Last Updated on May 4, 2022
I’ve been a big fan of H&M for as long as I can remember, but until recently I’d never thought about the meaning behind the brand’s name.
H&M isn’t just a store. As well as the high street brand we all know and love, it’s a retail group that also owns the likes of popular brands & Other Stories, Weekday, Arket, COS and Monki.
READ MORE: The Meaning Behind the Zara Brand Name
The group was founded in Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson, before he later handed it over to his son Steffan.
Steffan’s son Karl-Johan Persson took over as the president and chief executive of H&M in 2009, whilst Helena Helmersson has been the CEO since 2020.
The H&M name reflects the brand’s expansion throughout the years, but what does it actually mean? Keep scrolling for everything we know.
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What does H&M stand for?
H&M stands for Hennes & Mauritz.
It started out simple as Hennes, which is Swedish for ‘hers.’ At the time of launching, it only sold womenswear, but Persson acquired the hunting brand Mauritz Widforss in 1968 to include a menswear offering.
It was then that he changed the name of the business to Hennes & Mauritz, before it was rebranded as H&M and expanded globally.
Today, there are over 5,000 stores worldwide.
Is Zara owned by H&M?
Zara is owned by Spain’s richest man, Amancio Ortega. Ortega owns the Inditex group, which is also the home to brands including Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear, Bershka and more.
READ MORE: Everything You Need To Know About When and How Often H&M Restock Online & In-Store
Who started H&M?
Whilst the H&M group has been passed down through generations, it was Erling Persson who founded the brand.
It was launched under Hennes in Västerås, Sweden in 1947, and in the ’70s it started popping up in neighbouring countries before going global soon after.
Today it’s one of the biggest fast fashion retailers on the planet, with innovative collections and exciting designer collaborations with the likes of Simone Rocha and Moschino.
