Beginning of the end? Or the end of a beginning? Last week, H&M displayed a (symbolic) blank page on its Instagram account: a real tragedy for many fans of the brand, worried about this sudden disappearance online. But they can rest assured, the outcome is much less dark than they imagine!
This certainly didn’t escape its subscribers: on August 29, the 38 million fans who follow H&M’s Instagram account were able to see that the famous ready-to-wear brand had deleted all of the content that was on its feed at the time. All of the posts disappeared suddenly and without warning, leaving the brand’s subscribers somewhat bewildered.
In these complicated contexts for the Fashion and ready-to-wear industry – let us recall the countless store closures and other placements in receivership that have followed one another in recent years – the most pessimistic among them may have wondered if H&M was going to follow the same tragic fate as all these Fashion brands of their past… Well, no! This online disappearance is in fact part of the continuity of a new marketing strategy.
It follows the arrival of the brand’s new CEO, Mr. Daniel Ervér, who took over the group in January 2024. His mission? To revitalize a group whose sales have been slightly up since 2023 (+6%) but are still weakened by tough market competition (SheIn and Inditex first). The blank page displayed on Instagram is therefore symbolic: it illustrates the new chapter that H&M aims to write. By deleting all its posts, the Scandinavian ready-to-wear brand is wiping the slate clean and embarking on a new era, conquering new male and female consumers and a new, more “mid-range” target.
The few lines written in the description of the Instagram account should have given hope to those who thought it was a dire story: since Thursday, it has been written there “12092024”. These mysterious numbers actually correspond to the release date of the new fall-winter collection. The same day, the brand also started publishing content for its subscribers again. We can see a post highlighting the singer Charli xcx, accompanied by a short caption that leaves no room for doubt: “Charli xcx for H&M A/W 2024. Collection drops 12092024”.
Two publications have since been added to the empty feed, with female muses who, as we can guess, also embody the upcoming collection from the house of Hennes & Mauritz. But what does this mean for us, the consumers?
This will first translate into an “expanded” price range: a little above SheIn, a little below Zara. On the store side, the design and layout of the sales area will be rethought: renewed fitting rooms, furniture with an elegant and neat design, fewer racks and/or shelves and a more airy space. Some stores will even offer clothing rental services and the sale of second-hand products: a real revolution for the ready-to-wear chain, which has been totally immersed in ultra fast fashion since its beginnings on the market.
This teaser on Instagram therefore triggers the group’s desire to complete the appearance of a slightly more premium brand, much less fast fashion. The start of another story, perhaps synonymous with new glory for the Swedish brand.