PARIS — H&M said it might reopen its stores in Ukraine in November, after shuttering its outposts there in February 2022, following the Russian invasion.

“We’ve maintained a detailed dialogue with different stakeholders. We at the moment are planning to progressively reopen nearly all of our stores within the country from November onward,” chief executive officer Helena Helmersson said in a conference call with investors.

“The protection of colleagues and customers will all the time be our at the start priority. We take a long-term approach and are working to develop the business,” she added.

H&M has nine stores within the country, including six in Kyiv and others in Lviv, Kharkiv and Odesa. It didn’t disclose which locations would reopen.

The corporate also clarified that a previous statement about charging for physical returns was incorrect.

“The part where we stated that we’re charging for returns into physical stores, that was a mistake,” said head of investor relations Joseph Ahlberg. “That has never been the case, not within the U.K. or some other market.”

H&M will proceed nonetheless to charge for online returns, which it has rolled out in test markets including the U.K. and Norway. Ahlberg framed the brand new policy as an environmental effort to “remind the buyer to be mindful of creating returns attributable to the climate impact” of shipping and packaging.

Any complaints about sizing, fit and product inconsistency that fuel those returns are being worked on, added Helmersson.

Elsewhere, the retailer is feeling the warmth.

After blaming slow second-quarter sales on spring rain, the corporate once more cited the weather as mucking up its sales flow. Group sales remained flat in local currencies within the third quarter, while the autumn season was off to a slow start attributable to an unusually hot climate.

In reported terms, third-quarter sales increased by 6 percent to 60.89 billion Swedish kronor, mostly attributable to the currency hitting an all-time low against the euro in June. But they remained flat year-over-year in local currencies, at 5.22 billion euros at current exchange.

“The third quarter began strongly with a pent-up demand for summer garments following a chilly May in most of our major markets,” Helmersson said. “Having now moved into September, we will see that the beginning of the autumn season has been delayed as to this point September has been marked by unusually hot weather in a lot of our European markets.”

September sales were down 10 percent in local currencies year-over-year. The group partially attributed that number to the lack of its Russian business, which it reopened last September to dump inventory, then permanently closed in November 2022.

Coats and other warmer clothes have to this point stayed on the racks, Helmersson said.

“We expect pent-up demand to come back through following a late begin to the season, nonetheless the weak September figure increases the chance of upper clearance given a shorter selling window for autumn garments,” RBC analyst Richard Chamberlain said in a research note.

Sales at its portfolio brands, including Cos, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories, Low cost Monday and Arket, were up 10 percent in local currencies within the third quarter.

The corporate is targeted on upping its margins and profits, which were up barely to 4.74 billion Swedish kronor, or 403.2 million euros, boosted by cost cuts in local markets. The corporate has slashed labor costs and renegotiated leases down by single digits, all while reducing inventory.

It has tightly controlled its product flow to compensate for supply chain hiccups last 12 months. Inventory was down 21 percent in constant currency from a 12 months earlier. It’s using tech and using AI to streamline its flow and change into more responsive.

Helmersson added that while consumers are being “more conservative” against inflation and rising rates of interest, the corporate’s fame for low-cost clothing should regular it against any economic headwinds, she said.

“This offers us room to maneuver on price,” said chief financial officer Adam Karlsson. “We’re well-positioned in the mean time where the buyer might be more careful when spending money…and with the improved sourcing situation we also see the chance for price decreases moving forward.”

All that positive money flow is getting used to snap up its stock, and the corporate will buy back 3 billion Swedish kronor value, or about 257 million euros, of its own shares.

Like other big retailers, H&M is being impacted by shrinkage within the U.S, which “continues to extend because it has been during the last couple of quarters,” Karlsson said. “From the U.S. promote it is a growing concern.”

H&M brand’s beauty division, which launched two trial stand-alone flagships in Norway within the second quarter, has received “good feedback” by customers, Helmersson said, while stopping short of revealing sales for the concept.

For the primary nine months from Dec. 1 to Aug. 31, sales were flat in local currencies, while up 8 percent to 173.38 billion Swedish kronor, or 14.9 billion euros at current exchange. The flat sales number is in contrast to Spain’s Inditex, parent company of fast fashion rival Zara, which reported first-half sales gained 16.6 percent.

H&M is expanding into Brazil, where it’s going to open its first store next 12 months. It’s also attempting to reestablish itself in China, where it returned to the sales platform JD.com after being booted in 2021 following an argument over Xinjiang cotton. The brand closed its first and largest flagship there in June 2022.