H&M stores to resume work in Ukraine by end of year
H&M, one of the most popular clothing chains in Ukraine, is gearing up to resume operations in Kyiv and Lviv by the end of the year, Ukrainian publication NV Business reported, citing three independent sources.
A year and a half into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish clothing chain is preparing to reopen six Ukrainian stores in late November and early December.
"H&M wanted to open earlier, but we faced a shortage of staff," a shopping centre’s director told NV Business.
"During the year and a half of downtime, some employees quit, some went to defend Ukraine, some left Ukraine."
H&M did not respond to a request for comment. However, it earlier confirmed plans to gradually resume the operation of stores in Ukraine starting in November.
Five of the six stores that are planned to be opened are located in Kyiv's Retroville, Lavina Mall, Respublika Park, Dream Town and River Mall shopping centres.
Founded in 1947 in Sweden, H&M first opened a store in Ukraine in 2018. Over the next three years, the retailer had about a dozen more outlets in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Lviv.
H&M planned to have launched an online store in Ukraine last year. Russia’s full-scale aggression, however, did not let that happen.
The chain shut down its Ukrainian stores on 24 February 2022 and later announced its pulling out of the Russian market.
