Daily LInks
1. Five consumer trends that will endure after Covid-19: Some demographics, like older consumers, may have been previously uncomfortable with buying groceries or other goods online, but the coronavirus has forced them to get comfortable. Once they fall into the new routine, and get used to the ease of delivery at their door, such shoppers may be hard-pressed to return to brick-and-mortar, experts say. – Read More on AdAge
2. Wellness Influencers Sell False Promises as Health Fears Soar: This isn’t a new problem. Before the pandemic, influencers were touting supplements as a way to lose weight, increase metabolism, lower blood pressure, and even treat cancer, sometimes without disclosing that they’d been paid for their posts. – Read More on Wired
3. PVH may ‘pack and hold’ inventory until next spring: Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger’s parent company says it may save at least some of its spring and summer inventory, possibly for next season, in order to preserve its ability to sell at full price or close to it, CEO Emanuel Chirico said. – Read More on Retail Dive
4. Virtual Catwalks and Digital Fashion: How COVID-19 is changing the fashion industry. “This is an opportunity to redefine business models and build a more sustainable, progressive future” for the fashion industry. – Read More on Forbes
5. Retail thought it was facing the apocalypse. Then came the coronavirus: “I don’t believe that brick and mortar retailing is ever going to go away, but certainly it will contract considerably and it already has.” – Read More on LA Times
6. Is it ethical to order luxury items for delivery during a pandemic? Are we putting others at unnecessary risk when we order something non-essential? On the other hand, do we as consumers have a responsibility to keep businesses, particularly small ones, afloat right now? – Read More on the National
1. In the Future, All Brands Will Be B Corps: If there’s one lasting change from this crisis, it’s that brands will have to become as much pro-social as they are pro-economic. “We expect our brands to embrace their social responsibility and act on it. Every brand should start thinking like a B Corp.” – Read More on Substack
2. Italian independent fashion labels fight for survival amid lockdown: “If [our factories] reopen soon, I might get the chance to work on a capsule collection, with a limited number of pieces. If not, I doubt we can survive skipping two seasons. Big shops do not wait for a small brand to get back, they just fill the gap with something else.” – Read More on SCMP
3. Who decides what you wear? Meet fashion’s formidable silent force: As the global buying director for Net-a-Porter, the world’s largest multibrand luxury retailer, Elizabeth von der Goltz dictates the products that Net-a-Porter buys – and therefore, what its massive pool of customers buys. – Read More on the Guardian
4. Luxury Retailers Reluctantly Slash Prices Amid Demand Plunge: Neiman Marcus has Tom Ford glasses, which usually sell for about $400, at 50% off on its website. Customers can snag a Derek Lam stripe shirtdress from Saks Fifth Avenue for $237 — 40% off the usual price. Nordstrom is offering a Salvatore Ferragamo slide sandal for $225, down from $375. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. RELATED READ: What happens to the unsold fashion merchandise sitting in stores and in warehouses across the country? Products will be put on sale but … Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti suspects that COVID-19 “will [also] create the greatest buying environment for off-price in a decade.” – Read More on TFL
6. Coronavirus effect: Bankruptcies won’t save retail this time. Retail has for years faced the challenges of slowing foot traffic, changing shopping patterns and online competitors that has caused a retail upheaval some analysts have deemed the “retail apocalypse.” But now, nearly every retailer and landlord is also facing the pain. – Read More on CNBC
1. Carpe DM: 60 years of the Dr. Martens boot – fashion’s subversive smash hit. While the vegan range and patterned designs have been credited with a 70% rise in profit for the brand in 2019, the 1460 remains the bestseller and it is this history that is likely to have attracted rumors in March of a potential £300m sale to a US private equity firm. – Read More on the Guardian
2. We are expecting ‘very significant topline decline’ for luxury brands in first half, analyst says: Chinese demand, which is at the center’s the high fashion/luxury economy, is expected to be down by 30 to 50 percent for the first half of 2020, per Luca Solca, senior research analyst for global luxury goods at Bernstein. – See More on CNBC
3. Rodeo Drive hotel planned by French luxury retailer LVMH: The parent company of brands such as Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Dom Perignon recently applied for city permission to build a 115-room hotel on property it owns at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Little Santa Monica Boulevard. LVMH regards it as a long-term venture that wouldn’t open until 2025. – Read More on LA Times
4. RETRO READ: Two Decades, a Bitter Legal Battle, and More than $1 Billion Later, LVMH’s La Samaritaine is (Almost) Ready for its Debut. In light of COVID-19, however, it seems that the nearly 20-years in the making debut will inevitably be pushed back. – Read More on TFL
5. Eleven Women Over 40 Reclaiming Their Space in Fashion, From Jennifer Lopez To Celine Dion: Fortunately, thanks to increased awareness of the need for body positivity, diversity and gender equality, the world has woken up to the importance of celebrating womanhood in all its shape, sizes, ethnicities and ages. – Read More on Elle
1. When the Picture Isn’t Pretty: Top profiles that can charge $10,000 or more per post for every million followers have seen customary revenue streams drop drastically, even to zero. “My whole calendar up through June was completely booked—and in one day, everything went down.” – Read More on Bloomberg
2. E-commerce Not Enough to Save Fashion Retail: For all the talk of fashion’s digital transformation, it’s an industry that still runs on brick-and-mortar, meeting and interacting with consumers face-to-face. Now, web sales — the only revenue channel now for many retailers — have fallen sharply, highlighting challenges in an uncertain time. – Read More on WWD
3. What Does the Future Hold for Jobs in Fashion? Smart business entrepreneurs may shift their businesses to provide more of what people need and not just what people want. This includes wellness products, CBD, immune-boosting supplements but also clothes you can wear at home that are chic, stylish, and comfortable. – Read More on Refinery29
4. Adidas has agreed to pay landlords for April rent following criticism, but Urban Outfitters says it won’t pay rent: Urban Outfitters on Tuesday said it won’t pay rent for an undisclosed amount of time and is delaying the opening of new stores, while existing stores remain “temporarily closed until further notice due to the continued spread of COVID-19.” – Read More on Retail Dive
5. Rihanna makes history: “Did I ever imagine that I would see a durag on the cover of Vogue?” British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful revealed that it was the singer’s idea to wear the headwear, which was designed by the famed milliner Stephen Jones. – Read More on the Guardian
6. Reinventing the Direct-to-Consumer Business Model: The direct-to-consumer startups’ rise was enabled by an environment of abundant venture capital, low competition, and above all, the advertising arbitrage that could be exploited on under-priced social media platforms. – Read More on HBR
1. Victoria’s Secret Sale to Sycamore Partners at Risk: Parent company L Brands’ deal to sell a 55% stake of the Victoria’s Secret lingerie and beauty divisions, along with the Pink business, to private equity firm Sycamore Partners was expected to close in 2020’s second quarter. “[There are] difficulties arising from the business uncertainties and contractual restrictions while the VS transaction is pending.” – Read More on WWD
2. Can T-Shirt Sales Save America’s Restaurants? With Covid-19 forcing many American restaurants to close, the food and beverage industry is hoping sales of shirts and hats can provide a much needed revenue stream. “Merch is one of our two only revenue sources right now.” – Read More on WSJ
3. Fashion labels cancel orders during coronavirus, garment workers go unpaid: More than 1 million garment workers in Bangladesh already have lost their jobs or have been furloughed because of order cancellations and the failure of buyers to pay for canceled shipments. – Read More on Fortune
4. How Christian Siriano turned his fashion house into a mask factory: During his first week of quarantine, Siriano had spent his free time working on a series of paintings. He sold the paintings and funnelled the proceeds into his mask operation—all the work he’s done so far has been pro bono. – Read More on the New Yorker
5. Fashion brands are shifting production to work-from-home clothes: “Loungewear, kind of suddenly, became the most important category for us, by far. So, we immediately began working to make sure it was supported. We’ve been shifting our supply chain, shifting our content and marketing, all of it to focus on the people who are sheltering and working at home.” – Read More on Glossy
6. Layoffs, store closures and tanking sales: How one premium retailer is navigating the current crisis. The San Francisco-based company has expanded since its founding in 2011. It currently has 40 full-time employees, brought in around $60 million in 2019 and has grown by bootstrapping and funding every major new product via a Kickstarter campaign. – Read More on Modern Retail
1. How Isolating Has Changed David Yurman’s Perspective on Business: “We’re dealing with how we keep ourselves viable through this social distancing … We’re trying to figure out how we can actually still do business in this environment, how we financially survive this.” – Read More on WSJ
2. Can a greener, fairer, more sustainable fashion industry emerge from crisis? While sections of the fashion industry already knew they could not continue on their current trajectory, it was inconceivable that brands could be forced to slow down, let alone stop production altogether. But that is what has happened. – Read More on the Guardian
3. RETRO READ: Why Aren’t More Millennials Shopping Sustainably? Look at the Price Tag. Countless reports keep telling us that consumers are prioritizing sustainability, and yet, fast fashion giants’ revenues keep growing. Why? Most sustainably-created fashion is still too expensive for most consumers. – Read More on TFL
4. How responsible beauty, wellness and fashion labels are connecting with us during the Coronavirus pandemic: From a marketing, PR and communications standpoint, adapting to drastic changes as the events of the pandemic unfold has been a challenge. Goals had to be realigned with focus on public service or offering any form of support to help alleviate the current situation. – Read More on Forbes
5. For companies, the key is not only surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, but thinking about after. The real question is going to be: How many of those companies have been hurt in a terminal way, to where the change demand structure for their products over the next couple of years will actually cause them to fail, even if they’ve survived this short term shock? – Read More on Supply Chain Dive
1. Is Anyone Still Shopping for Clothes During the Coronavirus? With more people cooped up at home, idle hands have led to spontaneous online shopping. “I find myself shopping more, looking at clothes more, and that’s mainly due to the downtime. I wouldn’t normally have this much time.” – Read More on WSJ
2. Could the coronavirus outbreak lead to a wave of unionization in retail? The coronavirus outbreak has led workers from all kinds of industries to push for greater protections from their employers. Retail is no exception. – Read More on Modern Retail
3. At Two Fashion Resale Warehouses, Workers Fear for Their Safety: As New Jersey orders nonessential workers to stay home to fight the spread of the new coronavirus, warehouse employees of The RealReal, a $1 billion luxury resale company, are expected to show up for work, leaving them to wonder just what is “essential.” – Read More on the New York Times
4. America’s department stores can make it as much as 8 months with closed stores before liquidity troubles mount, analyst says: J.C. Penney and Nordstrom fare a bit better than most and have enough cash to last eight months with their stores closed, Cowen said. – Read More on CNBC
5. The White House is paying underwear makers to churn out millions of masks: Several underwear and T-shirt factories are working with the White House to supply masks for hospitals. HanesBrands Inc., which is supplying many companies, made material in the Dominican Republic, transported it to Miami in military planes and trucked it to American Giant’s factory in Middlesex, North Carolina. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. Billionaire Philip Green Fails to Get Sex-Discrimination Claim Thrown Out: Former Topshop boss’ attempt to be removed from a lawsuit accusing him of sex discrimination has been refused by a London tribunal. The claim is part of a constructive-dismissal case brought against the retail tycoon and his companies, Arcadia Group Ltd. and Top Shop/Top Man Ltd by Topshop’s former head of design. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Retailers Cancel Orders From Asian Factories, Threatening Millions of Jobs: Primark’s parent company has suspended or canceled orders, while U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer Group PLC sent a note to suppliers this week suspending purchase orders that are due to be handed over. – Read More on WSJ
3. RELATED READ: The Global Garment Supply Chain Faces Significant Job Uncertainty Due to Coronavirus. With so many jobs on the line, working conditions risk quickly deteriorating at the hands of unscrupulous employers, particularly as worker desperation rises. “This can result in modern slavery, including situations of forced labor.” – Read More on TFL
4. How Will China’s Luxury Fashion Market Bounce Back? As more people in China begin to go back to work after a required quarantine period, many are looking at reduced salaries, which has led to more conservative spending. This will require brands to quickly develop a better understanding of consumer expectations on pricing and products during this time (and over the coming months), so they can reform their marketing strategies and approaches accordingly. – Read More on Jing
5. Everlane Reassures Workers, Then Lays Off and Furloughs Hundreds: The clothing retailer Everlane, the branding of which has long been insistently focused on “radical transparency” and ethical behavior in all parts of its business, has made sweeping layoffs, after sending an email to staffers assuring them the company was “stronger than ever” during the coronavirus pandemic. – Read More on Vice
6. RETRO READ: Radical Transparency? H&M and Zara Might Actually More Transparent Than Everlane. A closer look at Everlane’s website and marketing materials – which appears to be rife with vague language in place of definitive facts to support its claims of transparency and ethical production – reveals that there is almost certainly more at play in the Everlane model than meets the eye. – Read More on TFL
7. The apparel industry had an inventory problem before coronavirus. Now what? Since many apparel companies experienced shipment delays when Chinese factories did not recover for weeks due to COVID-19 concerns, spring was somewhat delayed already. “Effectively spring-summer is pushed to fall.” Anything in stock now that can be sold in fall, will be. – Read More on Retail Dive
1. Guns, Groceries and News: What Sells in a Pandemic—and Doesn’t . Web traffic to retailers Amazon, Target, and Walmart climbed in March too, according to Comscore. With audiences holed up at home and seeking information about the fast-moving virus, news viewership and, in particular, online news consumption are sharply growing. – Read More on WSJ
2. RELATED READ: Luxury and Logistics, Banking and Big Pharma: Here’s How Industries Will Fare as a Result of COVID-19. – Read More on TFL
3. Target CEO withdraws forecast: Target’s same-store sales thus far in March have been up more than 20% over last year. In the essentials and food and beverage categories, same-store sales are up more than 50%, but this metric is down more than 20% in apparel and accessories. – Read More on CNBC
4. What Does the $2 Trillion Aid Deal Mean for the Fashion Industry? Smaller fashion businesses that pledge not to lay off their employees can apply for and receive emergency loans through June 30. If the employer continues to pay employees through the end of the crisis, the loans will be forgiven. – Read More on Vogue
5. The quest to sell and consume more fashion shouldn’t cost the earth: At no other time in human history has fashion been so accessible to so many people, and the industry has for too long promoted overconsumption as a good thing. – Read More on the Guardian
1. Board games, yoga mats and yeast: What people are buying as they heed coronavirus stay-at-home orders. As the coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S., people are purchasing items based on three needs: to protect, to entertain and to connect. “Once folks feel like they are physically safe — have enough food and protection — there is a shift to buying items that are more geared toward emotional well-being.” – Read More on CNBC
2. RELATED READ: How COVID-19 is impacting the e-commerce market. Average order values by sector show that consumers seem to be spending more than usual in several areas. Grocery, pharmaceutical and general retail order values, for example, are higher than usual, as people buy the products they need online. – Read More on the Drum
3. How Will Italy’s Factory Shutdown Impact Its Fashion? The fashion industry is a backbone of the Italian economy. It’s a $97 billion industry that employs 600,000 people. – Read More on Vogue
4. Fashion influencers are rethinking their curated aesthetics: Do people still want to see cute outfits during a global crisis? Fashion influencers’ accounts might never be the same after the pandemic ends, and it’s already forcing them to adjust how they make content and what they post. Sure, they’re still receiving swag in the mail to produce unboxing and try-on videos, but they’re also grappling with the pandemic themselves and figuring out how their accounts should look. – Read More on the Verge
5. As Stores Cancel Orders, Brands Scramble to Adapt: Some brands said retailers canceled spring orders that hadn’t arrived yet. Many said they’re trying to negotiate with stores and push the deliveries back a few weeks since the brands have already produced and paid for the merchandise. – Read More on WWD
6. LVMH late to e-commerce, but luxury giant sees it as an advantage: There is one important segment of the luxury economy, however, where LVMH has lagged behind: digital sales, which according to consultancy Bain & Company will account for about 25 per cent of the global luxury goods market by 2025. – Read More on SCMP
7. Retailers are dangling deals online amid coronavirus, but shoppers may not show up: Promotional activity among retailers online is picking up, and while, companies like Nike and Macy’s are trying to draw some sales, as their bricks-and-mortar stores remain dark, the demand from consumers still might not be there. – Read More on CNBC