USA: Clothing prices rise as brands respond to US tariffs
"Clothing prices rising in US as Trump tariffs kick in, H&M boss says", 26 June 2025
Clothing prices are beginning to rise in the US as Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods start to have an effect, according to the boss of H&M...
Daniel Ervér, the chief executive of the Swedish retailer, said: “In the US, we are starting to see some competitors increasing prices. Different competitors are acting in different ways. Some more aggressively and some more cautiously.”
He said it was unclear how the market would develop as there was a “fast-moving situation” on tariffs, as the Trump administration had changed the rules on several occasions...
He said the group’s wide range of sourcing locations meant it had “good flexibility” to mitigate the impact of any tariffs imposed by the US on goods imported from certain countries so that it might have an advantage over some competitors...
The comments came as H&M revealed that sales had risen just 1%, in local currencies, to 112bn Swedish kroner (£8bn) in the first half of the year as it closed 4% of its stores. Operating profit slid nearly 17% to 5.9bn Swedish kroner.
The group said it planned to close 200 of its 4,200 stores this year but would also open 80 new outlets including its first three in Brazil and stores in Venezuela...