H&M is to close its Cheap Monday brand business to refocus on “core activities”.

“Cheap Monday has a traditional wholesale business model, which is a model that has faced major challenges due to the shift in the industry,” H&M said in a statement announcing the closure.

“There has been a negative trend in the Cheap Monday’s sales and profits for a long time.”

The progressive closure process will start immediately, with the aim of being complete by June 30. The Cheap Monday retail store in London and Cheap Monday’s online store will close on December 31.

“We need to constantly develop our business and what we choose to invest in,” said Anna Attemark, head of new business at H&M.

“We see very good opportunities and great potential for all of the other brands within the new business [division], which all are developing positively both digitally as well as through physical stores,” she concluded.

About 80 employees will be affected, however many are expected to be encouraged to apply for other positions within the group.

H&M acquired Cheap Monday in 2008 from Swedish apparel company Fabric Scandinavien, a second hand store for high fashion and exclusive denim. The brand was originally founded to offer customers a more affordable denim option for customers and soon grew into a wholesale brand.