Officer Simone Cipriani, who created and manages the Ethical Fashion Initiative of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the WTO, told Earth.org. 

Other experts offered alternatives that might also help consumers save money.

“What if we started by slowing down and not consuming so much stuff, just because it’s there and cheap and available. It’s amazing how that process makes sense financially, it makes sense ethically, and it makes sense environmentally,” said True Cost Director Andrew Morgan, in a quote compiled by Project Cece.

H&M, a leading fast-fashion company that also owns the Weekday and Monki retail brands, has been trying to address these issues.

"The integration of sustainability into our daily operations continues to deliver results. The climate and environmental organisation Stand.earth ranks H&M as number one among
42 fashion companies in terms of reducing climate impact," the company shared in its six-month earnings report.

H&M is closing stores, ending one brick-and-mortar brand

H&M has acknowledged that it's operating in a challenging economic environment.

"In uncertain times with cautious consumers we monitor macroeconomic and geopolitical developments closely and continuously adapt both the customer offering and the
business to meet our customers’ needs in the best way. We continue to strengthen the product offering and the experience both online and in our stores," the company shared.

That's a fairly vague sentiment, but the company followed with specifics about its plans to shrink its store portfolio.

"The H&M group works continuously to adapt the store portfolio based on customers’ behaviour in each market and is contractually able to renegotiate or exit around a third of
leases each year. Rebuilds and adjustments to areas and formats are also part of ongoing efforts relating to the store portfolio," it added.

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Closures, however, are also part of the plan.

"For 2025, the plan is to open around 80 new stores. Most of the openings will be in growth markets. Just over 200 stores are scheduled for closure during 2025, mainly in established markets. The closures include a large number of Monki stores. A few of these will be converted into Weekday stores and the remaining stores are planned to be closed," according to H&M.

H&M store closures at a glance

• H&M plans to close around 200 stores in 2025, primarily in "established markets."
  Source: H&M Group
• So far, the company has shuttered 135 stores globally in the past nine months.
  Source: Yahoo Finance
• Of those 135 closures:
  Many are in Asia, Oceania, and Africa. 21 stores closed in Western Europe, including H&M and its Monki brand. Two Manhattan H&M stores (E. 86th St. and Church St.) are set to close by January 2026. Source: Our Town NY
• The company is also converting many Monki stores into Weekday locations, while the rest will be shut entirely.
  Source: H&M Group

"As of 31 May 2025, the H&M group had 4,166 (4,319) stores, i.e., the total number of stores has decreased by 153 stores compared with the same point in time the previous year, which corresponds to a reduction of around 4%. During the first six months of the current financial year, 24 (43) new stores have opened, and 111 (93) stores have
closed," the company shared in its earnings release.

H&M faces continued challenges

Fast fashion has struggled in the digital realm. That could be because, like is the cast for treasure hunt stores like Marshalls and TJMaxx, part of the experience is going to the store.

"H&M’s online channel has not picked up the slack of store closures to the extent that it has at many of its multichannel competitors,” Sofie Willmott, content head of apparel at GlobalData, told RetailDive in response to an earlier group of H&M store closures.

H&M has been working to offer a store experience that's specific to the market it's operating in, PYMNTS.com reported.

"Customizing the shopping experience based on the local community’s needs and preferences is a way for stores to create a sense of familiarity and connection. This personal touch has an opportunity to strengthen the bond between the brand and consumers," the website reported.

It's a localized approach.

"Smaller, community-focused stores can offer selected products that match the tastes and trends of the area. Staff in these compact stores are more likely to understand the community, allowing them to give personalized recommendations and services that resonate with customers," PYMNTS added.

H&M is closing Monki's brick-and-mortar stores

H&M Is “Terminating” the Monki Chain

• H&M plans to close “almost all” Monki stores.
• Most of the Monki stores will be shut, but a limited number will be converted into Weekday stores.
  Source: RetailDetail EU

Integration into Weekday

• H&M is integrating Monki into its Weekday brand both online and in physical stores.
• Their 2024 annual report explicitly states: “we will … integrate the Monki brand into Weekday … in stores and online.”
• As of November 2024, H&M stated Monki had 48 stores; the plan is to convert “a few” into Weekday, but “the remaining stores are planned to be closed.”
  Source: H&M Group

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