Global fashion retailer H&M has appointed Anna Baldwin as its new country sales manager for Australia and New Zealand.
Baldwin has moved from her most recent position as H&M’s country sales manager for the West Coast of the United States. Prior to that, she was head of visual in the US for two years and in Sweden for another two.
Baldwin has been with H&M for over 10 years.
Her appointment comes as H&M finalises a three-month refit of its Pitt Street, Sydney flagship store. This includes an updated store layout, new custom fittings, digitised shopping and the introduction of self-checkout
Baldwin said the Pitt Street flagship renovation is just the beginning.
“The way people shop in recent years has changed tremendously and we are evolving to secure the future of our bricks-and-motar proposition, encouraging our customers to reembrace fashion,” Baldwin said.
“The enhancements to the Pitt Street store allow us to reach the fashion enthusiast but also supports our goal to inspire all customers right from our window displays down to the product presentation, aligning with H&M’s overarching purpose of offering fashion and quality at the best price, in a sustainable way.”
The store will include personalised shopping with an in-house stylist - a first for the company in the region. It will also feature a new homeware department, new fitting rooms, open window displays, a Lego play area in kidswear and a preserved oak tree as the centrepiece.
According to H&M, 64% of the fixtures within the store were either reused or repurposed.
Meanwhile, kids can scan a QR code found on a poster in-store to play a game, with the aim to find specific clothes on the character in an augmented reality world and feed them to a ‘recycling monster’. It will also share details on H&M’s garment collecting program and clothes recycling. H&M’s garment collecting program launched in 2013.
The H&M Pitt Street store opened in October 2015, spanning approximately 5,000 square metres and set over 3 levels.
H&M entered the Australian market in 2014. Today, there are 35 stores Australia wide.