Rolf Eriksen and H&M
Rolf Eriksen
H&M is headed by Rolf Eriksen, who changed his career path at the age of 42 and elevated H&M, a domestic company, to the status of global fashion chain.
At present, H&M has more than 1,600 stores and 68,000 employees in 30 countries (as of September, 2008). These numbers far exceed the expectations that Mr. Eriksen himself had in 2002.
What should we think about Rolf Eriksen, who has been featured in the magazine Business Week?
Is he good at managing his people? A workaholic? A whiz with figures? A flexible man? A strategist? A confident man? A devoted husband?
From his picture, I did not feel the strong aura that would normally be expected from a leading figure in the fashion world. Rather, he has the air of a management division director who wanted to be a painter in his youth.
He has good artistic taste and is good with figures, but has no commitment to fashion himself. Eriksen’s personality seems to form the characteristics of the chain he runs.
H&M is the world leader in the skill of swiftly arranging products that are similar to those of major collections in its shops.
Examples of similar products being ready in H&M’s shops before they appear in the boutiques of the designers themselves are too numerous to mention.
H&M has put most of its financial resources into this one point. That is, they handle only products that are easy to copy, and give up from the beginning on products that need a lot of work.
Mr. Eriksen does not blame his beloved wife for shopping at Gap. Although a Business Week reporter introduced this news as “a rather good story,” it’s impossible for a sensible dresser to finish from head to toe in H&M.
As a low-priced brand, however, H&M advertises in fashion magazines and puts shops in areas where there are lots of famous brand stores. The company is also eager to participate in collaboration with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, etc.
H&M Berlin
(In the busy streets of Ku’Damm in Berlin, Germany, shops of Zara and H&M sit side by side.)
Mr. Eriksen may have designed a brand that can be worn together with famous brands by playing foul a little.
Since those known as fashion seniors in Japan are good at dressing in this way, Mr. Eriksen can be confident of his success in the Japanese fashion world.
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