H&M利润竟然大幅度下降！这是什么情况？

H&M's profits fell 20 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, despite the Swedish brand recording a 9 per cent increase in sales, helped by a 32 per cent rise in online sales.
2018年的第三季度，H&M的利润下降了20%，尽管这个瑞典品牌对应的销售额上涨了9%，部分也归功于网店销售收入增长32%。

H&M has invested heavily in making its online and in-store offerings more seamless, in an effort to compete with online retailers likeAsos and Zaland.
H&M为了让网店和实体店的服务无缝对接掷下了重金，此举是为了和其对手Asos和Zaland竞争。

The group has seen profits shrink and struggled to shift stock in recent years due to competition from both those brands, as well as high-street rivals such as Primark.
为了和这些品牌，其中也包括像Primark这样的高街品牌，H&M近几年利润缩减，在库存方面也非常堪忧。

However, the company reassured investors on Thursday that it would not need to cut costs to move unsold clothing in spite of the quarterly dip in profit.
不过在周四的时候，该公司向投资商保证，虽然利润的下降，但并不会通清理没有卖掉的衣服来缩减成本。

The fashion company's CEO, Karl-Johan Persson, said: “The rapid changes in the fashion industry are continuing and the H&M group is in an exciting transitional period.
这个时尚公司的首席执行官Karl-Johan Persson说：“这个行业正在持续快速地发生着变化，我们公司正在经历着激动人心的转型阶段。”

Our transformation work has contributed to a gradual improvement in sales development with increased market share in most markets during the third quarter, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Eastern Europe, Russia and China.
我们的转型会慢慢地在销售方面看到成效，在第三季度我们的在大部分的市场上都是增长态势，尤其在德国、瑞典、东欧、俄罗斯和中国。

“In the US, France, Italy and Belgium, however, store sales were negatively impacted by the problems that arose when we introduced new logistics systems in these markets.
在美国、法国、意大利、比利时的负面影响主要是因为我们的在这些市场上引进的新的物流系统所导致。

The new logistics systems are an essential part of our work to make our supply chain faster, more flexible and more efficient, and to continue the integration of stores and online.”
新的物流体系，对我们供应链的迅速，灵活，有效，和逐步将实体店和网店的整合有着重要的意义。

As of May this year, H&M had 4,801 stores in 69 countries and is looking to expand its reach even further.
到今年的五月，该公司在69个国家一共有4801家店，而且还在持续扩张。