Swedish fast fashion giant H&M recently announced that it will use its vast supply chain network to assist EU countries deeply affected by the epidemic to purchase medical protective materials to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. An H&M spokesperson said, “The EU hopes that we will use our procurement operations and logistics transportation capabilities to help purchase anti-epidemic materials.” At the same time, H&M also stated that during the current emergency period, the group will donate relevant materials to the EU to meet urgent anti-epidemic needs.
As the world’s second largest fast fashion retailer, H&M has an extensive supply chain network around the world, most of which are located in China and other Asian countries, such as India and Bangladesh. , Vietnam, etc. H&M has temporarily closed many stores in many countries and regions. The group stated that it will purchase the most urgently needed supplies for the EU based on the epidemic, including medical protective masks, medical protective clothing and gloves.
Affected by the epidemic, many countries are facing a shortage of epidemic prevention materials and are unable to provide sufficient protective equipment for medical and health workers. Some countries are calling on automakers and aviation manufacturers to switch to ventilator production to deal with the spread of the epidemic, such as U.S. automakers Ford, General Motors and Tesla, and Italian luxury car brand Ferrari.
On March 20, H&M’s biggest competitor, Zara’s parent company and Spanish fast fashion giant Inditex, announced that it would convert some fabric production lines into professional medical fabric production lines. Use logistics and supply chain networks to help Spain solve the shortage of medical supplies such as masks and medical protective clothing.
