Daily LInks
1. Macy’s, Gap and Other Clothing Stores Are Stuck with the Wrong Items: Shoppers have shifted their spending from the casual clothes and home items that had been in demand during the height of the pandemic, leaving retailers with excess goods that need to be marked down. – Read More on the WSJ
2. ByteDance Said to Weigh Sale of Stake in Sneaker Reseller Poizon: The TikTok owner is considering selling a minority stake in Poizon, an online marketplace for sneakers, which is valued at over $10 billion. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Thefts, Fraud and Lawsuits at the World’s Biggest NFT Marketplace: Because OpenSea collects a fee from each NFT sale, some users argue that the company has a financial incentive not to clamp down on the sale of stolen goods. – Read More on the New York Times
4. RELATED READ: Are NFT Marketplaces Doing Enough to Address Alleged Infringements? More than signifying critical issues with existing laws, the proliferation of NFTs tied to allegedly infringing works seems to more clearly indicate NFT marketplaces’ inability to prepare for and subsequently address the sheer spike in minting and sales transactions. – Read More on TFL
5. Kering sets plan to boost Gucci brand in China: Investors are closely watching the Chinese market, set to become the biggest for the luxury sector by 2025, to gauge how much pandemic containment measures have impacted demand for high end fashion and accessories. – Read More on Reuters
6. The RealReal Founder Julie Wainwright Resigns as CEO, Board Chair: Wainwright said the company was making progress on its path to profitability and she felt it was the right time to find the next generation of leadership for the company. – Read More on the WSJ
1. Trade Regionalization: More Hype Than Reality? While geopolitical tensions, technological trends, and environmental concerns all have the potential to contribute to an increase in trade regionalization, other forces, such as decreased container shipping costs and the ongoing improvement of technologies that ease long-distance transactions, will continue to favor long-distance trade. – Read More on HBR
2, US Firms Left Hanging as Ban on Some China Imports Nears: There’s a law taking effect June 21 that will bar imported goods partly or wholly made in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Xinjiang, unless companies can prove the products have no ties to forced labor. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. South Korea is betting on the metaverse — and it could provide a blueprint for others: South Korea’s investment of around $177.1 million is among the first investments in the nascent industry to be made by a national government and is a cautious first step into the metaverse. – Read More on CNBC
4. Fashion industry organizations rally together to consolidate guidance for leaders: In a bid to accelerate progress, The GFA Monitor presents guidance according to the five sustainability priorities of the Fashion CEO Agenda: Respectful and Secure Work Environments, Better Wage Systems, Circular Systems, Resource Stewardship, and Smart Materials Choices. – Read More on Yahoo
5. Banks, commodity stocks lift European shares as markets await ECB meet: Luxury stocks rallied as sentiment in the sector, which derives significant demand from China, was lifted by authorities easing more curbs in Beijing and Shanghai. – Read More on Reuters
1. Resetting E-Commerce Expectations: Many businesses show flat or negative year-over-year growth. And new problems, like rising inflation and a possible financial recession, are fueling more uncertainty. – Read More on Marketplace Pulse
2. Industry-linked sustainability standard allows clothing giants to ramp up emissions: “Neither requires any fundamental change in the business model and both could easily increase consumption rather than reduce it, by suggesting to consumers that their shopping is now sustainable.” – Read More on the Intercept
3. How e-commerce looks different in Africa: Instead of selling directly to consumers, startups are targeting informal retailers, who take products street stalls or kiosks, where they sell small amounts to customers. – Read More on the Economist
4. Why ‘Love Island’ is ditching fast fashion in favor of secondhand. It is not uncommon for contestants to leave the show with more than a million followers on social media. This is appealing to brands, who then pay these contestants to advertise their products. – Read More on Fast Co.
5. Missguided went badly off course. Could this become a trend? Fast-fashion shoppers are also facing a big squeeze on their spending power as bills rise. Under-30s’ discretionary income was down 26% in April compared with a year before. – Read More on the Guardian
1. How China’s Shein became more valuable than H&M and Zara combined: “What Shein has done is, it has established a new norm. It is very fast, and the products are updated much more frequently and at a higher volume than any other fast fashion brand.” – Read More on CNBC
2. Zara owner Inditex set to benefit from higher prices: The Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 lockdowns in China have added to pressures. But Inditex, best-known for the fast-to-market Zara brand which provides 71% of its sales, has staged a faster recovery than most. – Read More on Reuters
3. Why Stores Are Vital to E-Commerce Resalers: An increase in sellers brings traffic and potential customers to a store, an advantage for partner retailers and brands that run their own resale programs. – Read More on Forbes
4. Drag Queens Traverse Trademark Law: Intellectual property law hasn’t always kept up, leaving some performers embroiled in copyright and trademark battles over their acts and stage names. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. Johnny Depp Fans Buy Dior Cologne to Show Support: Dior’s decision to stick by Mr. Depp may pay off. According to online sales rankings, its Sauvage fragrance is currently the best-selling men’s cologne on both Sephora.com and Ulta.com—two of the internet’s largest beauty retailers. – Read More on the WSJ
6. Walmart is using its thousands of stores to battle Amazon for e-commerce market share: Walmart is using its stores as launch pads for delivery drones and departure locations for direct-to-fridge drop-offs, and it will soon start packing and shipping third-party sellers’ goods from stores. – Read More on CNBC
1. Prada becomes the latest fashion brand to launch NFTs: Prada, the Italian luxury fashion designer, will debut its first solo NFTs on Thursday, which will be available for 24 hours with the purchase of a physical item. – Read More on the Block
2. Capri raises profit forecast as shoppers splurge on Versace, Michael Kors: Sales at Michael Kors, Capri’s biggest brand, rose 21.8% to $1.02 billion in the fourth quarter, while Jimmy Choo’s revenue rose 25.8% and revenue at Versace jumped 34%. – Read More on Reuters
3. Russian Cash and Trade Drawn to Dubai by Low Taxes, No Sanctions: Dubai is fast becoming the international hub of choice for Russian companies and wealthy individuals seeking to run their businesses and protect their money while avoiding sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. – Read More on the WSJ
4. Levi Strauss boosts sales outlook for next 5 years, banking on e-commerce strength: “As we continue to scale [e-commerce], that business becomes a lot more profitable,” CEO Chip Bergh said. “Before the pandemic, our e-commerce business was a money-loser.” – Read More on CNBC
5. India lines up banks for e-commerce effort to take on Amazon, Walmart: Indian e-commerce was worth more than $55 billion in gross merchandise value in 2021 and will grow to $350 billion by the end of this decade, according to government estimates. – Read More on Reuters
1. Victoria’s Secret pays sacked Thai workers $8.3m in ‘wage theft’ settlement: The agreement is the largest-ever wage theft settlement at an individual garment factory, the international workers rights group Solidarity Centre said. – Read More on the Guardian
2. China’s $100 billion startup Shein is undercutting the fast fashion industry with even cheaper clothes: Shein has benefited from Beijing scrapping export taxes for companies that ship direct to consumers, while also capitalizing on a U.S. tariff exemption on postal packages valued at $800 or less. – Read More on Fortune
3. Puig buys contemporary fragrance label Byredo: Spanish fashion and perfume company Puig said on Tuesday it has purchased a majority stake in luxury label Byredo, the latest in a string of acquisitions of niche fragrance and cosmetics labels by larger groups. – Read More on Reuters
4. Glam makeup and dressing up are back – and that’s benefiting retailers like Macy’s and Ulta: The latest round of financial results offer a more nuanced look at the economy after Walmart and Target alarmed investors with downbeat forecasts and warnings that some shoppers are becoming more price sensitive. – Read More on CNBC
5. Why Nordstrom Steamed Ahead as Old Navy Sank: It isn’t entirely surprising that higher earning consumers—who were more likely to have worked remotely during the pandemic—are now shopping for clothes that go along with their travel, socializing and back-to-office plans. – Read More on the WSJ
1. Valentino chairman says rich people’s fear of death after the COVID pandemic will spur them on to keep fueling luxury sales: “After the pandemic, rich people are more aware they are going to die and want to spend the money on luxury and more exclusive things.” – Read More on Fortune
2. Will Buy Now, Pay Later Dominate Future Retail Sales? As inflation causes retail prices to rise on most products, consumers are looking for an easy, flexible way to afford big ticket items they need or want to purchase. – Read More on the Street
3. U.S. retailers’ ballooning inventories set stage for deep discounts: At Gap Inc., a 34% spike in inventories was caused by poor sales at Old Navy and longer transit times for goods, CFO Katrina O’Connell said Thursday. – Read More on Reuters
4. Cybercriminals target metaverse investors with phishing scams: While metaverse platforms are increasing their security measures and educating consumers about fraud prevention, they say they’re not responsible for refunding money to phishing scam victims. – Read More on CNBC
5. Can Adidas Be Luxury? Balenciaga and Gucci Say Yes: According to an Adidas rep, these premium collaborations are part of a new brand strategy the company announced last year. Brian Grevy, Adidas executive board member responsible for global brands, said in March 2021 that luxury designs “inspired by Adidas and worn for status” helped create brand heat. – Read More on the WSJ
1. What To Do When the Devil Wears [Your Brand]: Managers who find themselves in a similar situation must ask the following three questions: What are the risks from such an incident? What can we do to counteract the criticism? What (if any) long-term consequences have brands suffered because of similar circumstances? – Read More on HBR
2. Nike not renewing franchise agreements in Russia: The U.S. sportswear maker has not renewed agreements with its largest franchisee in Russia, the Vedomosti daily reported, marking the latest exit by a major U.S. brand since Russian forces entered Ukraine in February. – Read More on Reuters
3. Lululemon is well-positioned to handle recession, per Morgan Stanley: The athleisure co. is supported by compelling secular tailwinds (e.g., performance/athleisure focus), a market share gain opportunity & credible future revenue drivers (e.g., international expansion, digital growth, & product innovation/expansion into new categories).” – Read More on Seeking Alpha
4. Should Luxury Brands Actually Reduce Their Dependence on China? The greater focus on improving the retail experience and enhancing digitalization efforts over the past two years has been a net positive for luxury brands. – Read More on Jing
5. Valentino Chairman on the Future of Luxury Business: While “more expensive products are more attractive than anything else” right now, lockdowns in China are proving to be a “big issue for the luxury business because we are not very clear about what the rest of the year is going to look like.” – See More on Bloomberg
1. Africa’s virtual designers are already preparing for metaverse fashion: Africa’s fashion industry is said to be worth over $31 billion, summing a revenue of $8.6 billion in 2022 and a revenue prediction of $13.5 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 16.4%. – Read More on Quartz
2. How ESG Investors are Making Sustainable Fashion on Trend: “With larger brands, so much is being produced that recycling doesn’t even make a dent. Some of the worst actors are dropping thousands of new products per day because the more they produce.” – Read More on Morgan Stanley
3. SEC proposes new ESG requirements for investment advisers, firms: Firms that offer ESG funds would be required to disclose more details on their investment strategies, and to report such information in “structured data language.” Some would also need to disclose what ESG impacts they seek to achieve and what key metrics they use to assess progress. – Read More on S&P Global
4. U.S. luxury retailers lean on affluent customers to avoid inflation pain: “This earnings cycle has been showing a dichotomy between higher- and lower-income demographics,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel said. – Read More on Reuters
5. Amazon opens its first fashion store in Los Angeles: “Our three goals for Amazon Style are to make shopping more inspiring, personalized, and convenient for each customer,” said Simoina Vasen, managing director of Amazon Style. – Read More on Fast Co.
1. Tech group finds most Americans not receptive to industry regulations: Only 3% of surveyed Americans view tech regulation as a major concern for their households, according to the Consumer Technology Association’s recent poll of 1,009 U.S. adults. – Read More on S&P Global
2. Tech Rout May Take the Shine Off Cartier’s Owner: Costs of inputs like gold and diamonds are up and advertising budgets have increased, but the company isn’t raising prices as aggressively as some other luxury brands. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Luxury goods emerge as a safe-haven investment: The Dow Jones industrial index is now on its longest losing streak in 80 years, and the market appears to be pricing in a prolonged economic downturn, as few investors now believe that central banks will be able to keep a lid on inflation while avoiding measures that choke off economic growth. – Read More on Investor’s Chronicle
4. What retail inventory misses and markdowns signal about the market’s fight against inflation: The Walmart and Target results could reflect the changing financial realities for mid- to lower-income households in the face of still high inflation. – Read More on CNBC
5. Nordstrom Raises Forecast in Sign Luxury Shoppers Still Spending: Net sales increased almost 19% to $3.47 billion in the fiscal quarter ended April 30, the department-store operator said Tuesday in a statement. That’s above analysts’ average estimate of $3.27 billion. – Read More on Bloomberg