Global fashion retailer H&M has closed 135 outlets worldwide in the first nine months of 2025, raising concerns about potential repercussions for Bangladesh’s apparel industry.

The figures were disclosed in the company’s Nine-Month Report, published on September 25.

The bulk of the closures — 78 stores — were in Asia, Oceania and Africa, while 14 shut down in the Nordic region, 21 in Western Europe, three in Eastern Europe, 14 in Southern Europe and five in the Americas.

H&M now operates 4,118 outlets globally, down from 4,298 a year earlier.

The company indicated that more than 200 closures were planned overall, although 80 new outlets were also set to open in more profitable locations.

H&M said that the measures were part of an optimisation drive aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency.

The report said that locations that were not sufficiently profitable were being closed. Although this had a short-term negative impact on sales, new and more profitable stores were gradually being opened, which would strengthen the H&M Group’s position in the long term.

Bangladesh exported apparel worth $39.34 billion in the financial year 2024–25, with H&M among its largest buyers, sourcing an estimated 2–7 per cent of the country’s total exports by value.

Inditex, another major buyer, also reported a reduction in its global store count earlier this year.

An H&M official in Dhaka said that the closures could potentially reduce the company’s sourcing by 5–10 per cent, which in turn might affect Bangladesh. However, he stressed it was too early to quantify the impact.

Industry insiders estimated that around 250 Bangladeshi factories supply products directly to H&M, while more than a thousand are indirectly involved.

Any contraction in orders could therefore reverberate across the sector.

One leading exporter said that H&M was very important to Bangladesh’s apparel industry and that if their stores closed, it would affect them.

He said that the global impact of 135 store closures would inevitably reach them in some way.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) senior vice-president Inamul Haque Khan acknowledged the scale of the development, saying that it could have an impact.

He said that he knew the company had been struggling somewhat, but not severely, and added that 135 store closures in nine months was significant.

Inamul said that, so far, he had not noticed visible signs of reduced sourcing, but that it remained a concern.