Daily LInks
1. Amazon Beats Walmart Again in Latest Showdown: As Amazon and Walmart each try to gain an edge or neutralize advantages seen in the other, the end result is that the two are becoming more like one other. How successful each is with these moves and countermoves will shape how their rivalry plays out for years to come. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Nike’s sales almost return to pre-coronavirus levels thanks to digital growth: The athletic apparel reported that while it’s still not seeing the same in-store traffic that it was a year ago, it’s digital sales are up 82%, even as more than 90% of its stores were reopened. Nike’s benefitted from seeing a huge increase in downloads of its apps, which include its main Nike shopping app, Nike Train Club, and Nike Run Club. – Read More on Modern Retail
3. Can Luxury Fashion Ever Regain Its Luster? The industry is trying to reach customers amid a severe global recession that has brought mass layoffs and plunging sales. “Brands like Hermes and Chanel, who never discount, are less trend-led and, with product ranges that sell through multiple seasons, have emerged in particularly good shape.” – Read More on the New York Times
4. RETRO READ: How Do You Sell Luxury in a Recession? You Ditch the Logos. The shunning of seasonal, trend-specific wares during times of market discord goes beyond Gucci and in fact, such an aversion to non-classic accessories and trend-fleeting garments was demonstrated no better than by the success of Hermès and it’s staple leather goods throughout the recession. The 170-plus year old luxury brand and its $7,000-plus Birkin bags “was one of a handful of luxury brands that not only weathered the global financial crisis but thrived,” Newsweek asserted in 2010. – Read More on TFL
5. In China, Green Shoots For Luxury Spending To Prove Fragile? Online sales were up more than 13% in August, which is less than the nearly 19% that was seen in July. That may imply that at least some sales are shifting to brick-and-mortar locations. – Read More on PYMNTS
6. A new way of living and dressing: “We are no longer dressing to be seen. Our priorities have shifted to demand maximum comfort.” Case in point: On one day in March, menswear brand Band of Outsiders sold more than a 1,000 sweatshirts. – Read More on BBC