H&M Struggle with Strong US Dollar

Fashion retailer H&M’s profits miss forecasts thanks to might of US dollar.

The world’s second largest fashion retailer, H&M, is facing a significant reduction in its profit outlook. The bleak outlook is due largely to changing currency valuations and their impact on the firm’s supply chain.

Despite rapidly increasing sales figures, the firm has warned of a “very negative” impact to its bottom line based on the growing strength of the US dollar.

H&M has suggested that the strengthening US dollar will cause second quarter profit figures to take a significant hit. It’s also likely that these troubles will continue into the second half of the year as analysts suggest the value of the US dollar will continue to improve against most other currencies.

The currency exposure the firm is facing is due to the structure of its supply contracts. H&M sources the majority of its products from Asian markets. The contracts for these garments are agreed and signed in US dollars. However most of the retailer’s sales take place in the European market and are conducted in either Euros or Pounds.

It therefore follows that as the value of the US dollar increases against the Euro and the Pound, the cost of H&M’s garments and raw materials experience a relative increase. This means that unless the firm elects to increase in-store pricing, the margin it makes from selling each garment reduces. Clearly, this has a detrimental impact on the firm’s profitability.

One would imagine that the procurement and supply chain departments at H&M identified this currency exposure some time ago and have established a form of currency hedging as means to minimise its impact. But, it should certainly prompt questions in the minds of procurement and supply chain managers with cross currency operations to take a closer look at their currency exposure.