H&M: The Challenges of Global Expansion and the Move to adopt International Financial Reporting standards Hennes & Mauritz AB (also known as H&M) , the Swedish MNE that is a trendsetter in the latest fashion trends, has a stated goal “to give customers unbeatable value by offering fashion and quality at the best price.” It doesn’t own any factories, but rather outsources production to independent suppliers, primarily in Asia and Europe. H&M also rents space from international and local landlords rather than owning its own stores. H&M is a major firm in the apparel retail market where fashion trends are critical and where goods move quickly. In this industry, the key buyers are consumers, and the key suppliers are clothing manufacturers and wholesalers, and designers are king and a fast, well-organized supply chain is essential. Depending on the individual firm strategy, the apparel retail market doesn’t have to be capital intensive, but the largest players in the industry are very international, both in retail footprint and suppliers. The biggest companies in the industry are U.S.-based The Gap, H&M, and Spain-based Industria de Diseno Textil, S.A. (Inditex), better known by its flagship brand, Zara. All three companies have different store brands: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta for The Gap; H&M, COS (collection of style), Monki, Weekday, and Cheap Monday for H&M; and Zara, Bershka, Pull and bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterque for Inditex. Both of H&M’s competitors are very international. H&M operates about 2,800 stores in 49 markets, whereas The Gap operates 3,100 company stores and over 300 franchise stores worldwide, and Inditex operates in a network of over 5,000 stores in 77 countries. Zara has the largest geographic spread within Inditex with stores in 74 countries.