H&M: First Madonna, then China, then COS

Hennes & Mauritz have opened in Shanghai and the company is saying that by year's end there will be four, yes, four in China. I pity the poor Chinese consumers who have only recently gotten to grips with real luxury, now having to make sense of the cheap knock-off so soon. But with about 30 percent of production done in China at least they can feel proud for supporting their own country. Of course the Asian expansion (Japan next up) it is bound to be a good thing for H&M shareholders.

March sales were up 29 percent, with same store sales up 17 percent. Analysts are wondering if this due to Madonna or the warm weather, but are pretty happy either way.

But there's another reason to be optimistic about H&M's long-term prospects. I went to visit their new concept, COS, on Regent Street for the second time yesterday. My initial suspicions were correct. It's fantastic. Great shapes, great materials, unbelieveable prices which are more Zara than H&M but still a bargin. Both times I visited, in the middle of the working day, the store was doing a lively trade. (It's somewhat akin to early Club Monaco, for those of you who remember that far back). Stores are planned for the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, so figure in a stop on your next trip here.