Klas Degeryd, Head of Controlling Omni Portfolio, his colleagues, and the Sustainability Manager Anna Palmqvist at H&M held a presentation about portfolio brand growth and the circular economy. In 2030, H&M aims to double their sales while halving its carbon footprint by optimising its resources, which was the workshop's theme.

Students were allocated into groups during the workshop that focused on one case study, one on expansion, and one on sustainability. In the latter case, the students had to pick areas within their circular approach, explore how to use fewer new resources, and investigate what impact this could have on CO2, price/cost, and lead times. The students were further asked to formulate a couple of ideas and work out details of how their ideas could be realised and what benefits they could have in their sustainable business model. One of the ideas suggested was a mockup of an app that presented a circular fashion service platform offering different services, focusing on clothing rental with a monthly subscription and same-day rental where customers could explore new styles in a sustainable way.

For the growth case study, the students analysed external market data, current store and online presence globally of the portfolio brands at H&M. This was to understand what markets and what sales channels they saw the most significant growth potential. The students had to argue why they suggested specific markets and what potential challenges could be to reach this. Their suggestions were connected to multiple KPIs, population growth, market shares, geographical limitations, and cultural differences. Both groups summarised their findings in PPT slides and presented them to the rest of the group and H&M representatives.

Karin Östberg, Key Account Manager, H&M's Retail Club