Daily LInks
1. Selling Luxury Goods in a More Socialist China Becomes a Problem: A wealth-redistribution push in China is potentially bad news for the luxury industry. Some 10,000 people generate around a quarter of all luxury sales to the Chinese, and are now the industry’s most important shoppers by nationality. The risk of higher taxes and party disapproval may curb these big spenders. – Read More on the WSJ
2. European stocks skid as luxury-goods makers and commodity producers tumble: European stocks slumped on Thursday, as luxury-goods makers dived on worries over China’s efforts to tackle income equality, with mining stocks losing ground after minutes from the last Federal Reserve interest-rate-setting committee indicated it was soon going to start reducing the rate of bond purchases. – Read More on MarketWatch
3. New Luxury Brands See Opportunities to Expand Post-Pandemic: Experiential retail has been on the rise across the sector as brands and merchants find themselves looking for ways to bring consumers in-store. – Read More on PYMNTS
4. Depop Made Sustainable Shopping Cool for Gen Z: Depop seems to have recognized what the e-commerce industry as a whole has missed: it’s not just about the clothes, it’s about the experience. With a change to be an influencer, Depop sellers model their wares on Instagram and TikTok in hopes of building large followings, and Depop does what it can to encourage this practice. – Read More on Time
5. How Primark makes money selling $3.50 T-shirts: Primark has doggedly stuck to a stack-it-high-sell-it-cheap approach to retailing that would feel familiar to the manager of its first store, opened in Ireland in 1969. The strategy has limitations, particularly when it comes to new growth. But for now—and notwithstanding the odd pandemic—it is proving its worth. – Read More on the Economist
1. Old Navy overhauls plus-size fashion line for women to win sales in $32 billion market: Old Navy will soon offer sizes 0-28 and XS-4X for all of its women’s styles in its stores, and up to size 30 online. On its website, the Gap Inc.-owned brand will create a single destination for all women’s clothing. Models will appear in sizes four, 12 and 18. – Read More on CNBC
2. Supreme’s Growth Hasn’t Uprooted its History: “’Insider only’ brands are invariably confronted with a decision at some point. Either they fade away or they get bigger. Supreme has retained its essential ethos. That isn’t easy.” – Read More on Hypebeast
3. RELATED READ: As Luxury-Level M&A Continues to Unfold, What’s Goodwill Got to Do With it? To date, conversations have largely centered on the impetus for these tie-ups, the deals that may still in the making, and what this wave of consolidations means for the industry as a whole. One thing that has not been discussed with the same frequency is the topic of goodwill and brand equity, and how these are impacted by M&A activity. – Read More on TFL
4. Are knockoffs really so bad? As copying increases and increases, it helps kill the trend by making the design too ubiquitous for early adopters. They drop off and start picking up on the next trend that copying is helping to set. Copying is part of what drives the fashion cycle, and the fashion cycle is what makes money for the fashion industry. – Read More on Business of Home
5. Luxury brands find their place in the retail revolution despite the pandemic: The sale of luxury products has largely weathered the COVID-19 storm and luxury brands have played a big role in this retail revolution. Over the last 10 years, they have grown and recent estimates put the value of the sector at over 320 billion euros. – Read More on EuroNews
1. Fast fashion spurs bleach-like pollution of Africa’s rivers – report: Global brands could force better practices, but so far their presence in Africa has done little to stem rife pollution, water hoarding by contracting factories or even ensure adequate water and sanitation for factory staff. – Read More on Reuters
2. Why brands need to enter the race for transparency: “If you don’t know what you’re buying, where it comes from and under what social, economic and environmental conditions it’s being produced, it’s almost guaranteed to lead to public scrutiny.” – Read More on Forbes
3. Allbirds launches activewear line ahead of planned IPO: With its activewear launch, Allbirds positions itself as a closer rival to behemoths Nike, Lululemon and Under Armour. Several other retailers, such as Levi Strauss, have invested in the category, too. – Read More on CNBC
4. RELATED READ: Allbirds is One of the Latest Brands Facing a Lawsuit Over its Sustainability-Centric Advertising. Sustainability claims are not inconsequential, Dwyer argues, as they add value to the products in connection with which they are attached, and enable companies to charge more. “Had [she] and the proposed class members known the truth [about Allbirds’ products], they would not have bought the products or would have paid less for them.” – Read More on TFL
5. Retail sales drop worse-than-expected 1.1% in July as rising Covid fears hit consumers: Shoppers in the U.S. cut back their purchases in July even more than expected as worries over the delta variant of Covid-19 dampened activity and government stimulus dried up. – Read More on CNBC
1. Retail’s latest lures include treadmills in the fitting rooms and virtual legos: Physical retail sales around the world will grow 6% this year in dollar terms after slipping 2.8% in 2020, but will again lose share to e-commerce, according to eMarketer, a research firm. – Read More on the WSJ
2. How in-store tech will transform retail: The so-called frictionless store has become the new gold standard in the retail world. However, the term is a bit of a misnomer. The goal is to use digital technology to meet consumer expectations of flexibility, instant gratification, convenience, immersive shopping, safety, and speed. – Read More on MIT Management Review
3. Verified Valentino: eBay fashions new campaign spotlighting luxury handbag authentication. By assuring shoppers that the products they purchase are verified as legitimate, the effort could help the e-commerce platform further accelerate the sale of luxury goods – an area in which it’s seen massive growth of late. – Read More on the Drum
4. RELATED READ: eBay Has Expanded its Authentication Services from Watches and Sneakers to $500-Plus Handbags. eBay is expanding upon its existing authentication efforts to include certain handbags in addition to $2,000-plus watches and sneakers with price tags of upwards of $100, as sales within its “luxury categories continue to gain momentum” as indicated by “recent quarter-over-quarter growth.” – Read More on TFL
5. After brief mid-summer surge, malls threatened by fresh headwinds: While indoor malls saw a nearly 29% drop in visits this past February compared to the same period in 2019, consumers have been steadily returning as the year has progressed and COVID-19 concerns have lessened. In June, indoor malls saw only a 9.3% drop in visitors compared to 2019, and last month, visitor numbers were relatively even between 2019 and 2021. – Read More on PYMNTS
6. U.S. retailer Target defies bricks-and-mortar doubters: Store investments have helped push market value above $130 billion while rivals have struggled. – Read More on the FT
1. Chanel, Primark don’t sell fashion online – for different reasons: One to remain an exclusive brand and the other because it’s not worth it. Today, you can buy Chanel fragrance, cosmetics, skincare and sunglasses online, but if you want to purchase any kind of fashion item you need to go to either a Chanel boutique or an associated department store – and a change in strategy looks unlikely any time soon. – Read More on SCMP
2. It’s Time to Update Section 230. A quarter of a century ago, in Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, Congress implemented “safe harbor” protections against legal liability for any content users post on social-media platforms. When you grant platforms complete legal immunity for the content that their users post, you also reduce their incentives to proactively remove content causing social harm. – Read More on HBR
3. Why the new era of British fashion is all about the factory: As consumer awareness grows around the environmental impact of fashion and the welfare of the world’s garment workers – the awareness that clothes do not appear in a puff of smoke, direct from a sketchpad and on to Kate Moss – scrutiny is shifting away from the designing of clothes and on to the making of them. – Read More on the Guardian
4. Fashion boom in recycled plastic comes with a price tag: The repurposing of synthetic materials in everything from swimwear to sneakers is growing but carries a financial and environmental cost. – Read More on the FT
5. ‘Made in China, sold on Amazon’ community seeks to cut reliance on US e-commerce giant, trade group says: Chinese vendors must seek alternatives because Seattle-based Amazon.com is unlikely to ease up on its campaign against certain practices, such as encouraging customers to write good reviews, according to Wang Xin, executive chairman of Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association. – Read More on SCMP
1. Crypto fashion: why people pay real money for virtual clothes. While the idea of spending real money on clothing that does not physically exist is baffling to many, virtual possessions generate real sales in the “metaverse” – online environments where people can congregate, walk around, meet friends and play games. – Read More on Reuters
2. How this 32-year-old couple is redressing the multibillion-dollar fashion rental industry: The SoftBank-backed start-up today boasts more than 200,000 registered users across Singapore and Indonesia and offers an inventory of 50,000 clothes and more than 2,000 bags. – Read More on CNBC
3. Some companies rip off products. Target imitates entire brands. Target saw the C9 contract’s expiration as a chance to do what it increasingly does best: develop and launch a stylish brand internally—and keep all the revenue for itself. Since Target CEO Brian Cornell announced a plan to double down on the company’s portfolio of private-label brands in 2017. – Read More on Fast Co.
4. Customers take Chanel to task for leaking their data: “Luxury is not defined by the product itself but various factors are considered comprehensively to create the brand value, including service and after service. Strict measures are necessary as data leakage could result in crimes like voice phishing or robbery.” – Read More on JoongAng Daily
5. China’s appetite for secondhand luxury goods swells: In China’s secondhand luxury goods market, Louis Vuitton has become the most popular brand, followed by Gucci and Chanel, according to a ranking released by Hongbulin, a secondhand luxury trading platform. – Read More on the Star
1. Boohoo boss: We’re not a throwaway fashion brand. “20% of all our ranges will be sustainable this autumn… 40% next spring/summer,” said John Lyttle, who further revealed that the company’s “data doesn’t suggest people are buying every day or buying once and wearing something new.” – Read More on BBC
2. Fashion resale startups have more potential than profits: For startups to operate at a loss is common. Many do while they sink money into building their operations and chasing growth. And in fashion resale, the opportunity to grow is plentiful. ThredUp, for one, predicts the secondhand market will more than double by 2025, reaching $77 billion. – Read More on Quartz
3. How Do You Stop Beijing from Bullying? Take Away Its Prada Bags: The luxury brands could work with their home governments to announce a temporary boycott of China. These companies have long wanted to address pervasive Chinese intellectual theft. – Read More on the WSJ
4. Canada Goose sticks to forecast after strong quarter, shares slump: New COVID restrictions have not had an impact on the company’s business in China yet, Canada Goose Chief Executive Officer Dani Reiss said, adding that the company was prepared for “whatever’s ahead.” – Read More on Reuters
5. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès have raised prices, Victoria Beckham is lowering them – the power of pricing and how luxury fashion is adapting to a disrupted world. In a move she described as a “rebirth” and an opportunity to “future proof” her namesake brand, the average price of Victoria Beckham pieces will drop by around 40 per cent. That will be achieved by creating simpler silhouettes and using less embellished fabrics, as well as merging her diffusion line with the main one. – Read More on SCMP
1. Saks Fifth Avenue Owner, WeWork to Run Co-Working Spaces in Former Stores: The owner of Saks Fifth Avenue is converting parts of department stores into co-working spaces with WeWork, a strategy that marries the popularity of remote work with the struggles of bricks-and-mortar retail. – Read More on the WSJ
2. Fashion, Tickets to Concerts and Movies: Gen Zers are most eager to increase their spending on these items. Forty percent of the young generation said they anticipate spending more on clothes and accessories, the largest share of the dozen categories listed in the survey, which was conducted July 1-6 among 1,018 Gen Zers ages 13 to 24. – Read More on Morning Consult
3. Kanye West should not have collaborated with Gap, says former CEO: Mickey Drexler, who ran Gap between 1983 and 2002, said last week that, despite West’s previous work with Adidas, the collaboration was a bad idea. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I told [West] he shouldn’t do the deal because it doesn’t make any sense.” – Read More on the Guardian
4. The RealReal pauses retail rollout amid improvements in business: Sales at The RealReal are growing like crazy as the post-pandemic recovery continues and new and returning customers reach record levels, but the luxury consignment marketplace is still struggling to make a profit and executives say they are unwilling to provide a timeframe for when it may become profitable. – Read More on PYMNTS
5. Luxury Sales Turned in an Unusually Strong First Half to the Year. Can the Good Times Last? It’s not just the top 1% who have expanded their purchasing power. Adjusted for inflation, U.S. real disposable personal income in 2019 averaged $14,882, the highest on record up to that point. – Read More on ETF Trends
1. Activist Greta Thunberg calls out climate impact of fashion brands in Vogue interview: “The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables.” – Read More on BBC
2. Chinese fast-fashion icon Shein gets sunlight treatment: Unlike Zara’s owner Inditex and H&M, Shein is a private company so doesn’t have to reveal much about its operations. And accusations of wrongdoing don’t necessarily hit the top line. – Read More on Reuters
3. Amazon and GoPro File Joint Lawsuit against Counterfeiters: The nine defendants used GoPro’s registered trademarks without authorization to deceive customers about the authenticity and origin of the products and create a false affiliation with GoPro. Amazon closed the defendants’ selling accounts and proactively refunded the impacted customers. – Read More on Business Wire
4. RELATED READ: As E-Commerce Continues to Rise, Online Platforms & Luxury Brands Take a New Collaborative Approach to Fighting Fakes: Now, due to the increasingly modernized and sophisticated counterfeiter, it appears that the reliance on takedown measures, alone, is not enough for sites like Amazon and Facebook to ward off bad actors, and thus, appease brands, as well as earn – and/or maintain – consumer trust, especially as platforms like Amazon continue to wade deeper into the fashion and luxury sphere. – Read More on TFL
5. Rising Delta Variant Cases, CDC Indoor Mask Guidance Are Taking a Toll on Consumer Comfort Levels: 49 percent of U.S. adults say they’re comfortable doing more than 40 activities on average, down from a record high of 55 percent as of July 8-10. – Read More on Morning Consult
1. Levi’s Leaves Board of Fashion Coalition at Center of China Controversy: The jeans maker is standing down from Better Cotton Initiative’s leadership amid a debate over the coalition’s response to alleged human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. Levi’s generates about 3% of its sales from mainland China. – Read More on the WSJ
2. Looking to Buy a Sustainable Swimsuit? It’s Complicated. Globally, consumers spent $2.7 billion on swimwear in the first half of 2021 — a 19 percent jump from the same period in 2019, according to industry analysts at NPD Group. The problem? As of 2017, polyester and petroleum-based Spandex make up about 65% of the fabrics used in the swimwear market. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Pandemic shatters M&A taboo for Italy’s luxury brands: The fashion world has been captivated by its own soap opera this summer as the biggest brands roar back from the pandemic: will legendary designer Giorgio Armani sell up? – Read More on the FT
4. RELATED READ: Armani, Exor’s Elkann Engaged in M&A Talks, But There is No Deal as of Now. While talks are, in fact, on hold, TFL’s sources say they are likely to resume in September. And “if there is someone who could create a serious competitor to the French conglomerates, it’s Elkann.” – Read More on TFL
5. Digital transformation depends on diversity: One of the myths about digital transformation is that it’s all about harnessing technology. It’s not. To succeed, digital transformation inherently requires and relies on diversity. AI is the result of human intelligence, enabled by its vast talents and also susceptible to its limitations. – Read More on TechCrunch