H&M Sales Miss Views After Warm Weather Hits Autumn Demand

Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz reported a larger-than-expected sales drop in its final quarter of the year, having previously warned that the start to its autumn season had been delayed by unusually warm weather in Europe. The fashion retailer said Friday that sales in local currencies fell 4% in the September to November quarter versus a drop of 3.6% seen in a FactSet forecast. H&M had earlier cautioned that sales in September could fall by as much as 10% due to hot weather causing customers to delay purchases of autumn clothes, while the company is also missing out on Russian sales this year after exiting the country.