Swedish retailer H&M will make India its 50th international market once its investment proposal has been approved.

H&M has formally applied to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to invest Rs720 crore (approximately US$150 million) to set up 50 company owned stores.

CEO Karl-Johan Persson says India is a huge market for H&M due to its one billion population.

“More than a billion people live in India and in Sweden we are only 9 million but we have 150 stores,” he said.

According to Abheek Singhi, partner and director at Boston Consulting Group, H&M will click with the Indian consumers because of its mid-premium offerings, which are among the fastest growing categories in fashion retail.

“H&M’s global supply chain model is amenable to the Indian context from shorter cycle replenishment and local sourcing,” said Singhi.

The retailer says this year will see strong pace of expansion with a planned 325 new stores. The highest rate of expansion will be in China and the US.

It recently opened its first store in Chile, with further expansion towards new markets including Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia and Indonesia.

H&M currently has more than 2800 stores globally.