Daily LInks
1. Japan to ban Russia-bound exports of gold, may adopt more sanctions: From April 5, Japan will ban the export of precious metals such as gold as well as other items including luxury cars, jewelry, cosmetics and liquor. – Read More on Reuters
2. Tencent, Alibaba-backed industrial products e-commerce platform operator ZKH gets Beijing’s nod for US IPO: ZKH would be among the first batch of Chinese technology firms to resume plans to float their shares in the US, after ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s IPO on the NYSE in June last year. – Read More on SCMP
3. The Clumsy Theatrics of Metaverse Fashion Week: There’s something to be said for the accessibility aspect of Metaverse Fashion Week – you don’t have to be in Milan or New York to attend one of these events. In their current state, though, it’s hard to imagine fashion enthusiasts would want to. – Read More on CoinDesk
4. Rent the Runway could get a big bump from 2022 weddings, Jefferies says: While RTR closed its retail stores due to the pandemic, it still has a network of drop-off locations in major cities, including New York, and its shares could get a huge bump from this year’s “wedding boom.” – Read More on CNBC
5. Higher gas prices are taking a toll on retail foot traffic: During the week of March 7, visits to U.S. retailers decreased by about 4.3% compared 2019. This marks the steepest decline of weekly foot traffic visits over the past 12 months that were not directly correlated with the impact of COVID-19 or the influx of the holidays. – Read More on Yahoo
6. Does fashion matter when there is a war on? “In a time like this, fashion loses its relevance and its actual right to exist. Fashion week feels like some kind of absurdity,” said Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia. – Read More on SCMP
1. Retailers Face Spate of Hyper Activism Amid Post-COVID, Pre-Inflation Transition: Beyond the routine process of outsiders showing interest in businesses they perceive to be undervalued, the ongoing spate of external demands being put forth by large institutional investors onto the retail sector is something more akin to hyper activism. – Read More on PYMNTS
2. Is e-commerce and social media the next big frontier for luxury fashion? Traditionally reluctant to go online, and usually confined to proprietary websites or multi-label e-commerce specialists, the luxury industry has been expanding its digital footprint in recent years by actively seeking new partner. – Read More on SCMP
3. Luxury Goods Are Becoming as Attainable as Fast Fashion: Environmentally aware and well educated on the value of sustainability, younger consumers view fashion through a different lens than their predecessors, and marketers have taken notice. – Read More on AdWeek
4. Why VC funding has moved on from traditional clothing startups: Some of the profitability challenges of the category range from costly seasonal inventory to high returns on apparel purchased online. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. Neutral Swiss adopt more EU sanctions against Russia: “This means that all measures contained in the EU’s fourth package of sanctions have been implemented,” the government said. – Read More on Reuters
1. China’s coronavirus travel ban drives boom in luxury e-commerce, duty-free shopping: Many global luxury brands have begun adjusting their China strategies, because many Chinese who would normally shop abroad are spending locally. – Read More on SCMP
2. As western retail brands exit, Russia looks east for replacements: The Russian Council of Shopping Centres said it was negotiating with its corresponding representatives in the four countries about finding alternatives to western brands. – Read More on Reuters
3. Retail sales fall in February as Covid restrictions ease: After a buoyant January, retail sales fell back a little last month. There was a notable decline for companies that predominantly trade online. – Read More on BBC
4. New York Bill Would Give Fashion Models More Labor Protections: The Fashion Workers Act would require management companies or modeling agencies, which typically serve as intermediaries between clients and models, to register with the state and disclose their ownership. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. Softbank-backed Style Theory taps growing appetite for sustainable fashion among young women in Southeast Asia: “The environmental impact of fashion was starting to be discussed more, and together, we felt that there was something we could do to help the issue in Southeast Asia.” – Read More on SCMP
1. Forecasting the future of stores: Omnichannel customers shop 1.7x more than single-channel shoppers. They also spend more. The in-store customer, going forward, will be someone who is hitting all the different channels and touchpoints that a brand or retailer has. – Read More on McKinsey
2. The metaverse may bring new cyber risks: As users leave trails of data around the metaverse, one major problem in the real world may also cross into the virtual reality world — the invasion of user privacy by tech companies. – Read More on CNBC
3. People Are Paying Millions for Land in the Metaverse: Decentraland currently has 800,000 users, up from just 40,000 at the beginning of 2021. It’s a safe bet that the growth rate will continue to rise, at least for a while. – Read More on CNET
4. RELATED READ: Virtual Real Estate in the Metaverse is Booming. Virtual property does not provide physical shelter, but there are still some parallels. In shopping for virtual real estate, you could buy a piece of land to build on – or you could choose an already-built virtual house that you like. You could make it your own with various digital objects, and invite visitors, and visit others’ virtual homes, too. – Read More on TFL
5. Alibaba’s Russia Venture Puts Chinese E-Commerce Giant in Awkward Spot: Russia proved to be a rare bright spot for AliExpress, which accounts for only a small part of Alibaba’s revenue but is crucial to efforts to expand overseas. The value of goods sold on the Russian joint venture’s platform jumped 46% last year. – Read More on the WSJ
1. Shopping in the Metaverse Could Be More Fun Than You Think: Creating and selling virtual items for avatars is one way Roblox users can make money. About 30% of the sale goes to the creator of the item, 40% goes to the seller of the item and 30% goes to Roblox. – Read More on CNET
2. How to build a luxury lane in the metaverse: The Asia-Pacific, the heart of the world’s luxury market, is not surprisingly home to the highest number of gamers, at 1.5 billion, who generate a whopping $78 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, 41% of gamers in the U.S. are women. – Read More on Forbes
3. Global Luxury Spending Could Decline Due to the Ukraine War: “We see a more likely, immediate, and relevant impact on Russians personal luxury spending locally, strongly driven by local currency devaluation and restrictions in place.” – Read More on PENTA
4. RELATED READ: Russia May Look to the Grey Market as Supply Runs Low Amid Sanctions, Boycotts.Depending on how long the side-effects of Russian sanctions last, including the bottomed-out ruble and significant shipping/supply quagmires (and chances are this is not a temporary situation), the luxury goods ecosystem in Russia may begin to mirror that of China. – Read More on TFL
5. Walmart: E-Commerce Growth Could Accelerate in the Future. Higher inflation and higher oil prices could also accelerate Walmart’s e-commerce business growth. With higher oil prices, more people could potentially order online due to the cost savings from not driving. – Read More on Seking Alpha
1. SHEIN Solidifying Fast-Fashion Lead Over Amazon, Rivals: Resourceful rivals are doing their best to level set apparel economics currently favoring SHEIN’s hard-to-duplicate global fast-fashion model, similar to brands like H&M, UNIQLO and Zara. – Read More on PYMNTS
2. Secondhand Luxury is Key for China’s First Time Buyers: Consumer attitudes towards buying secondhand luxury have softened considerably in China, with millennials and Gen-Zers far less bothered by the idea than their older peers. – Read More on Jing Daily
3. RELATED READ: China’s Luxury Resale Segment is Expected to Grow into a $154 Billion Market. While the sale of new luxury goods on the Chinese mainland continues to command the focus of brands and analysts, alike, China’s resale market warrants increased attention, “as young and internet-savvy consumers, who are also environmentally conscious, are looking for affordable high-end goods through secondhand luxury trading platforms.” – Read More on TFL
4. Apparel brands like Abercrombie and Birdies are betting on athletic wear: Last year, activewear apparel was up 37% in year-over-year sales, and sport-leisure footwear like lifestyle sneakers captured over a third of all footwear revenue in 2021 and was the most popular shoe subcategory. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. Putin’s $14,000 coat, Zelensky’s green T-shirts, Macron’s air force hoodie send a message to the world: “Remember that how power is displayed changes over the years and can be quite different from one era to the next.” Perhaps we are witnessing one of those shifts. – Read More on SCMP
1. The direct-to-consumer craze is slamming into reality: A gloomy confluence of rising Facebook ad prices, worsening ad measurement, soaring shipping costs, newly-sober public markets, and smaller-than-anticipated customer bases are dealing DTC companies a harsh blow. – Read More on CNBC
2. Kering names Gianfilippo Testa as CEO of Alexander McQueen: Testa – who replaces Emmanuel Gintzburger who will become CEO of Italian fashion house Versace – will be tasked with “accelerating expansion of the British luxury house to tap its full potential,” Kering said in a statement. – Read More on Reuters
3. Can the Death of Skinny Jeans Save Retail? Clothing retailers, whether luxe or low-priced, should be cheering the new look because it is likely to stoke some demand in an industry that badly needs it after a year of being pummeled by the pandemic. – Read More on Bloomberg
4. Amazon Loses Round One of Indian Retail Battle Royale: Amazon is staring at an embarrassing defeat after fighting a drawn-out legal battle to block India’s most valuable firm, Reliance Industries from buying the country’s number two retailer. – Read More on the WSJ
5. New data underscores a slowing e-commerce market: Slowing growth means that it will be harder to grow at prior levels, as outperforming the market segment enough to wow venture capitalists will become more difficult. (But certainly not impossible.) – Read More on TechCrunch
1. The Retail Metaverse is Heating Up. Here’s How Small Businesses Can Benefit: As a first step towards blurring the lines of the physical and digital, many online retailers have already added augmented reality to their e-commerce platforms. – Read More on Forbes
2, Greenwashing UK fashion firms to be named and shamed by watchdog: “According to our research, something like 60% of people had said they were either likely to or fairly likely to be willing to pay more for products.” – Read More on the Guardian
3. RELATED READ: Greenwashing Within the Fashion Industry is the UK’s Next Target. The CMA indicated that it will investigate fashion industry marketing statements that relate to environmental friendliness of apparel and footwear, including claims, for example, that articles of clothing are “environmentally friendly” or “sustainable.” – Read More on TFL
4. How Miu Miu Made the World’s Skimpiest Luxury Outfit a Viral Success: The Miu Miu set is an interesting case study of fashion that syncs with youth-led internet culture, rather than speaking to the same old clients who generally shop at high-end boutiques. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Inflation: A ‘retail ice age’ is emerging, expert says. All retail categories are inflated in the US Department of Commerce. So, it was up 3/10 of a percent overall. – Read More on Yahoo
6. Alexa Chung to close fashion label, citing ‘challenging’ conditions: Despite being stocked in Selfridges and Bergdorf Goodman, supply chain issues hit Chung’s business during the pandemic. – Read More on the Guardian
1. Shoppers Reach Their Limits on Some Price Increases: Roughly 43% of consumers surveyed by NPD in February said that if prices continue to rise, they will delay less-important purchases to stick to a budget. “We are seeing less demand as consumers pay higher prices.” – Read More on the WSJ
2. Tencent poised to lead China’s charge into the metaverse: Despite regulatory hurdles, Tencent has several advantages when it comes to developing a metaverse offering, including a hefty cash balance, a leading position in the local gaming industry, a vast social network, and financial technology services that include a payment platform. – Read More on S&P Global
3. RELATED READ: Brands Should Consider China in Metaverse Strategy Even if Beijing Takes Tough Stance. Even though its Facebook and Instagram apps are blocked in China, Meta still “generates $5 billion a year in revenue from China.” – Read More on TFL
4. H&M takes on internet rivals with external fashion brands: It is selling external fashion brands on its core brand’s hm.com website for the first time in Sweden and Germany, with the intention of adding more brands and markets. – Read More on Reuters
5. Investments flood into Africa’s B2B e-commerce startups: In the past few months alone, companies, including Wasoko, MarketForce, Twiga, Maxab, Sabi, and Omnibiz, have raised over $400 million in venture capital and debt financing. – Read More on Rest of World
1. Zara Parent Inditex Continues Digital Transition, Expects 30% eCommerce in 2024: Inditex announced online sales of 7.5 billion euros ($8.25 billion) in 2021, good for a 14% increase over 2020. Online revenues rose 77% from 2019 to 2020, starting at 14% of the company’s revenue in 2019. – Read More on PYMNTS
2. China Lockdowns May Delay Orders From Platforms Like Amazon: Orders placed with global e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Walmart may be delayed by virus lockdowns and restrictions in some of China’s key manufacturing hubs, according to an industry body. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Discount Stores Are Awash in Merchandise Thanks to Shipping Delays: Disruption creates a unique buying opportunity for off-price retailers, primarily for packaway inventory. As the supply chain disruptions persist, full-price retailers will need to decide whether or not to accept late orders.” – Read More on the WSJ
4. How Glossier founder Emily Weiss’ tech dreams derailed the hottest millennial beauty brand: Staff turnover has become commonplace, with 10 out of 24 executives leaving the company between 2020 to 2022, 5 left after working there for 16 months. Last year, Glossier’s US gross sales fell by 26% year over year. – Read More on Business Insider
5. U.S. retail sales slow, huge savings likely to provide a cushion against inflation: Overall, consumers are being cushioned by at least $2.5 trillion in excess savings accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. – Read More on Reuters