Daily LInks
1. Myanmar crisis sounds death knell for garment industry, jobs and hope: Foreign investment in garments surged in Myanmar over the past decade as economic reforms, an end to Western sanctions and trade deals helped establish the sector as the greatest symbol of its nascent emergence as a manufacturing hub. – Read More on Reuters
2. Skinny jeans are out and wide-leg denim is in vogue. The world is in a new denim cycle, Levi’s CEO says: “I don’t think skinny jeans are ever going to go away completely, but clearly right now we are seeing a very strong demand for these looser fits.” – Read More on CNBC
3. Bulgari CEO on buying jewelry online, LVMH’s Tiffany deal, Chinese consumers and the future of luxury: “Jewellery is always more resilient and always recovers faster than the rest of the luxury market.” – Read More on SCMP
4. A geopolitical crisis cripples H&M. Nike, Adidas, and Visa could be next: For the past decade, fashion labels—including H&M—have been trying to be more values-driven, catering to millennial consumers who care about sustainability and the ethical treatment of workers. The question is: What happens when this rosy image is challenged by one of the world’s biggest markets? – Read More on Fast Co.
5. Mastercard report reveals massive pandemic-driven shift to ecommerce: Global consumers increased online spending by $900 billion in 2020. This translates to ecommerce making up $1 for every $5 spent on retail in 2020, compared with $1 for every $7 in 2019. – Read More on Business Insider
6. Does Luxury Need Daigous Post-Pandemic? The gap between Western and Chinese retail price tags has been fueling the overseas shopping business, which offers tax-free luxury goods to local consumers. – Read More on Jing
1. Clothing Firms Face Environmental Scrutiny Costs, Moody’s Says: Global clothing makers face new profitability pressures as they adapt to growing customer scrutiny of their environmental and social practices. Fast fashion and discount brands are the most at risk from increased competition as sustainable processes assume greater importance for buyers of their apparel. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Adding Women to the C-Suite Changes How Companies Think: Based on an analysis of more than 150 companies, the authors find that after women join the top management team, firms become more open to change and less open to risk, and they tend to shift from an M&A-focused strategy to more investment into internal R&D. – Read More on HBR
3. Swiss luxury watchmakers learn to love the pre-owned market: Richemont, which owns Cartier, has so far been the only big luxury goods company to embrace the pre-owned market with its acquisition of online store Watchfinder in 2018. However, Audemars Piguet and established retailers like Bucherer have already started selling pre-owned watches. – Read More on Reuters
4. Why Digital Fashion is the Next Frontier of NFTs: Even more potent than scarcity is that NFTs also allow creators to collaborate on the process of designing and producing digital fashion items in a similar way to how they currently do in real life, using ERC-1155 NFTs. – Read More on NASDAQ
5. Why Small Stores Are a Big Deal for the Retailer’s Future: Target is opening a fleet of small-format stores — particularly on college campuses and urban streets, where its famed red bullseye has been largely absent in its ongoing bid to serve customers from new neighborhoods at a time when ease, safety and convenience are more important than ever. – Read More on PYMNTS
1. Turmoil Continues for the Artisans Behind Italian Fashion: “There was already an ongoing process, with suppliers seeking help from private investors to develop systems and sustainability in order to better serve the fashion and luxury industries.” – Read More on the New York Times
2. The real reason Louis Vuitton and Chanel are raising their prices? The idea that luxury brands increase prices on a regular basis goes far beyond keeping up with factors such as inflation. Rather, for many companies and industry analysts, it’s seen as a way to control brand image and ensure the perception of prestige remains – something that’s widely accepted as normal practice from luxury fashion houses. – Read More on SCMP
3. RETRO READ: What Do Luxury Brands’ Inflating Prices Mean for Them & for the Industry at Large? In terms of the potential for price increases going forward, brands like Hermès, Dior and even Cartier lead the pack in terms of an “unrealized pricing upside,” which Bernstein measures by combining high consumer demand, vibrant organic growth, and limited price increases in the recent past. – Read More on TFL
4. Less is More: Redefining the Luxury Goods Market. “People buy luxury brands not because they just care about raw materials, craftsmanship, and high quality, but because they want to communicate something about themselves.” – Read More on Wharton
5. Sustainable fashion is nothing but corporate greenwashing: For all their assertions about sourcing materials sustainably, recycling and upcycling, these fast fashion and premium fashion brands have little to show, in part because their solutions are far from being viable and scalable. – Read More on Yahoo
6. RELATED READ: Fashion’s Buzzy Tech Initiatives, Alone, Won’t Solve its Sustainability Issues. The industry needs to acknowledge the fact that sustainability will never be achieved through technology, alone, no matter how enticing these endeavors may be. A small recycled capsule collection from a fast fashion titan, here or certified circular series of items from a multi-billion dollar company, there, is mathematically immaterial. – Read More on TFL
1. Retailers Seen Closing Thousands of Stores Even After Pandemic: Roughly one in every 11 stores will close in the next five years, with office-supply, sporting-goods and clothing retailers among the hardest hit. In the most dire scenario, more than twice as many stores — about 150,000 in total — could close over that span. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Authentication and StockX’s global arms race against fraudsters: As the key to the community’s trust and the company’s international expansion, StockX reveres themselves most on the constantly evolving process of authentication. Yet even with all its resources and skill, it can’t always get it 100% right. – Read More on TechCrunch
3. Amazon illegally fired employees critical of work conditions, labor board finds: The online retailer last year terminated the employment of Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, who accused the company of enforcing policies in a discriminatory fashion and having vague rules that “chill and restrain” staff from exercising rights, according to their charge filed in October. – Read More on Reuters
4. Amazon’s Labor Unrest May Show at the Margins: Amazon’s opposition to the budding unionization attempt would suggest that it poses a major threat to its business. But the company has never spelled that out as a major risk to shareholders. Its most recent 10-K filing from February mentions “labor or trade disputes” at the bottom of a list of 18 bullet-point items that could impact its operating results. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Dolce & Gabbana CEO denies talks with Kering over possible tie-up: Dolce & Gabbana is not in talks with French luxury group Kering over a possible tie-up, the chief executive of the Italian fashion company said, but did not rule out the possibility of being part of a “broader Italian project” putting together several Italian brands. (As for what that project might be: it could be the budding Milan-based group that is seemingly being built by Moncler chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini, which recently acquired Italian brand Stone Island). – Read More on Reuters
6. Retailers face global supply chain pressures as backlogs continue amid pandemic: The acceleration in online shopping has been a boon for companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and other e-commerce platforms. But consistently high levels of demand led to product shortages and delivery delays throughout much of 2020. – Read More on S&P Global
1. This NFT outfit will set you back £780 … and it’s just an illusion: “People have been applying filters to their Snapchat and Instagram for years, so the appeal of being able to control your image online is very much part of mainstream culture.” – Read More on the Guardian
2. Behind Carhartt’s Booming Year—From Workwear to Golden Globes Fashion: Also boosting Carhartt’s business was the label’s growing cultural clout. In recent years, Carhartt’s fan base has grown well beyond its Tractor Supply core. Though the company doesn’t directly link these pop cultural moments to boosts in sales, she noted that they help “create brand awareness” in new market segments. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Chinese authorities tell H&M to change the “problematic map.” Chinese authorities have asked H&M to change a map on its website in the latest clash between the clothing giant and officialdom there. – Read More on Reuters
4. From Absolut to Volkswagen, Blending Is the New Branding: Although various forces are driving these debrands — from the vagaries of fashion to the constraints of mobile-first design — the most interesting is the power of flatter identities to become portals through which companies can project an infinite range of moods, flavors and messages. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. RELATED READ: What Is Blanding, How Did We Get Here and What Does it Mean Going Forward? Logos meant to blend in? That is an interesting notion if you consider the practical purpose of branding in the first place. Trademarks – i.e., brand names, logos, and even colors in some cases – have traditionally been used and have derived their value from their ability to enable consumers to easily identify the source of a product and distinguish that product from those of other companies. – Read More on TFL
6. Lululemon more than doubles e-commerce in 2020: E-commerce more than doubled for the full year, and grew 92% in the fourth quarter. The company also achieved its “largest annual share gain in recent history,” thanks to growth in both men’s and women’s. – Read More on Retail Dive
1. Sorry, Louis Vuitton, Cartier Is the New Bling Kingmaker: Johann Rupert, chairman of Swiss group Cie Financiere Richemont SA, holds the cards to consolidating the world of high-end fashion, watches and jewelry — and the industry is watching to see what hand he’ll play. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. RELATED READ: Richemont Turned Down Kering Merger Proposal in January, Per Report. “Rumors about a possible tie-up between Richemont and Kering have been circulating for years, but have gathered steam in recent months after LVMH’s takeover of U.S. jeweler Tiffany put pressure on rivals to scale up.” – Read More on TFL
3. It’s not enough for celebrities to put their names to beauty brands – the power is in the product, too: Welcome to the era of celebrity beauty brands. From make-up to skin, hair and body care, more and more celebrities are launching their own beauty brands – and it doesn’t look like the trend is going to end any time soon, although it’s not entirely new either. – Read More on SCMP
4. Coronavirus-era bankruptcy surge heavily favors reorganizing over liquidation: Nearly 62% of U.S. corporate bankruptcy filings in 2020 sought reorganizations, the highest rate for any year going back to at least 2010, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Companies were less likely to liquidate in 2020, a departure from 2019 and 2018 when corporate liquidations outpaced reorganizations in bankruptcy filings. – Read More on SCMP
5. Fashion retailers bet bras with wires and a splash of color will sell this spring: After a year of nesting in pastel-colored loungewear, shoppers are opting for styles with floral prints, feel-good slogans and statement jewelry to jazz up working-from-home outfits as optimism makes a comeback in spring collections. – Read More on Reuters
6. Solving fashion’s biggest issues: Overproduction and overconsumption: Reducing consumption and production is the only way fashion brands can make good on sustainability comments, say experts. Alternative business models can help. – Read More on Vogue Biz
1. Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue Mired in $200 Million Retail Rent Fight: Since March 2020, struggling retailers across the U.S. have missed billions in rent payments, citing lost sales due to pandemic restrictions. While many companies have reopened stores or worked out compromises with landlords, a few giant Fifth Avenue deals remain in gridlock, signaling further roadblocks to the street’s recovery. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. RELATED READ: From Malls to Madison Avenue: Real Estate is Getting a COVID Makeover. Among the most immediate results of a COVID-induced shift in power? An adoption of turnover-based leases, ones in which a link exists between the revenue a company brings in from the space it leases and the rent it pays (a trend that has adopted with increasing frequency in recent years), as well as the adoption of COVID-19 clauses aimed at specifically addressing and mitigating new risks. – Read More on TFL
3. H&M vows to rebuild trust in China after Xinjiang backlash: Western brands are battling to strike a balance between consumers in the world’s second-largest economy and public opinion at home, which has become increasingly concerned about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. – Read More on CNBC
4. Is China’s Luxury Future in Vintage? Brands should keep an eye on Chinese consumers’ pursuit of vintage luxury items. These consumers are looking for cost-effective luxury items with high levels of craftsmanship and design that reflect their personal style rather than seasonal products and up-to-date fashion trends. – Read More on Jing
5. Amazon faces labor backlash in Europe as worker union vote proceeds in US: As a historic vote count gets underway to determine whether Amazon.com Inc. workers in Alabama will form a union, the company is facing increasing resistance from its already unionized employees across Europe, including a recent call for a strike in Germany. – Read More on S&P Global
6. Nine emerging DTCs to watch in 2021: Brands are being held more financially accountable to achieve long-term growth. Previously, there was a notion for DTC brands to “grow at all costs.” Now, success lies in having fundamentally sound business economics related to supply chain, profitability and securing that first purchase. – Read More on Retail Dive
1. U.S. retailers welcome consumers back to stores as e-commerce growth slows: “E-commerce has been moderating for a couple quarters now; we think that continues more drastically as the vaccine is distributed and the pandemic gradually fades. It’s going to be more balanced between physical store sales and e-commerce.” – Read More on S&P Global
2. How a used-clothing site became a $184 million tech giant: Resale us booming, but over the long term, ThredUp faces challenges: stiff competition comes from many other players popping up on the market, and brands such as Patagonia are launching resale marketplaces of their own products. – Read More on Fast Co.
3. RELATED READ: Are Buyback Programs the Future of the Luxury Market? Second-hand luxury can actually be seen as “a new growth driver and another high-quality, entry-level offer, such as perfumes, bags and shoes.” And those are precisely the types of high-margin offerings that enable most luxury brands – which, with their high turnover, volume-based models, are not actually based on exclusivity at all – to generate billions in revenue. – Read More on TFL
4. BofA names the ‘must have’ global stocks set to pop on a China spending boom: “China is the most exciting opportunity in online luxury,” they wrote. The bank expects Chinese shoppers to spend 41 billion euros ($48.9 billion) buying luxury goods via e-commerce in 2025 — a four-fold increase on 2020. – Read More on CNBC
5. Citing privacy concerns, some online marketplaces move against seller transparency: Online marketplaces eBay, Etsy, Mercari, OfferUp and Poshmark on Tuesday launched “the Coalition to Protect America’s Small Sellers” or the PASS Coalition, in opposition to the newly-reintroduced INFORM Act, a federal bill aimed at curtailing sales of fake and stolen goods through online marketplaces. – Read More on Retail Dive
1. Why Have Fashion and Beauty Brands Failed to Respond to Anti-Asian Hate? “A lot of the big brands are in a position of power and resources where they could make a difference to help the AAPI community. It’s easy to put out a statement on Instagram saying you stand with the AAPI community, but then not do anything tangible.” – Read More on Daily Beast
2. How luxury luggage brand Globe-Trotter navigated the pandemic: Executive chairman Vicente Castellano, formerly the MD of Hackett London, hatched a plan to enhance Globe-Trotter’s identity as a lifestyle brand with a multi-strand structure, combining its “old-world” glamour with an exciting sense of “newness” that encapsulates the uniting cultural and emotional experience of travel. – Read More on the Week
3. Digitizing Isn’t the Same as Digital Transformation: Covid-19 accelerated the pace of many companies’ digital initiatives — and yet many executives are expressing concern that they’re actually falling behind on making the important choices that lead to differentiation. To win in the post-Covid world, leaders must re-imagine not just how your company works, but also what you do to create value in the digital era. – Read More on HBR
4. What’s next for Bangladesh’s garment industry, after a decade of growth: Pandemic pressure and shifts in global markets have brought stiff challenges to the garment industry in Bangladesh. The sector will need to innovate, upgrade, and diversify, investing in flexibility, sustainability, worker welfare, and infrastructure. – Read More on McKinsey
5. Buy Now, Pay Later Startup Sezzle Becomes Certified B Corp: Sezzle says its mission is to financially empower the next generation, and to go beyond finance by supporting empowerment across many facets of users’ lives, creating a better world for the next generation through ethical initiatives. – Read More on Forbes
6. Nordstrom’s Brush With Junk Proved a Turning Point: As its ratings fell, Nordstrom was forced to pledge inventory as collateral on its credit line and meet strict financial metrics that limited its flexibility. Additional covenants restricted Nordstrom’s options for financing future payments to vendors and precluded share repurchases and dividend payments until the ratings improved. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. The Future of Retail is Already Here: Whether “normalcy” is really on its way back (or will ever return) is still an open question. But even if how we consume has changed forever, we’ll always need more stuff. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Why Retail is at a Crossroads: Despite the fact that most shoppers are still averse to “go shopping,” it is likely they will go out and spend some money. Certainly, the government hopes they will do that in order to jumpstart the economy. Those easy comparisons will be true for the next two quarters. – Read More on Forbes
3. Federal appeals court rules for France in ‘France.com’ trademark dispute: The French government didn’t engage in commercial activity that would negate its sovereign immunity when it won the rights to the domain name in French court from France.com Inc., the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. – Read More on Reuters
4. Where Pent-Up Demand Is Strongest (and Weakest) in a Post-Pandemic Economy: Millennials – and, to some extent, Gen Z adults – will bolster the post-pandemic economy. Millennials are the most eager to return to everyday activities, including going to the movies and sporting events, traveling abroad, going back to the gym and even traveling for work. – Read More on Morning Consult
5. What brands can learn about pricing luxury goods beyond all expectations from Beeple’s $69 million NFT art sale: What luxury brands need to do is estimate the added luxury value their brand delivers. And this value does not depend on the product or the competition, it depends on the perceived value the story creates. – Read More on SCMP
6. What Happens to Luxury if China Stalls? One potential risk at play: A confidence crisis in the Chinese leadership or a new policy like [China’s] anti-corruption policy from 2012 could stem the tide of luxury spending. – Read More on Jing Daily