79-year-old fashion retailer closed 136 stores, killed one of its brands

The problem with fashion is that it's fickle and people's tastes change, demand for items can fall quickly, and yesterday's success story can easily become tomorrow's struggling brand.

Even long-time retailers like The Gap have periods where they're hot and others where they're on the wrong side of current trends. Fast fashion, was supposed to be somewhat immune to that because of the changed nature of its merchandise cycle.

"With a focus on ultra-low prices and condensed production cycles, fast fashion gets new styles to customers at a record pace — and creates sizable environmental and social challenges," according to McKinsey and Company's What is Fast Fashion.

In theory, a retailer like H&M can stay on top of current trends and move away from declining ones quickly.

What the retail giant did not account for, however, was cheaper digital rivals that have lower costs, so they can charge less, while also being able to move even fast.

"Fast fashion retailers have consolidated their position in the American market: retailers such as Shein and Temu are now the primary online fashion marketplaces in the United States — fast or otherwise," according to McKinsey's The State of Fash

Fuente original: Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/h-m-closed-136-stores-012815718.html)