Swedish fashion brand H&M has closed a major flagship store in Shanghai after 10 years of business – and another in Sydney. 

Located on the city’s prime shopping street Nanjing West Road, the H&M Shanghai flagship was considered a strategic location for the brand due to the high footfall in the area. 

H&M China told local media that the store closure resulted from the lease coming to an end. The company also said that it is looking at other locations as the business grows in the country. 

The Shanghai flagship store joined a list of H&M’s stores closed in China, most of which resulted from the boycotting of landlords over the Xinjiang controversy. Bloomberg earlier reported at least six H&M stores were forced to close by the landlords. H&M products are currently not being sold at China’s largest ecommerce platforms, Tmall and JD. 

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Australia, H&M is to close its high-profile store at Westfield Bondi Junction in the upmarket eastern suburbs, unable to agree on lease terms with mall owner Scentre Group.  

H&M country manager Thomas Coellner said in a statement that the decision was made following a global review of sustainable store operations. 

“At H&M, we continuously review our store portfolio and assess all rent negotiations in order to future-proof the business. Unfortunately, we have been unable to come to an agreement with Scentre Group and will therefore close our H&M Westfield Bondi Junction store in July 2021.”