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Marketing Strategies

H&M
Hot & Mod
by Abram D. Sauer
January 14, 2002 issue

There was a time before time when Air Jordans were the thing to have no matter how long the drive or how ridiculous the mark-up. This was also a time when Big K was not yet "Big" and carried, as I imagine they still do, very creative Ni'kee Jordan knock-offs for a fraction of the price. Ni'kee's were as knocked-off as knock-offs could be knocked off, yet in the florescent light, they appeared almost creepy; the Jordan's grotesquely deformed brother kept under the stairs out of shame. I would not wear them despite my mother's insistence that they looked "just the same."

At that time before time I did not buy my own clothing and did not understand what "too damn much" meant. Oh, how times have changed! "Too damn much" means a lot to me now, as I imagine it does to many others out there, just trying to stay dapper enough to get a date while being able to afford something better than a cardboard box to take said date back to. Thank goodness then for Hennes & Mauritz.
Hennes & Mauritz, better known to budget mods as H&M, is an apparel company dealing worldwide — though mostly in Europe — in women's, men's and children's clothing as well as cosmetics. Working toward the goal of "giving the customer unbeatable value through the combination of fashion, quality and price" (though mostly fashion and price), it is no surprise that the conglomerate is homed in Sweden: HQ of all things affordably trendy or trendily affordable such as Ikea, Ericsson, and to some extent, ABBA.
Hennes (Swedish for "hers") was founded in 1947 by Erling Persson following a post-WWII trip to the States during which time the novelties trader was much impressed by efficient, high-volume outfits like Macy's and Barney's. Steffan Persson, descendant of the foresighted Erling, maintains a majority control of the company.
In the 1960s the company added the hunting, outdoor gear and menswear store Mauritz, scrapping the hunting...