H&M opened its first store in the United Kingdom in 1976.
The opening took place in London, marking H&M’s first move beyond Scandinavia. The company had already expanded outside Sweden: its first foreign store opened in Oslo, Norway, in 1964, followed by further Scandinavian growth. The United Kingdom therefore represented a wider international step rather than H&M’s first overseas presence of any kind.
The British launch is often described as the first H&M store outside Scandinavia. Contemporary company histories place it in London, and later accounts identify the opening with the Brent Cross shopping centre in north London. H&M subsequently used the UK as an important European market while continuing its expansion into countries such as Switzerland and Germany.
Two dates are especially easy to confuse with this milestone. H&M adopted the H&M abbreviation in 1974, two years before the UK opening, and the retailer did not reach the United States until 2000, when it opened on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The correct date for the first British store remains 1976.