In my previous two blog posts, I wrote about Uniqlo and Zara, two of the world’s largest — and most successful — fashion retailers. What is remarkable about these companies is that they have abandoned the traditional retail model for their own approaches, each diametrically opposed to the other. Uniqlo focuses on technological differentiation, using long product development cycles and offering basics that appeal to a large consumer base. In contrast, Zara has built a supply chain that allows it to follow fashion trends and deliver goods in near real-time.
H&M , the Swedish fashion group with more than $17 billion in annual sales, has an approach that is a hybrid of the Uniqlo and Zara models. It manages to merge a commitment to longevity while staying responsive to fashion trends. What are the keys to its success?