OSLO (Reuters) - H&M will close down digital fashion outlet Afound later this year due to weak demand, the Swedish group said in a statement on Wednesday.

"When evaluating Afound's current position, we don't see enough demand, partly because brands increasingly choose to use their own channels for sales, to further strengthen their customer relationships," H&M said.

Launched in 2018 as an outlet business with physical stores to sell marked-down clothes from many external brands, Afound later tweaked its strategy to expand online.

Afound sold clothes in seven European countries including Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, according to its website.