H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB said store closures in Russia, surging expenses and new Covid-19 disruptions were all hurting its business, posing a challenge to the fashion retailer’s expansion plans.
The Swedish company on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings and warned that sales growth had slowed in recent weeks. H&M said new waves of Covid-19 had resulted in store closures in China and hurt footfall in Germany and Austria, while its decision to stop sales in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine had wiped out a further chunk of revenue.
