Available now, gone in a flash (LA Times) “Private sample sales generated $1 billion last year, a relatively small piece of the $155-billion e-commerce pie. But the category is thriving, with more than $100 million in venture capital flooding into the space in the last six months alone.” Zozotown Gets Japan Fashion Online (WSJ) “Aside [...]
Why fashion has fallen out of love with its A-list clotheshorses (Independent) “This time around, the women chosen… are united by their anonymity outside of [fashion]… prompting many insiders to wonder: is fashion’s long-running love affair with celebrity finally over?” American Apparel Shares Plunge as Auditor Steps Aside (WSJ) “American Apparel shares plunged as much [...]
Fashion Nation: What Retailers Know About Us (WSJ) “By tracking customers’ spending habits, retailers get a bird’s-eye view of tastes as they ebb and flow. Online retailers, in particular, see every click we make. They know which brands we’ve peeked at, how long we pondered, and what we actually purchased.” 5 Things We Know About [...]
Global Luxury Brands Abandon Chinese Partners (Business China) “In addition to taking direct control of stores in China, luxury brands are hoping to boost profits by tailoring new product lines to the meet local consumer tastes, and moving their manufacturing bases to China or other Asian countries with low labor costs.” The Four Species of [...]
Fashion industry internships: exploitation or experience? (Guardian) “The haute couture world may be glamorous, but some interns at the gritty end of the business are being exploited in their quest to gain industry experience.” Balderton Capital on its Investment Strategy (The Next Woman) “As we’re seeing lots of companies from different sectors, it gives us [...]
Pringle boss reveals blueprint (Daily Record) “Pringle boss Mary-Adair Macaire has revealed her plans to turn the knitwear brand into Scotland’s answer to Chanel… she’s confident that Pringle… will soon win a place among luxury brands from around the world.” Beleaguered fashion chain returns to profit (Guardian) “The fashion chains Oasis, Karen Millen, Coast and [...]
The chic learn to click (Economist) “Luxury firms may at last be waking up to the internet, but they have a long way to catch up… It is odd that an industry that would not be seen dead in last season’s colour is wedded to the last century’s technology.” India’s luxury market remains underdeveloped (CPP [...]
Wanted: Guy Shoppers for Fashion Sites (WSJ) “Online fashion shopping sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La have been a hit with women since launching over the last three years. A new push to get men to shop in these web boutiques is proving more difficult.” Foreign luxury companies take note: Chinese consumers favour [...]
How the Fashion Magazine Industry Plans to Profit from Digital This Fall (Mashable) “Fashion magazines are poised to make a big comeback in ad sales in 2010 — but the recovered revenue may not come from print sales. Instead, the publishers of major U.S. fashion magazines are ramping up their digital and mobile offerings.” Spending [...]
Conjuring Temples of Deep Desire (IHT) “In the top 100 of fashion ‘influentials,’ Peter Marino is up there on page one, alongside creative geniuses and big brand managers. Yet… the American architect has not been publicly recognized for what he is: the impresario of 21st-century luxury.” Hermès Raises 2010 Sales Growth, Operating Profit (Bloomberg) “[Hermès] [...]
Middle East Retail Returns to Growth Track (WWD) “The retail pulse is back in the Middle East. Fashion brands point to positive trends in the region, including the return of tourists, particularly in Dubai. Wealthy Chinese are streaming in… shoring up a fast-growing destination for Europe’s luxury players even though business isn’t near pre-recession levels.” [...]
Burberry to buy out Chinese franchises (FT)
“[Burberry] said it would buy out its Chinese franchises in a £70m deal that will see it take direct control of its 50 stores on the mainland. The deal came in the same week China reported 10.3 per cent growth in the past quarter.”
Hello Tommy (Vogue.com)
“Tommy Hilfiger is adding [...]
Uniqlo Healing Social Problems With Hipster T-Shirts (Fast Company)
“Fast Retailing Co., the company behind the Uniqlo clothing chain, has established a new, wholly-owned subsidiary that’s going to expand its enterprise with a ’social business’ in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.”
Asos co-founder cashes in as profits jump (Guardian)
“Online retailer Asos sees first-quarter sales rise by 54%… [...]
China’s textile firms may face bankruptcy on yuan appreciation (Xinhuanet)
“Half of China’s textile firms may risk going bankrupt if the value of the Chinese currency yuan rises 5 percent against the U.S. dollar given the industry’s thin profit margins.”
French Court Kicks Google/LVMH Case Back To Appeals (WSJ)
“The French Supreme Court Tuesday referred a previous ruling [...]
The hot spot for cool customers: Swedish label Acne (Independent)
“Swedish denim label Acne – it stands for Ambition to Create Novel Expressions – is the latest coup de foudre of the fashion world… And it’s opening its largest store in London this week.”
New Beirut Mall Aims to Be Luxury Oasis (WWD)
“Beirut is embarking on a [...]
Full Spectrum, Less Spectacle (NY Times)
“Don’t be fooled by the giant lion at Chanel… Most of the remaining half-dozen or so houses that show haute couture scaled down their presentations… a nip here, a tuck there and a P.R. man explaining in a hushed tone that the designer wanted to ‘return to couture’s roots.’”
Luxury shoppers [...]
La Mode Berlin (WSJ)
“The city’s edgy, sexy vibe was evident on Wednesday as German designers kicked off Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week, which runs through Saturday. Getting on the world’s fashion map isn’t easy, but Berlin is trying.”
American Eagle Promotes Apparel With Free Phones (WSJ)
“Teen retailers in particular have struggled against gadget makers for control of [...]
Skeletons, Family and Religion (IHT)
“There was little of the sharp tailoring associated with Givenchy, where Mr. Tisci has been the creative director for five years… In an interview, the designer explained his vision.”
Perrone Quits as CEO of Italian Suitmaker Brioni (Bloomberg)
“Perrone, the 40-year-old grandson of Brioni co-founder Gaetano Savini, was appointed sole CEO in July [...]
Tommy Hilfiger Announces the Opening Champs Elysees Store (PR Newswire)
“The Champs Elysees store will serve as a true flagship for our brand in France and will further anchor our significant retail presence in Europe… It is an important milestone in our continued efforts to establish anchor stores in every major city around the world.”
Balderton invests [...]
Bonjour Couture (Vogue.com)
“Just as Haute Couture Fashion Week begins the high fashion market has posted some very positive sales news. Top Parisian labels, including Chanel, Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier, have revealed a marked increase in both sales and demand.”
Cosmetics from Burberry and Topshop (FT)
“Fashion brands are often able to make that transition from clothes [...]
The Yohji Yamamoto story (Telegraph)
“Yohji Yamamoto, the charismatic and mysterious Japanese designer, is allowing the first-ever published biography about his life to be published. The book, entitled (enigmatically, of course) ‘My Dear Bomb’, will be released worldwide in October.”
Ferragamo Sees ‘Very Good’ 2010 (Bloomberg)
“Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian shoemaker, expects ‘a very good’ 2010 as the [...]
Diesel banned from using ‘offensive’ ads (Reuters)
“Fashion label Diesel has been banned from using two adverts showing young women which a standards watchdog said were likely to cause serious offence.”
Global brands widening product portfolio in kids segment (Economic Times)
“Kids are getting spoilt more than ever before with busy parents trying to make up for lack [...]
And The ANDAM Winner Is… (Style.com)
“Turkish designer Hakaan Yildirim is the newest winner of ANDAM’s €220,000 prize… It was only last February, before his first London show, that English fashion scribes were wondering in print: ‘Who is Hakaan?’”
Erdem Moralioglu: A man for all seasons (Independent)
“His printing technique involves the designer playing around creatively on his [...]
Prada Is Aiming at a Valuation of More Than $4.9 Billion (Bloomberg)
“Prada is aiming for a valuation of over 4 billion euros ($4.95 billion), while bankers estimate the Italian fashion label is worth between 3 billion euros and 4 billion euros.”
Takashimaya Says It Will End U.S. Operations (Bloomberg)
“Takashimaya Co., a Japanese department-store operator, said it [...]
Liberty’s new owner sets out plans for growth (Guardian)
“Liberty’s new private equity owner BlueGem Capital, formed in 2006 by a group of former Merrill Lynch bankers… set out its plans for the department store group, which it described as ‘a national treasure’.”
Harrods Create Own-Brand Fashion to Revive Sales (Bloomberg)
“We have invested in all categories as [...]