Daily LInks
1. Is fast fashion catching up to real time? Shein is the fastest-growing e-commerce company in the world, and the company relies on a model called real-time fashion, which cuts the time from design to production to as little as a few days. – Read More on Marketplace
2. Fashion for Crocs continues to break records: On Thursday, the chunky shoe-maker reported record sales of $640 million in the three months to 30 June, nearly double the same period last year. And the trend shows no sign of slowing down – the firm raised its revenue outlook for the rest of the year. – Read More on the BBC
3. Secondhand luxury goods catch fancy of Chinese customers: “At present, the annual turnover of China’s secondhand luxury market is estimated to be about 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion), accounting for 1 percent of total market cap. Therefore, the market development is still in its initial stage.” – Read More on CGTN
4. Retailers Embrace Post-Pandemic Beauty Trend, But Cosmetics Have Gone D2C: “As the pandemic begins to subside, we see consumers being more thoughtful and selective in their purchases while doing their own research on the beauty products, brands and people behind the brands.” – Read More on PYMNTS
5. The Post-COVID Future of the Apparel Industry: “After lots of reporting on COVID’s short-term impacts, we were determined to take a longer view. Using two decades of data, we found few changes in direction in apparel supply chain labor practices but big accelerations along the curves the industry has been following for years – supplier consolidation, market concentration, a mania for ever-lower wages, and so on.” – Read More on Cornell ILR
6. For the Luxury Crowd, SPACs and Suits Are So This Season: LVMH and Zegna are striking deals to reposition themselves for a post-pandemic world. They offer a window into the changing business of bling. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. Puma settles artist’s trademark claims over alleged ‘Roar’ logo rip-off: Brooklyn-based artist Christophe Roberts has settled his claims that German athletic apparel maker Puma stole his “Roar” calling card and used the design – a stylized set of teeth – on its clothing, according to a Tuesday filing in Manhattan federal court. – Read More on Reuters
2. China’s Vast Network of Gray-Market Shoppers Grounded by the Pandemic: Some foreign companies grew rapidly by selling to personal shoppers and letting them handle the delivery back to China. In doing so, they didn’t have to invest in building local retail operations of their own, and could also avoid requirements to comply with Chinese labeling and packaging laws. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. RELATED READ: What Do China’s Enduring Border Restrictions Mean for Luxury Goods Sales and the Daigou Trade? Brands have been left to balance the draw of boosted revenues (particularly amid striking COVID sales slumps) with the need to crack down on out-of-channel consumption behaviors for the sake of brand image maintenance, an ongoing issue when it comes to luxury goods purveyors and the grey market in general. – Read More on TFL
4. Victoria’s Secret sees opportunities in maternity merchandise and fashion show revival: The brand, which will be its own company, Victoria’s Secret & Co., with its own ticker, “VSCO,” starting on Aug. 3, is undergoing a dramatic transformation as it moves away from an image that it admits had become out of touch with consumers. – Read More on MarketWatch
5. Name, image and likeness marketplace platforms offer money-making opportunities for lesser-known college athletes: While some higher-profile athletes with greater earning potential are expected to hire marketing agents to help secure deals and build their personal brands, many who lack that star power are expected to take a do-it-yourself approach to their newfound economic opportunities. – Read More on Morning Consult
1. Renting fashion can be green, argue clothes renters: The fashion rental industry is challenging the findings of a recent high-profile report that suggested renting clothes is “less green than throwing them away”, based on the environmental impacts of transportation and dry cleaning. – Read More on the Guardian
2. Luxury Brands Scramble to Young Men in Their 20s and 30s: “Female customers are mostly interested in buying bags. Male customers, in contrast, show interest in a wide variety of products, such as glasses, shoes, wallets, and more.” – Read More on Korea Bizwire
3. A lot of women are excited to wear heels again, data suggests — just not to work: Post-pandemic, many women heading back to the office are swapping heels for sneakers and flats. Fashion footwear experienced a 27% decrease in sales in 2020. – Read More on Grow
4. RETRO READ: Sneakers Are the Hottest Thing in Fashion and They Aren’t Going Away Anytime Soon. The surge in sneaker popularity comes as countries around the world have taken to reconsidering the laws that apply in connection with work dress codes. For instance, until 2017, some companies in British Columbia were legally permitted to force women to wear high heels at work. Not anymore. – Read More on TFL
5. Covid contracts gave the fashion industry a boost. Can it survive normalcy? Creating products close to home and on demand might be the best bet for survival. “With the clogged-up supply chain, we have the space to make less stuff on demand, and it costs the same with less waste.” – Read More on Crain’s
1. Burberry’s Back but It Needs a New Boss: A big part of Gobbetti’s goal at Burberry was elevating the company from something that was simply premium to the top echelons of luxury. He’s stabilized it since joining in July 2017. That’s evident from same store sales, which have risen 90% from the year earlier in the three months to June 26, ahead of analysts’ expectations. They were just above pre-pandemic levels, too. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Young Consumers, Bags Boost Burberry’s Sales, as Jewelry and Americas Create Triple-Digit Rise for Richemont. Burberry touted sales of $662 million for the latest 3-month period (up 86 percent on a year-over-year basis), as younger consumers and demand for handbags, outerwear, and footwear helped to push revenue back above pre-pandemic levels. – Read More on TFL
3. Victoria’s Secret launches store makeover, ditching racy images of Angels and replacing bubblegum pink interiors with a toned-down look: The company updating its stored to create a place that is “more inviting for women to enter.” It’s a major part of the company’s turnaround effort and its goal to transform the brand into the world’s leading advocate for women. – Read More on Business Insider
4. At the same time … Victoria’s Secret says it will bring back iconic fashion show — one day. “We have historically had a very significant amount of our marketing spend that was around the fashion show, and we saved that money in the last two years,” Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters said during a virtual presentation. “Our intent is to get back into the fashion show business.” – Read More on CNBC
5. Gen Z doesn’t know a world without fast fashion: Resale apps like Depop and Poshmark have popularized secondhand or vintage buying and selling. Yet, their existence isn’t enough to curtail Gen Z’s enthusiasm toward well-known brands — even those with sustainable shortcomings. – Read More on Vox
6. July retail market: US sales post surprise increase in June; inflation jumps: Government stimulus is most likely helping to boost consumer spending, but raises questions about the second half of 2021 once the stimulus ends, according to experts. – Read More on S&P Global
1. 99% of Big Fashion Brands Don’t Disclose If Workers Are Paid Living Wages: The latest index released by the nonprofit Fashion Revolution shows that 99% of major fashion brands still aren’t transparent about living wages. In the new Fashion Transparency Index 2021, the industry was also called out on its lack of disclosure over Covid-19 response and climate action. – Read More on Green Queen
2. LVMH-backed fund to buy 60% of Italian fashion label Etro, says sources: Etro said in a statement that L Catterton was taking a majority stake in the company, while the Etro family would retain “a significant minority interest”. It did not go into specifics and gave no financial details. – Read More on Reuters
3. Online Boutique Lulus Is Planning IPO at $1 Billion Value: The Chico, California-based company is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. on the planned listing, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The company could be valued at around $1 billion, the people said. – Read More on Bloomberg
4. Hong Kong should resuscitate its garment industry: Sustainability, technology and innovation are key to building a smart city. While these buzzwords appeared in Hong Kong’s latest policy address, the new initiatives were mostly concentrated in a limited number of areas, such as fintech, biotech and ecosystem integration in the Greater Bay Area. – Read More on SCMP
5. Authentication startup Ennoventure raises $5 million: Ennoventure, a US-Indian company that provides tech to track and trace products and authenticate products, has raised $5m in first-round funding from Fenice Investment Group. – Read More on Securing Industry
1. Richemont Set for Strong Q1 Sales as Hard Luxury Leads the Charge: Cartier owner Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA is scheduled to report revenue results for the first quarter of its fiscal year to June 30. The Swiss luxury-goods giant is forecast to book sales of 4.11 billion euros ($4.87 billion) for the quarter, according to a consensus of seven analysts. – Read More on MarketWatch
2. New York’s retail rents set another record low: Leasing velocity has now decelerated for eight consecutive quarters, according to CBRE’s tracking of 16 major retail corridors in Manhattan. The number of direct, ground-floor availabilities increased to 290 during the second quarter, from 275 locations in the prior period. This marks a record-high availability of retail space. – Read More on CNBC
3. The fashion industry can’t allow this life-saving legislation to expire: Despite the previous extensions of the Bangladesh Accord, brands are now dragging their feet on a further renewal. Out of over 200 signatories, only five have committed to extending and, importantly, expanding the accord: ASOS, G-Star, Tchibo, KiK, and Zeeman. – Read More on Dazed
4. RELATED READ: 8 Years After the Rana Plaza Tragedy, What Has Changed for Bangladesh’s Garment Workers? The industry vowed to do better. Within a month, 222 companies signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a legally binding agreement meant to ensure garment workers had safe workplaces. And while, things have improved, they have not improved enough. Eight years on, the fundamental problems in global supply chains – the disconnect between profits, accountability and responsibility – remains. – Read More on TFL
5. Sony Music sues Gymshark for misusing ‘hundreds’ of songs in ads: Sony Music accused British fitness apparel startup Gymshark of infringing its copyrights by misusing music from some of its most popular artists — including Beyonce, Britney Spears, Travis Scott, and Harry Styles — in social media ads, in a lawsuit filed in California federal court on Thursday. – Read More on Reuters
1. Are your favorite fashion brands using forced labor? By continually demanding shorter turnaround times and lower prices from their suppliers and fueling competition among supplier factories, fashion and retail brands make it difficult for factory owners to adhere to labor laws and standards. – Read More on Al Jazeera
2. More hours, less money: Garment workers hit by COVID-19 rights rollback. “Wage theft is intrinsic to the business model of global fashion brands, and it has been exacerbated by the pandemic,” said Anannya Bhattacharjee, international coordinator with Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), which represents garment workers. – Read More on Reuters
3. U.S. Business Groups Urge Trade Chief to Forgo Vietnam Tariffs: The U.S.’s biggest business organizations in areas from food to fashion asked the nation’s trade chief to refrain from resorting to tariffs as a remedy in its trade disputes with Vietnam. – Read More on Bloomberg
4. Gaming is entering its fashion-forward phase: Riot is folding high fashion into its mainstream marketing to appeal to the players that want something more from the developer’s virtual worlds. “We really do see League as not just a game anymore, I think it’s become a lifestyle for our fans.” – Read More on Washington Post
5. Bloomingdale’s New Bloomie’s Store Model Charts the Future of Multi-Brand Luxury Retail: More than relevancy, it brings a new intimacy between customers and the brand. “A smaller-format footprint, like Bloomie’s, with its highly-curated, lighter but still commercial-touch, can really work.” – Read More on Forbes
1. Your Brand Has Never Been Easier to Destroy: Whereas hatejacking poses an acute reputational threat, brands also risk slow-burn displacement when adopted by the “wrong class” of mainstream consumer. The posterchild for such déclasséfication is the British fashion label Burberry which, in the early 2000s, found its trademark check overwhelmed by fakes and overtaken by “chavs.” – Read More on Bloomberg
2. RETRO READ: Unwanted Associations – Protecting Brand Reputation and Goodwill. Fred Perry’s decision to pull the shirts co-opted by Proud Boys from sale in the U.S. speaks volumes about the challenges facing brands in the online world, including the threat to brand reputations. After all, there is a real risk of damage to brand equity following association with consumers that do not share the same principles or ethos. – Read More on TFL
3. Fashion collaborations drive the metaverse: Meet Rook Vanguard, the Roblox creator behind the Gucci Garden. Like many artists and digital fashion designers, Vanguard thinks fashion and art are primed for virtual augmentation. “I imagine putting on a pair of AR glasses and being amused by seeing someone’s animated graphic t-shirt, and then again by someone else with hummingbirds dancing rhythmically around them.” – Read More on Forbes
4. Despite mostly being known for their capacity as works of art, NFTs could also add value to everyday items. Essentially digital certificates of authenticity powered by blockchain technology, NFTs could also serve this purpose for retail goods. – Read More on Yahoo
5. Top US companies pledge to cut emissions, but most don’t push for climate action: Although 50 of the largest 96 corporations in the U.S. now publicly support the Paris Agreement on climate change, only 40% of those 50 companies have actively been lobbying lawmakers on the importance of science-based climate policies over the past five years, a new analysis by Ceres found. – Read More on S&P Global
1. As Gap-Kanye West Pairing Turns One, Slow Pace of Yeezy Drops Stokes Concerns: As part of a 5-year (extendable to 10 years) partnership with the Gap, deadlines will be important, as having enough unique and affordable Yeezy wear available will be critical if the partnership is going to pay off the way Gap is hoping and analysis are forecasting. The puffy coats are a good start. – Read More on PYMNTS
2. From Aerie to Zara, retailers are turning viral TikTok moments into sales gold: It used to be a trip around the mall with friends, but many teens today are scouring TikTok for inspiration. Tethered to their phones, this generation spends an average of 12 hours on social media apps per week. They desire authenticity and individualism, with clothing serving as a key form of self-expression. – Read More on CNBC
3. China’s Shein has taken the womenswear world by storm. Now what? Shein’s app has overtaken that of Amazon.com as the most downloaded shopping app in monthly U.S. rankings. According to research company Similarweb, Shein’s website now gets more visits than any other clothing brand or retailer in the world. – Read More on Nikkei
4. RELATED READ: From Dr Martens to Ralph Lauren, Lawsuits Are Starting to Build for $15 Billion Ultra-Fast Fashion Brand Shein. Beyond its sheer size and ever-growing popularity, Shein is a sticking point for brands because of how “quickly [it can] turn emerging fashion trends into extremely cheap products” thanks, in large part, to its use of data analytics. – Read More on TFL
5. Alibaba, JD, Pinduoduo: A Deep Dive into China’s E-Commerce Sector. The e-commerce space in China can be particularly confusing because unlike in the USA where Amazon is dominant, China’s e-commerce sector is more fragmented. Since Alibaba owns both Taobao and Tmall, it’s shown that the combination of Alibaba, JD, and Pinduoduo made up 42% of global commerce in October 2020, but no single marketplace accounted for more than 15%. – Read More on Seeking Alpha
6. Reassuringly expensive: Top fashion labels bid to lure elite back. While that may be the hard-nosed luxury business rationale, one of the realities of the creative end is to act against decades of mass market luxury, with brands wanting to become more exclusive, rarefied and expensive enough to bear the additional costs of craftsmanship and sustainability. – Read More on the Guardian
1. Is China’s Affordable Luxury Market Dying? The affordable luxury market showed impressive potential in China over the past few years. But market experts question the future of this sector in the post-COVID-19 era. – Read More on Campaign Asia
2. Online thrift store Poshmark CEO sees fashion shift as consumers ‘purge’ closets: As interest in in-person social activities picks up in the warmer months, bikini and jean short sales have roughly doubled on the consignment site. And as many employers call staff back to the office after about a year of remote work, sales of work dresses are up 30%. – Read More on CNBC
3. Bank of America hails a ‘new era’ of online shopping: The bank’s analysts picked European stocks set to benefit from new business models such as marketplaces like Farfetch that help them access “vast” numbers of new customers overnight, calling such firms “pioneers” in the space. – Read More on CNBC
4. Luxury Watches Are Badly Set for Investors: Exports of watches priced above 3,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to around $3,280, have almost recovered to pre-Covid crisis levels, while those that sell at between 200 francs and 500 francs were down 40%. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Will conversational commerce be the next big thing in online shopping? The pandemic gave all such apps a fillip. Messaging on Instagram, Facebook’s photo-sharing app, and on Messenger rose by 40%. Four-fifths of mobile-device time is now spent on chat apps. – Read More on the Economist