Stefan Persson

Stefan-Persson

Stefan Persson- "Trying to cut costs by reducing your advertising budget is as crazy as expecting to save time by turning the clock off."


There are far to many brilliant entrepreneurs today that are more interested in making a quick exit than to stick with their idea and keep developing it. I find that deeply disheartening.

Stefan Persson

Being a great entrepreneur is a talent to a certain extent. You can become a good piano player by practising, but to be truly great you have to have the talent as well.

Stefan Persson

Trying to cut costs by reducing your advertising budget is as crazy as expecting to save time by turning the clock off.

Stefan Persson

To be a successful entrepreneur you need to be creative, impatient, and have a strong knack for delegating choirs that are your weaknesses to others.

Stefan Persson

When I took over, my father moved to England in order to give me the necessary space. Today I don´t have any oporational responsibilities left. But I try to stay up to date as to what is going on and how we are doing. I just hope I don´t get in the way of the process in any way.

Stefan Persson

We don´t look for diplomas when we are hiring. Instead we are looking for certain personality traits and we get a lot of our management material from our own stores. We want individuals that have a passion for retail in general and H&M in particular. We want them to be team players. We are looking for individuals that are highly driven, yet have an empathic ability and don´t have any prestige.

Stefan Persson

Some leaders wait too long before they retire, and others put the young guns in control too early. It´s a difficult balancing act if there ever was one.

Stefan Persson

Every time we open a new store that´s a major event for us. It´s like a big show. It doesn´t matter if it is in a small town like Avesta or a bigger city like Geneva.

Stefan Persson

There have certainly been difficult periods in the history of our company. But none of them really posed a big threat to our existance. Our expansion into Germany in the 80`s was a big question mark. It didn´t pan out and the board of directors got cold feet. But we stuck with it and it proved to be a great call. Today Germany represents some 23 % of total company sales and is the biggest market of the H&M corporation.

Stefan Persson

There are so many people depending on us around the world that we must take our responsibility as a company each day.

Stefan Persson

Some of the brands and concepts we have made over the years have certainly proved to be anything but successful. And yet those efforts proved to be very beneficial in the long run. Some of the work and effort we put into those early failures ultimately led to the creation of several successful successors and some of our big-time triumphs.

Stefan Persson

The government needs to pay attention to all those who are running an enterprise in our country. The enterprises of a country are not to be considered just a marginal group of voters. It´s the enterprises of a country that are the very foundation of all tax revenues. Those tax revenues are then redistributed and shared by the whole society.

Stefan Persson

I guess it´s alright. Although there are times when I reflect on the fact that we are living in a country with very high taxes. But me and my family don´t complain. We live in Sweden and we want to do our part. I don´t think that your will become a happier person by moving from one country to the other simply for tax reasons.

Stefan Persson

Being first in a market is not everything. Customer loyalty is.

Stefan Persson

We are an independent force as a design unit.

Stefan Persson

We take inspiration from life as we see it.

Stefan Persson

We believe that no one should have to choose between price and quality, between price and fashion, between price and service.

Stefan Persson

[On opening the first H&M store in London] I stood outside [the London store] trying to lure in customers by handing out ABBA albums. I still have most of those albums.

Stefan Persson

We are not creating fashion.

Stefan Persson

Our ambition is to work solely with suppliers who meet our stringent requirements for price, capacity, quality and working conditions.

Stefan Persson

We maintain competitive prices by purchasing large volumes and use few middle men.

Stefan Persson

We are cost-conscious at every stage.

Stefan Persson

We are very people, and customer oriented.

Stefan Persson

You have to sow before you can reap.

Stefan Persson

Loyalty is not won by being first. It is won by being best.

Stefan Persson

Fashion constantly changes and so do our customers.

Stefan Persson

Everyone steals with their eyes.

Stefan Persson

H&M never stops developing.

Stefan Persson

You carry fewer adjustments because the markets are more or less the same everywhere. We read more or less the same magazines, watch the same movies and listen to the same music. That’s good for us. We need less customisation. It might be a bit boring that all countries are alike, but that’s good for a global company like H&M.

Stefan Persson

It always takes a lot of money to go to a new market.

Stefan Persson

A store is more than a place to buy something. Today’s customers seek inspiration and experiences.

Stefan Persson

Ikea is very Swedish and promotes itself as a Swedish company. We do not.

Stefan Persson

Common sense. The commercial sense.

Stefan Persson

Sweden is not the centre of fashion.

Stefan Persson

I do not know if analysts need all that really what they want to know today from us…

Stefan Persson

H&M’s success is based on a high degree of decentralised decision-making and very strong central management.

Stefan Persson

This is a good niche market and it is our niche. That was missing in the United States. I think the customers want something different, something fashion conscious, a greater variety and a wider range than our competitors. And the price is very attractive.

Stefan Persson

[On being able to keep most of the range constant in every country] It might be a bit boring that all countries are alike, but that’s good for a global company like H&M.

Stefan Persson

We have made our requirements more stringent…

Stefan Persson

What is the secret of our success? Primarily, it is the combination of fashion, price and quality that provide unsurpassed value to the customer.

Stefan Persson

Cost awareness is… crucial if we are to survive…

Stefan Persson

We have a flat organisation with very few levels between customers and management.

Stefan Persson

The economic downturn is hurting sales but less so than for many of H&M’s competitors thanks to H&M’s low-price profile. The downturn is also creating new opportunities for H&M to gain market share and find store space in attractive locations.

Stefan Persson (in 2009)

I will always have an active interest in the development of the company…

Stefan Persson

An IPO has advantages, such as constantly being alert to controlling management.

Stefan Persson

In our industry, being first in a market is not everything. Customer loyalty is. And loyalty is not won by being first. It is won by being best.

Stefan Persson

The interest is enormous. There’s good potential in the Asian market.

Stefan Persson

[In 1999 on deciding to become Chairman instead of CEO at the age of 51] I think it’s time to let young and competitive people show their skills. As a working chairman, I can more fruitfully spend my time on strategy issues and company policy.

Stefan Persson

The majority of European consumers – especially families with children – saw their purchasing power decline in 1996. That is why we decided to reduce our prices, which made the difference between our prices and those of our competitors even greater. Lowering our prices boosted sales by 28 percent in comparable currencies.

Stefan Persson

Show me a creative company – no matter what industry – which now sits in a dark basement and is not looking at what the competition is doing. Everyone steals with their eyes.

Stefan Persson

Fashion and quality at the best price.

Stefan Persson

We always strive to recruit internally when new positions become available.

Stefan Persson

Germany remains our largest market…

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We are often asked when H&M will open stores outside Europe. At the moment we have no concrete such plans. But Asia, the U.S. or Eastern Europe could be in the cards in the future.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We can definitely look back on the past 50 years with pride and happiness. Hennes & Mauritz is moving forward with great enthusiasm and optimism.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

One of the fundamental conditions for successful competition is good products, of course. And to offer our customers the absolute latest fashion.

Stefan Persson

Nineteen ninety-seven was the year that H&M turned 50. It was also our most profitable year ever.

Stefan Persson

Sales outside Sweden accounted for nearly 80 percent of Group turnover.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

We have 55 designers who co-operate with our buyers to create H&M’s clothing collections.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

If we continue to expand at the same rate, we will employ between 1,500 and 2,000 new people each year. Consequently, we work hard to spread the H&M spirit without losing the enthusiasm of a small company.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

Each year, we sell some 250 million pieces of clothing.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

We are facing exciting and eventful years.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

To continue to expand dramatically, we placed greater focus on our logistics and made major investments in this area during the year.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

Germany is our single largest market, generating approximately 30 per cent of the Group’s total turnover.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

Germany is our single largest country of sales even though we only have some two percent of the market.

Stefan Persson (in 1997)

During 1998, we plan to open some 60 new stores throughout Europe. We are also venturing into the home of fashion itself, France, where we plan to open six stores during the year

Stefan Persson

Fifty years have passed since H&M opened its first store. Since then, we have continued to change and review what we have learned and implemented.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We have reached the limit for traditional expansion in Sweden and have begun to focus on developing and changing existing stores.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We are very eclectic in our designs.

Stefan Persson

Sure, we are aware of the [fashion] collections, but we look everywhere – to outrageous street fashions, to what people are wearing in normal situations, to clothing from other cultures, to what is worn in films and at parties and in pubs and restaurants. We are not creating fashion. With our volumes, it would be too risky to do that. But we are an independent force as a design unit. We take inspiration from life as we see it. And we differ from ivory tower designers because we are very people- and customer-oriented.

Stefan Persson

You want everything absolutely in order and therefore give you more than when you’re an established and running efficiently. But the [stock] market is currently so shortsighted and they sometimes do not understand that you have to sow before you can reap. They want an immediate return, ideally in the first quarter.

Stefan Persson (regarding entering new markets)

I am the principal shareholder and therefore I will always have an active interest in the development of the company. Anything else would be hypocritical to say.

Stefan Persson

As a newcomer to the U.S., we were pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction.

Stefan Persson (regarding 2003 US launch)

If we are to survive with our business idea of having the best price and value, every unnecessarily spent krona will ultimately be put on the price and threaten the whole business concept.

Stefan Persson

When we expand, it is important to listen carefully to the local market. We need to adapt but not at the expense of losing what makes us who we are.

Stefan Persson

To grow by 200 stores per year, from 150, I don’t see that as a problem. It is possible that we will take the step to (Eastern Asia), for example to Japan. Russia is also a possibility.

Stefan Persson (in 2004)

It is not our job to run after their expectations, it is their job to interpret our results correctly.

Stefan Persson (regarding analysts)

The continued expansion of H&M would have been hindered without someone else’s money. Now we are on the stock market and have to live with it.

Stefan Persson

The tremendous ups and downs in the stock market, I do not understand…

Stefan Persson (in 2002)

We do not manufacture ourselves nor do we own any factories, but the fact that we are a major buyer gives us considerable influence.

Stefan Persson

It can be dangerous to reveal too much and focus too heavily on the short-term orientation of the financial markets, instead of developing long-term visions and ideas.

Stefan Persson (in 2002)

Geographically, there are lots of opportunities. For example, we aren’t present in South America, we aren’t present in Australia and we aren’t present in Africa. We are still pretty small in most countries outside the Nordic region and perhaps Germany. So there is still a lot to do in the countries we are already in.

Stefan Persson (in 2010)

The retail trade has undergone explosive change in recent years. Globalisation has prompted retail chains to move across borders to penetrate new markets at an increasingly faster pace.

Stefan Persson

H&M has always placed priority on good liquidity.

Stefan Persson

It is the informality. Anyone can speak with anyone, there are no formal meetings. Common sense. The commercial sense. Instinctively what is right. Flexibility and speed. Cost awareness is also crucial if we are to survive with our idea of the best price-performance ratio. Each crown (dollar) that is spent unnecessarily, has ultimately affect the price and can threaten our entire concept.

Stefan Persson (regarding company culture)

We do not intend to rest on our laurels…

Stefan Persson

Child labour is another issue that continues to attract attention. Consequently, we would like to emphasize the fact that we never work with a company that uses child labour. We will cancel any contract with a supplier that does.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

H&M has a total of 15,000 employees. Each year we employ more than 2,000 people, and it is important to spread the H&M spirit to them.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We have expanded using our own funds, and we have always been able to consider our moves without having to take external factors, such as borrowing or managing our own real estate, into account.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We aim to offer the absolute latest fashions at the lowest price for comparable products.

Stefan Persson

Our financial strength provides security for shareholders and employees.

Stefan Persson (in 1996)

We have the financial strength, but the question is whether our flexibility and our culture can be maintained each year taking in 2,000-4,000 people.

Stefan Persson

Our goal is to provide better service and better quality without raising prices.

Stefan Persson

Focusing on costs is another important aspect of our corporate culture… Every krona that we spend affects our prices and our business concept.

Stefan Persson

We must continue to listen to what people need and desire. We must continue to be flexible and fast and keep our fingers on today’s pulse yet maintain the intuition that enables us to identify and capture new ideas.

Stefan Persson

While our past success is pleasing, it will not help us in today’s tough competitive arena. Fashion constantly changes and so do our customers.

Stefan Persson

It is important to have a constant flow of new, interesting and exciting goods, to have customer-friendly stores and to combine different products in a clear and simple manner.

Stefan Persson