H&M increased its SA employees by 23% in a year - as it sees a strong local growth market

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From opening its first South African shop in 2015, H&M now has more than 30 outlets – and now employs around 1 000 employees in the country.

H&M launched in India at the same time, and now has just more than 50 shops there – for a population of almost 1.5 billion, compared to only 61 million in South Africa.

In 2016, its Cape Town store was the third-busiest outlet worldwide. H&M is the world's second-biggest fashion retailer.

The group, which also partnered with SA's largest e-commerce platform Superbalist in February this year, said that while it had a "strong and healthy" store portfolio, it believes there is still room for further growth and that it is exploring further opportunities for expansion in South Africa.

Its latest additions this year were shops in Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, Woodlands Boulevard and Ballito Junction.

South Africa is a growth market with large potential, said Caroline Nelson, country manager for H&M South Africa. She said the company was excited to continue expanding its presence across the country, offering customers "access to quality fashion at the best price, made in a sustainable way".

In its 2022 annual report, released in January this year, SA was listed as having 1 019 employees – placing it in the top 40% of H&M employers in the world. Its South African labour force grew by more than 23% in a single year.

The company said on Friday that its current number of permanent employees in SA stood at 947 across its 31 stores, adding that this may continue to increase. It explained that the number listed in the annual report also included part-time staff, which fluctuated according to peak selling periods.

"As a result of the influx of tourism during 2022 in South Africa, the number of employees increased in order to secure a great shopping experience for all customers," it said. 

"Competition is necessary for the South African economy, which ultimately leads to creation of job opportunities and challenges all of us to grow and diversify our offering and deliver a great experience for our customers."

H&M recently reported half-year results, flagging that its net sales in Swedish Krona increased 9% to SEK 112.488 million. Its share price jumped almost 20% in the single day following the results release.