OSLO – H&M announced this week that it will be shutting down its digital fashion outlet, Afound, later this year due to poor demand. Afound was launched in 2018 as an outlet business with physical stores, offering discounted clothing from various external brands. The strategy later shifted to focus on online sales, expanding its reach across seven European countries, including Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to its website.
In a statement, H&M said: “H&M Group constantly reviews initiatives, projects, and brand plans at large, adjusting priorities to secure economic viability and long-term resilience. When evaluating Afound’s current position, we don’t see enough demand, partly because brands increasingly choose to use their own channels for sales, to further strengthen their customer relationships. This has led to the difficult but necessary decision to discontinue Afound.
“Afound will close later this autumn, the ongoing operations will be phased out during the coming months, and the team will be supported in continuing their career within or outside the group. Afound and the team have broken new ground for H&M Group, renewing off-price in a way that has served both customers and brands since the start in 2018 and the valuable insights and learnings generated during the journey will be captured and built on going forward.”
