H&M was founded in Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson. Today, H&M sells clothing, accessories and cosmetics in more than 1,500 stores worldwide. The old H&M store on Stora Gatan in Sweden was the first H&M store in the world. The name H&M is a combination of the "Hennes" (Swedish for "she") womenswear and "Mauritz" menswear brands, each taking the first letter of the alphabet to form "H&M".