Padini in expansion mode

Padini Holdings Bhd was probably the hardest hit among the local retailers when Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) made a splashy entrance in Malaysia two years ago.

Its shares saw an 13% dip in October 2012, after frenzied shoppers camped overnight and a 1,500-strong crowd descended on Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur, for the opening of H&M’s inaugural flagship store.