Daily LInks
1. Coty to buy 20% stake in Kim Kardashian West’s beauty line: Coty Inc has agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in reality TV star Kim Kardashian West’s makeup brand KKW for $200 million. The deal values West’s cosmetics company at $1 billion, slightly lower than the $1.2 billion valuation Coty put on West’s half-sister Kylie Jenner’s business. – Read More on Reuters
2. RELATED READ: Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty is Being Sued Over Trade Secrets in Light of Impending Coty “Collab.”Kardashian’s brand is being sued by a former partner in an attempt to prevent the mega-star from sharing “highly sensitive and confidential trade secret information” with Coty, and thereby, threatening to cause “irreparable harm” to the California-based company that helped Kardashian to launch KKW back in 2017. – Read More on TFL
3. Business of Fashion founder Imran Amed has won friends and influenced an industry, but his website is drawing flak for alleged conflicts of interest: Analyst, Flavio Cereda at Jefferies, said: “A lot of it is borderline paid content — there’s a conflict of interests with their shareholders.” The claims provide a snapshot of how difficult it can be to build an independent media outlet from scratch in an interconnected industry. – Read More on the Times
4. How swimwear brands market themselves during a vacation-less summer: Summer leisure brands had to quickly change their marketing, and some saw positive results. Despite many canceled vacations and closed public pools across the country, swimwear brands are seeing seasonal surges — and a change in marketing helps explain why. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. Total Exposure With Mowalola Ogunlesi … The Nigerian-British Designer (and Newly-Appointed Yeezy Gap Design Director) Is Making Clothes For The World She Wants To Live In: “When I work with someone and it’s a proper collaboration, I get so much joy out of it. It’s really important to have more control about how your story is told. I don’t give my clothes to just anyone. I’m not that bothered about being in magazines. You have to be selective. It’s your art, it’s your baby, don’t just give it to anyone. It’s special. Everything doesn’t need to be for everyone.” – Read More on SSENSE
6. LVMH-backed Australian swimsuit brand in administration due to virus: Seafolly Pty Ltd, an Australian swimsuit maker part-owned by French fashion giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton appointed administrators on Monday citing a sales downturn from the coronavirus, the latest casualty of the health crisis in the country’s retail sector. – Read More on Reuters
1. Former Everlane employees have banded together to speak out about the company’s culture: The claims from past corporate and retail employees are especially significant given Everlane’s longstanding value-driven marketing. The direct-to-consumer brand found success selling its basics to the masses while touting transparent material sourcing and ethically-run factories. – Read More on Modern Retail
2. Retailers Face a Data Deficit in the Wake of the Pandemic: The flow of sales information to retailers’ data repositories has dried up. That’s a significant problem, because a healthy flow of that information is the lifeblood of customer loyalty programs, AI-driven product recommendations, and a wide array of critical business decisions. – Read More on HBR
3. Italy’s artisans anxious as brands haggle to bridge luxury gap: Italy accounts for around 40% of global luxury goods manufacturing and has been hit hard by a dramatic drop in demand triggered by the coronavirus crisis, with several artisans saying they have no new orders beyond the summer. – Read More on Reuters
4. Hermès Handbags Pass an Early COVID Test: Hermès is the only company whose handbags are more expensive to buy used than new. Supply of its two most popular bags, the Birkin and Kelly, is tightly restricted in boutiques. That forces shoppers into a thriving resale market where they can expect to pay 50% to 100% premiums over store prices for rare colors. – Read More on WSJ
5. RETRO READ: Are Birkin Bags Really a Better Investment than Stocks and Gold? One Company is Actively Testing That Theory. “In the event of an economic downturn, fine watches may turn out to represent a safe-haven asset, like metals or gems, for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.” The same goes for Hermès bags. – Read More on TFL
6. A lot of brands taking a more narrow focus amid pandemic, retail analyst says: Nike plans to emerge from COVID with a smaller footprint in terms of brick-and-mortar stores. – See More on CNBC
1. Fashion after the coronavirus: “The smaller-scale, direct-to-consumer brands have survived, and I believe they will come out stronger at the end of this crisis. They typically have their own production facility in their home countries or within easy reach. A lot of them are producing small quantities – they do not follow the typical fashion calendar. They just go with their intuition and produce collections according to what they can do.” – Read More on SCMP
2. Why Gap’s lawsuits could usher in new commercial real estate terms: In many cases, physical retailers may seek modification on leases’ force majeure clauses to include public health-related, government-mandated shutdowns. Meanwhile, digitally native brands — especially ones that believe in-person shopping experiences are still worth the investment — could opt for alternative short term space rentals via real estate platforms, who can then negotiate terms on their behalf. – Read More on Modern Retail
3. The Black in Fashion Council Will Establish an Equality Index Score for Companies Across the Industry: The new initiative enlisted the support of the Human Rights Campaign to establish an equality index score that will provide benchmarking around corporate policies and practices “pertinent to the inclusivity of Black employees.” – Read More on Vogue
4. Has the coronavirus pandemic stopped fashion’s rental revolution in its tracks? Fashion’s rental market particularly appealed to shoppers looking for ‘special occasion’ outfits. Now that consumers across the globe are stuck at home, the $1 billion=plus rental industry is facing a tough challenge. – Read More on the Telegraph
5. Zara and Primark factory workers say they were fired after forming union: Hundreds of workers at two factories in Myanmar that produce clothing for Zara and Primark were fired days after forming a union in a move workers say targeted union supporters under the pretense that layoffs were related to the coronavirus. – Read More on the Guardian
1. A Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Is Coming: This year will easily set a record for so-called mega bankruptcies — filings by companies with $1 billion or more in debt. Experts expect the number of large bankruptcies — at least $100 million — to challenge the record set the year after the 2008 economic crisis. – Read More on the New York Times
2. Saks to Reopen Fifth Avenue Flagship With UV Handrail Cleaners, Video Shopping Service: “To set the tone in creating a safe and healthy environment for our customers, we knew we would have to exceed the minimum requirements,” Saks President Marc Metrick said. “Feeling safe is as important to luxury as it ever will be.” – Read More on the Wall Street Journal
3. Jail time for role in supplying luxury goods to N. Korea: A 32-year-old man whose father owns a department store chain in North Korea has been jailed for four weeks for his role in helping to source luxury goods from Singapore in an operation that breached United Nations sanctions. – Read More on Straits Times
4. RETRO READ: As North Korea Continues to Boost its Imports, a Look at the Role of Luxury in the Hermit Kingdom. Western luxury products – including leather goods and watches, as well as cars and upmarket electronics – made up almost 20 percent of North Korea’s total imports for 2016. Meanwhile, the country’s elite import $640 million worth of luxury goods in 2017. – Read More on TFL
5. The fashion industry must stop exploiting the cultures of the people it so often dismisses: High fashion brands repeatedly take “inspiration” from cultures, while at the same time, subjecting ethnic minorities to racist treatment in the fashion industry. – Read More on the Telegraph
6. Bentley Doubles Space for Parts Amid Brexit Trade Talks Concern: Luxury automaker Bentley said it has doubled warehousing capacity in a move that will help it cope with potential disruption if Britain fails to strike a trade deal with the European Union by a year-end deadline. As of last year, other brands, such as Burberry, and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned companies, are doing the same. – Read More on Bloomberg
1. Coronavirus Changed Everything. Except T.J. Maxx: T he discount chain isn’t looking to quickly ramp up e-commerce beyond its minuscule level or add new features allowing American customers to buy products online and pick them up in stores. It stopped taking online orders during the lockdowns and even now is limiting the number of items for sale on its website. – Read More on WSJ
2. Top Brands Responded on Instagram to George Floyd’s Killing: The variety of responses suggests that, as yet, there is no common Instagram playbook among top brands, whose strategies have ranged from statements of support and declarations of principle to curious adaptations of established branding and, in some cases, absolute silence. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Brandless Is Back With a New Goal: Become, and Stay, Profitable. Brandless officially relaunches today after a joint acquisition by Utah PE firm Clarke Capital Partners and digital marketing agency Ikonifi. The relaunch comes with value bundles of minimalist beauty, CPG, and home goods products. – Read More on Morning Brew
4. RETRO READ: Brandless is Not Really Doing Away with Branding, According to Trademark Filing. Brandless made a name for itself by bucking the ostentatious logo trend, shunning branding in its quest for a widespread selection of a logo-free products. But just how logo-less is Brandless’ existence? Well, not entirely. Minimalist-inspired branding is still branding, after all. – Read More on TFL
5. Meet the 24-year-old designer who made $1 million selling used clothes: The pandemic has been a boon to the online fashion resale market: Depop has seen a 300 percent increase in items sold between January and April compared to the same period last year. And that’s just the beginning. – Read More on Fast Co.
6. Kylie, Kendall, and Cardi B’s Unpaid Bills Have Left Garment Makers Starving: Kylie and Kendall Jenner’s line, Kendall + Kylie, is owned by Global Brands Group, who refused to pay its garment suppliers for orders produced in February and March following a drop in sales caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Given the unpredictability of the situation, our retail partners have cancelled orders, and existing inventory and product in production may have no sell-through. Consequently, we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to cancel all S/S 2020 orders from all suppliers (without liability),” wrote Rick Darling, CEO of Global Brands Group in a letter dated March 21. – Read More on Remake
1. How private equity is gutting retail: In the bankruptcies of J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, and many others, it wasn’t just bad business practices and the rise of e-commerce that did them in, it was a direct result of the perils of leveraged buyouts – the acquisition of a company using a significant amount of borrowed money. – See More on CNN
2. Online fashion stocks in vogue as coronavirus speeds ecommerce: “The sudden closure of all apparel retail stores across all major global markets has shaken up the channel mix in an unprecedented way this year,” said Bernstein’s Aneesha Sherman. “It’s five years’ worth of growth achieved in about six months.” – Read More on Reuters
3. In the Fashion Industry, Black Activists Push For Deeper Change: The industry has long capitalized on black culture. Fashion magazines now frequently put black stars on their covers while brands call on them to boost their cool factor. Yet there are still few black professionals in top industry roles. – Read More on WSJ
4. Fashion Redesigned Itself in Lockdown: Fashion executives have spent the lockdown figuring out how to sell their products online. Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman’s parent company Tapestry canceled $500 million of orders for handbags, jackets and dresses, saving cash to weather both the shutdown and what’s likely to be a slow recovery, while Farfetch has seen sales skyrocket — by 90% last quarter. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. RETRO READ: From Hermès and Chanel to Louis Vuitton and Gucci, What Will Fashion’s Impending Shift Actually Look Like? it is unclear what the tangible outcomes will be. Nonetheless, two potential outcomes within the luxury and high fashion space seem likely: one will see brands contract, to some extent, in terms of the breadth of their offerings, while moving further upscale in order to maintain their positions as luxury brands and simplifying their business model in order to meet heightened consumer demands for a more sustainable future. The other will see brands embrace a more modern notion of contemporary luxury by going increasingly more digital. – Read More on TFL
1. What it’s really like to be black in the fashion industry: “I was considered inexperienced.” “Being stereotyped is something I have experienced in my career.” “I had experienced situations in which I had been overlooked for permanent positions.” “Being constantly asked about ‘diversity’ makes me feel like I’m always being typecast.” – Read More on the Guardian
2. How slow times in the luxury world will separate the bling from the chaff: The world of personal luxury goods—from handbags and haute couture to diamond rings and pricey Swiss watches—has been in hibernation. Now, posh purveyors are having to rethink their business model in a hurry. – Read More on the Economist
3. The Rich Have Stopped Spending and That Has Tanked The Economy: “For higher-income individuals, that spending is still way far off from where it was prior to COVID and it has not recovered as much.” They have a lot of discretionary income and before the pandemic were spending a significant chunk of that going to nice restaurants, the theater, or traveling and staying in nice hotels. Those are precisely the things that have been off-limits since the coronavirus hit. – Read More on NPR
4. Creative directors in luxury fashion have a five-year expiration date: “Five years seems the ‘expiry date’ of successful creative directors,” Bernstein found when looking at the past performance of big luxury companies under more than a dozen different creative directors, the individuals who are responsible for defining the public image of a brand, from overseeing design of the products it sells through guiding the look and feel of its marketing and stores. – Read More on Qz
5. The e-commerce boost is about more than Amazon: The pandemic has acted as an accelerant for e-commerce, and the convenience has staying power even as people emerge from sheltering in place. Morgan Stanley revised its forecast for online sales growth this year to 25%, nearly doubling its previous estimate. That’s an additional $71 billion directed at electronic purchases. – Read More on Reuters
1. What Will the Retail Experience of the Future Look Like? Fewer in-person touches means digital artifacts need to embody brands in deeper, more memorable ways. Brands have an opportunity to embrace media that can communicate the experience of using their products. New capabilities in motion design allow us to capture sensory details and generate new realities. – Read More on HBR
2. Sales Are Going Out of Style at These Retailers: A number of clothing retailers – from Gap to Calvin Klein’s parent company PVH Corp. – have said they would pack away a substantial share of inventory for later seasons—or even next year—instead of subjecting their items to what they think will be a cutthroat season of post-pandemic markdowns. – Read More on WSJ
3. Leather, silk, wool, felt – which fabrics fight the spread of viruses and bacteria? Fashion industry looks for answers: “Each fabric performs differently and there hasn’t been extensive work done on the current strain of coronavirus and its relationship to soft surfaces such as textiles. What we do know is that there are certain textiles that are naturally antibacterial, such as wool, cashmere and silk.” – Read More on SCMP
4. Boohoo is the perfect embodiment of our fast fashion hypocrisy: The fast fashion group has hit a market cap of nearly £5 billion by brilliantly tapping into the zeitgeist of modern day 16 to 30 year-olds, and employing a nimble model – in which it leverages its flexible supply chain, and rapidly evolves both marketing content and product ranges to drive superior growth. – Read More on Forbes
5. Neiman Marcus Obtains Access to $250M with DIP Financing: Neiman Marcus Group has obtained U.S. court approval to get debtor-in-possession financing. The retailer said $250 million is available now and a further $150 million will be available as needed after Sept. 4. The purpose of this court action is to provide financing so that Neiman Marcus can open its stores again after the temporary, pandemic-related closings. – Read More on PYMNTS
1. How Adidas Became the Shoe Industry’s Unwitting Racial Equality Case Study: “First, we need to give credit where it’s long overdue: The success of adidas would be nothing without Black athletes, Black artists, Black employees, and Black consumers. Period.” – Read More on Yahoo
2. What will the luxury market in APAC look like after coronavirus? “Luxury brands that have not invested into consistent brand building, to create meaningful differentiation and desirability, will have to work extra hard to win over consumers that have spent the last few months living in lockdown.” – Read More on the Drum
3. Boats, Pools and Home Furnishings: How the Lockdown Transformed Our Spending Habits: “People have a lot of purchasing power now. They’ve been at home and can’t spend for two months. No restaurants, no bars. People who go to sporting events can’t do that. They were forced to save.” – Read More on WSJ
4. Retail is on the rebound, but smaller businesses are still at risk, National Retail Federation CEO says: Retail sales are picking up again, but … “The big question will be what happens to those small, independent, those midsized companies. Can we get the rest of the economy moving quickly enough that we can bring the small businesses along?” – Read More on CNBC
5. About a third of consumers are shopping at pre-COVID-19 levels. They’re just doing it online. A Mastercard SpendingPulse report found that e-commerce sales increased by 92.7 percent in May, and research by Adobe found a surge in buy online, pickup in-store transactions in April. – Read More on Retail Dive
6. How Kohl’s is surviving retail disruption: Department stores were struggling even before the coronavirus pandemic forced many to close their doors for weeks. But Kohl’s is faring better than many rivals. Perhaps most closely watched is its program that allows Amazon customers to return items to Kohl’s stores for fast and convenient refunds. – Read More on CNBC
1. California is Examining Amazon’s Business Practices: In the midst of an ongoing European Union investigation, California’s review focuses at least in part on how Amazon treats sellers in its online marketplace, these people said. That includes Amazon’s practices for selling its own products in competition with third-party sellers, one of the people said. – Read More on WSJ
2. Forced labor: clothing brands have the chance to press China amid post-virus slowdown, rights advocate says. Hundreds of global companies buy cotton and make goods in Xinjiang, China, where over 1 million Uygurs are estimated to be detained, some doing forced labor. – Read More on SCMP
3. RELATED READ: U.S. Lawmakers Introduce New Bill to Cut Down on Imports of Products Made in Chinese Detention Camps. If enacted, the bill will alter existing law in that it will impose a “‘rebuttable presumption’ that assumes that all goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labor and therefore, banned under the 1930 Tariff Act” – meaning that they will be barred from importation into the U.S. – “unless the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection certifies otherwise.” – Read More on TFL
4. The Future of Retail, Post-Coronavirus: The coronavirus maelstrom could lead to record permanent closures of bricks-and-mortar stores in the U.S. this year, with the possibility of more shutdowns coming as retailers reopen their stores and map out their post-Covid-19 future, experts say. – Read More on WSJ Pro
5. Fashion was broken even before the pandemic: It’s hard to recall a time since the gluttonous 1980s when fashion wasn’t wobbly. But most agree that after the 2008 recession, the industry was never the same. When the economy tanked, Saks Fifth Avenue took the lead in frantically discounting merchandise, and other stores followed. Sales were already nearly incessant in some parts of the business but the recession sparked drastic markdowns of high-end goods. – Read More on the Washington Post