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Outgoing H&M boss Helmersson and successor Ervér: Farewell with mixed feelings

Photo: Samuel Steen / AFP

She has been at Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) for 26 years, and now CEO Helena Helmersson is leaving the fashion retailer. The 50-year-old manager is handing over management of the company with immediate effect. H&M announced that the new boss will be Daniel Ervér. The 42-year-old has been working for the company for 18 years.

The outgoing boss is giving up the position at her own request after four years at the top of the group and will be leaving the fashion retailer, H&M announced. Helmersson was quoted as saying that she informed the board of directors that she wanted to vacate the CEO position with mixed feelings. She said she is very proud of her achievements over the past few years, steering H&M through a pandemic and multiple geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges. However, this was sometimes very demanding for her personally.

Is the competition pulling ahead?

H&M is under increasing pressure to keep up with the competition. The Spanish Zara parent Inditex and the Chinese online textile retailer Shein have grown strongly. The first quarter at H&M got off to a slow start, with sales falling by four percent. A year earlier there was an increase of five percent. In the past quarter, H&M fell slightly short of expectations. Although operating profit jumped from 821 million crowns in the previous year to 4.33 billion Swedish crowns (384 million euros), analysts had expected more.

After Helmersson's resignation became known, H&M shares on the Stockholm Stock Exchange lost around eight percent of their value. “I think the market will welcome the change after it has digested the numbers,” said portfolio manager Adil Shah from Storebrand confidently. Speculation about margin targets not being achieved was one of the reasons for the change in boss.

The group has recently focused more on profitability than sales figures. "We think a lot needs to be done to get this business back on track," said Bernstein analyst William Woods. The question is whether a person who has been with the company for so long is the right person.

The new boss Ervér is a H&M native. During his 18 years at H&M, he was responsible, among other things, for the fashion chain's merchandising in Germany. Most recently, he was responsible for the core H&M brand in the H&M Group, which also includes brands such as COS, Weekday and & Other Stories. He will retain this leadership position with the core brand, it was said.

mmq/dpa/Reuters