H&M share price slides as discounts reduce profit

Shares in H&M fell by nearly 6% after the boss of the world’s second-largest fashion retailer warned that the company is falling short of its sales targets, with hefty summer discounts reducing quarterly profit by 20%.

H&M faces rising competition in its core European budget fashion market, including from young shoppers defecting to online retailers such as Asos and Zalando.

“The fashion retail sector is growing and is in a period of extensive and rapid change as a result of ongoing digitalisation,” the Swedish retailer’s chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said.