The store of the future: the H&M example

One of our investment thesis is about the store of the future.

We believe that the offline retail market is not dead, it is just that the retailers are not good enough to sell.

In the UK the % of online retail sales is less than 20% of the total retail sale. That’s means that for every £ spent in the UK, 80 pence are still spent in stores, malls and corner shops.

Retailers are finally awakening from their long winter sleep and are realizing that the store can be a catalyst for good, and in addition can boost the online sales.

Today H&M announced that it plans to use its 5,000 stores more as a logistical hub for online shopping.

The new CEO, Karl-Johan Persson, made it clear that the role of H&M stores will change and in the future they will be better used as a logistical hubs for deliveries, pick-ups and returns.

H&M will this year open the fewest stores in decade, adding a net 25 of the 5,076 it ended last year with (source: Financial Times).

As investors, we are committed to invest in app, marketplaces and solutions able to support the evolution of the store of the future and the conversion offline-online of the retail market.