How did it start?
Erling Persson founded H&M in Vasteras, Sweden, in 1947. A salesman, Persson wanted to develop a retail idea he'd come across during a trip to the US, focusing on high turnover and low prices. H&M was originally named Hennes (Swedish for 'hers') because the store only carried women's clothing (right).
Hennes expanded into Norway in 1964 and Denmark in 1968. Later that year, Persson decided to open in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. He acquired a hunting and gun store called Mauritz Widforss on Sergelgatan. The store carried a range of men's clothing that was absorbed into Persson's inventory and he renamed the store Hennes & Mauritz. This was shortened to H&M when the company expanded into children's clothing, baby clothing and cosmetics.
By its 50th anniversary, H&M stores had opened in most major cities in Europe. Persson's son, Stefan, oversaw the rapid expansion of the company and was appointed chairman of the board in 1998.
H&M came into the fashion spotlight when it recruited high-profile designers to create limited-edition collections for the mass market. The company teamed up with Karl Lagerfeld (2004), Stella McCartney (2005) and Viktor & Rolf (2006), starting a trend that would be copied by other fast-fashion stores such as Mango and the Gap.
Its first stint with Lagerfeld wasn't without controversy, however, and the collection was criticised for catering mainly to small-sized women and for the designer's aversion to seeing larger women in his designs.