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H&M CEO Exits Abruptly Amid Declining Sales

After a four-year tenure as CEO, Helena Helmersson quit after “very demanding” experience

Published

3 months ago

January 31, 2024

VMSD Staff

H&M CEO Exits Abruptly Amid Declining Sales — Photo: Artur Bogacki/iStock.com

Photo: Artur Bogacki/iStock.com

H&M (Stockholm) CEO Helena Helmersson announced her exit from the retailer Wednesday. Helmersson leaves after 26 years, four as CEO, at H&M.

“I am very proud of what we together have achieved during the last years when we have navigated through pandemic, and several geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges,” Helmersson said in a statement. “However, it has been very demanding at times for me personally and I now feel that it is time to leave the CEO role, which of course has not been an easy decision.”

Helmersson exits as H&M’s sales slide, as seen in the retailer’s fourth quarter report. H&M’s operating profit margin fell to 7.2% in its fourth quarter from 7.8% in the previous quarter, according to CNN. Sales dropped 4 percent in the past two months, including the holiday shopping season, compared to a year prior.

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