Daily LInks
1. Head to Tokyo or Seoul for the Latest Gucci and Louis Vuitton: Even with China’s sudden reopening, the market is set to remain volatile: Other countries have issued visa restrictions on Chinese travelers, and luxury executives are still deciphering spending habits and the government’s drive for “common prosperity.” – Read More on the Washington Post
2. Adidas says Berlin Fashion Week launch and co-CEO announcements are fake: Several press releases allegedly sent from Adidas about a Berlin Fashion Week launch, its treatment of workers abroad and other topics related to its business structure were fake, according to the company. – Read More on CNBC
3. Netflix results, retail sales, Davos: “While consensus views a 2023 recession as inevitable, we find ourselves contemplating the old adage: ‘Never bet against the US consumer.'” – Read More on Yahoo Finance
4. Luxury giant LVMH hits 400 billion euro in market value: “They are firing their last cartridge which is the Chinese reopening, going forward things will get tougher: tough comparisons, dollar going down.” – Read More on Reuters
5. Market-leading US companies consolidate power in era of ‘superstar’ firms: The tech antitrust bill, held up by the 2022 midterm elections, is designed to stop Big Tech companies like Apple and Amazon from favoring their own services. It would represent a reversal of a long-held laissez-faire attitude of regulators. – Read More on S&P Global
6. How Retailers Can Ready Their E-Commerce for 2023 With AI: AI can be used by online retailers to meet a range of business-specific objectives, including making first-party and measurement data from across the ad stack actionable in the buying process, and boosting e-commerce conversions. – Read More on Total Retail
1. Prada’s new chief tasked with making generational shift smoother: The group is taking decisive steps towards implementing the complex succession that will eventually lead to Lorenzo Bertelli taking over from his parents, Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada, who have led the 110-year-old retailer since the late 1970s. – Read More on the FT
2. Private equity persuades Italian luxury suppliers that bigger is better: With its tradition of sophisticated craftsmanship, Italy is home to thousands of small manufacturers that cover 50-55% of the global production of luxury clothing and leather goods, Bain calculates, against 20-25% for the rest of Europe. – Read More on Reuters
3. Alibaba Seeks to Boost Sales Abroad With Buy Now, Pay Later: The payments tie-up comes at a time when Chinese e-commerce companies are looking more abroad to bolster sluggish sales growth at home. – Read More on the WSJ
4. ‘Zillennials’ With Steady Income, Few Bills Are Prime Retail Opportunity: Sandwiched between “millennials” and “Generation Zs,” this micro-demographic born between 1990 and 2000 makes up roughly 30 million consumers of true digital natives who have never known a world without the internet and mobile phone. – Read More on PYMNTS
5. Do Crypto Prices Actually Mean Anything? A regulatory framework that is purpose-built for the technology would not change the underlying incentives for reckless and fraudulent. For the crypto industry to have a positive impact on society, we need to first overhaul how it measures progress — and success. – Read More on HBR
1. How AI technology affects global fashion industry: The AI market is forecasted to generate more than $63B by 2028 and contribute $15 trillion to the global economy. By the end of 2022, 30% of all retail sales were influenced by AI recommendations. – Read More on CGTN
2. South Koreans are the world’s biggest spenders on luxury goods: Morgan Stanley estimated South Korean total spending on personal luxury goods grew 24% in 2022 to $16.8 billion, or about $325 per capita. That’s far more than the $55 and $280 per capita spent by Chinese and American nationals, respectively. – Read More on CNBC
3. Embracing digital commerce may be retailers’ best bet for staying ahead of a fast-moving industry: Though the pandemic-induced online shopping frenzy has cooled as more people venture out again, with all of the different methods out there for digital commerce, driven in large part by livestreaming and social media, it’s time to take a look at where this industry is headed. – Read More on TechCrunch
4. Put the Nepo Babies in Charge of Luxury: Young, rich and surrounded by expensive toys, they exhibit the characteristics that high-end buyers aspire to. As long as they are qualified for the job, keeping the bling kids around has merit. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. Nike CEO touts strength in Gen Z China shopper as Covid disruptions dent regional sales: CEO John Donahoe said Thursday the company is “really focused” on Gen Z consumers in China and that the athletic apparel retailer is continuing to see strong demand in the region, even amid Covid-related disruptions. – Read More on CNBC
1. Web3 could help fashion become more sustainable: The ravenous appetite of fast fashion shoppers isn’t settling anytime soon, and fashion’s supply chain remains quite arduous on the environment. A possible step toward finding the multiple solutions needed to fix this damaging sector is, well, embracing more web3. – Read More on TechCrunch
2. Retail execs are questioning how long they can raise prices: As Wall Street presses retailers to prop up margins, only one-third of those executives interviewed in the report were “very confident” about boosting margins or holding on to the margins they have. – Read More on MarketWatch
3. Lacoste Owner Looks to Snap Up More Brands as Sales Surge: They are looking for brands that transcended borders and had at least €500 million in annual sales. Targets don’t necessarily need to be in fashion, and could be in areas like hospitality or experience, but do need to be upmarket. – Read More on the WSJ
4. The Future of Retail Isn’t Direct-to-Consumer: There’s another benefit to setting up shop in a place where you’re more likely to get local customers: Access to reliable shopper data. – Read More on Inc.
5. How the fashion industry is tackling sustainable packaging: “Consumers, investors, and regulators will grow increasingly hostile to any company, fashion or otherwise, that does not operate in a sufficiently sustainable way. The packaging used by fashion companies can have a big impact on their overall environmental footprint.” – Read More on Packaging Gateway
1. Retail industry legislation and policies to watch in 2023: From credit card swipe fees, to long-awaited rules around data privacy, retail interests are going to be eyeing proposals at the state and federal levels. Some policies have the potential to broadly change retail practices across sectors. – Read More on Modern Retail
2. RELATED READ: Regulating the Industry – A Running Tracker of Fashion-Focused Legislation. The U.S. is seeing a rise in fashion-centric legislation that is worth keeping an eye on. Here is a running list of key domestic legislation worth keeping an eye on. – Read More on TFL
3. Lidl, Zara’s owner, H&M and Next paid Bangladesh suppliers less than production cost: In a survey of 1,000 factories in the country producing clothes for UK retailers, 19% of Lidl’s suppliers made the claim, as did 11% of Inditex’s, 9% of H&M’s and 8% of Next’s. – Read More on the Guardian
4. LVMH Stock Rises to New Record After Leadership Reshuffle: LVMH’s shares have been on a tear this year, rising 13% as the post-pandemic sales boom continues for luxury goods. China’s reopening is likely to further boost demand for LVMH brands such as Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Hong Kong set to shortlist crypto tokens for retail trading: Hong Kong securities watchdog will propose a subset of tokens it would allow for retail investors’ trading, its chief executive said on Wednesday, as it presses on with a new regulatory regime that will make the city more friendly to crypto startups. – Read More on Reuters
6. With Many Retailers Offering Online Sales, Phony Sites Blend In: Toward the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, footwear brand Rothy’s was “easily dealing with hundreds of fake websites per month,” a company spokeswoman, said. – Read More on the New York Times
1. LVMH names new Louis Vuitton CEO, puts Arnault daughter in charge of Dior: LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has reshuffled top management with the appointment of his daughter Delphine to lead Christian Dior. Pietro Beccari, who has been the head of Dior since 2018, is moving to replace long-time Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke. – Read More on Reuters
2. The fall of fast fashion: In the UK the, Asos was 2022’s worst-performing stock, with shares falling 78 percent. Nor is Asos alone: Boohoo, which owns the brands Nasty Gal and PrettyLittleThing.com, fell 70 per cent in 2022. – Read More on the New Statesman
3. Where Is Tech Going in 2023? Game-changing technologies, such as 5G, AI, and cloud, are hitting tipping points for mass adoption. – Read More on HBR
4. Has Vuitton Found Virgil Abloh’s Successor in KidSuper? While it is true that men’s wear accounts for just a portion of profits at Vuitton, its halo effect on the brand’s image, which began when Mr. Abloh was appointed in 2018, cannot be overstated. – Read More on the New York Times
5. Rich consumers seem unfazed by market turmoil: “Part of [luxury’s resilience] is because luxury can play different roles in a consumer’s life. Some of it is aspirational, and some of it is rewarding yourself. During the pandemic, some of it was self-care. It’s really hard to move off of luxury once you’ve gotten used to it.” – Read More on Fortune
6. ASOS Looks a Lot Better Off Without Topshop: ASOS, which for many years generated the sort of sales growth that high street stores could only dream of, faces a potential shareholder rebellion at its annual meeting on Wednesday. A day later, it will report first-quarter sales. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. Flush With Cash, Chinese Tourists Will Boost Spending in Fashion Capitals: Trip.com said that Singapore was the fastest-growing of all the destinations, with flight bookings leaping six-fold, followed by an average 400% jump in airline ticket orders. Bookings for long-haul flights to the UK, the U.S. and Australia also increased. – Read More on PYMNTS
2. The 10 biggest U.S. retail bankruptcies in 5 years: A Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy filing would add to a list of high-profile collapses of retailers who struggled, especially during the pandemic, to compete with big-box retailers and online buying. – Read More on Reuters
3. RELATED READ: Retail Woes – A Running List of Fashion & Retail Bankruptcies. Here is a look at some of the most recent fashion-related bankruptcy filings, as well as some significant ones dating back a bit further. – Read More on TFL
4. Fashion brands paid Bangladesh factories less than cost – report: A survey of 1,000 factories found many were paid the same prices as before the pandemic two years ago – despite soaring costs of materials. One in five said they struggled to pay Bangladesh’s £2.30 a day minimum wage. – Read More on BBC
5. Rolls-Royce rides ongoing luxury demand to sales record in 2022: Rolls-Royce’s sales were led by the Americas, with the U.S. remaining its top market with around 35% of sales. In China, the carmaker’s second-largest market, coronavirus-related lockdowns led to a “single-digit drop” in sales. – Read More on Reuters
1. The Big Picture 2023 Sustainability Outlook: Regulation is shaping the sustainability agenda and transforming the way investors and companies approach ESG-related investing. Mandatory climate disclosures are now on the horizon in the U.S. after the SEC unveiled a long-anticipated climate disclosure rule-making proposal. – Read More on S&P Global
2. The Executive Who Made Winter Gear High Fashion: With Mr. Ruffini at the helm, Moncler became the first company to put puffy down jackets on the catwalk, and to persuade shoppers to splurge from $1,000 to as much as $5,000 on a jacket. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Hermes expands in Nanjing as luxury industry bets on Chinese return: European luxury houses have continued to invest in China, expected to become the sector’s largest market by 2025, despite a turbulent year marked by disruptions as the country imposed strict curbs to contain Covid. – Read More on Reuters
4. Three of the biggest luxury fashion retail trends for 2023: Chen suggested that the customers who continue to buy luxury – like the ultra-rich – will gravitate toward major designers like Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton over smaller designers. – Read more on SCMP
5. LVMH, Richemont Set to Benefit From Middle East’s Fast Growth: The Middle East is expected to become one of the fastest growing markets for luxury in 2023, according to Barclays Plc analysts, with the owners of Louis Vuitton and Cartier best placed to benefit. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. As travel resumes, China’s luxury shoppers ask: Paris or Hainan? In 2021, Hainan accounted for 13% of China’s domestic luxury spend vs. 6% pre-pandemic, and tax regulations are set to continue to loosen. By 2025, luxury brands will be able to operate their own duty-free stores, rather than rely on partnerships with local players. – Read More on Reuters
2. With Patagonia leading the pack, what’s next for sustainability in apparel? Patagonia announced it was “time for us as a company to address the issue of consumerism and do it head on.” “Everything we make takes something from the planet we can’t give back.” – Read More on Modern Retail
3. RELATED READ: Patagonia and the Potential Perils of Philanthro-Capitalism. A major barrier for sustainable companies is the assumption of shareholder primacy – that managers must maximize profits on behalf of the company’s owners. – Read More on TFL
4. Five Questions with Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Marketing Director & Head of CSR: “One of the biggest challenges and opportunities arose in the last 2 years is how to be effectively present in the Web3. We are creatively and strategically approaching Web3 while some of our competitors are rushing to be there.” – Read More on Interbrand
5. California’s Workers’-Rights Push Threatens What’s Left of ‘Made in the USA’ Fashion: California’s Garment Worker Protection Act is a year-old law that takes aim at the industry practice of paying workers a piece rate, and renders fashion brands liable for labor abuses across their supply chains. Similar bills are under consideration in New York state and in the US Congress. – Read More on Bloomberg
6. Biden administration AI policy efforts to be complex balancing act in 2023: With a lack of movement at the federal level, state and city government AI laws are more likely to surface in the coming months. – Read More on S&P Global
1. How Luxury Rental Services Are Changing Our Relationship with Fashion: “The luxury borrowing industry is booming,” Blake Geffen, the founder of Vivrelle said. The handbag rental co. currently has a waitlist of 8,000 users and counting. – Read More on Elle
2. Retailers to Roll Out the Red Carpet for High-Spending Chinese Tourists, Now Free to Travel Abroad: This is welcome news not just for Chinese travelers and airlines but also overseas retailers, particularly luxury goods retailers. The Chinese have historically been the world’s biggest spenders while traveling abroad. – Read More on US Funds
3. Retail M&A sinks in 2022: Diving deeper, deal value in the consumer products and services sector fell 44% while values in consumer staples fell 37%. The number of deals was also down, with a 24% dip in the retail space, a 14% decline in consumer products and services, and a 19% fall in consumer staples. – Read More on Axios
4. Online Sales Growth Chugs on Despite Gloomy Forecasts: According to the data, liberation from COVID restrictions that sent consumers flooding back to brick-and-mortar stores did not prevent growth in online purchasing, which in fact grew. – Read More on PYMNTS
5. European shares clock third day of gains on upbeat economic data: China-exposed luxury companies LVMH and Richemont rose 5.0% and 2.4%, respectively, lifting the index. – Read More on Reuters