Janne Einola, the India head of Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), has called it quits five years after he launched the world’s second-largest fashion brand in India.

Einola, who is country manager for India, is currently serving his notice period and is scheduled to leave H&M by the end of October. He is quitting for personal reasons and will join his wife and kids in Helsinki and take a break before planning on his next move.

An H&M veteran of 22 years, Einola moved to India in July 2015, months before H&M opened its first outlet in the country in New Delhi’s Select Citywalk mall. 

For the past five years, Einola spearheaded India’s fast expansion and locally relevant customer experience. He is credited with aggressively expanding H&M in India, with the Swedish retailer having opened about 50 outlets in the country so far. He is also considered to be instrumental in signing up an exclusive online deal with Myntra.com that proved a positive move for the brand in India.

However, his departure comes at a tough time when retailers including H&M in India are battling low sales on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fashion brands have been severely impacted by the pandemic in the last few months as malls remained shut due to the lockdown and are yet to see a revival in footfall.

Image source:  The Economic Times