H&M and the new moves on “local” manufacturing The company has opened its first store in Brazil and wants to centralize production

The Swedish fast fashion giant H&M has just opened its first store in Brazil, a one-thousand-square-meter space in a shopping mall in Sao Paulo dedicated to women’s fashion, but the brand’s expansion plans in the country are much broader. H&M revealed that it will soon open a new store with a wider offering also for men and children, accessories and shoes, and added that it is working to centralize manufacturing. For now, H&M produces in Brazil shoes, swimwear, and jeans, while importing other items from India, Bangladesh, and Portugal. According to Brazil Country Manager Joaquim Pereira, the company will open a total of four stores across the country in the coming months, a project that, as he stated, has taken years of work. With the launch of online sales in Brazil, the Swedish giant is preparing to compete with other fast fashion powerhouses, and even though reaching the same levels as Shein, the Chinese retailer that has achieved massive global success thanks to low prices, will be difficult, centralizing production will definitely help the brand.

«I think it’s a very, very competitive market, regardless of whether it’s a Chinese company or a local company», said Pereira when asked if they would try to compete with other industry giants. «In Brazil there are many national brands that are very good». H&M’s expansion plan in Brazil also includes improving and expanding local production, which, according to Southern Hemisphere regional manager Magnus Olsson, will follow global manufacturing standards. It has not yet been revealed in which states the brand’s other stores will open in Brazil, but we know that one of H&M’s distribution centers in the country is located in the state of Minas Gerais, a space of 25,000 square meters. With an event in São Paulo featuring performances by local and international stars such as Tyla, Gilberto Gil, Anitta, Agnes Nunes, and Maz, as well as appearances by Naomi Campbell, Mia Regan, Adriana Lima, Isabeli Fontana, Carol Trentini, Pabllo Vittar and others, H&M inaugurated a new chapter in its history this weekend, in the evocative Auditório do Ibirapuera, with an explosive party.