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H&M is closing its ION Orchard store on Mar. 12 2023 after more than 10 years in that location.

Meet in other places

Announcing the closure on its social media accounts, H&M reassured its customers that it would meet them "in other places".

New beginning await! You can always find us on https://t.co/jyCyFIG5O0 & online. pic.twitter.com/KE7Lf92dkV

— H&M Singapore (@hmsingapore) February 3, 2023

The company also hinted at its future plans by captioning the post "New beginning[s] awaits!".

It also directs customers to an online map to locate other outlets, with the next closest one being its flagship store in Somerset.

Decade long

The store located at the basement levels of ION Orchard was H&M's second outlet in Singapore, spanning the mall's second and third basement levels.

It has been there for over 10 years, since November 2012—just over a year after the brand's first outlet in September 2011.

At its height, H&M operated 11 stores in Singapore, and after March 2023 will be operating eight throughout Singapore.

The closing comes a few years after H&M announced its decision in 2020 to close over 250 stores globally, a reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic encouraging shoppers to buy online.

Locally, H&M has shuttered its Tampines outlet in August 2020, and the Punggol store in January 2021.

Global reorganisation

Globally, H&M is undergoing a period of further reorganisation.

The Financial Times reports that it closed 185 stores in 2022, out of 4,700 stores worldwide.

Reuters reports that the fashion brand closed its flagship store in Shanghai, a result of then strict Covid-19 lockdowns, and local backlash against the company's stance against using Xinjiang cotton.

It also halted sales in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia after the outbreak of war in February 2022.

But H&M is continuing to expand, opening in six new countries in 2022, including Cambodia.

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Top image via Ming/Google Maps.