Rei Kawakubo, foundress and head designer of the Japanese label Comme des Garcons, is to create a collection for the Swedish fashion retailer. The line will launch at the opening of the second Japanese store in Tokyo this November and will then spread to other markets. In the first quarter, H&M strongly increased sales and profits thanks to favourable exchange rates and online business. In the three months till February, company sales rose 18% to SEK 19.7bn (€ 2.1bn).

Source: TextilWirtschaft international newsletter.