This is what H&M actually stands for… and it’s not what you think

We’ve grown so accustomed to saying it - but do you actually know what it means?

Yes, H&M has become one of our most beloved of clothing stores in recent years, with trendy apparel available at a fraction of the cost. However, how much attention have we paid to the name? Well, the high street retailer wasn’t always called H&M - in fact it’s had quite a few names before it settled with the one we now know so well. When it was first opened in Sweden (where all good fashion comes from, btw) by Erling Persson, it was simply called Hennes. The Swedish word for ‘hers’ was a very appropriate name for a shop that, at the time, only sold women’s clothing. And so Hennes remained for 20-odd years before they acquired another company, Mauritz Widforss. Mainly selling hunting and fishing equipment, it was definitely an odd buy for the female fashion retailer. With the new products, came a new name - Hennes and Mauritz. The store then began selling clothes for women, men and children and stuck with that name for another six years until someone had the genius idea to make things easier for everyone. In 1974, the shop was rebranded as H&M - a name we now know and love.