What year was H&M founded?

H&M was founded in 1947. That was the year Erling Persson opened the first Hennes shop in Västerås, Sweden, beginning the company that later became Hennes & Mauritz and H&M.

The original store sold women’s clothing and was named Hennes, Swedish for “hers.” Persson’s concept was influenced by American retailing and focused on making fashionable clothing available at accessible prices. The company’s early growth took place in Sweden before it began expanding abroad.

The brand did not become Hennes & Mauritz until 1968, when Persson acquired Mauritz Widforss in Stockholm. The acquisition brought men’s clothing into the range and supplied the “Mauritz” part of the new name. This later name change can make 1968 look like the founding date, but it was not.

Norway entered the story in 1964 as the first country outside Sweden with an H&M store. That milestone marked international expansion, not the company’s creation.