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The H&M on the Upper East Side is closing up shop and laying off its entire staff, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) posted on Friday.
The notification was posted on the New York Department of Labor website’s WARN dashboard and states that the location, at 150 East 86th Street (between Lexington and Third avenues), will impact 31 workers and result in a permanent closure on January 19, 2026. Another H&M location, at 18 Church Street downtown, is facing the same fate.
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Despite strong sales and soaring stock prices, the Swedish fashion giant said in September that it had already closed 135 stores globally this year, according to The Independent. This overhaul is part of a plan to reduce costs and boosts profits, the article states.“Through a stronger customer offering, an improved gross margin and good cost control, we have strengthened operating profit compared with the same quarter last year,” Chief Executive Daniel Erver said, according to The Independent. “The increase in profit shows that we are on the right track as a result of the progress we have made in our plan.”
Meanwhile, the fast fashion giant recently announced that it’s buying back more than $104 million worth of its own stock, according to a November 21 news release.
The 86th Street H&M opened in May 2008 among major buzz and a slew of promotions, according to an NBC News article published at the time. Despite the prime location and low prices, the store hasn’t had the most stellar reputation: It currently boasts only two stars on Yelp, with many of the reviews complaining about a less than ideal selection and consistently long checkout lines.
East Side Feed reached out to H&M’s media relations department but has yet to hear back.
Until its closure, the store is operating normal hours and is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday-Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
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