H&M has unveiled Beyoncé Knowles as the face of its summer collection in the hope that sales will heat up following a weather-afflicted slump in sales over Christmas and the new year.
The Swedish fashion retailer, which lost its crown as the world's largest to the owner of the Spanish brand Zara two years ago, said like-for-like sales fell 3% between December and February, compared with the same period last year.
It said: "The late spring has had a negative effect on sales, particularly in Europe and North America." The chief executive, Karl-Johan Persson, added: "The first quarter has been characterised by the continued challenging situation for the fashion retail industry in many of our markets." H&M bosses vowed to continue expansion plans into Australia and Chile despite the fifth consecutive quarterly fall in sales, and will open 350 stores by the end of the year, compared with 325 originally earmarked.
They also hope the summer collection, fronted by the former Destiny's Child singer, can boost sales after the successful use of various celebrities in the past including Cindy Crawford, Kylie Minogue and Gary Oldman.
Knowles said: "I've always liked H&M's focus on fun, affordable fashion. I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by four elements – fire, water, earth and wind."
