2002: What Does the Abbreviation “H&M” in the Name of the Famous Clothing Company Stand For?

The founder of the H&M company died on this day in 2002. His name was Erling Persson, and he lived in Sweden. The abbreviation H&M stands for “Hennes & Mauritz”. The company was established in the following manner: the aforementioned Erling Persson opened his first clothing store in the Swedish city of Västerås (northwest of Stockholm) in 1947. At first he sold only womens’ clothing, and his store was called “Hennes” (Swedish: hers).

In 1968, Persson bought a store called “Mauritz Wildforss”, so that the name of the company was changed to “Hennes & Mauritz”. Persson lived to be 85 and died on this day in Stockholm. His share in the company was inherited by his son, Stefan Persson, whose wealth is today estimated at 28 billion U.S. dollars. H&M currently owns over 2,500 stores and is the second-largest clothing retailer in the world.