Daily LInks
1. ‘Made in Iran’ Thrives in Economy Trump Tried to Crush: Small companies are filling the vacuum for consumer goods as tens of millions of Iranians struggle to buy foreign brands. A dearth of competition from global brands and low labor costs keep prices affordable and their margins healthy. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. China’s turbo-charged online fashion takes on Zara and H&M: China’s Shein has reached a total of 229.4 million downloads globally for its mobile app, versus H&M’s 123.5 million and Zara’s 90.6 million, the data shows. Aiming squarely at the “Gen Z” social-media generation, it is using influencers on Instagram and TikTok, and discount codes, to attract younger shoppers in an increasingly crowded fashion market. – Read More on Reuters
3. RETRO READ: Shein, the Burgeoning E-Commerce Company Selling Cheap Dresses & Swastika Necklaces to Millennials Across the Globe. Despite its robust business, Shein’s name has not garnered the same level of consumer recognition as fellow digitally-native fast fashion entities like Fashion Nova or Missguided, and instead, has been grouped in with other low-cost, low-quality Chinese companies like Romwe, DressLily, ModLily, and Zaful, among others. – Read More on TFL
4. LVMH Is Firing on the One Cylinder That Matters: Louis Vuitton and Dior are the group’s biggest profit engines, with the lucrative fashion and leather division generating around two-thirds of total operating profits in normal times. There are problems in every other part of the business, however. A slump in travel retail hit sales of watches and jewelry, as well as LVMH’s perfume and cosmetics brands. – Read More on the WSJ
5. RELATED READ: LVMH Says Rihanna’s Fenty Clothing Line Is a “Work in Progress.” LVMH CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony says, “On Fenty fashion, we are obviously still in a launching phase and we have to figure out exactly what is the right offer. It’s not something that is easy. We were starting entirely from scratch.” – Read More on WWD
6. A millennials love affair: China’s second-hand luxury goods market booms. Chinese consumers have traditionally shunned second-hand goods, though that has undergone a shift over the past decade or so led by younger, more environmentally conscious consumers looking for affordable high-end goods. – Read More on Reuters
