H&M Beauty, H&M Move, and H&M Home, collectively known as H&M Lifestyle, offer a variety of products beyond fashion. In this workshop, students got hands-on experience with one of these brands through a detailed competitive analysis.

The session kicked off with Carl Althin, Global Head of Controlling H&M Lifestyle Brands, providing an overview of the three brands and their unique offerings. Students were then divided into groups, each assigned to one of the brands. Their task? Conduct a GAP analysis comparing their assigned brand to a competitor, propose actionable recommendations, and apply an additional theoretical model for deeper insight. Each group was supported by an expert from the brand:

Thea Nyrell, Global OMNI Controller at H&M Home
David Lunding Johansson, Senior Business Controller at H&M Move
Sophia Collischon, Insights and Analytics Lead at H&M Beauty

In the end each group got the opportunity to present their results and discuss their results with the rest of the students. A particularly engaging debate centered on whether the brands should break free from the H&M umbrella. While many students recognized that a lot of benefits could be reaped, in terms of brand image and salience, if the brands stood on their own, many also recognized the added challenge of not having H&M to fall back on.

Overall students gained a lot of insights and left the workshop with new perspectives. Thank you Emma Hüll, Early Careers Partner at H&M Group, for organizing, and thank you to Carl, Thea, David, and Sophia for a very interesting workshop!

Henrik Hultqvist, Key Account Manager, H&M Retail Club