H&M has shut its flagship Shanghai store, as consumer demand has slumped in the city amid COVID-19 lockdowns and the fast-fashion is facing a backlash for continuing to use Xinjiang cotton.
The world's second-biggest fast-fashion retailer entered China in 2007 with the opening of the Shanghai flagship store and rapidly expanded. It had more than 500 stores in mainland China early last year but its website currently only lists 376, including the flagship Shanghai store.
Although nearly a month has passed since Shanghai lifted a strict two-month lockdown, consumers have yet to return to malls in significant numbers.
Chinese consumers have also beat a retreat from its products after a letter in which H&M expressed concerns about allegations of forced labour in the Xinjiang region came to light in 2021.
Other brands that publicly disavowed Xinjiang cotton such as Inditex's Zara, Nike and Adidas have also suffered with Chinese netizens calling for boycotts and Chinese celebrities refusing to work with them.
But the backlash against H&M, the first foreign retailer to express concerns, has been particularly harsh. Unlike other brands, its products remain unavailable on major Chinese e-commerce sites such as Tmall and JD.com.
