H&M’s founding family has continued to build its stake in the fashion giant, fuelling speculation it could ultimately take the company private as its turnaround struggles.
The Persson family’s investment vehicle Ramsbury Invest has snapped up 36.8m H&M shares so far this year, according to regulatory filings reported by Reuters.
The family and related entities owned more than 68 per cent of the company’s shares at the end of August, up sharply from 49.5 per cent at the beginning of 2021.
Ramsbury Invest is primarily owned by former H&M chairman and chief executive Stefan Persson, whose father Erling Persson founded the retailer in 1947. Stefan Persson’s son Karl-Johan Persson currently chairs the business.
The family already exercises significant control over H&M through its higher-voting class A shares. At the end of its 2025 financial year, Stefan Persson and his family controlled 83.7 per cent of voting rights and 65.7 per cent of the retailer’s shares.
The steady increase in ownership has prompted fresh speculation over whether the family could eventually delist the retailer.
Under Swedish rules, an investor that reaches a 90% shareholding can force the acquisition of the remaining shares.
Swedish Shareholders’ Association chief legal officer Sverre Linton told Reuters it was difficult to interpret the purchases as anything other than a gradual move towards buying out minority investors, while Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Cochrane expects H&M to be taken private by 2030.
Ramsbury declined to comment on whether it planned to take H&M private, but said the Persson family remained long-term owners that had historically increased their investment in the business.
The speculation comes as chief executive Daniel Ervér attempts to revive growth at the fashion retailer amid fierce competition from Zara owner Inditex and online rivals such as Shein.
Ervér took the helm in January 2024 with a focus on strengthening the H&M brand and improving profitability, but sales momentum has remained subdued.
Sales fell one per cent in H&M’s first quarter and remained flat in its second, while its shares have lost more than half their value since their 2015 peak.
H&M is due to publish its nine-month results on 24 September, with investors looking for signs that its turnaround strategy is beginning to translate into stronger growth.
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