Daily LInks
1. New York’s Fashion Act Gets a Makeover—Is It Enough? The updates to the bill include stronger requirements for chemical use and climate targets, more specific due diligence criteria and expanded enforcement provisions. The amended bill also now provides for joint and several liability between fashion sellers and garment workers. – Read More on Vogue
2. Aditya Birla’s fashion unit to open Galeries Lafayette stores in India: The Indian firm said it would open two flagship stores – one in Mumbai by 2024 and another in New Delhi a year later – housing over 200 luxury and designer brands. It added it will also launch an e-commerce platform. – Read More on Reuters
3. Metaverse could pump $1.4 trillion a year into Asia’s GDP, report says: The metaverse’s contribution to gross domestic product in Asia could be between $800 billion and $1.4 trillion per year by 2035, according to Deloitte. – Read More on CNBC
4. EU Trademark Appeals board rules in favour of challenged Banksy trademark: A board of appeal has reversed a decision which attempted to render the trademark for the British street artist Banksy’s famous monkey sign image “invalid.” – Read More on the Art Newspaper
5. Macy’s profits from wealthy shoppers, Kohl’s feels inflation pinch: Upscale U.S. retail chain Macy’s Inc raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday on resilient demand for high-end clothes and beauty products, while the inflation squeeze on lower-income shoppers forced rival Kohl’s Corp to scrap its forecast. – Read More on Reuters
1. Would Twitter get online publisher immunity in fake ‘blue check’ suits? Anyone who sues will be testing novel theories. And to prevail, plaintiffs will have to show why Twitter is not entitled to immunity under a law that grants it broadly to online publishers for content posted by their users. – Read More on Reuters
2. eBay Opens Store in NYC that Accepts Pre-Owned Luxury as Currency: “The Luxury Exchange gives shoppers an opportunity to appraise and sell their valuable goods, and add something new to their personal collections.” – Read More on Yahoo
3. RELATED READ: What is Driving Luxury Resale’s Push into Physical Retail? Using stores to increase revenue is also at the heart of a growing push into brick-and-mortar – but there is a trust-building twist for the resale companies. – Read More on TFL
4. Becoming indispensable: Moving past e-commerce to NeXT commerce. E-commerce needs a big upgrade grounded in a commitment to become indispensable to the customer through an exponentially deeper level of engagement online and offline. – Read More on McKinsey
5. Chinese brands outnumber foreign names among Singles Day best-sellers: Chinese consumers clutched their wallets tight in this year’s Singles Day and continued seeking relatively economical home brands over pricier expensive labels, as strict COVID-19 curbs and economic uncertainty weighed on the shopping extravaganza. – Read More on Reuters
1. Net-zero in fashion, but clothing giants struggle to cut emissions: Clothing brands and manufacturers discussed global warming — but some admitted that their pledge to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by mid-century may be a stretch. – Read More on Yahoo
2. Europe’s Luxury-Goods Sale Might Last a While: Luxury brands could raise prices in Europe to rebalance things, but they need to tread carefully. Three years ago, they probably wouldn’t have hesitated, but the pandemic has changed their business. – Read More on the WSJ
3. thredUP Hits Headwinds as Apparel Oversupply Dresses Down Resale: The confluence of record industrywide apparel overstocks and a hyper-promotional environment strained the resale marketplace, as did high returns and a slowing in its core resale as a service (RaaS) offering. – Read More on PYMNTS
4. Bain will buy Japanese apparel maker Mash Holdings for $1.44 bln: The Tokyo-based company will use Bain’s expertise to expand in overseas markets and is aiming on going public in the next three to five years, the spokesperson said. – Read More on Reuters
5. Wealthy are drinking us dry, says luxury goods firm LVMH: The company behind Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug and Dom Pérignon has said it is “running out of stock on our best champagnes” as the wealthy spend big on luxury goods in a new “roaring 20s” age of decadence. – Read More on the Guardian
1. UBS calls Ralph Lauren a ‘turnaround stock,’ sees fashion brand rallying 36 percent: Changes in Ralph Lauren’s business make the clothing brand a good investment coming out of the pandemic, according to UBS analyst Jay Sole. – Read More on CNBC
2. Congress should pass out-of-state e-commerce sales tax legislation, watchdog says: New laws are needed to standardize sales taxes for e-commerce businesses that operate across state lines, a new report from the federal government’s internal watchdog recommends. – Read More on The Hill
3. Wealthy consumers showing ‘greatest change in behavior,’ retail analyst says: “At the $100,000 and higher level, we are seeing really kind of reduction – real changes across the board, whether it’s related to food, health care, apparel, as you mentioned, home goods, and other big-ticket items.” – Read More on Yahoo
4. Retailers accelerate shift to forest friendly fibers at COP27: Retailers including H&M, Kering and Inditex will purchase over half a million tons of low-carbon alternative fibers for clothing and packaging to help reduce global emissions, they said Monday. – Read More on Reuters
5. Balenciaga Leaves Twitter—Will Other Brands Follow Suit? Balenciaga is the latest in an exodus of major brands and users, including Whoopi Goldberg and Shonda Rhimes. Additionally, a rising number of major corporations and advertisers have paused activity and advertising on the platform since Musk took control of the company. – Read More on Vogue
6. SPAC offerings, deals fall to pre-surge levels: “Bitter economic conditions, political unrest, repeat regulatory hits, the uncertainty of the proposed SEC rules, loudly touted examples of a few bad apples, and continued media negativity have left the SPAC market tattered and bruised.” – Read More on S&P Global
1. Carbon tax on clothes needed to cut ‘relentless’ waste in fashion industry: While there is a growing market for recycled, second-hand and repaired clothing, fast fashion continued to dominate the industry, leading to mountains of discarded clothes piling up on the beaches of Ghana or in Chile’s Atacama desert. – Read More on the Independent
2. Oil Prices, Luxury Stocks, Chinese ADRs Rise After China Eases Zero-Covid Policies: LVMH rose 2% in Paris. Kering gained 1.5%. Hermès International reversed earlier gains to decline 0.2%. Pandemic restrictions have curbed Chinese demand for luxury goods, a key source of pre-coronavirus growth for companies. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Retailers’ biggest holiday wish is to get rid of all that excess inventory: “Inventory is the most important factor. That’s usually not the case — usually it’s just a factor. Inventory is going to take on more meaning than the other metrics.” – Read More on CNBC
4. Bored Apes, Shiba Inu, Geico’s Gecko, Aflac’s Duck: Animal Brands Are Rising. In an age of technoscience rationality, branding is relying ever more heavily on the attractive power of animals. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. How Is Fashion Actually Measuring Up to Its Climate Goals? “In many cases, emissions did drop during Covid, [but] they’re really climbing back up again. It’s completely out of step with maintaining that 1.5C scenario.” – Read More on British Vogue
6. E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Reports Weak Singles Day Sales Growth: Alibaba on Friday didn’t disclose exact sales figures for the first time since it started its signature event, known as Singles Day, saying the results were in line with last year’s turnout. – Read More on the WSJ
1. Fashion’s Leather Misinformation Problem and Why “Vegan” Doesn’t Mean “Sustainable.” In the case of “plant” leathers made from pineapple leaves or coconut husks, the material cannot function properly unless it is mixed with synthetic polymers (plastic) to enhance or provide these properties. – Read More on Forbes
2. LVMH and Gagosian: Why the rumor of a buyout makes sense, even if it isn’t true. The most obvious is that LVMH and Gagosian have the same client base: monied collectors of everything from high-end fashion, luxury goods, champagne, watches and jewelry to… art. – Read More on the Art Newspaper
3. How India Plans to Reinvent E-Commerce: A little over a month ago, the Indian government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce, or ONDC, went live in Bengaluru, the country’s technology hub. – Read More on the WSJ
4. RELATED READ: Analyzing the Potential of India’s Open Network For Digital Commerce. This framework is intended to be a clear departure from the closed network of e-commerce that is existent as of now, where a seller is required to get listed on various different e-commerce platforms, and the buyers have to browse through different e-commerce platforms, in the search of a single item. – Read More on TFL
5. US retailers face slowing online growth, rising price competition in 2023: Online retail sales spiked to more than 16% of total U.S. retail sales in the second quarter of 2020 but have since tapered off to about 14.5% of total retail this year, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. – Read More on S&P Global
6. Reliance group, Adani bid for India’s debt-ridden Future Retail: Once India’s second-largest retailer, Future was dragged into bankruptcy after it defaulted on loans and its lenders rejected a $3.4 billion sale of its assets to market leader Reliance Industries amid a legal challenge by Amazon. – Read More on Reuters
1. Gucci Slippers, Balenciaga Belts: Inflation Hurts Cheaper Luxury Products. The pullback signals an end to the US luxury industry’s striking growth during the past 2 years. Demand was fueled by the wealthy, and an influx of new shoppers who were able to access more high-end brands thanks to pandemic savings and stimulus checks. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Michael Kors-owner Capri cuts holiday forecasts as China recovery stalls: Luxury goods companies have managed to pass on higher costs to affluent shoppers, but China remains a sore spot as sporadic business and COVID restrictions prevent consumers from returning to high-fashion stores. – Read More on Reuters
3. Fashion-forward in the metaverse: “As more and more platforms adopt blockchain technology, it will allow for token-gated experiences, where you can bring your digital persona inside a virtual space. So as more companies adopt it, people’s wallets can become containers for them to carry around all of their assets.” – Read More on McKinsey
4. The RealReal Overhauls Consignment Structure in Quest for Profitability: In a letter to investors, the company said the update to its take-rates will “incentivize the consignment of higher-value items and limit the consignment of lower-value items, which are unprofitable.” – Read More on PYMNTS
5. Roblox Corp shares fall on wider-than-expected loss: Growth has been slowing in the videogame sector this year as more people step outdoors and reserve spending for essential items in the face of the highest inflation in decades. – Read More on Reuters
1. When Does Collaboration Become Collusion? An EU inquiry is raising questions about how a notoriously cutthroat industry can make itself more efficient and sustainable without violating antitrust regulations aimed at preventing collusion. – Read More on the New York Times
2. RELATED READ: Fashion Industry Open Letter at the Center of EU Anti-Competition Probe, Per Report. Aimed at helping the enable the industry increase “sustainability throughout the supply chain and sales calendar,” the fashion industry-wide pact and its signatories are almost certainly of interest for the EU’s anti-competition regulator due to the explicit call in the letter to refrain from discounting. – Read More on TFL
3. Ferragamo’s nine-month sales rise 13% driven by Europe: Revenues reached 921 million euros ($929 million) in the January-September period, Ferragamo said on Tuesday, with the success of the new collections for S/S 2023 “adding further confidence in the acceleration of investment in the second half of the year.” – Read More on Yahoo
4. Advertisers react to Twitter’s new ownership: L’Oreal, for one, said it had not suspended ad spending on Twitter, denying a Financial Times report from Nov. 2 that said it had. – Read More on Reuters
5. The Beauty Industry Is Defying Inflation: “This is the first time we are in a recessionist backdrop that comes after two years of restrictions,” Coty Chief Executive Sue Nabi said. “Usually recessions happen after overconsumption.” – Read More on the WSJ
1. Fast-Fashion Upstarts Are Using Shein’s Own Strategies Against It: The breakneck supply chain pioneered by Shein is allowing a new swathe of brands to make the most of operating in the colossal retailer’s slipstream. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Retailers have a new holiday headache — people are spending their money on travel: The holiday season will test consumers’ spending priorities, especially amid inflation, as retailers try to lure back customers who bought a lot of stuff during the Covid pandemic. – Read More on CNBC
3. How American Eagle Reinvented Its Fulfillment Strategy: Should the delivery companies it acquired still serve other customers, including if they were American Eagle competitors? Ultimately, the company decided that it should, opting in effect to share its supply chain with other retailers in a bid to compete with Amazon. – Read More on HBR
4. In case you missed this: With plans to open 14 new stores, Forever 21 plots a comeback strategy. Following its bankruptcy filing in 2019, Forever 21 is rebuilding its presence throughout the U.S., while turning to collaborations, influencers and a better-curated assortment. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. The $300 Million Sneaker King Comes Undone: Prosecutors allege Michael Malekzadeh collected preorder funds from customers while knowing he couldn’t fill all the orders. Since at least 2020, he spent more than $10 million of the company’s preorder proceeds on luxury goods. – Read More on the WSJ
1. US Supreme Court to consider recommender algorithms in key internet shield case: In Gonzalez v. Google LLC, the court will determine if Google LLC’s YouTube LLC is liable for content the platform algorithmically recommends to users. – Read More on S&P Global
2. Global luxury groups confident in Chinese market: Luxury sales in China are increasingly benefitted by duty-free shopping in Hainan amid the country’s efforts to turn Hainan into an international tourism island, constructing the Hainan Free Trade Port and pursuing high-level opening-up. – Read More on Global Times
3. Customers clamor for secondhand luxury goods: With the increased popularity of e-shopping, online luxury trading platforms have emerged. The number of such platforms has risen rapidly, and they offer high growth potential and commercial value. – Read More on China Daily
4. France’s Auction of Rolexes, Birkin Bag Shows Luxury Appetite: The second-hand items were among hundreds of goods on auction that had been seized by French customs officials as contraband. In total, the sale brought in €1.36 million, compared with the €1 million the government had hoped to raise. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. Fashion Brands Accused of Sourcing Polyester Made from Russian Oil: A new report has accused several American and European fashion chains, including Esprit, New Look and Next, of inadvertently funding Russia’s war on Ukraine for using polyester derived from Russian oil. – Read More on Forbes
6. Prada Captures the Zeitgeist for All Things ‘90s: Prada has been investing heavily — more than €200 million ($194.9 million) last year — in its digital capabilities, store network and supply chain. – Read More on the Washington Post