Daily LInks
1. Justin Bieber slams H&M “trash” merchandise featuring his image: “As with all other licensed products and partnerships, H&M followed proper approval procedures,” an H&M spokesperson said. – Read More on Reuters
2. Christie’s Sells Record $8.4 Billion in Art, Spurred by Big Estates and Young Bidders: The world’s top auction houses are jockeying for the chance to resell blue-chip collections amassed by baby boomers—while also courting younger buyers who want watches, handbags and contemporary artists of their own generation. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Luxury goods provider Lanvin Group shares tumble in wake of SPAC merger: Lanvin shares opened at $7.20 on Monday, slipping to a low of $6.68 in early trading before climbing to a high of $8.57 in late morning. The stock recently changed hands at $7.36 at approximately 2:00 p.m. ET. – Read More on Seeking Alpha
4. RELATED READ: Lanvin’s IPO: Can the Chinese Group Make a Name for Itself in Luxury? Its brands lack the scale of other luxury names, and need “significant work” from a consumer perception standpoint. – Read More on TFL
5. Luxury watches — a timeless investment or an expensive hobby? “We do everything we can to avoid selling to ‘flippers’,” said Watches of Switzerland’s boss, Brian Duffy. “Obviously we’re not special investigators, but we do want to sell to people who will love and enjoy the watches.” – Read More on the Times
1. Unilever ice cream saga may sour ESG deals: The saga, which angered shareholders and alienated customers, may make Unilever – and maybe others – think twice before buying up companies holding strong views on geopolitics. – Read More on Reuters
2. Fendi Goes Back to School to Save Centuries of Italian Tradition: In Italy, recruiting younger workers is an issue for luxury brands. The small family firms that produce many of its supplies are facing the same problem and some are going out of business, raising the prospect that Italy could lose that precious know-how that has helped drive its economy for centuries. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Shanghai releases new blueprint to boost consumption in the fashion industry: By 2025, Shanghai will cultivate a trillion-yuan-level fashion consumption market, with three to five leading firms, with an annual revenue over 100 billion yuan, 20 firms with an annual revenue of over 10 billion, 200 firms of over 1 billion yuan, and a batch of competitive firms with niche markets. – Read More on Shine.cn
4. Retailers Rethink In-Store Tech as Shoppers Return: Retail chief information officers are weighing technology developments that would streamline the in-store payment process, refocusing on an area they say has lagged behind. – Read More on the WSJ
5. What European companies are doing to help workers fight inflation: French fashion giant LVMH announced a bonus payment for 27,000 of its staff in France on Sept. 29 that would range from 1,000 euros to 1,500 euros. – Read More on Reuters
1. Amazon Agrees to Change Some Business Practices in EU Settlement: The agreement may foreshadow changes at Apple, Google and Meta, which are also facing EU antitrust investigations and are racing to comply with new European laws that target the tech sector and take effect by 2024. – Read More on the New York Times
2. Jack Daniel’s, Dior Cry ‘Dilution’ as Toys, Porn Star Copy Marks: Some attorneys argue the separate cause of action is a combination of superfluousness—most dilution claims come alongside infringement claims—and overreach. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. LVMH to build new workshop making Louis Vuitton bags in Italy: The workshop will be the largest in Italy entirely dedicated to making these products for Louis Vuitton, said the region, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with LVMH. – Read More on Reuters
4. Why Some Lawmakers Want to Ban TikTok: China’s control over the social-media app TikTok is getting new attention, as the Senate passes a bill to ban it on government devices. Meantime, Sen. Marco Rubio wants to stop TikTok from operating in the U.S. entirely. – Read More on the WSJ
5. November US retail sales fall more than expected: Retail and food services fell 0.6%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Dec. 15. Economists expected that figure to fall just 0.2%, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Econoday. – Read More on S&P Global
1. Lanvin Group to open stores, hunt buys after U.S. SPAC listing: Chinese luxury fashion conglomerate Lanvin Group, owner of the eponymous French fashion brand, said it is scouting for buys and will open new stores, after a New York SPAC listing on Thursday that raised $150 million and valued it at $1.31 billion. – Read More on Reuters
2. Chemists Are Figuring Out How to Recycle Our Clothes: Globally, only 13% of the material that goes into making clothing is recycled. Most textile waste—an estimated 92 million tons from the fashion industry alone—produced each year winds up buried or incinerated. – Read More on Scientific American
3. The Demise of E-Commerce is Greatly Exaggerated: “What we see now is the mix reverting to roughly where pre-Covid data would have suggested it should be at this point. Still growing steadily, but it wasn’t a meaningful 5-year leap ahead.” – Read More on Forbes
4. China’s retail, factory output slump as COVID curbs hit growth: China’s economy lost more steam in November as factory output slowed and retail sales extended declines, both missing forecasts and clocking their worst readings in six months, hobbled by surging COVID-19 cases and widespread virus curbs. – Read More on Al Jazeera
5. H&M Sales Rise but Lag Behind Rival as Growth Slows: H&M said sales in the three months to Nov. 30 had increased 10% on-year, a slowdown that analysts said would disappoint investors. H&M’s shares fell around 4% in early trading Thursday. – Read More on the WSJ
1. A quarter of clothes in UK wardrobes have not been worn for a year: The UN says the fashion industry produces up to 8% of global carbon emissions and that textile workers are often poorly paid and forced to work long hours. – Read More on WE Forum
2. Inditex profit jumps as Zara owner lifts prices: The world’s biggest fashion retailer’s store and online sales rose 19% from a year ago, slightly faster than analysts had expected. Price rises of 5% or more across some ranges since the spring helped drive sales, analysts said. – Read More on Reuters
3. Supply-Chain Shortfalls Targeted by New Bill: Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Ro Khanna introduced legislation on Tues. that would force leaders at cabinet-level agencies to identify weaknesses in U.S. supply chains that could hurt national security and domestic manufacturing growth. – Read More on the WSJ
4. RELATED READ: The Big Challenges for Supply Chains in 2022. First – and probably the most obvious to many of us – was the unprecedented pressures on global supply chains created by the COVID pandemic, and the subsequent series of lockdowns and restrictions, which varied in their timing and severity from country to country. – Read More on TFL
5. FTX committed ‘old fashioned embezzlement,’ CEO tells lawmakers in hearing: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY charged disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. – Read More on CNBC
1. Why Chanel is now showing its collections twice: It’s an example of a growing trend among luxury brands, where they’ll essentially re-do a runway closer to when the collection arrives in retail. It’s not quite see-now-buy-now, but it’s close. – Read More on Yahoo
2. Musk Loses World’s Richest Title to Arnault With Tesla Unwinding: Musk has seen his fortune tumble by more than $100B since January to $168.5B, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of 10:20 a.m. EST, that’s less than the $172.9B net worth of Arnault, whose wealth largely derives from his 48% ownership of LVMH. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. RELATED READ: LVMH – A Timeline Behind the Building of the World’s Most Valuable Luxury Goods Conglomerate. “In the 90s, I had the idea of a luxury group and at the time I was very much criticized for it. I remember people telling me it doesn’t make sense to put together so many brands.” – Read More on TFL
4. Inflation’s Cold Case: Core prices were 0.5% higher in November than September, which was the smallest two-month gain since September of last year. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Secretive Shein Founders Build $40 Billion Fortune in Rapid Fashion: The fast-fashion behemoth produces clothes quicker and cheaper than rivals, leading to a more than 2000% return for early backer Tiger Global. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Explores Becoming Online Marketplace: “The marketplace platform makes available a range of additional merchandise and shipping options, and we expect it to result in increased customer engagement and satisfaction.” – Read More on the WSJ
2. From Hermès to Chanel, restorations and repairs are being embraced by luxury brands: Many fashion houses now offer repairs on leather goods, which is not only great in terms of longevity but is ‘incredible’ when it comes to building brand value. – Read More on SCMP
3. RELATED READ: Luxury Brands Boast Warranties, Repair Services Amid Price Hikes, Circularity Push. The growing emphasis on product warranties and lifespan-extending services by luxury brands – which have traditionally been viewed as potential impediments to the volume-based model maintained by most brands, including ones in the “luxury” sphere – is being driven by a confluence of critical factors. – Read More on TFL
4. Young Adults Living with Parents Fuel Luxury Boom, Morgan Stanley Says: Recent US Census data shows that nearly half of all young adults ages 18 to 29 are living with their parents — the highest level since 1940. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. Chinese consumers wary of splurging after COVID strictures fall: Analysts don’t expect a quick, broad rebound in spending in the world’s second largest economy, as the glee that greeted the abrupt relaxations was tempered with uncertainty for consumers and businesses. – Read More on Reuters
6. Americans Flock to Europe for Holiday Shopping Binge: Spending by American tourists in the EU rose more than 40% during the week of Black Friday compared with the same period in 2019. The average transaction amount by U.S. tourists in European stores this year was 1,244 euros ($1,313). – Read More on the WSJ
1. Fashion factory: Mango brings production closer to home in rethink on China. Beijing’s policies and global supply chain chaos prompt sourcing reforms at clothing chain. – Read More on the FT
2. Amazon to roll out TikTok-like shopping experience in social commerce push: The move comes as shopping activity slows in response to an uncertain economy and decades-high inflation. The feature is also geared at enticing young audience who respond to formats like short videos. – Read More on Reuters
3. FTC’s block of Microsoft’s Activision acquisition could thwart other tech deals: “This is the most important instance to date where the FTC has sought to fulfill its promise to enforce merger policy more aggressively. This is the biggest test to date of their efforts.” – Read More on S&P Global
4. Tod’s founder abandons plan to delist company: Tod’s founder and Chairman Diego Della Valle and his brother Andrea had offered to buy out other investors at 40 euros a share but that failed to gain the requisite 90% support. They had the option to try to de-list the company via a merger with DeVa Finance as an alternative. – Read More on Reuters
5. SHEIN and Walmart Share Top Spot Among Shopping Apps Rankings: SHEIN, this time around, is sharing the No. 1 spot with Walmart, both with a score of 95, one point higher than before. Runner-up at No. 2 We have Amazon scoring at 94, two points ahead of last time. – Read More on PYMNTS
6. The rise of the luxury exhibition: “It’s to elevate their business and products to art, which gives it more cultural value … that it has a long legacy and that you at the end, hopefully, want to buy its products.” – Read More on the Guardian
1. In China, Luxury Shopping Faces Ongoing Headwinds: Many companies are holding off on new stores or large-scale offline events and adopting a “wait-and-see” approach in the short term, with few expecting any recovery until at least the middle of 2023. – Read More on the New York Times
2. Rent the Runway’s Revenues Rise as Consumers Embrace Borrowed Fashion: The company said its revenue for the quarter rose 31% year-over-year, while its active user base increased, with subscribers beginning to use the fashion rental and retail service for more than just special events. – Read More on PYMNTS
3. Meta battles U.S. antitrust agency over future of virtual reality: On Thursday, a high-profile trial kicks off in which the FTC will try to prevent Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc from buying virtual reality app developer Within Inc. – Read More on Reuters
4. Big Spenders Plan to Go All ‘White Lotus’ and Travel More in 2023, a New Report Says: Findings from the survey showed that nearly 60 percent plan on spending more on travel in 2023 compared to 10 percent of respondents who say that they would cut back. – Read More on Robb Report
5. Can Fashion Be Profitable Without Growth? “You can have responsible and sustainable growth. Growth doesn’t mean more products always. It could be product that is better quality with better material, better design, which also means better prices.” – Read More on the New York Times
1. Revamping Africa’s fashion industry: Clothing donations have created a booming but problematic industry valued at $1.84 billion in 2021, up 28% from the previous year. More than 40% of the world’s used clothing exports come from three countries – China (17%), the U.S. (16%), and the UK (8%). – Read More on Quartz
2. You’re not going to stop shopping for new clothes. Here’s what to do instead: “‘Just stop buying stuff’ is a very lazy response and does not reflect the complexity of fashion and its positive impacts for workers.” – Read More on Washington Post
3. Activist investor calls for BlackRock CEO Fink to step down over ESG “hypocrisy.” Bluebell — an activist fund with around $250 million in assets under management that holds a tiny stake in BlackRock — has previously targeted the likes of Richemont and Solvay. – Read More on CNBC
4. Luxury stocks rise after China eases zero-COVID restrictions: With China’s economy on the road to recovery, this has sent positive signals to global luxury companies since China has become the world’s second-largest luxury consumer market, which explains the massive boost to stocks. – Read More on DAO Insights
5. Fashion Brand Vince Explores Options Including a Sale: The company is working with an adviser on the process, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. No final decision has been made and Vince could opt to remain independent, the people said. – Read More on Bloomberg
6. As its fashion empire booms, Shein wants an ESG makeover: Shein is trying to elevate its business practice to global standards by hiring a clutch of industry veterans. One of the major allegations against the fashion giant is labor exploitation. – Read More on TechCrunch