The gradual loss of beloved high street fashion brand, H&M in our town centres, has spread beyond the UK and into continental Europe. The fashion giant has now announced the closure of stores in the Canary Islands. As part of its ongoing restructuring programme amid mounting pressure from ultra-fast fashion and the dominance of digital platforms, H&M have confirmed a wave of new closures in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Having only arrived on the UK high street in 2012, the Swedish retailer shut a whopping 135 stores between January and September 2025, with plans to axe more in the future. H&M has also been steadily reducing its footprint since 2019, from 167 stores to 105 – the closure of 62 shops, or nearly 40% – in just six years, according to data from the Mercantile Registry and the company’s website.

Among the affected locations is the branch in the Añaza shopping centre (Carrefour) in Tenerife, one of H&M’s outlets in the archipelago, as well as the store on Calle Triana in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The store closures are not limited to Spain and the UK, either. Over the past six years, H&M has closed 975 stores in Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa – a loss of around 20% of its international network from over 5,000 locations to 4,101.

The restructuring comes largely in response to the rise of ultra-cheap fashion and Chinese digital platforms, including Shein or Temu, as well as competition from low-cost giants like Primark. H&M has been criticised for its slower adaptation to changes over the past few years.

However, the fashion giant did achieve operating profits of £390million for the quarter ending in August, up from £280million during the same period last year. This exceeded analysts’ expectations and marked a recovery after profit declines in the previous two quarters. The company’s sales increased by 2% to £ 4.5 billion in the third quarter, even as it operated fewer shops.

This comes after it was revealed that River Island would be closing 32 stores in the UK in January alone as part of a cost-cutting plan in the wake of a 19% sales drop. Several stores closed on or around January 31, 2026, including locations in Barnstaple, Beckton, Didcot, Falkirk, Gloucester, Grimsby, Hereford, Kirkcaldy, Oxford, Poole, and Rochdale.

Quiz Clothing, meanwhile, has entered administration for the third time in six years, affecting its 40 UK stores and seven Irish concessions. Despite trading continuing for now, the future of these locations is under review due to significant losses and high operating costs.