V-ECON Audit: H&M

Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

Direct Supplier Relationships

• No public evidence was identified linking H&M Group to direct commercial contracts with Mehadrin Group, Tnuport Export (Mtex), Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, or Agrexco successor entities ¹²³.
• Mehadrin Group / Tnuport Export (Mtex) is documented as a major Israeli agricultural exporter and avocado supplier with packing-house operations in Beka’ot and Messua settlements (Jordan Valley) and the occupied Golan Heights ⁴.
• Hadiklaim (Israel Date Growers’ Cooperative) operates a packing house in Beit Ha’Arava settlement, located in the West Bank within the Megilot Dead Sea Regional Council ⁵.
• Agrexco / Carmel Agrexco was formerly Israel’s largest fresh produce exporter; the majority of its goods were grown in West Bank settlements and labeled “product of Israel” in European markets ⁶.
• The Who Profits database documents these companies as part of the settlement enterprise supply chain but does not identify H&M as a direct purchaser ²⁵⁶.

Importer of Record Structure

• H&M does not hold a wholly-owned Israeli subsidiary acting as importer of record ⁷⁸.
• Israeli operations are conducted via franchise agreement with Match Retail Ltd., a privately held company incorporated for the exclusive purpose of handling H&M operations in Israel ⁷⁸.
• Match Retail Ltd. is owned by the Horesh family, which also operates Union Motors and Lex Motors as exclusive Toyota and Lexus distributors in Israel ⁷⁸.
• Match Retail Ltd. employs between 21 and 50 people per LinkedIn data as of 2025 ⁹.

Seasonal Sourcing Patterns

• No public evidence identified linking H&M’s procurement to seasonal counter-seasonal windows of Israeli fresh produce ¹⁰.
• H&M’s supply chain is primarily textile-focused, with garment manufacturing concentrated in Bangladesh, Turkey, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, and Indonesia ¹⁰.
• H&M Home products represent the most plausible product category for agricultural input sourcing from Israel, but no direct supplier relationship has been documented ¹⁰.

Third-Party and Indirect Sourcing

• No public evidence identified confirming that Israeli-origin settlement products reach H&M shelves via third-party distributors, resellers, or white-label arrangements ¹⁶¹⁰.

Security Services Nexus

• G1 Secure Solutions (formerly G4S Israel) lists H&M among its general business clients on its Who Profits profile page ¹¹.
• G1 Secure Solutions is one of the major security providers to Israeli government and commercial entities, with documented operations including security services to seven Israeli settlements, military checkpoints, Israeli prisons, and settlement surveillance projects ¹¹.

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

Settlement-Origin Products

• No public evidence identified of H&M products being labeled “Produce of Israel” and confirmed to originate from West Bank, Jordan Valley, or Golan Heights settlements ¹².
• The UN OHCHR settlement enterprise database does not list H&M ¹³¹².
• The only fashion or textile company on the UN OHCHR settlement enterprise database is Delta Galil Industries Ltd., which operates in Barkan Industrial Zone (West Bank) and distributes via retail points in Pisgat Zeev, Ramot (East Jerusalem), and Ma’ale Adumim (West Bank settlement) ¹³¹²¹⁴.

Labeling Compliance

• H&M products carry standard country-of-origin labels identifying manufacturing countries, predominantly Bangladesh, China, Turkey, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia ¹².
• No documented H&M-specific government advisories or regulatory enforcement actions regarding Israeli settlement product labeling were identified ¹².

Corporate Labeling Policy

• No public evidence identified of a corporate policy specifically addressing the sourcing or labeling of goods from occupied or contested territories ¹⁵.

Authoritative Database Checks

• H&M does not appear in the UN OHCHR settlement enterprise database iterations A/HRC/43/71 and A/HRC/60/19, adopted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 31/36 and 53/25 ¹³¹².
• H&M is not listed in DBIO IV (2024), which identified 58 companies, or in DBIO V (November 2025), which expanded to 104 companies ¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸.
• H&M is not found in the AFSC investigate database covering settlement industry entities ¹⁹.

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

Foreign Direct Investment

• No public evidence identified of H&M making direct capital investments, including acquisitions, factories, data centers, logistics hubs, or real estate, within Israel or occupied territories ⁷.
• All Israeli operations are conducted via franchise rather than direct ownership ⁷.

R&D and Innovation Centres

• No public evidence identified of H&M operating research and development facilities, technology partnerships, innovation labs, or accelerator programmes within Israel ¹⁵²⁰.

Parent and Beneficial Ownership Flows

• H&M Group’s parent company structure: the Stefan Persson family holds approximately 36% of shares as controlling shareholder ¹⁵.
• The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under ticker HM B ¹⁵.
• No public evidence identified linking H&M’s parent company, Stefan Persson family, or controlling principals to separate direct investments in Israeli companies or Israeli-domiciled financial instruments ¹⁵.

Portfolio and Fund Exposure

• No public evidence identified of H&M holding disclosed investments in Israeli-domiciled companies, Israeli sovereign bonds, or Israel-focused investment funds ¹⁵.

Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global

• As of August 2025, Norges Bank’s Executive Board divested from six companies based on Council on Ethics recommendations linked to settlement activity ²¹.
• No public evidence identified that H&M or any H&M Group subsidiary is named on the GPFG exclusion list ²¹.

Operational Presence & Market Activity

Physical Footprint

• As of December 2023, H&M Group operated 24 H&M-branded stores in Israel, predominantly in the Gush Dan (Tel Aviv metropolitan) region ¹².
• H&M does not operate any stores in the occupied areas of East Jerusalem or the West Bank ¹².
• COS (premium contemporary brand) operates multiple stores in Israel, with the first store opening in Summer 2017 at Fashion Mall, Tel Aviv, followed by additional locations at Ramat Aviv, TLV Mall, Big Ashdod, and Glilot ²².
• & Other Stories (premium accessories and women’s brand) operates two stores in Israel, at Azrieli Center Tel Aviv and Azrieli Mall Jerusalem, opened in Fall 2021, with expansion to Big Fashion Glilot ²³.
• COS and & Other Stories were added to H&M’s Israeli local website by 2024 ²³²⁰.
• H&M Home is available through shop-in-shop arrangements in some Israeli H&M stores ¹².
• No evidence identified of ARKET, Monki (absorbed into Weekday as of December 2024), Weekday, Afound, or Sellpy operating physical stores in Israel ¹².

Employment and Local Leadership

• The CEO of H&M Israel (Match Retail) is listed as Yael Raiter per Prospeo data from 2025 ⁹.
• Prior rounds of research recorded Amihay Kilstein in Globes reporting from 2021, suggesting a leadership change in the position ⁹.

Market Positioning

• H&M’s CEO Daniel Ervér stated that Middle Eastern markets account for a small portion of the company’s total sales and that markets are operated through franchise partners ²⁴.
• H&M characterizes the Middle East as a minor, franchise-operated market ²⁴¹⁵.
• No evidence identifies Israel as a strategic growth market or regional hub in H&M’s annual reports or investor presentations ²⁴¹⁵.

Constructive Notice — Post-ICJ and Post-ICC

• H&M’s Israeli stores remained operational after the ICJ’s July 19, 2024 advisory opinion finding Israel’s continued presence in the OPT unlawful ¹²²⁴.
• The December 2023 store count of 24 stores was confirmed operational in 2024 through ongoing operations reporting ¹¹¹².
• H&M’s FY2024 annual report, published in January 2025, makes no reference to the ICJ advisory opinion ¹⁵.
• H&M’s Israeli stores remained operational after the ICC’s November 21, 2024 arrest warrants ²⁴.
• Store operations are confirmed ongoing through Q1 2026 reporting ²⁴.
• No public evidence identified that H&M Group has conducted specific human rights due diligence on its Israeli franchisee’s economic relationships following the ICJ’s July 2024 opinion or ICC’s November 2024 arrest warrants ¹⁵.

2008 Israel Visit

• In March 2008, an H&M management team visited Israel at the initiative of Israel’s economic attaché in Stockholm ²⁵.
• The team met representatives from Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories, whose products are produced in Mitzpe Shalem settlement in the West Bank ²⁵.
• No commercial deal with Ahava was announced following this meeting ²⁵.

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

Founding and Incorporation History

• H&M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) was founded in 1947 in Västerås, Sweden ¹².
• H&M is not an Israeli-origin company ¹².

Headquarters and Domicile

• H&M Group’s legal domicile and operational headquarters is Stockholm, Sweden ¹⁵.

Franchise Structure

• H&M states that franchising is not part of its general expansion strategy ²⁶.
• The majority of H&M stores globally are run directly ²⁶.
• Franchise partners are used only for regulatory reasons in certain countries, and Israel qualifies under this exception ²⁶.
• The franchise agreement with Match Retail Ltd. was signed on December 9, 2008, with the first store opening in March 2010 in Tel Aviv ⁷.
• The franchise model generates royalty and brand licensing revenue for H&M Group while operational costs and local tax contributions flow through Match Retail (Union Group) ⁷⁸.

State and Institutional Linkages

• No public evidence identified of Israeli state ownership stakes, government board appointees, government contracts, or designation as critical national infrastructure for H&M Group ¹⁵.

Structural Governance Features

• No public evidence identified of governance mechanisms such as golden shares, founder shares, or charter restrictions tying H&M’s operations to the Israeli state or its policy objectives ¹⁵.

UN Special Rapporteur Report A/HRC/59/23

• The UN Special Rapporteur report dated July 2, 2025, authored by Francesca Albanese, identifies 48 corporate actors across arms manufacturing, technology, financial institutions, energy, construction, and supermarkets and universities ²⁷.
• H&M is not among the named 48 corporate actors in this report ²⁷.
• Fashion retailers are not mentioned in the report’s named company list ²⁷.

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

Revenue Attribution

• H&M does not break out Israel-specific revenue in its financial disclosures ²⁴¹⁵.
• The Middle East region represents a small portion of total sales ²⁴¹⁵.
• H&M Group’s global net sales for FY2024 were SEK 234,478 million (approximately $22.4 billion) ¹⁵.
• H&M Group’s global net sales for FY2025 were SEK 228,285 million (approximately $21.8 billion) ¹⁵.
• Operating profit for FY2025 was SEK 18,395 million with an 8.1% operating margin ¹⁵.

Profit Flows

• Under the franchise model, royalty and brand licensing fees flow from Match Retail (Israel) to H&M Group (Sweden) ⁷.
• Local operational profits are retained within Match Retail and Union Group in Israel ⁷.
• No public evidence identified quantifying the specific royalty or franchise fee income received by H&M Group from its Israeli franchise ⁷.

Economic Ecosystem Role

• No public evidence identified of H&M being characterized as a key employer, sector anchor, or infrastructure provider within the Israeli economy by Israeli government or industry assessments ¹⁵²⁴.

achACT “Fashioning Apartheid” Study

• The achACT study published in December 2025 notes that companies targeted by BDS or listed in available databases represent only the tip of the iceberg regarding fashion sector complicity ²⁸.
• Delta Galil Industries is identified as the only fashion company in the UN OHCHR settlement enterprise database ²⁸.

End Notes