Individual weekly contribution to Seminar Topic 8 discussion and questions

Read the short case ''H&M: The retail giant”.

It is located on pp. 512-513 in your textbook or you can access it from the e-Library resources provided for this course on the learnonline site.   

Answer the questions below. Do NOT answer the questions at the end of case in the textbook.

Attach a word document for each post with the following format:

FAMILYname-Firstname-week#.doc

"It might be surprising to know that the second-largest clothing retailer in the world is selling in stores in only 54 countries plus an additional 10 countries on line. It does not seem to want to cover more of the world’s countries, despite what might appear as numerous advantages for doing so. Moreover, H&M does not actually own any of the factories that produce its clothes. Instead, it prefers to rely on some 1,900 factories and over 900 suppliers to create what its team designed. These factories and suppliers are mostly in Europe and Asia. Why would they do this? How can H&M ensure that its customers receive the quality expected in clothing?" 

In light of this statement discuss the following questions:

1. H&M stresses sustainability in its promotional campaigns. Yet, how can it ensure that the working conditions are appropriate for the 1.6 million people that serve in its supplier networks? Is it even H&M’s role to ensure that the working conditions and environmental impact are great in every market in engages in? What are the complex arguments for and against this proposition? Why?

2. If you were an employee of H&M, what would you suggest that it focus on to become even larger than it is now? Should it have its own factories? Should it expand to more than 64 countries (54 with stores and 10 online) than it is in now? Should it control more of the global supply chains? Why?

(300-600 words)