Fashion giant H&M has teamed up with footballer David Beckham to stock his Bodywear range.

The David Beckham Bodywear range will be sold in around 1,800 H&M stores in 40 countries worldwide from February 2, 2012 with new Bodywear products being launched seasonally as part of the long-term arrangement.

“Over the past year, I’ve been developing my Bodywear range with my team and I’m extremely positive about what we have designed and produced,” said Beckham. 

“The final piece in the jigsaw was a retail partner who has the vision and capability to distribute these products globally. In H&M we have found the perfect partner to collaborate with going forward, I’m excited and looking forward to showcasing the range to H&M customers from February.”

H&M head of design Ann-Sofie Johansson said: “David Beckham is a true icon both of sport and style. It is incredibly exciting for H&M to be entering into a long-term partnership with him for his David Beckham Bodywear line. It is the start of an amazing adventure for us at H&M.”

H&M now has 2,305 stores, 243 more than the same time a year ago. In June of this year the retailer reported that operating profit plummeted to 9,007m SEK (£875m) from 11,943m SEK (£1.16bn) last year for the six months to May 31, despite sales edging up to 52,135m SEK (£5.06bn).