H&M Plans to Open 425 More Stores This Year

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H&M opened its 500th store in North America last month, and the fast fashion retailer still has impressive expansion plans in the works. WWD reports that H&M is slated to open a whopping 425 stores worldwide in 2016, with core growth in the US and China.

H&M will open its first stores in New Zealand, Cyprus, and Puerto Rico in 2016.

Not only that, H&M stores are getting even larger to accommodate all the new categories H&M's been producing. Three hundred more stores will get H&M beauty departments this year, bringing the total to 1,200 stores with beauty sections.

H&M ended the year with 3,924 stores in 61 markets, after opening 413 stores in 2015.

Even though it was a tough few months for H&M, with fourth-quarter profits dipping 8%, WWD reports that H&M sees opportunities for new stores for years to come.

"We are very happy with our online development," H&M's head of investor relations Nils Vinge said on a conference call, adding, "We definitely see potential to grow the number of physical stores for many years."