1. Three Very Different Retailers and What They Say About the U.S. Consumer: Referring to the entire apparel industry, Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti wrote: “We remain bullish on US apparel category sales through back to school and holiday 2021.” – Read More on Barron’s

2. European Companies, Flush with Cash, Turn to Stock Buybacks: This year has seen a slew of companies in Europe putting forward share repurchase programs, including luxury house LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, personal care company L’Oréal SA and oil major Eni Around 56 firms have released plans to buy their own shares so far in 2021. – Read More on the WSJ

3. Transparent fashion: Would you pay to know how your clothes are made? Transparency is largely the antithesis of what has helped turn the fashion industry into a $2.4 trillion business in recent decades. The sector has drawn increasing criticism for generating profits that have come at a cost further down the supply chain, which often went unseen. – Read More on CGTN

4. JD.com beats market expectations as COVID-19 boom persists: Net revenue at JD.com, China’s largest e-commerce company by revenue, rose 39% to 203.2 billion yuan ($31.57 billion) in the quarter ended March 31, topping analysts’ average estimate of 191.83 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. – Read More on Reuters

5. RELATED READ: With New Louis Vuitton Partnership, JD.com Inches Forward in $54 Billion Fight of Chinese Luxury Buyers.  The partnership is “a creative way for Vuitton” – which sells exclusively through its own stores and e-commerce sites – “to increase its online reach in China, and deliver further growth for the brand,” all without being to a lack of control that comes with listing on a third-party platform, something that most luxury brands have traditionally shunned. – Read More on TFL