H&M officially closes doors in Macau, promises to return

Fashion giant H&M has officially shut its doors in Macau with the closing on Sunday evening of the brand’s last operating store at The Venetian Macao.

After seven years in operation, the first-ever H&M outlet in Macau, established on June 13, 2015, closed its physical store, calling on clients and fans of the brand to transition to the brand’s online shop.

In a reply to an inquiry from the Times, Hennes & Mauritz Holding Asia Ltd, communications and press department, said, “As now we have reached the end of the lease of this H&M store in Shoppes at Venetian Macao, in mutual agreement with the landlord, we have decided to move out of this location.”

They said that H&M would continue to seek new opportunities to open stores, “where we see great potential,” but  that for the time being, “H&M will continue to optimize its business in Macau via the digital platform (hm.com) to assure that we serve our customers and our future in the best possible way.”

In the same statement, the brand explained that it is currently undergoing a transformation aiming to increase its digital business presence.

“H&M group is on a transformative journey and is now accelerating this process by further integrating digital and physical stores, providing a seamless omnichannel experience for our customers. Having stores in the right locations has always been fundamental to the success of the company, so reviewing and making changes to our store portfolio is something we do continuously across all markets.”

When it first opened, the 19,000 square feet, two-story-high retail space at The Venetian Macao was launched with the presence of the global sporting icon, David Beckham.

Just two months after this, the brand opened a second store at the Promenade in Galaxy Macau, which was, at the time, the largest store of the brand in Macau.

The Galaxy store eventually closed last year during a difficult time for the brand in China, when the brand, among several others, was associated with concerns over alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province.

This led to landlords severing ties with the brand in China and closure of many physical stores. Several celebrities also announced they were cutting ties with the brand at the same time.