SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce

(Autonomous)
Jain Society, SIES Ln, Sion West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400022.

Project Title

H&M
IS H&M AFFORDABLE AND APPROACHABLE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS?

Submitted by
Name of the student Roll No
SHREYA DESHPANDE MS1819009

Class: SYBMS Semester: 4th Semester

Subject: Business Research Methods

Under the guidance of

Asst. Prof. K. Saravanan Nadar

Academic Year
2018 - 2019

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 INDEX

INTRODUCTION 3

HYPOTHESIS 4

METHODOLOGY
DATA ANALYSIS AND 6

INTERPRETATION
LIMITATIONS 15

COCNCLUSIONS 16

APPENDIX 17

WEBLIOGRAPHY 18

2
 INTRODUCTION

Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company known for
its fast fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. H&M and its associated
companies operate in 62 countries with over 4,500 stores and as of 2015employed around
132,000 people. It is the second-largest global clothing retailer, just behind Spain-
based Inditex (parent company of Zara). The company has a significant on-line presence, with
on-line shopping available in 33 countries

 The company was founded by Erling Persson in 1947, when he opened his first shop
in Vasteras, Sweden. The shop, called Hennes (Swedish for "hers"), exclusively sold
women's clothing. A store was opened in Norway in 1964. In 1968, Persson acquired the
hunting apparel retailer Mauritz Widforss, which led to the inclusion of a menswear
collection in the product range and the name change to Hennes & Mauritz.

 The company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1974. Shortly after, in
1976, the first store outside Scandinavia opened in London. H&M continued to expand
in Europe, and began to retail online in 1998, when it was able to buy the
domain hm.com from a company called A1 in a non-published domain transaction. The
two-letter domain was registered in the early 1990s, but data on the first registration is
lost. The opening of the first U.S. store on 31 March 2000, on Fifth Avenue in New York
marked the start of the expansion outside of Europe.

 In 2008, the company announced in a press release that it would begin selling home
furnishings. Initially distributed through the company's online catalog, there are now
H&M Home stores located internationally.

 Following expansion in Asia and the Middle East and the launch of concept stores
including COS, Weekday, Monk, and Cheap Monday, in 2009 and 2010, branding
consultancy Interbrand ranked the company as the twenty-first most-valuable global
brand, making it the highest-ranked retailer in the survey. Its worth was estimated at $12–
16 billion.

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 HYPOTHESIS
A hypothes is (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis
to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one
can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot
satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words
"hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same
as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for
further research, in a process beginning with an educated guess or thought. H&M hypothesis is
as follows:

 H&M is a known brand.

 Most of the people likes its quality and customers services.
 It’s popular for styling and upto date fashion.
 Their clothes are affordable to some.
 Most of the teenagers prefer shopping from their series of clothes and styles.

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 METHODOLOGY
 PRIMARY METHOD – USING SURVEY METHOD

1. The Survey method is the technique of gathering data by asking questions to people who
are thought to have desired information. A formal list of questionnaire is prepared.
Generally a non disguised approach is used. The respondents are asked questions on their
demographic interest opinion. As compared to other methods (direct observation,
experimentation) survey yield a broader range of information. Surveys are effective to
produce information on socio-economic characteristics, attitudes, opinions, motives etc
and to gather information for planning product features, advertising media, sales
promotion, channels of distribution and other marketing variables.
2. Questioning is usually faster and cheaper that Observation.
3. Questions are simple to administer.
4. Data is reliable
5. The variability of results is reduced.
6. It is relatively simple to analyze, quote and interrelate the data obtained by survey
method

 WEB SURVEY (ONLINE FORMS)

A form that a user on your site fills out and then by submitting it automatically forwards emails to you.
An Online form is a good way to gather information from your web sites users and visitors.
It is also efficient because its reduce the needs of papers and you will be able to analyze the collected data

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 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Age
10 - 20 20 - 30 30 and Above

7.5%

39.6%

52.8%

HERE WE CAN SEE 10-20 YEARS ARE 39.6% AND 52.8% ARE OF 20-30YEARS OLD,
7.5% ARE OF 30 AND ABOVE ARE AWARE ABOUT THE BRAND H&M

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 How occasionally do you shop for clothes
once in a month once in 6 months annually

8%

45%

47%

45% PEOPLE SHOP ONCE IN A MONTH, 47% SHOP ONCE IN 6 MONTHS AND ONLY
8% PEOPLE SHOP ANNUALLY.

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 What is your preference for clothes
indian western indo western

0%

42%

58%

58% PREFER WESTERN CLOTHES AND 42% PREFER INDO WESTERN .AND ONLY ON
FESTIVES THEY PREFER INDIAN WEAR.

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 How much is your budget for shopping
1k-5k 5k-10k 10k and above

12%

37%

51%

12% PEOPLE’S BUDGET IS OF 10K AND ABOVE WHILE SHOPPING, 51% HAVE A
BUDGET OF 5K TO 10K AND REMAINING 12% HAVE A BUDGET OF 1K TO 5K.

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 Which place do you prefer for shopping
malls designer boutiques street shopping

26%

0%

74%

12% PREFER STREET SHOPPING AND 74% PREFER MALLS FOR GOOD QUALITY
AND AFFORDABILTY OF PRODUCTS.

10
 Are you brand conscious person?
yes no maybe

10%

33%
57%

10% PEOPLE SAYS YES THEY ARE BRAND CONSCIOUS, 33% SAYS NO AND 57%
SELECTS MAYBE.

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 Which brand do you generally prefer for
shopping
h&m, forever 21, zara pantaloons,lifestyle,fbb local clothes

11%

30%

59%

11% PREFER H&M ,FOREVER 21 AND 75% PREFER PANTALOONS AND OTHER BRANDS, ONLY
14% PREFER LOCAL CLOTHES.

12
 Have you made purchase at H&M
yes no I itend to do so

45%

55%

55% SAYS YES THEY HAVE MADE PURCHASES AT H&M AND 45% INTEND TO DO
SO.

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 Do you find the products affordable and
approachable compared to others
YES NO MAYBE

28%

55%

17%

28% PEOPLE FIND H&M AFFORDABLE, 17% SAYS NO AND 55% SAYS MAYBE IT IS
AFFORDABLE AND APPROACHABLE TO THEM.

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 LIMITATIONS

• Over the last two years, it has increasingly lost out to more fashionable rivals like Zara at
the same time it has been outsmarted by online-centric stores such as ASOS, that have cut
down support chains to as little as a week.

• H&M probably talks about sustainability more than any other fast-fashion brand. It
produces a Conscious collection made using sustainable and recycled materials, creates
glossy ad campaigns to encourage garment recycling, and has a voucher program offering
discounts to those who donate their old clothes at its stores.

• These efforts sound great, but critics myself included have questioned how much they
actually mitigate the massive and growing company’s environmental impact. Some
suggest these displays of devotion to the notion of sustainability are “green washing”
distracting from the extent of the harm the company does, and even boosting sales.

• To grow the materials, dye and finish them with chemicals, manufacture, and ship all
those clothes puts a tremendous strain on the environment and consumes vast resources.
That volume is the primary sustainability challenge H&M faces, and it knows it. It also
wants to make sure shoppers are aware it knows, by promoting its sustainability efforts in
its marketing which is where things get tricky.

• “Consumption as well as trade between countries and production in developing countries

is necessary to create jobs and lift nations and people out of poverty,” a spokesperson
said. “H&M is indirectly creating employment for over one million people, not least
women, in the countries that manufacture our products.”

• Some labor groups say H&M puts workers in unsafe conditions especially in by looking
for the cheapest work possible. But there’s no doubt that the garment industry in the
country has also been instrumental in improving millions of lives.

• These are some limitations of H&M as they still have to work on those.

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 CONCLUSION

 The questions asked in this research was about affordability and if H&M is approachable
or not.
 Fast fashion is the darling of the fashion retail today. Two brands are the leaders in the
fast fashion market: H&M and Zara, an Inditex brand. Given that both are international
brands, it’s hard to draw line-by-line comparisons for the U.S. market. But here is what
you need to know. Zara is growing twice as fast an H&M, up 8 percent as compared with
4 percent from 2016-2017. H&M operates 536 stores in the U.S., while Zara operates
about 300 stores here out of some 800 Inditex brand stores in the Americas.
 Value is, of course, in the eye of the beholder. H&M’s solution to its overstock problem
is so old-school; a chainwide fire sale is planned to rid it of its excess inventory. But with
cheap prices being one of its primary appeals for customers, how much lower can it
afford to go to keep its “good fashion at a reasonable price” brand positioning intact.
Personal commerce is every place where the customers are, rather than only in the place
the brand is physically present. This is the new distribution model for retailers today:
Delivering the brand experience and products when and where the customer demands are
key.
 Under the old 4Ps school of marketing, everything focuses on the company and the brand
it’s Product, its Price, its Promotion, and it’s Place. In the new 4Es approach to
marketing, it is all about the customer Experiences for the customer, Exchange with the
customer, Evangelism through the customer, and being Every Place for the customer. In
essence, the customer becomes the brand manager.

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 APPENDIX

1. NAME
2. AGE
3. HOW OCCASIONALLYDO YOU SHOP FOR CLOTHES?
4. WHAT IS YOUR PREFERENCES FOR CLOTHES?
5. HOW MUCH IS YOUR BUDGET FOR SHOPPING?
6. WHICH PLACE DO YOU PREFER FOR SHOPPING?
7. ARE YOU BRAND CONCIOUS PERSON?
8. WHICH BRAND WOULD YOU GENERALLY PREFER WHILE SHOPPING?
9. HAVE YOU MADE PURCHASE AT H&M?
10. DO YOU FIND THE PRODUCTS AFFORDABLE AND APPROACHABLE
COMPARED TO OTHERS?

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 WEBLIOGRAPHY
 Wikipedia
 Official website of H&M
 Fashion and quality clothing at the best price - H&M IN | H&M IN

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