FASHION giant H&M has said it plans to shut 250 of its stores globally next year after the pandemic moved more shoppers online.

The world’s second largest clothing retailer has branches in Reading's The Oracle Shopping Centre, as well as in The Lexicon in Bracknell and Newbury.

It said that around a quarter of its 5,000 stores would be able to renegotiate or exit contracts next year, allowing it to close some stores.

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The update came as the Swedish company said it has seen trading continue to recover in September following the pandemic, although sales remained five per cent lower than the same month last year.

It told shareholders that sales fell by 16 per cent to 50.8billion Swedish krona (£4.4 billion) for the quarter to August.

Helena Helmersson, CEO, said: "As a result of much-appreciated collections together with rapid and decisive actions, our recovery is going better than expected.

"We have strong, profitable online growth, and more and more stores have been able to open again.

"With more full-price sales than expected and strict cost control, we returned to profit already in the third quarter.

"Our teams around the world have done an amazing job.

"Although the challenges are far from over, our assessment is that the worst is behind us and we are well placed to come out of the crisis stronger.

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"More and more customers started shopping online during the pandemic, and they are making it clear that they value a convenient and inspiring experience in which stores and online interact and strengthen each other.

"The substantial investments made in recent years have been very important for our recovery and we are now accelerating our transformation work further to meet customers’ expectations."

She added that Covid-19 has "highlighted the importance of sustainability".