Daily LInks
1. Retailers Start Usefully Quantifying Virus Impact: UK fashion chain Next Plc has produced a stress test that outlines potential outcomes – in a worst-case scenario, full-price sales would be down by about 1 billion pounds ($1.16 billion), a quarter of its total, which would mean pre-tax profits of just 55 million pounds for the financial year (against 729 million pounds in the year earlier). – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Fashion retailer H&M weighs tens of thousands of job cuts because of coronavirus: As of Monday morning, the company said 3,441 of its 5,062 stores worldwide are closed, and has started talks about temporary layoffs “in a number of markets.” – Read More on CNBC
3. Advertising in the age of coronavirus: Some brands have chosen to make the sudden life changes affecting many Americans a core part of their messaging. Italic Inc., an e-commerce site that sells luxury goods, sent out an email marketing campaign to some of its customers that read: “Working from home?” – Read More on WSJ
4. How internet culture and Instagram changed the rules of internships: Students are looking to their schools’ career advising offices or scouring online job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed. Instead, they are going straight to social media. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. From His Kitchen Table, Everlane’s CEO Tries to Keep his Brand Running: E-commerce sites continue to operate, even for retailers that have closed stores to slow the virus. And they are still stocked with jeans, jackets and dress shoes, even though two of the hardest-hit nations, China and Italy, are crucial producers. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. Balenciaga, Saint Laurent to Produce Masks in French Workshops: Luxury fashion conglomerate Kering SA, which owns Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta, among other luxury brands, said it would switch to producing surgical masks at the French workshops of its Balenciaga and Saint Laurent brands as the country ramps up its efforts to contain the coronavirus. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. “The Fashion Business Has Been Hit Hard”—Retail Industry Sends Letter to the White House Calling for Support Amidst Coronavirus Crisis: “Fashion is a $400 billion driving force of the US economy employing 4 million people, not including retail jobs. The retail industry is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $4 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs—53 million working Americans.” – Read More on Vogue
3. How Meghan could become the world’s most powerful fashion influencer: Experts predict the Duchess of Sussex’s earning power as a brand ambassador could be up to $100 million. – Read More on the Telegraph
4. Sales of luxury goods increase amid virus spread: The new coronavirus situation in Korea is not getting any better with more cases recorded over the weekend; but this has not stopped certain people from shopping for luxury goods. – Read More on Korea Times
5. Influencers Are Milking the Coronavirus for Clout—and Money: Wellness influencers and micro-influencers have also been doling out dubious advice. – Read More on Daily Beast
1. From Building ICUs to Making Hand Sanitizer, Here’s What Luxury Brands Are Doing to Fight the Coronavirus: Moncler, the outerwear brand synonymous with cold-weather puffer jackets, announced that it would be donating a whopping €10 million to build a temporary hospital in Milan, while LVMH is turning its fragrance factories into centers for manufacturing hand sanitizer. – Read More on Robb Report
2. Is the LVMH takeover of Tiffany in jeopardy? Even if the $16.2 billion deal goes forward in light of COVID-19, it could be delayed because regulators in the U.S., Europe and/or China may not be working during this lay-low period when social isolation has emerged as a prime way to blunt the disease outbreak. – Read More on Retail Dive
3. RETRO READ: Monopolizing and Monetizing a Color: What is the Value of Tiffany & Co.’s Trademark Blue Hue? “The iconic blue color is an integral part of its brand and its visual identity,” and thus, its overall valuation. – Read More on TFL
4. The luxury industry is facing its worst year in modern history: Coronavirus is delivering the industry its greatest challenge—greater even than the 2008 recession. Bernstein says the first half of 2020 is “likely going to be the worst in the history of the modern luxury goods industry.” – Read More on Quartz
5. Online Fashion Is a Weak Coronavirus Antidote: Optimists might conclude that shoppers are preoccupied with stocking up on everyday essentials for now, and will start to shop for more discretionary items in the coming weeks. A more realistic explanation might be that they are spending cautiously in anticipation of an economic downturn and widespread job losses.– Read More on WSJ
1. The Most Important Media Businesses of the (Past and) Future: Disney has a brand that actually matters to consumers, owns franchises that consumers essentially treat like subscription content services, and operates the biggest star-making platforms in the world. And as strong as this platform was at the start of 2019, it exited the year even stronger. – Read More on Matthew Ball (via 2pm)
2. RETRO READ: From Gucci to Supreme: Fashion Brands Are Tapping into Disney’s $60 Billion Merch Machine. Disney relies heavily on licensing partnerships, such as those with Gucci or Sephora or Supreme (the latter of which debuted a small Mickey capsule in 2009) not for purely practical (i.e., manufacturing) purposes, it enlists the help of third-parties to ensure the enduring relevance of its intellectual property assets over time, including by bringing them to audiences that range in age and discretionary income. – Read More on TFL
3. Luxury Brands Hit The Discount Racks: For luxury brands, already facing an extended dip in revenues since 2019, eCommerce has become a refuge, one that may have to support operations for an indeterminate period. – Read More on PYMNTS
4. It’s All So … Premiocre. Anybody can track in intimate detail how the wealthy and stylish spend their money via social media, and just when you’ve learned exactly what you can’t have, the internet swoops in to offer a look-for-less utopia of counterfeits, rip-offs, and discount cashmere sweaters, perfectly keyed to the performance of a lifestyle that young Americans desperately want but can’t afford. – Read More on the Atlantic
5. What’s trending: Experts decode Gen Z. For one thing, the cold, hard truth about climate change and its impact has not been lost on many Gen Z’ers and it’s influencing the brands they support and the items they buy. – Read More on Modern Retail
6. A Coronavirus and Retail Reality Check From A.P.C.’s Always Candid Jean Touitou: “Shops are closed; therefore appetite can’t be analyzed. Oh, yes, it can a bit be seen through e-comm? Well, so far it’s down like playing a 45 rpm vinyl at a 33 rpm speed.” – Read More on Vogue
7. Japanese beauty and skincare still reigns supreme: It’s clear that the worldwide beauty industry is constantly finding inspiration from Japan. This is perhaps most evident in the way the industry is now interacting with the environment; for many companies, making our beauty routines more sustainable has become paramount. – Read More on Dazed
1. Every Fashion and Beauty Retailer Closing Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic: From Glossier and Gucci to Sephora and Supreme, here’s a running list of all of the fashion and beauty retailers that are closing up shop – temporarily – in light of the Coronavirus crisis. – Read More on Fashionista
2. Environmental, social and governance reports are not enough: In the face of coronavirus, companies, including fashion ones, must now adapt and show they can walk the talk. – Read More on the Financial Times
3. Sports, Retailers, Airlines, Autos: The Damage Across Business. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès and other megabrands were forced to shut dozens of stores in mainland China, Macau and Taiwan, while China’s well-heeled shoppers stayed home rather than splurging during trips to European fashion capitals. Now, the virus’s emergence in the U.S. is threatening to sap demand in another of the industry’s biggest markets. – Read More on WSJ
4. Chinese Fashion Industry 80 Percent on Track to Recover: In Shanghai, luxury consumers were queuing to shop in Chanel again at Plaza 66 during International Women’s Day. It has shortened trading hours since the outbreak in China, but never shut its doors like it just did in the U.S. – Read More on WWD
5. As Mulberry announces the departure of its creative director, how can it return to its former glory? It’s not the most surprising news, following as it does several years of wobbly financial results from the brand – in November, the company communicated continued sales declines in the UK and an uptick in international trade that wasn’t enough to offset nearly £10 million in losses for the half-year. – Read More on the Telegraph
6. Beyond discounts: Retailers offer frequent shoppers out of the box perks. As brick and mortar and e-commerce retail struggle to navigate the current landscape, loyalty programs are acting as a bridge to shoppers. – Read More on Modern Retail
1. Sex rebranded: It’s arguably underwear that has seen the biggest change post-#MeToo. See Kim Kardashian’s brand, Skims, and Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty line, which both feature underwear in a range of sizes and muted colors, alongside Heist, another hip new name in the underwear game, which goes one step further with a call to arms: “Shapewear is anti-feminist, right?”. Wrong! Almost half their sales come from shapewear. – Read More on the Guardian
2. The Freewheeling, Copyright-Infringing World of Custom-Printed Tees: Print-on-demand companies allow anyone to upload designs for T-shirts, mugs, and other items. But many images violate intellectual property rights. – Read More on Wired
3. Is Artificial Intelligence Good? Clothing Companies Say Yes. Beyond the fashion industry, global spending on AI systems overall is expected to reach $49.2 billion in 2020, a 31% increase over last year. With AI creeping into more facets of our lives, a category of fashion has also emerged to battle these potentially invasive technologies. – Read More on WSJ
4. Retail store closures in the US could explode because of the coronavirus: There could be more than 15,000 store closures announced by retailers in 2020, in large part because of the pandemic, according to Coresight Research CEO and founder Deborah Weinswig. – Read More on CNBC
5. How Fashion In Hollywood Benefits From Diversity: Greater diversity of ideas and experiences will create a fruitful ground for more interesting and democratic takes on fashion that actually reflect the diversity and vibrancy of everyone who cares about movies and clothes. – Read More on Forbes
1. LVMH will use its perfume and cosmetics factories to manufacture free hand sanitizer for France: The factories that produce perfume and makeup for brands like Christian Dior and Givenchy will be making hand sanitizer starting on Monday. – Read More on CNBC
2. Peloton, Apple, Patagonia Among Stores Closing to Ward Off Virus: However, most major department stores in the U.S. remain open. Saks Fifth Avenue stores, for instance, “continue to be a safe place for you to shop,” according o the retailer. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Telfar Clemens’s Mass Appeal: “I want to be Michael Kors, but on purpose,” says Clemens, whose Shopping Bag became the label’s best-selling item. The brand releases new colors of the bag on the first Friday of the month. – Read More on the New Yorker
4. RETRO READ: Telfar – A Perfectly Modern Fashion Brand. In a time when fashion is inherently global and dictated not by the pre-internet pages of a magazine but by the expansiveness of digital and social media, and when the industry’s most traditional gatekeepers are increasingly losing their dictatorial power, brands like Telfar are not only in-demand, they are powerful. – Read More on TFL
5. This Year’s Time-Themese Met Gala Has Been Postponed: The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Monday that the annual Met gala, which was scheduled to take place on May 4, has been postponed “indefinitely.” – Read More on Vogue
6. What does the symmetry of your logo say about your brand? Logos are one of the most important element of a company’s visual identity. People tend to perceive symmetrical shapes as more attractive and preferable, in comparison to asymmetrical ones. As such, it is not surprising that brand managers favor using symmetrical logos. – Read More on HBR
1. Retail marks milestone: Storefronts peddling services overtake those selling clothes and other goods. The number of service-based retailers surged 20.5 percent from 2002 to 2017, totaling 1.2 million spaces, as brands need to offer something that cannot be bought or experienced on the internet. – Read More on CNBC
2. Neiman Marcus Backs Away From Discount Business: “This is a move forward. We’ve got a strategy that is working. We want to put our effort behind the full-priced, luxury customer. This is what will differentiate us from the competition.” – Read More on the WSJ
3. U.S. lawmakers seek to tighten ban on forced-labor goods from China’s Xinjiang: Leading U.S. lawmakers proposed legislation on Wednesday aimed at preventing goods made from forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region from reaching the United States. The legislation would alter existing rules and require importers to obtain certification from the U.S. government that goods were not produced using forced labor by minority Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. – Read More on Reuters
4. The Luxury Trap: Why it’s a Mistake to Define Luxury By Price. Defining a luxury brand by its functional aspects and high prices cannot replace the value a brand creates. Brands must define extreme value creation first. – Read More on Jing
5. Making Luxury Goods Under Coronavirus Lockdown: “On the production side, remote working is not possible, so it’s a question of managing risk by reducing contact between people. It should be possible to find a solution to protect the flow of goods and at the same time the health of the people.” – Read More on the WSJ
1. How Outdoor Voices, a Start-Up Darling, Imploded: The shake-up has highlighted the generational friction that can arise between idealistic start-up founders, the employees they hire and the seasoned executives their companies often need for success. And it has added to questions about the viability of money-losing e-commerce start-ups, which have amassed piles of venture capital in recent years as they try to disrupt the markets for everything from toothbrushes to watches. – Read More on the New York Times
2. Why All the Warby Parker Clones Are Now Imploding: Perhaps the original mistake of the DTCs wasn’t in their vision, but in their decision to take the venture capital in the first place. Now under pressure to grow even faster and at greater scale than they otherwise would have had to naturally, they are being confronted with what happens when growth slows down, the cash starts running out, and investors are expecting their returns. – Read More on Medium
3. With China Under Quarantine, People Turn to Livestreams and Shopping: “People are extremely cautious, and we have the benefit of living in fortunate times where we can literally stay at home if we like and live quite well with China’s modern retail scenarios.” – Read More on Adweek
4. FTC, FDA Crack Down on False Advertising, Marketing Related To Coronavirus: The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Drug Administration took action by sending warning letters to several companies for allegedly selling products using deceptive or unsupported scientific claims about the products’ ability to treat the SARS strand of COVID-19 known as coronavirus. – Read More on Media Post
5. What Are Companies’ Legal Obligations Around Coronavirus? For legal and practical reasons, companies need to be able to show that they have given employees accurate information about ways to prevent the spread of infection — and that they have provided people with the means to act on that information. Employers must also implement measures to reduce the risk of workplace transmission. – Read More on HBR
1. The Gray Market: Why the Coronavirus Proves the Art and Fashion Economies Are Different Animals. Even the most revered luxury retailers still operate as mass-market merchants. Although the runway pieces suck up most of the attention, a huge part of any major fashion house’s annual revenue comes from selling accessories normally priced between $100 and $800, along with not-much-more-expensive basics including denim and t-shirts. – Read More on ArtNet
2. Off-price retailers aren’t investing in e-commerce, but competition is growing: Instead of building out an e-commerce site, off-price retailers spend that money instead remodeling the stores where customers are already continuing to visit at a healthy pace, or open up new stores elsewhere. – Read More on Modern Retail
3. RETRO READ:New Gucci Bags at Marshalls, Céline at T.J. Maxx: Is that Legal? Brands very well may be turning a bit of a blind eye and keeping their mouths shut to such practices in order to maintain their premium positioning while reaping a benefit for their own bottom lines. – Read More on TFL
4. Are consumers finally sick of consuming? After decades of buying more clothes, shoes, books, furniture, sheets, toys, throw pillows, accessories, doodads, and thingamabobs than anyone could possibly need, have consumers gotten tired of consuming? – Read More on Fast Co.
5. Buying Clothes Doesn’t Really Make People Happy Anymore, Says Morgan Stanley: “Consumers have reached peak happiness with clothing purchases” because, as CNBC puts it, “consumers already own so many clothes.” – Read More on TFL