H&M downgraded Greater China and shut every central Hangzhou store

The count tells the story: from more than 500 stores at its China peak, H&M was down to roughly 158 by early 2026, after hundreds of ordinary street stores and old-mall locations shut. On February 21, 2026 the retreat reached its landmark: the 47,000-square-foot Causeway Bay flagship in Hong Kong closed. The company's own framing was strategic triage — cutting inefficient, high-rent, dated-image stores to fund 'brand fortresses': close small stores, open big ones, and turn the survivors into experience destinations.

In June 2026 the org chart followed the store count. H&M's global reorganization stripped Greater China of its regional business-unit status: from July 1 it became one of 26 independent sales markets under a new Continent Asia Pacific division, and the local team was cut by roughly a quarter — more than 40 people. Sister brand &Other Stories closed all its Beijing and Shanghai stores, COS's expansion stalled, and across the wider Asia, Africa and Australia region the store count fell year-on-year from 998 to 901.

Hangzhou shows what the new map looks like. Every store in the main urban area has closed — Hubin in77, Wulin Intime, Binjiang Baolong City, Chengxi Intime City — leaving one shop at Linping Intime City on the edge of the metro region. Asked about returning to central Hangzhou, H&M's customer service said there were no plans. Online, the brand now covers Tmall, JD.com, Douyin and Pinduoduo; the physical network is no longer where the reach comes from.