Daily LInks
1. Luxury goods sales picking up again: The luxury goods market is booming, particularly in East Asia. A large part of this is due to expenditure that would otherwise have been earmarked for foreign travel now being spent on luxury goods. But there is far more to this surprisingly resilient market than just the impact of diverting expenditure away from travel and tourism. – Read More on Business Day
2. Burberry: A Hold Until the Dust Settles. British luxury goods firm Burberry has shifted strategy in recent years in order to exercise greater control over its brand. This will benefit shareholders in the long run. – Read More on Seeking Alpha
3. Don’t buy a luxury handbag, splurge on its shares instead: Two of Britain’s most successful fund managers have taken big stakes in luxury brands to cash in on an expected surge in demand for luxury goods during lockdown, fueled by the wealthy shoppers in Asia. – Read More on the Times
4. Argentinian central bank puts cap on imported luxury goods: The Central Bank of Argentina has put a cap on imported luxury goods on January 6 in a bid to preserve dollars in the country. The rules affect purchases of products such as high-end cars and motorcycles, private jets worth over $1 million, recreational boats, beverages including champagne, whisky, liqueurs and other spirits priced above $50/liter. – Read More on Central Banking
5. What Big Tech’s scrutiny means for luxury advertising: As governments globally call out big tech companies for being too dominant, brands and retailers are tactically diversifying their advertising beyond the major platforms. – Read More on Vogue Biz
6. RELATED READ: China is Pushing to Control Big Tech, With E-Commerce Giants Coming Under the Microscope. Newcomers like Bytedance and Pinduoduo – the latter of which has integrated social components into the traditional online shopping model to create a popular “team purchase” experience – were already eating market share from Alibaba and Tencent, and the antitrust reforms could well accelerate that trend. – Read More on TFL
1. Patagonia has had enormous success with upcycled clothing. Could other brands follow? Upcycling was once a cottage industry devoted to die-hard environmentalists, but it’s now in vogue. However, there’s a dark side to this trend as some brands are jumping on the upcycling trend without actually changing their practices. – Read More on Fast Co.
2. Crocs shares soar on raised sales outlook through 2021: The Colorado-based footwear company said it expects 2020 full-year sales to grow more than 12% to a record of roughly $1.38 billion, up from a previous range calling for 5% to 7% growth. In 2021, it’s calling for revenue growth of 20% to 25%. – Read More on CNBC
3. Kylie Jenner Cosmetics Deal Has Delivered Promise and Peril for Coty: Online sales of Kylie Cosmetics, not including the Kylie Skin business, fell 39% through October compared with the same period in 2019. Full-year 2019 sales fell 21% from the previous year, according to the firm. Those figures don’t include sales at beauty retailer Ulta, which began selling the brand in 2019, or other physical stores. – Read More on the WSJ
4. RELATED READ: Amid Pending Lawsuits Over Kardashian-Jenner Deals, Coty Finalizes Purchase of 20 Percent Stake in KKW Beauty. The draw of the Kardashian-Jenners and their sweeping follower base, which Coty spotlights in its release, noting that Kardashian “is one of the world’s highest-profile and influential consumer personalities, with 300 million followers across her personal and brand social media channels and a large global audience” (plus the very-real possibility of Kardashian-initiated litigation had Coty sought to pull out of the KKW deal) outweighs the legal drama that comes with them. – Read More on TFL
5. How personalization is transforming the luxury industry: Effective personalization in the luxury industry intersects the increasing centrality of digital marketing with the need to correctly interpret increasingly precise profiling. In order to increase the results of personalization, there must be a willingness on the part of the company to invest in online channels, but also an awareness of the high standards that luxury consumers are accustomed to in stores. – Read More on Doxee
6. In Moodsters, Jack Daniel’s IP lawsuits, SCOTUS follows old showbiz adage: On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand two high-profile intellectual property decisions by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, declining petitions filed by Jack Daniel’s Properties against the maker of a dog toy and by a children’s author/animator against The Walt Disney Company and Pixar. – Read More on Reuters
1. Luxury Turns From Conspicuous to Conscientious in 2021: While the affluent consumers are more shielded from economic ups-and-downs than those with less financial resources, they weren’t immune from its effects during the 2008-2009 recession. Back then, they took a hiatus from ‘shop-till-you-drop’ spending and waited till the worse was over before reentering the luxury market. The same scenario is likely to occur again. – Read More on Forbes
2. How Coco Chanel changed the course of women’s fashion: As well as revolutionizing how we dress, she helped form a new ideal of what a fashion brand could be: an all-encompassing force that could tend to all aspects of a woman’s life, from formal attire to holiday wardrobes and evening ones. – Read More on CNN
3. RETRO READ: Chanel and the Controversial Entrepreneur Who Started it All. Coco Chanel – whose image and likeness is identifiable outside of the hallowed walls of the fashion industry and whose famed quotes appear in the social media bio lines of many a millennial fashion fan – has “been front and center of the story” of Chanel, as has her “ability to spot market opportunities and then align fashion and fragrances with emerging lifestyle trends.” – Read More on TFL
4. Five changes to watch for in shopping as major retailers innovate to go “green.” More than half of consumers — 57% — say they are willing to change their purchasing behavior “to help reduce negative environmental impact,” according to a study of 18,980 consumers in 29 countries conducted by the National Retail Federation. – Read More on CNBC
5. Topshop changed the fashion industry, but now it too has been left behind: The sale of Topshop is also a symptom of our changing relationship with fashion. The trend cycle that Topshop once stoked continued to pick up speed, and more dexterous competitors started to meet the demand for increasingly faster fashion. – Read More on the Guardian
6. RELATED READ: Topshop – How the Once-Trendsetting Brand Fell Behind the Times. Arcadia’s hold on the high street has waned over the years with dozens of outlets closing nationwide, and many industry experts and past employees, alike, laying the blame at Arcadia owner and chairman Philip Green’s feet, citing lack of investment in online retailing and outdated ways of sourcing product. – Read More on TFL
1. There has been ‘10 years of innovation in 10 months,’ retail body says: “You buy online, you pick up in the store. There’s curbside pickup, now you can return products that you buy online, you can return them into the stores. That seamless integration is really becoming the rule, it used to be the exception and we’re going to see a lot more of that.” – Read More on CNBC
2. Can Nike keep its cool? It’s been a tumultuous period for Nike.” The result is one of the most challenging moments in the company’s history. It must contend not only with a radical shift in retail strategies but also the wider cultural reckoning with the intersection of race, gender and power. – Read More on the FT
3. LVMH’s jewelry and watches business: The deal, first announced more than a year ago, will help LVMH, owner of brands such as Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, to expand in jewelry, which has been one of the fastest-growing parts of the luxury goods market. – Read More on Reuters
4. RELATED READ: A Timeline Behind the Building of the World’s Most Valuable Luxury Goods Conglomerate. Since Bernard Arnault first acquired Christian Dior by buying out its parent company Boussac in 184, he has spent billions of dollars and worked doggedly to amass no less than 70 luxury brands under the umbrella of the group that is now coined LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton. – Read More on TFL
5. U.S. Unemployment Claims Remain Elevated While Consumer Demand Boosts Goods Imports: Job losses in the past year have been particularly severe among lower-earning restaurant, hotel and mall-retail workers. Meanwhile, workers in other areas were more likely to shift to working from home and have maintained incomes to help drive demand for goods, while spending less on dining out, travel and other services. – Read More on the WSJ
6. The 20 Data Points That Defined 2020: 25% – The percentage of the public that on average currently feels comfortable doing a number of leisure activities, from dining out to going to the mall. Comfort levels have not changed dramatically in recent months, but the vaccine will likely turn the tide. – Read More on Morning Consult
1. Consumer companies seeking IPOs will enter busy market in 2021: Buoyed by hope the pandemic could be ending soon, Biden’s election to the White House and low interest rates, investor enthusiasm soared in 2020. That enthusiasm helped drive up public valuations that made it cheaper to raise capital on the public market compared to the private one, experts say. – Read More on S&P Global
2. Tiffany posts record holiday sales on online, China demand: The company, which will soon be bought by France’s LVMH, said its overall preliminary net sales rose about 2% for the period Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, compared with a year earlier, with e-commerce sales surging more than 80% during the period. – Read More on CNBC
3. RELATED READ: As Tiffany & Co. Q3 Sales Spike, What About LVMH’s Material Adverse Effect Claim?The sizable uptick in sales is particularly interesting given that just two months ago, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton sought to pull out of its $16 billion-plus deal to acquire Tiffany & Co., pointing to the way in which the stalwart jewelry company’s “management and its Board of Directors … has handl[ed] the [COVID] crisis,” and arguing that Tiffany’s business was thoroughly “devastated” by the global health pandemic. – Read More on TFL
4. In other Tiffany news … LVMH gives Tiffany a makeover, promotes Arnault scion after $16 billion deal: LVMH has installed new execs for Tiffany, with LV chairman and CEO Michael Burke taking on the chairman role, 28-year old Alexandre Arnault is the new EVP in charge of product and communication, and Anthony Ledru will replace Alessandro Bogliolo as CEO. – Read More on Reuters
5. Luxury Goods Poised For Comeback In Asia; Digital Sales Gain Traction: Financial News said South Korean consumers unable to take summer vacations due to COVID-19’s travel restrictions often used their unspent money to buy luxury goods instead. The publication said South Korea’s three top department store chains all reported double-digit year-on-year growth in luxury sales. – Read More on PYMNTS
6. These brands will pay you to wear their clothes: For decades, fashion brands have built their businesses on convincing customers to buy new clothes, racking up profits with each new purchase. But in new twist, fashion brands are persuading their customers to wear clothes they already own. Some are even paying them to do so. – Read More on Fast Co.
7. Wells Fargo Banker Reflects on a Year of Retail Disruption: Some shaky retailers could have avoided bankruptcy in 2020 if not for the pandemic; hedge funds played a bigger role than in the past; and liquidation sales turned out better than expected, despite pandemic lockdowns. – Read More on the WSJ
1. Prada Recovers From Worst of Covid-Induced Slump, Thanks to Asia: Prada SpA returned to profit in the second half of 2020 amid a recovery in Asia. The fashion brand has been focused on reducing its sales via wholesalers in order to better control handbag pricing of handbags under its flagship and Miu Miu labels. Its own outlets now account for 90% of overall sales, while the company is also ending seasonal discounts in a bid to boost its aura of exclusivity and profit margins. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. RELATED READ: Prada CEO Says Brand Will “Stop Doing Markdowns” Beginning … Now. With sales on their way out of Prada’s 600-plus stores worldwide, one of the immediate questions becomes: what is Prada to do with its unsold wares? The products will likely shift to different stores, ones that are not listed on the fashion brand’s website alongside its marquee outposts, but instead, come on the form of a smattering of outlets that Prada maintains in different locales across the globe, from its famous SPACE site on the outskirts of Florence to its domestic outpost at New York’s Woodbury Commons. – Read More on TFL
3. Brexit Forces Bankers to Shift Trading of European Stocks Out of London: The fallout from Britain’s split from the European Union showed itself on the first trading day of the year as a big chunk of dealing volume in EU stocks moved from London to venues located in Amsterdam, Paris and the Continent’s other financial centers. – Read More on the WSJ
4. The exhilarating world of post-pandemic shopping: “Experiential retail had been a growing trend, but the pandemic will turbocharge it. Stakes will be higher for brick-and-mortar stores now, because consumers can buy so many products online.” – Read More on Fast Co.
5. Amazon Banned From Using AWS Logo in China Trademark Ruling: Amazon can’t use its cloud-computing business’s AWS logo in China, a Beijing court ruled, the latest headache for a company that has already been hampered by Chinese regulations and rivals. – Read More on the WSJ
6. Fashion designer Pierre Cardin remembered in China as a pioneer who inspired brands like L’Oreal to follow in his footsteps: The late Frenchman was the first Western couturier to stage a fashion show in China in 1979, when most in the country still dressed in drab blue and green.” – Read More on SCMP
1. The State of Retail Bankruptcies in 2021: The coronavirus pandemic appeared to be the final straw for a number of retailers that filed for bankruptcy in 2020. More brands, suppliers and landlords may wind up in bankruptcy as the much anticipated “return to normal” depends on vaccine distribution. – Read More on WWD
2. Stock Market Rally in 2020 Easily Outpaced Luxury Goods, Hedge Funds: The S&P 500 index, which tracks the U.S. stock market broadly, rose over 15 percent last year and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index surged over 43 percent. That is significantly better than the performance of many alternative investments. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Next up for retailers: A big wave of gift returns. As shoppers were tucking their final Christmas presents under the tree, U.S. retailers were bracing for a record-setting flood of returns of online gifts bought during the deadly surge in coronavirus cases. Returns are set to swell this year. Shoppers seeking to avoid contagion shifted from stores to online – where return rates are historically higher. – Read More on Reuters
4. COVID-19 upended fashion trends, but will they last? History offers some clues. Part of the reason casualness is likely here to stay is because it’s an extension of an earlier trend. We can see this in what’s deemed appropriate to wear to the office, from suits in the ’90s, to khakis in the 2000s. In recent years, some workers have felt comfortable wearing hoodies and joggers to work. – Read More on Fast Co.
5. Why Fashion Retailing Will Have A Slow Recovery: During our confinement demand for fashion will not return to pre-pandemic levels in the foreseeable future. Unemployment hurts. Retailers must double down on performing categories such as fashion for the home. – Read More on Forbes
1. The 6 wildest ways we shopped in 2020: Achim Berg, who leads McKinsey’s fashion research, says WhatsApp has been a popular platform for luxury brands trying to connect with customers. It’s designed to replicate the luxury experience of the past, where a boutique would call a client directly when a new product came in the store he or she would like. – Read More on Fast Co.
2. Future of luxury: A look at the year ahead. One thing that won’t go away this year? Logos. “In previous crises, logos were a no-no, it was inappropriate. Right now, even with high unemployment, it is the iconic, recognizable products that are outperforming versus pre-Covid. There is no guilt factor — it’s more of a ‘I’ve survived this, it’s ok to reward myself, I’m worth it’.” – Read More on the FT
3. Gorpcore: How Arc’teryx Parkas and Salomon Hiking Boots Became High Fashion: The term “gorpcore”—coined by New York Magazine’s style site the Cut in 2017—has been bubbling up in men’s fashion for a few years. It emerged as an outdoor-specific offshoot of the 2010s’ normcore trend, which recontextualized humble, pragmatic clothes as lust-worthy fashion. – Read More on the WSJ
4. How Did Business’s Role in Society Change in 2020? In addition to spontaneous marches around the world, nearly every organization felt a need to say or do something to support Black Lives Matter and show commitment to justice. Microsoft pledged to buy 500 megawatts of solar energy from and for minority communities and retailer Sephora will dedicate 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned brands. – Read More on HBR
5. How Authentic Brands Group has positioned itself as the 2020 repo man: Nearly 30 retailers have filed for bankruptcy so far in 2020, closing thousands of a stores. But a few of those businesses have been acquired by consortia like Authentic Brands Group. Most recently ABG has purchased Brooks Brothers, Forever 21 and Barneys — all ailing for their own set of reasons. – Read More on Modern Retail
1. The shelter-at-home era poses a fundamental challenge to fashion: That term “discretionary” is key. Clothing may be a basic necessity, but our purchases of it are largely detached from need. The pandemic quickly revealed where it ranks on shoppers’ list of priorities. Clothing sales dropped, while furniture and home improvement products saw sales jump. – Read More on Quartz
2. How 2020 killed the Instagram brand: Pastels and the ubiquitous Sans Serif font have been replaced by bright colors and oversized lettering, while startups are centering their social media centering their social media strategy around busting taboos or reaching customers that have historically been overlooked. – Read More on Modern Retail
3. The 10 biggest retail bankruptcies of 2020: More than three dozen retailers, including the nation’s oldest department store chain, filed for bankruptcy this year, marking an 11-year high. Pre-pandemic, several of these retailers were already teetering on the brink of survival. But the Covid health crisis pummeled the industry. – Read More on CNBC
4. Stars align for luxury circular economy: Before the pandemic, second-hand luxury goods sales were already growing three times faster than the primary market and were expected to double to 41 billion euros between 2018 and 2023, says UBS. But the potential stock of goods is much larger. – Read More on Reuters
5. Rare Small-Business Win in Insurer Lawsuits Keeps Hope Alive for Payouts: In hundreds of lawsuits across the country, mostly small businesses have sued their property-insurance companies for refusing to pay out “business interruption” claims tied to the pandemic. Many insurers say their policies contain clear language excluding virus-related claims, while most claims also haven’t met their policies’ criteria. – Read More on the WSJ
6. German-based Mytheresa joins growing list of e-commerce retailers going public: In fiscal 2020, Mytheresa surpassed 486,000 active users, with €449.5 million in net sales (US$550.7 million) shipped across 133 countries. Average order value in fiscal 2020 was €600 (about $735), down from €614 in 2019 and €632 in 2018. – Read More on Market Watch
1. Behind the LVMH-Tiffany Deal: Insults, Lawsuits and Political Intrigue. Tiffany retains much of the sparkle that drew Mr. Arnault in the first place, in particular a brand name that is one of the most recognizable in the luxury business. Mr. Arnault had been eyeing Tiffany for years before making an offer to buy the company in October 2019 for $120 a share. – Read More on the WSJ
2. RELATED READ: Tiffany & Co. v. LVMH – The Timeline Behind Luxury’s Biggest Deal to Date. In light of the lawsuit that Tiffany & Co. filed against LVMH in a Delaware court, accusing the French titan of reneging on their deal, and LVMH’s subsequent vow to “vigorously” defend itself against Tiffany’s “defamatory” allegations, here is a chronological look at how such a seemingly spectacular deal ended up at the center of an ugly-and-escalating legal battle. – Read More on TFL
3. What Did 2020 Do to Retail? The market has been rocked by the emergence of disruptive business models. You have, on one hand, the “monster ecosystems,” like Amazon and Alibaba, but there are also smaller disruptors in every category. In apparel, for instance, you now have more ability to rent clothing, and there’s been growth in second-hand apparel. – Read More on HBR
4. Fashion industry fears London will lose allure after Brexit transition: New visa requirements to enable British and EU models to work in each other’s countries after the ending of EU free movement on January 1 will reduce the attractiveness of London for models, stylists and photographers working in the industry, according to several leading modelling agencies. – Read More on the FT
5. Could the Covid pandemic make fashion more sustainable? From advances in carbon-sequestering sequins to a boom in second-hand shopping, there have been chinks of light in 2020, despite the grim big picture. For example, Ebay sold 1,211% more preloved items in June than at the same time in 2018, with a dramatic 195,691% rise in purchases for secondhand designer fashion during the same period. – Read More on the Guardian
6. How TikTok Changed Fashion This Year: Sustainable brands are thriving on TikTok, where the hashtags #upcycling and #vintage have a combined 8 billion views, and a scroll through these hashtagged shows that Gen Z is completely obsessed with thrifting or repurposing clothing. – Read More on Vogue