State College H&M Closing This Month

After almost five years in business, clothing retailer H&M’s location at the Fraser Centre in downtown State College is set to close its doors for good on Sept. 19, according to a customer service representative.

The representative declined to give a reason for the 118 S. Fraser St. store’s closure. However, the Swedish multinational company announced last year and reiterated in a June quarterly report that it planned to close 350 stores in established markets while opening 100 in growth markets in 2021. It did not list which stores would be included among those closures.

The company cited a shift to online shopping that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“More and more customers started shopping online during the pandemic, and they are making it clear that they value a convenient and inspiring experience in which stores and online interact and strengthen each other,” CEO Helena Helmersson said in a statement last October. “The substantial investments made in recent years have been very important for our recovery and we are now accelerating our transformation work further to meet customers’ expectations. We are increasing digital investments, accelerating store consolidation and making the channels further integrated.”

Since opening in 2016 among the first tenants of the Fraser Centre, State College’s H&M has offered clothing and accessories for men, women and children.

H&M will continue its normal operating hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays until it permanently closes.

StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.