Daily LInks
1. Bezos Says Retail Is Much More Competitive Than Phone Market: “Consumers can shop at dozens of large national retailers, hundreds of regional retailers, hundreds of thousands of small retailers, both online and in-store. It’s a very healthy industry, and it’s far from a winner-take-all situation, and we’re still a small fraction of retail.” – Read More on Bloomberg
2. As masks fall out of fashion, Etsy sellers ask themselves, ‘now what?’ Last year, the pandemic turned face masks into a wardrobe staple. Sellers big and small benefited from the trend. Etsy said cloth masks had erupted into the hottest new product category on its platform last summer. In August, the company said 110,000 sellers on its marketplace had sold as many as 29 million face masks, totaling $346 million. – Read More on CNN
3. Michael Kors parent expects sales growth as luxury demand rebounds: Demand for luxury apparel and bags has rebounded as people resume traveling and begin to socialize after being stuck at home for more than a year, while a big stimulus program in the U.S. is expected to boost spending in the first half of the year. – Read More on CNBC
4. Chinese Shoppers, Stuck in China, Revive Local Malls: In 2019, Chinese consumers spent around €64 billion, or the equivalent of $77.3 billion, on luxury goods when traveling abroad, or more than twice the amount they spent at home in mainland China, according to Bain-Altagamma 2020 Worldwide Luxury Market Monitor. – Read More on the WSJ
5. RETRO READ: How a Decline in Chinese Tourists Around the World Has Hit the Luxury Sector. The coronavirus pandemic has not reduced the luxury appetite among China’s wealthy post-90s generation to travel and spend. A survey from April this year found that almost 60 percent of this group who had delayed their purchase plans would return to spending once the outbreak was over in China. And a number of luxury businesses reported a big rise in spending following the easing of lockdown restrictions in China, including jewelry brand Tiffany and fashion house Burberry. – Read More on TFL
