Swedish cheap'n'chic fashion group a “long-term investment”.

• Fashion giant H&M to open 180 new stores

Hennes & Mauritz, Europe’s second- largest clothing retailer, is not actively seeking acquisitions, its chief executive officer told French daily La Tribune.

"H&M is not for sale," said Karl-Johan Persson, chief executive officer of H&M, who took the helm of his family’s business in July last year. "It's a long-term investment. The Persson family is convinced of the development potential of the H&M concept. It has no plans to sell”.

The Persson family is the group's main shareholder. It owns 37 percent of the capital and 70 percent of the voting rights.

Last week it said its second quarter net profit jumped 25 percent, to 5.2 billion kronor ($670 million), boosted by increased gross margin. Total sales rose 2 percent to 27 billion kronor.

The fashion giant now plans to expand its concept to new countries and new cities. During the second half-year H&M plans to open 180 stores.

The company was established in 1947 by Karl-Johan Persson's grandfather Erling Persson. Today H&M -- the world's third-largest fashion chain by revenue behind US-based Gap and Spain's Inditex -- has more than 2,000 stores in 35 countries.