‘We can create hype’: H&M’s UK boss on its commitment to the high street

As the chain marks 50th anniversary in Britain, Karen O’Rourke explains what makes it stand out against cut-price rivals Almost exactly 50 years after H&M opened its first British store, the doors on its newest, in Brighton, swung open this week and the Swedish fashion company’s UK boss is determined to keep investing in the nation’s high streets despite its struggles. In 1976, H&M opened in the brand-new Brent Cross shopping centre, the first American-style out of town mall to grace these shores. Its opening was such an event that the then Prince Charles attended. The Brighton store, which takes the H&M brand’s total in the UK to 197, is bristling with technology, including handheld scanners on self-service checkouts and a system that can find the exact location of a product in the shop, using radio-frequency tags. Shoppers can still simply try on a dress and buy it at a till – just as in 1976. “We are fully committed to investing in our physical store portfolio because demand is there,” says Karen O’Rourke, who was born the same year H&M entered her home country and took over as the UK boss of the Swedish firm last year. “The high street is still very much alive