SWEDEN'S H&M SET TO OPEN IN GALLERIA

H&M, the Swedish clothing chain that spent the past year expanding into the region, plans to open its first Westchester store this spring at The Galleria at White Plains.

H&M will open a 23,000-square-foot store the mall is creating by assembling several smaller spaces, including the space vacated in December by Lechters Inc.

By signing H&M, The Galleria expects to enhance its position as a mall for middle-income shoppers. Despite more competition in recent years -such as from The Westchester mall, a quartermile southeast -- The Galleria has continued to attract mid-market clothing chains ranging from Old Navy to Forever 21.

"It gives The Galleria a tremendous, tremendous leg up on our competition," said Paula E. Kelliher, director of marketing for The Galleria.

The new Galleria store will be H&M's fifth in the metropolitan area. H&M's nearest store to Westchester opened last year, at Palisades Center in West Nyack. Also in 2000, the chain opened two Manhattan stores and a store at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J.

In all, H&M operates more than 640 stores worldwide.

H&M was founded by salesman Erling Persson in 1947 as a womens clothing store with the name "Hennes," the Swedish word for hers. The "M" in the store's name stands for Mauritz, as in the Mauritz Widforss hunting store bought by Persson in 1968. With that purchase, Persson acquired a stock of men's clothing, and his chain branched out into men's wear.

H&M (www.hm.com) relies on its 70 designers to create its own lines of clothing, accessories, skincare and cosmetics. H&M reinforces its message of trendy fashions at lower prices than boutiques with magazine H&M -- ads featuring stars like Johnny Depp and Isabella Rosselini.

With more than 600 stores worldwide. H&M suffered a 19 percent tumble in profits in the nine months ended last August, to $277 million -- a drop the retailer attributed to price-cutting.

Sales during the period rose 8 percent to just under $2.7 billion.

For the year ended Nov. 30, 1999, H&M enjoyed a 37 percent pro-tax profit jump, to $504.59 million on sales that zoomed 24 percent, to $3.9 billion.

"We are looking to reorganize as quickly as possible and emerge as a leaner company ready to do business," said company attorney Elizabeth J. Austin of the Bridgeport, Conn., law firm Pullman & Comley L.L.C.

At its peak, the retailer had 65 stores and more than 800 employees.

Austin said the company closed 25 Midwestern stores in an effort to trim some of its "less profitable" locations before filing for bankruptcy protection.

After the petition was filed, J. Silver's attorneys filed motions to terminate the leases of the closed stores.