H&M's Afound brand to launch in Netherlands

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 23, 2019

H&M is starting the international rollout of its Afound brand with the Netherlands being the first market outside of Sweden to gain access to its digital marketplace as of this Thursday.

The brand’s managing director Joanna Hummel said the company has chosen the Netherlands as the starting point for its European expansion “because the Dutch are at the forefront of online shopping and we are convinced that they, just like the Swedish consumer, would like to close a good deal. We think that offering existing collections is a modern way of shopping. We want to be a one-stop shop for the best deals on a wide selection of fashion and lifestyle brands and are therefore delighted to open our digital doors for Dutch consumers.”

Opening online on October 24, it will offer deals on well-known fashion and lifestyle brands for women, men and kids. 

The still-young brand has launched at an ideal time. With a "mission to give fashion new life”, the assortment consists of existing collections from past and present seasons. Consumers are increasingly thinking about solutions to what many see as the overproduction of fast fashion and the rise of the outlet sector, plus surplus/deadstock sellers, as well as growing interest in secondhand and recycled fashion have been a feature of the past few years.

This has led to a huge number of initiatives from brands and retailers but so far, H&M is just about the biggest name to jump into this area with the creation of this completely new brand.

Afound was launched in June 2018 – with its first store opening at Drottninggatan in Stockholm alongside an online presence in Sweden. During 2018 and 2019, additional stores were opened throughout Sweden. However, it recently said that its big focus would now be digital.