By Dominic Chopping 



  STOCKHOLM--Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB said Monday that sales in its fiscal second quarter fell 50% on year, a smaller drop than expected, as coronavirus restrictions began to ease in many of its markets and stores began to reopen. 


  Sales in the quarter ended May 31 fell to 28.66 billion Swedish kronor ($3.07 billion). A FactSet poll of analysts expected SEK27.7 billion. 


  The retailer said sales in local currencies also decreased by 50% year-on-year. 


  Total sales between June 1 and June 13 decreased by 30% in local currencies compared with the same period in 2019. 


  "The sales development during the second quarter was severely affected by the Covid-19 situation," H&M said. 


  "In most markets, stores had to be temporarily closed and in the middle of April around 80% of the group's stores were temporarily closed." 


  Online sales helped partially mitigate the store closures, with reported web sales increasing by 36% and local currency sales by 32% during period. It said online sales are open in 48 of its 51 online markets. 


  H&M began gradually reopening stores in a number of its markets from the end of April. It has around 900 stores, representing 18% of its total 5,058, that are still temporarily closed. 


  These figures are preliminary and are subject to adjustments when the full second quarter report is published on 26 June, it said. 


  Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com