Daily LInks
1. Meet the French Designer Who is Thriving in the Pandemic: Celebrities adopted wares featuring Marine Serre’s signature crescent moon print, making it the most wanted logo on fashion discovery platform Lyst this year. “Do you want the moon top to be everywhere, or is the aim to keep a balance? I’m trying to find a balance,” Serre says. – Read More on WWD
2. RELATED READ: Marine Serre is Looking to Amass Rights in its Moon Logo & Might Build the Next Big Luxury Brand in the Process. With such rising brand awareness and trademark rights in mind, Marine Serre has been looking to secure trademark registrations across the globe. To date, this has largely seen legal counsel for the brand file – and receive – trademark applications for the crescent moon along with the brand name for use on clothing and accessories in the U.S., Canada, France, Singapore, and Australia, among other jurisdictions. – Read More on TFL
3. Will 2020 mark the end of Black Friday? “You still have a lot of people that are interested in shopping on Black Friday.” It counts as “a social event that individuals like to be part of,” and a holiday traditional for some. – Read More on Quartz
4. With tourist traffic dwindling, Abercrombie & Fitch is accelerating plans to close expensive flagship stores: By closing expensive flagships in London, Paris and Munich that mostly targeted out-of-towners, Abercrombie is shifting its focus to rolling out services at existing stores that are more designed for its local customers, like curbside pickup. The idea is to use these new programs to better serve local customers. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. And speaking of tourists … U.K. Tax-Refund Repeal is a New Headache for Retail Property Owners: Starting in January, foreign visitors will no longer be able to reclaim a sales tax of 20% for items bought in the U.K. for 30 British pounds—equivalent to about $40—or more. Business leaders worry that tourists could abandon London for other European shopping destinations such as Paris and Milan. – Read More on the WSJ
6. ‘We’re seeing a dichotomy in retail recovery’: J.P. Morgan analyst. There will be a three-wave recovery for retail with the first wave a sentiment shift towards fashion-oriented clothes as mobility increases outside the home. The second wave will be clothes tied to returning to the office and the new normal, while the third wave will be more on focused on tourism and travel. – See More on CNBC
1. Former Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini Opens Up About Today’s Fashion: Reflecting on brands that only succeed in selling T-shirts, sneakers and bags, she says, “When your customers have bought your T-shirts, your sneakers, your duffel bag, what else can they buy?,” adding that she is noticing an excessive use of logos. “Now, there is this overexposure of logos.” – Read More on WWD
2. Trucker Hats: A Questionable 2000s Fashion Trend Returns. This fetishization of all things 2000s has manifested prominently on the popular clothing resale market Depop, which attracts sellers dedicated to selling airbrushed tees, Juicy tracksuits and, yes, Von Dutch hats—trends that enjoyed currency during the newly relevant decade. – Read More on the WSJ
3. RETRO READ: Why Mom Jeans & Fashion-Focused Nostalgia Reigns Supreme in a Time of Global Uncertainty. Every season, the fashion industry reaches into the archives with cyclical predictability, echoing historical trends and stimulating nostalgic feelings through marketing that makes the consumer “miss things that never were,” as Arjun Appadurai put it in “Modernity at Large.” Even while mining the past for inspiration, fashion designers – or at least, good fashion designers – tend to reflect present culture with their work. – Read More on TFL
4. Australian fashion is taking notice of the country’s oldest design traditions – and we’re only just scratching the surface” Being left out of the fashion industry – not only the narrative, but the whole industry – has hampered the expression of what fashion looks like, and impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people economically. – Read More on the Guardian
5. How Gen Z And Millennial Needs Have Radically Changed Post-COVID-19: Young consumers differ dramatically from prior generations in that they perceive themselves as personal brands. Social media has led to curated lifestyles, within which brands become extensions, expressions, and affirmations of a young person’s identity, which is why sustainable practices, diversity or inclusivity, transparency, and corporate social responsibility are more critical value drivers to them than they are for any generation before. – Read More on Jing
6. German online retailer Mytheresa confidentially files for U.S. IPO: The firm, which sells clothes from 250 of the world’s biggest fashion brands including Prada, Gucci, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana, may seek a valuation of $1 billion to $1.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg report earlier this month, though the target could change based on the busy holiday season. – Read More on Reuters
1. The Devil Sells Prada: The most recent chunk of that $345 million was secured earlier this year: $100 million in equity and debt financing through V.C. firms, as well as from Andres Santo Domingo’s family—he’s the heir to Colombia’s richest beer dynasty, with a fortune estimated at $3.2 billion. But there are whispers in New York now that the money spigots have dried up and the company is quietly shopping itself, essentially “for parts,” as the V.C. gods like to say. – Read More on Airmail
2. RELATED READ: 44 Models are Suing Moda Operandi, Vogue for Allegedly Using Photos of Them Without Their Permission. The models claim that Moda Operandi used images of them – from images and videos of them walking in runway shows to images of them backstage at runway shows – “to steer traffic to the modaoperandi.com website for its sole economic gain.” – Read More on TFL
3. How Leonard Lauder Built Estée Lauder into a Cosmetics Behemoth: The company “was in the right place at the right time,” he says. The war boosted demand for cosmetics, as many women suddenly had jobs and money to spend, and the postwar boom enhanced it still more. – Read More on the WSJ
4. Shopify Sees ‘Paradigm Shift’ as Black Friday Approaches: Shopify is counting on consumers to choose independent brands for items that aren’t staples. That “conscious consumerism” is getting a boost from the pandemic, Finkelstein said, “Direct to consumer is not a fad.” A recent Adobe report agrees, noting that almost 40% of shoppers will make a deliberate effort to shop at smaller retailers over the holiday season. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. The built environment and fashion industries are primed to lead the recovery: By focusing on decarbonization and the promotion of labor rights protections, these industries can create economic opportunities that promote a more human and environment-centered way of doing business. – Read More on WE Forum
6. 2020 Was a Big Year for Old Clothes: How Vintage, Secondhand, and Upcycling Took Off: Lyst’s annual Year in Fashion report, a data-heavy distillation of the most popular brands, products, people, and movements of the past 12 months, confirmed a rising interest in used clothes. In September, when many of us were thinking about our fall wardrobes, “vintage fashion” generated more than 35,000 new searches on Lyst, while entries for secondhand-related keywords increased 104%. – Read More on Vogue
1. How Jeff Bezos Built One of the World’s Most Valuable Companies: What Amazon is basically arguing is, the digital economy is all about connection. We have got to connect products (a classic razor and blade strategy: sell a cheap razor in order to make money on the blade) and connect customers (it becomes a flywheel effect, and it becomes a situation where it’s very hard for a new player to complete with Amazon). – Hear More on HBR
2. Something old, something new: Gucci revives classics to regain edge. People born from 1981 onwards – Millennials and Generation Z buyers – now make up almost 60% of luxury purchases, Bain said, but brands cannot afford to neglect the remaining 40%. That is why on top of tweaking their ranges to include less trend-driven items, most luxury labels are directing their customer service to establish close contact with clients who are not able to go to the stores themselves. – Read More on Reuters
3. COVID is Exposing How the Global Fashion Industry Values Workers: The response to a COVID outbreak at a factory in Sri Lanka owned by a supplier for brands like M&S, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein and GAP has workers saying they’re being treated like cattle. – Read More on Vice
4. RELATED READ: What Does COVID-19 Mean For the People Making Your Clothes?Many garment factory workers, and fabric and yarn producers in these countries were receiving less than a living wage, a figure defined as the minimum needed to provide adequate shelter, food and necessities, before the onset of COVID-19. This has not only made it difficult – if not impossible – for them to plan or save for emergencies, which is particularly problematic given that many are migrant workers without funds to return home. – Read More on TFL
5. Virus Cases Rise, but Hazard Pay for Retail Workers Doesn’t: They were hailed as heroes during the first wave of the pandemic, but wage increases were fleeting, and companies, whose businesses are booming, have been slow to pay out more. – Read More on the New York Times
1. Second Epstein Investigation Begins at Victoria’s Secret: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was investigating “allegations raised in shareholder demand letters and civil complaints concerning, among other things, connections between L Brands and Jeffrey Epstein.” The new investigation is the latest jolt for L Brands and Victoria’s Secret, months after the pandemic foiled a plan to sell the lingerie brand to a private-equity firm. – Read More on the New York Times
2. RELATED READ: Victoria’s Secret’s “Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment” At Center of New Lawsuit Against Parent Company L Brands. While John Giarratano’s books and records request may – at first glance – have appeared to have little to do with Victoria’s Secret’s ongoing slaughter-by-media, that was precisely the impetus for the action. “After learning about the toxic culture of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation that for years has plagued [L Brands’] flagship brand, Victoria’s Secret,” Giarratano sought to “investigate potential wrongdoing by [L Brands] and its board of directors.” – Read More on TFL
3. Farfetch is Far More Than a Luxury Store: Farfetch allows luxury firms to maintain ownership over their brands and leverage its scale to sell online via a B2B marketplace platform that is comparable to services offered by Amazon and Shopify. With over 2.5m active customers, and having made investments into technology and logistics, the company is well-placed to be the online marketplace platform of choice for luxury brands. – Read More on Seeking Alpha
4. Hermès questioned by animal welfare groups over Australian crocodiles farm: The high-end French fashion brand Hermès wants to build one of Australia’s biggest crocodile farms in the Northern Territory that would hold up to 50,000 saltwater crocodiles to be turned into luxury goods such as handbags and shoes. – Read More on the Guardian
5. Target Grabs Sales From Rivals Amid Pandemic: Big-box stores such as Target and Walmart have generally fared well during the pandemic, enticing shoppers with a one-stop place to shop. In contrast, many department stores and apparel retailers—already weakened by the shift to online shopping in recent years—have struggled after having to close early in the pandemic. – Read More on the WSJ
6. Europe’s consumer companies brace for new pandemic curbs: Europe’s consumer sector stalwarts such as LVMH, Kering, and H&M, which reported signs of recovery in the most recent quarter, now face another hit to demand as several European countries impose new restrictions to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases. – Read More on S&P Global
1. Is the fashion industry’s sustainability effort only skin-deep? The major elephant in the space is overconsumption. “If we do not tackle that, incremental reductions of these other impacts are not going to get us to where we will need to be,” says New Standard Institute Director Maxine Bedat. – Read More on Fortune
2. Why DTC culture issues hit hard: Public reports of the corporate culture issues at companies that promised something more create stark brand challenges because these companies gave employees and customers something to believe in — whether it be a female founder, a powerful brand message or radical transparency — and then they disappointed. – Read More on Retail Dive
3. RELATED READ: “Homogenous,” Instagram Apologies Raise Questions About Modern Brands and their “Mission-Centric” Branding. Aside from disrupting the traditional retail model by cutting out the middleman and going all-in on social media content-as-advertising, a morals or ethics-driven approach is a large part of what initially helped to set many of these companies apart from other, more established market entities. – Read More on TFL
4. U.S. businesses accused of pandemic profiteering: In New York City alone, the department of consumer and worker protection said that since March, it had put about 3,000 retail outlets on notice over gouging law violations. Price increases do not necessarily breach gouging rules, which vary from state to state but typically prohibit companies from increasing prices beyond a certain threshold after an emergency has been declared. – Read More on the FT
5. RETRO READ: Can – and Should – Brands Sue Retailers, Resellers Over Price-Gouged Products During COVID-19?Given the very real risk of reputation damage that comes with scenarios of price-gouging by third parties, as indicated by social media-centric fury that was directed at Off-White in April, it becomes clear why brands might be prompted to take legal action to protect themselves (and the goodwill associated with their name) from the actions of rogue resellers and retailers, particularly in times of crisis. – Read More on TFL
6. U.S. Retail Sales Climbed at a Slower Pace in October: Consumer-spending data from private companies suggest shoppers turned more cautious this month, too, as last month’s jump in virus cases accelerated in November, prompting some officials to impose new restrictions, mask mandates and other mitigation strategies to slow its spread. – Read More on the WSJ
1. Can High Fashion Change? Most brands at the pinnacle of the luxury pyramid have made a mission of chasing younger and more-diverse consumers by dabbling in streetwear or athleisure or by partnering with the most au courant hipster that social media can uncover. Piccioli has insisted that Valentino remain relevant, such as with collaborations with Birkenstock and Levi’s. But he has never abandoned the essential core of the brand — not even in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. – Read More on the Washington Post
2. The Case Against Holding Amazon Liable for Third-Party Merchants’ Sales in its Marketplace: Amazon could, and probably should, do more to police its marketplace from unsafe products. But any steps the company takes should be voluntary. If it’s forced to act by regulators or courts, Amazon might very well see it as an unnecessary expense and just close the marketplace. After all, if it’s going to be liable for trying—and inevitably failing—to ensure merchant safety, why try at all? – Read More on Tech & Marketing Law Blog
3. RELATED READ: Amazon Can Be Liable for Third-Party Sellers’ Defective Products, Says California Appeals Court. This string of cases are significant in that a determination that Amazon is, in fact, liable for the goods offered up by third-parties on its vast marketplace site, which represented some 52.8 percent of the retailer’s revenue as of 2018, could drastically alter the workings of its model, including by adding new costs and significant legal liabilities. – Read More on TFL
4. Coty sees a series of tie-ups in the Kardashian empire playing a large role in the effort to capitalize on a booming skin-care market. After raising the stakes on its $200 million bet on Kim Kardashian West’s color cosmetics brand, Coty CEO Sue Nabi has begun working with the reality TV star to develop skin-care products. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. ‘An issue of direct replication’: As more DTCs flood the market, the line between inspiration and copycatting blurs. Goodboy’s founders began noticing other sites doing similar things. “It was hard to pawn it off as just inspiration,” said co-founder Kari Sapp. But this is anything but a unique problem. – Read More on Modern Retail
6. RELATED READ: The Making, Branding, and (Alleged) Copying of a DTC Startup. Daily Harvest – which has set forth claims of trade dress infringement, unfair competition, and violations of New York General Business Law, and is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief – does not actually claim that Revive copied any of its proprietary products. Instead, the suit firmly centers on what is likely an even more integral element: Revive’s alleged co-opting of the Daily Harvest brand, which seems to suggest that the most valuable – and thus, copy-worthy – elements at play may not be the products, themselves, but something else entirely. – Read More on TFL
1. Pandemic Speeds Americans’ Embrace of Digital Commerce: The pandemic collapsed into three months a process of adopting e-commerce that otherwise would have taken 10 years in the U.S., per McKinsey, which found that about three out of four people have tried a new shopping method due to the coronavirus and that more than half of all consumers intend to continue using curbside pickup and grocery-delivery services after the pandemic is over. – Read More on the WSJ
2. Nike v. Warren Lotas: The Bootleg Dunks and Their Place in History. “The founder of Nike Inc. is the OG shoe dog bootlegger,” Staple said, recounting how the company began as Blue Ribbon Sports, a distributor of Onitsuka Tiger sneakers, and got in legal trouble for applying its logo to Tiger shoes and selling them. “The whole company is built on a bootleg.” – Read More on Complex
3. RELATED READ: In New Injunction Filing, Nike Asks Court to Stop Warren Lotas from “Flooding the Market With Fakes.”Echoing the assertions in the complaint that it filed in a California federal court on October 14, Nike argues that Warren Lotas is “promoting and offering to sell footwear and apparel that use a confusingly similar mark as Nike’s Swoosh deign and/or the identical trade dress as Nike’s Dunk sneakers.” – Read More on TFL
4. Retail Chains Shed Stores, but It Isn’t Good for Business: “Closing stores isn’t going to solve a retailer’s underlying problems,” said Stephen Sadove, the former chief executive of Saks Inc. “You have to look at why the stores aren’t performing. What is their competitive advantage and their reason for being?” – Read More on the WSJ
5. Fired Amazon worker files discrimination lawsuit over pandemic conditions: A former Amazon.com Inc worker who protested conditions at his New York City fulfillment center sued the retailer on Thursday, accusing it of discrimination for firing him and for putting Black and Hispanic workers at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. – Read More on Reuters
6. What the Public Wants From CEOs in 2020: Women make up 8 percent of chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies, a record high for the list. Just three of the 40 female CEOs of these companies identify as a racial or ethnic minority: Gap Inc.’s Sonia Syngal, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s Lisa Su and Yum China Holdings Inc.’s Joey Chui Yung Wat. – Read More on Morning Consult
1. Burberry Aims to Reduce Markdowns to Shore Up Profitability: In addition to cutting sales, Burberry aims to upgrade its leather-goods pricing to the levels enjoyed by rivals Prada and Gucci. Like Prada, Burberry has also been trying to get a stronger grip on its product pricing by reducing sales to third-party retailers to reduce inventory in the market. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. The Surprising Upside of Expensive Products That Don’t Sell: When dealing with recessions or drastic declines in sales, companies are often tempted to increase profits by cancelling low-performing products from their portfolios. But sales numbers aren’t everything, and this isn’t always the best way forward. We have identified a counter-intuitive — yet potentially highly-beneficial — alternative: Leveraging high-priced products that don’t sell much as a competitive advantage. – Read More on HBR
3. RETRO READ: How Do You Sell Luxury in a Recession? You Ditch the Logos. “Consumers are looking for discreet, timeless purchases,” Gucci CEO Robert Polet said at the time. They “are not keen on anything that could fall out of fashion. People feel guilty about that.” – Read More on TFL
4. EU charges against Amazon could accelerate Big Tech antitrust scrutiny in the US: European regulators’ decision to bring antitrust charges against Amazon.com Inc. could be a harbinger of developments in the U.S., legal and industry experts say, particularly since Amazon faces similar allegations in the U.S., where lawmakers have alleged that the company is undercutting small businesses by using data from third-party sellers to inform its own products. – Read More on S&P Global
5. Online Luxury Retailer Mytheresa Is Said to Plan U.S. IPO: The company, which is backed by Ares Management Corp. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is taking advantage of a boom in online sales as coronavirus lockdowns keep shoppers at home. It plans to seek a valuation of about $1 billion to $1.5 billion. – Read More on Bloomberg
6. RELATED READ: Neiman Marcus v. Marble Ridge Capital – The Story Behind the $1 Billion-Plus Legal Battle. Marble Ridge set forth various claims of fraud in connection of Neiman Marcus’ transfer of the Mytheresa assets in a scheme it orchestrated to benefit Ares and CPPIB, and “hinder, delay and defraud [Neiman Marcus’] creditors.” – Read More on TFL
7. Revlon staves off bankruptcy after clinching last-minute debt deal: Revlon has been pulled again from the brink of chapter after billionaires Ron Perelman and Carl Icahn ended a stand-off over the cosmetics firm’s debt. Revlon said that it had secured commitments from enough bondholders to stave off bankruptcy, with approximately $236m tendered, or just shy of 69 percent of the outstanding debt. – Read More on the FT
1. Adidas Bet on the Rebirth of Reebok: A few years ago, Reebok Classics looked set to become a fashion favorite, as the trend for ugly or so-called Dad sneakers took hold. Despite collaborations with Russian menswear designer Gosha Rubchinskiy and fashion house Vetements, the shoes failed to gain a widespread millennial following. Competitors, such as Kering’s Balenciaga, harnessed this look more effectively. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Singles Day sales to get tremendous lift from livestream events, as U.S. retailers play catch-up: Coresight Research has estimated the livestreaming market in China will bring in about $125 billion in sales this year, up from $63 billion in 2019. The market in the U.S. is valued at about $5 billion. – Read More on CNBC
3. RELATED READ: From Social Shopping to Entertainment-Centric E-Commerce, What Western Brands Can Learn from China’s Retail Giants. In China, traditional online shopping is swiftly becoming a thing of the past. Even before people were forced to shelter in place, and spend more time at home, two key trends were already radically changing the e-commerce landscape: social buying and live commerce. – Read More on TFL
4. Alibaba’s Singles Day sales top $74 billion, planned rules hit shares: Alibaba sales for its post-COVID-19 Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza hit $74 billion, a haul that was overshadowed by a 10% drop in its shares on Wednesday after China published draft anti-trust rules aimed at internet platforms.– Read More on Reuters
5. Retailers are pushing their employees to become TikTok influencers: For years, companies have invested in recruiting employee influencers who can put a face to the brand and offer a (favorable) behind-the-scenes glimpse into their companies. – Read More on Modern Retail
6. RETRO READ: Using Employees as Influencers? A Look at the Risks That Come With Marketing from Within. Using employees as influencers has various advantages for employers: the “employer brand” can be advertised in a particularly authentic – and cost-effective – way by individuals within its ranks, which ensures a generally positive perception of the employer on social media, but it is not without risks for employers. – Read More on TFL