H&M Competitive Advantage: Examining Trends and Strategies in Fashion

This report examines H&M's competitive advantages in the fashion market, highlighting key trends such as sustainability, influencer marketing, and the integration of digital platforms. It analyzes the company's strategies in response to rising competitors like Zara and Primark, while also considering the importance of maintaining its brand legacy. The report explores potential opportunities, including the growth of online stores and increasing consumer purchasing power, while also acknowledging threats like changing global dynamics and the rise of local artisans. Through an analysis of the fast fashion model, the study provides a comprehensive overview of H&M's position and future prospects in the competitive fashion landscape, supported by references to academic research and industry insights. The report also considers the role of game theory in shaping H&M's marketing strategies.

H&M COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
• Trends in Fashion market:
Sustainability- the sustainability of the companies is essential for
the companies in order to have competitive advantage. (Dach and
Allmendinger 2014)
 rise of the influencers- the use of social media and the popularity
of the pop influencers embarked the fast fashion model.
 Merging of tech and fashion- digital platforms enabled the trend
of fast fashion to have a more global expanse.
• Other Mega trends:
Competing Rivals- the rivals of the company like Zara and
Primark are rising gradually to the peak. The company thus
need to have competitive advantage (Finster and Hernke 2014.)
retaining the nostalgia of being the leading brand-
• 5-10 year scenario
Indian Ascent
End of the ownership strategy
Digital spread
Transparency
• .
• Possible Opportunities:
 increase in the popularity of online stores
purchasing power of customers will increase (Youell
2013)
more differentiation scopes.
•Threats:
 the change of global dynamics (Luo, C. and
Wang, Y., 2019
rise of local artisans
saturation in innovation
Reference list:
Dach, L. and Allmendinger, K., 2014. Sustainability in Corporate Communications and its
Influence on Consumer Awareness and Perceptions: A study of H&M and Primark.
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 130(15), pp.409-418.
Finster, M.P. and Hernke, M.T., 2014. Benefits organizations pursue when seeking
competitive advantage by improving environmental performance. Journal of Industrial
Ecology, 18(5), pp.652-662.
Youell, M., 2013. An Analysis of the Growth and Success of H&M. How They Could
Impact the Largest Swiss Watch Company, Swatch Group, p.108.
Luo, C. and Wang, Y., 2019, November. Game Theory in the Fashion Industry: How Can
H&M Use Game Theory to Determine Their Marketing Strategy?. In International
Workshop of Advanced Manufacturing and Automation (pp. 633-638). Springer,
Singapore.