Zara vs H&M, these two iconic brands have trendy, fashionable, stylish, and accessible clothing, captivating the attention of fashion enthusiasts all around the world.
These fashion powerhouses have been catering more and making their presence strong in the market by serving through both ways, i.e. online as well as offline stores.
Zara vs H&M: Company Overview
| Aspects | Zara | H&M |
| Founded | 1975 | 1947 |
| Founders | Amancio Ortega, Rosalia Mera | Erling Persson |
| Parent Company | Inditex Ltd. | H&M Group |
| Headquarter | Arteixo, Spain | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Global Presence | In more than 96 countries. | Operates in over 74 countries. |
| Number of Stores | More than 3000 stores. | Over 3,875 stores |
| Brand Value (2023) | $16.5 billion | $13.6 billion |
| Market Capitalization (2024) | $132.6 billion (Inditex) | $25.01 billion |
Zara is more exposed to global presence and operates in more than 96 countries, while H&M operates in over 74 countries, slightly less than Zara. Meanwhile, H&M has more stores as compared to Zara. On the other hand, the brand value of Zara is higher than that of H&M.
Zara in India is owned by Tata’s Trent through a joint venture called Inditex Trent, between Zara’s parent company Inditex and Tata’s Trent. Tata’s Trent operates 21 Zara stores in India
Zara vs H&M: Brand Value Comparison
| Year | Zara | H&M |
| 2023 | $16.5 billion | $13.6 billion |
| 2022 | $14.9 billion | $14.5 billion |
| 2021 | $13.5 billion | $13.5 billion |
| 2020 | $14.8 billion | $14.8 billion |
| 2019 | $17.1 billion | $17.1 billion |
Zara’s brand value over the years has increased while it suffered a drop from the year 2019 to 2020 in its brand value. Meanwhile, the latest brand value of Zara as of 2023, stands at $16.5 billion.
On the other hand, H&M, it recorded its highest brand value in the year 2019, and after that it witnessed a drop in its brand value, and recorded its latest brand value for the year 2023 to be $13.6 billion.
It is clearly seen that Zara holds more value for its brand in the market, as compared to H&M.
Zara vs H&M: Market Share Comparison
Market share of Zara is estimated to be 17% in the fast fashion industry, while H&M stands at 5% of market share. Between both Zara and H&M, Zara holds the maximum percentage of market share.
The brand that holds the maximum market share in the fast fashion industry is Shein.
In India – Zara recorded a 40.4% revenue growth in 2023 and came with a number of Rs.2,562 crores, and with that it has observed a rise of 77.6% in its profit to Rs.264 crores in 2023.
While in the case of H&M in India, it recorded a 40% growth in its online sales that crossed Rs.1000 crores mark and reported a revenue of Rs.1178 crores from its overall sales in India, and is considered to be the leading fast fashion name in India.
Zara vs H&M: Net Sales Comparison
| Year | Zara | H&M |
| 2024 | $6.0 billion | $7.3 billion |
| 2023 | $5.7 billion | $6.8 billion |
| 2022 | $5.4 billion | $6.1 billion |
| 2021 | $5.3 billion | $6.3 billion |
For the current year 2024, till now Zara has its net sales of $6.0 billion, while H&M has its net sales of $7.3 billion. The two brands that have the maximum number of net sales are Shein and Zalando.
Zara vs H&M: Other Factors Comparison
| Factors | Zara | H&M |
| Cost | Expensive range | Affordable pricing |
| Quality | Some consider Zara clothes to last longer as compared to H&M as they are of premium range. | While some consider H & M to have better quality as it has premium products too. |
| Style | Zara offers more trendy & fashion forward clothes. | H&M tends to offer more basic & casual wear styles. |
| Availability | Is less available. | Available in more numbers as compared to Zara. |
| Sustainability | Zara also works towards sustainability, but less than that of H&M. | H&M is recognized more for its transparent sustainability initiatives. |
| Sales / Offers | Provides expensive offerings on products. | Provides affordable and reasonable offers & frequent sales on products. |
| Digital Presence | Considered to be less user friendly. | H&M’s website is considered to be better than that of Zara’s. |
| No. of Stores | Has nearly 3,000 sores. | Has over 3,875 stores. |
Zara offers more expensive clothing and provides the latest trendy fashion forward clothing items, while it also offers casual wear which are also way too expensive.
While considering H&M, it offers more casual and basic wear which are pretty affordable, apart from this it also offers fashionable premium clothes which are also not too expensive than Zara.
The quality of clothes of Zara is considered to be the best as it offers high premium clothes as compared to H&M, which offers sustainability clothes factor more.
H&M provides more affordable and reasonable offers & frequent sales on its products, as compared to Zara, which provides expensive offerings.
Zara has less reach than H&M, as the number of stores and availability of H&M is more as it has over 3,875 stores, while Zara nearly has a number of 3,000 stores.
According to the latest reports of GlobalData’s Apparel Market in Europe, Zara comes ahead of H&M ro become the second largest apparel brand in Europe.
Summing Up: Zara vs H&M
These fashion powerhouses have transformed themselves into more prominent clothing brand names by offering their services worldwide.
While the market share of Zara is still greater than that of H&M, which is 17% for the former and 5% for the latter.
Considering the factors like brand value and market share then Zara seems to lead the game, while seeing the factors like sales, availability, cost, stores, then H&M leads the command. However, the numbers may evolve or change with time.
