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French fashion house Dior will launch its personalised ABCDior pop-up store in Singapore.
Located at the Dior boutique in Marina Bay Sands, the pop up will allow customers to embroider their names, initials or letters on a selection of Dior goods, ranging from its Book Tote, the Diorcamp bags, as well as the Walk ‘n’ Dior sneakers.
These items are made in the Oblique canvas, featuring the interlocking Dior logo.
The pop-up will run from June 20 to July 14.
The rate of China retail sales growth rose for the second consecutive month in May, buoyed by the holiday season.
According to government data, retail sales rose 8.6 percent, which followed 8.3 percent growth in April and 7.2 percent in March.
The strongest-performing categories were cosmetics, where sales rose by 16.7 percent, food up 11.4 percent, beverages up 12.7 percent, and daily goods, up 11.4 percent.
The weakest categories included apparel and footwear, down 4.1 percent, and jewelry, down 4.7 percent.
Despite efforts by the Chinese government to encourage consumers to upgrade home appliances, that sector remained subdued, growing at 5.8 percent in May and 6.4 percent year to date.
The growth rate encouraged Jeffries Hong Kong equity analyst Summer Wang to express confidence in Chinese retail companies.
“We stay bullish on function-led premiumization and content-driven consumption,” she said in a research note.
May’s China retail sales growth exceeded the consensus of analysts by about half a percentage point. Excluding inflation, the growth rate was estimated at 6.4 percent in May, following 5.1 percent in April.
Urban sales rose 8.5 percent, while rural sales were up 9 percent.
Sales of goods online grew by 21.7 percent in May and now account for 18.9 percent of total China retail sales.
Luxury fashion house Chanel has dispelled rumours it was planning a stock market listing after posting higher annual sales and profits on Monday.
The company also announced it is not for sale.
The French fashion label, owned by the Wertheimer family, said sales rose to nearly $11.1 billion (A$21.29 billion) in the year under the late designer Karl Lagerfeld who passed away last February.
This is only the second time the luxury brand has publicly announced its results in its 109-year history.
According to a CNBC report, Chanel’s chief financial officer Philippe Blondiaux had said the company was not for sale and has denied IPO claims.
“We’ve got to live with the fact that we are one of the most desirable brands in the market,” Blondiaux said. “These rumours will unfortunately keep coming back on a regular basis.”
“Chanel needs to remain independent, in order to have the freedom to make choices that go against the grain, such as no longer using exotic animal skins, or by harmonising prices.”
The fashion house, which was founded by Coco Chanel in 1910, announced it saw a 12.5 per cent increase in its 2018 revenues to $11.12 billion, while net profits rose 16.4 per cent to $2.17 billion.
The company has seen growth across all of its markets last year, led by Asia Pacific where sales increased 19.9 per cent. Sales in Europe rose 7.8 per cent and in the Americas 7.4 per cent.
The report indicated strong demand from wealthy Chinese consumers both in Europe and overseas has fuelled higher sales and profits in the luxury industry, in spite of a trade dispute between the United States and China.
Virginie Viard took over as Chanel’s new creative chief and delivered her first solo collection last month for the brand.
Australian luxury lingerie retailer Honey Birdette has opened its second US store in San Diego, California, saying two more stores will be opened in the state in the coming months.
The newly opened 74sqm store is located on the ground level of Westfield UTC and features Honey Birdette’s complete range of lingerie, bondage, latex, accessories and toys.
The store has an ornate gold-tiled arch to welcome guests, with an individually cut-Italian glass mirrored storefront, and a salon inside.
It includes two private dressing rooms fitted with ‘press for champagne’ buttons and custom-made whisky bar carts to offer customers a VIP experience.
The new store also displays a limited-edition rose gold, rope and leather sex swing, which, according to the retailer, has not yet been seen at any other Honey Birdette boutique.
“We are focused on creating individual design concepts for all of our future boutiques and each footprint will have its own unique element,” said Eloise Monaghan, Honey Birdette managing director.
“Some might have a champagne bar for example, a private salon in one, a stage in another or a catwalk.”
Two Honey Birdette stores will open in California soon and are currently under construction. One will be in Westfield Valley Fair and will open in July, and the other in Brea Mall will open in August.
The retailer also announced they plan to open one more store in the state and another one on the East Coast but have yet to confirm the locations.
Last year, the retailer said it will open 15 stores in the US over the next 12 to 24 months.
The lingerie brand now has 57 stores across Australia, three in the UK and two in the US.
Gentle Monster Kids makes its debut in Singapore at its Marina Bay Sands flagship.
Inspired by young creators and “little kids with big dreams”, the collection includes six designs: Chapssal, Eastmoon, Jackbye, Newturtle, Peggy, and Ribbon.
The Chapssal tortoise cat-eye frames feature narrow, UV protection lenses with raised corners, etched with the Gentle Monster logo.
These designs are shrunken versions of the brand’s signature pieces from its 2019 range, and are made through a campaign that features Coco Pink Princess, an eight-year-old Instagram style icon from Japan.
Clothing retailer Inditex has posted record first-quarter sales and a rise in profits helped by the retailer’s push of stitching together its online and physical businesses.
The fashion retailer’s online business, which accounts for 12 per cent of its net sales, and expansion plans have contributed to its robust first quarter sales of €5.927 billion ($10.18 billion), up 5 per cent from last year’s €5.654 billion ($9.56 billion).
Net profit amounted to €734 million ($1.26 billion), up more than 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2018. The company’s net cash position increased by 9 per cent to €6.66 billion ($11.44 billion).
The retailer, which owns the brands Zara and Pull & Bear, said its in-store and online sales showed a 9.5 per cent increase in local currencies between May 1 and June 7 – up from the 6.5 per cent in the previous corresponding period.
“The figures demonstrate the solidarity of the company’s model, whose profitability and cash flow generation continues to grow owing to the group’s commitment to customer-driven quality fashion,” said Pablo Isla, Inditex’s chairman and outgoing CEO.
Isla underscored the strong momentum in the digital transformation of the integrated store and online sales platform and sustainability as key pillars of the company’s strategy.
Last month, the retailer has named chief operating officer Carlos Crespo as its new chief executive to spearhead a bigger push into e-commerce.
Crespo will continue in his existing position until his appointment as CEO becomes effective in July, when he will begin taking some of the responsibilities currently held by executive chairman and current CEO Pablo Isla, the company announced.
The appointment of Crespo, who oversaw the integration of Inditex’s online and bricks-and-mortar stores, puts an emphasis on the retail giant’s digital efforts amid changing consumer habits.
Last year, Isla announced all products from all Inditex’s brands will be made available online by 2020, including markets where it does not have any stores.
Other than Zara and Pull & Bear, the world’s largest clothing retailer also sells the brands, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Uterque across its network of almost 7,500 physical shops. It also operates online in 49 markets.
Isla also said all of the group’s brands will be adopting an integrated stock management system by 2020 in all the countries where there is a physical store presence.
H&M Group’s womenswear brand & Other Stories will launch a Tmall flagship store in the fall, making the Alibaba Group-owned B2C online marketplace the label’s first official sales channel in China.
The Tmall store will offer collections designed by its three ateliers in Paris, Stockholm and Los Angeles, ranging from shoes, bags and jewelry to accessories and ready-to-wear items, according to a release.
“This collaboration marks another important milestone in our long-standing partnership with H&M Group brands, and we look forward to continue working together to bring elevated shopping experiences to Chinese consumers,” said Jessica Liu, GM of Tmall Fashion and Luxury.
& Other Stories will be the fourth H&M brand to join Tmall, following the Swedish fashion group’s namesake H&M brand and home-accessories brand H&M Home last year. H&M’s street-style label Monki opened a flagship store in 2016. The fast-fashion giant also owns denim lines Weekday and Cheap Monday, boutique-style label Cos, as well as the fashion-and-lifestyle brand Arket.
“We look forward to the launch this autumn and can’t wait to get to know our Chinese customers and seeing their interpretations of our wardrobe treasures,” & Other Stories MD Sanna Lindberg said.
Launched in 2013, & Other Stories operates 70 stores worldwide, while its online shop currently delivers to 15 countries in Europe, the U.S. and Korea.
Fast-fashion company Pomelo has launched a Singapore flagship store at 313@somerset.
The largest Pomelo store to date, and the first outside of its native Thailand, the store boosts the online-to-offline brand’s Southeast Asian presence to nine outlets. The firm’s regional expansion represents a bid to apply its business model to the Southeast Asian fashion and lifestyle industry.
The more than 6000sqft Singapore flagship will house Pomelo’s full catalog of 8000 products across different lines. Pomelo’s first cosmetics line, Beet, launched in April 2019, will also be sold at the store. The Singapore store will also stock collections tailored to local tastes, including seasonal collections for Ramadan, Christmas, and Chinese New Year.
“Delivering the best customer experience has always been a key tenet of our business, and what works for one market may not necessarily work for another,” said Pomelo Fashion CEO David Jou. “Our research shows that Singaporeans shop very differently from Thais, with workwear, modest wear, occasionwear and beachwear being particularly popular in Singapore. Responding to this consumer demand, we have made it a point to stock these styles in our Singapore store.”
While Pomelo has already served the Singapore market for six years, the flagship store rounds out Pomelo’s omnichannel strategy, offering customers a seamless online-to-offline experience across desktop, mobile and offline channels.
“Our omnichannel strategy is built upon our ability to provide a variety of retail options,” said Jou. “Features like Pomelo Pick Up, which allow customers to try on their online purchases and only pay for what they take home have proven to be extremely successful in Thailand. As a fashion brand with tech DNA that places customer experience at the forefront, we’re excited to finally launch a core tech-driven Pomelo offering to better meet the needs of our Singapore shoppers.”
Under the Pomelo Pick Up system, customers looking to pick up their online orders can do so by scanning a QR code at a self-service kiosk before proceeding to a fast lane to collect their packages. To check the fit, they can then try on the items they have picked out in a fitting room booked on in-store mini iPads.
After reporting another full-year loss last month struggling footwear retailer Le Saunda said it was expecting a return to same-store sales growth after the bulk of its restructuring program had been implemented.
Yesterday, however, the company reported a first-quarter slump in sales of 25.2 per cent. Same-store Le Saunda sales fell 6.6 per cent and online sales were down 16.1 per cent.
The company did not release sales figures in currency terms, just percentage changes – and it reminded shareholders that the data was based on unaudited operational data.
Last financial year the company closed 126 stores, but as of May 31 this year, store count was down 178 outlets compared with the same period last year, suggesting the closures are continuing.
Announcing the results last month, chairman James Ngai said the company’s objective in the new financial year was to return to same-store sales growth to improve overall performance.
“After this year’s restructuring exercise, the group believes that its physical store network has resumed to a relatively healthy level. The management team will continue to monitor closely the operating performances and timely eliminate low-efficient stores so that we can concentrate our resources in developing new stores with greater growth potential,” he said.
However this month’s trading update suggests substantial work has yet to be completed before Le Saunda returns to positive sales growth – and profitability. Ngai’s comments were reported on May 22, just nine days before the end of the quarter in which the company’s sales performance was trending in the opposite direction to his upbeat comments.
As at May 31, the group had 486 outlets in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Of those 428 were self-owned outlets across the markets and 58 were franchised stores on the mainland.
Chinese conglomerate Fosun is looking to sell a stake in its luxury fashion business, which includes Lanvin.
According to a report by Bloomberg, an investor is being sought for the Fosun Fashion unit to help revamp and grow the business.
Fosun’s fashion division owns shareholdings of varying size in German fashion retailer Tom Tailor,US women’s fashion label St John Knits, Greek jeweller Follie Folli and Italian suit maker Raffaele Caruso. The company’s industrial division owns a majority stake in Wolford, the Austrian textile maker.
Bloomberg reports Fosun is seeking US$100 million and is negotiating with several prospective partners including Asian family businesses.
Investors who come on board may stand to gain from an IPO of Fosun Fashion in Paris under consideration for several years in the future, according to Bloomberg sources.
In the meantime, the capital would be used to grow the brands and boost profitability.
If a suitable partner cannot be located, Fosun may invest more of its own funds in the business.
PVH Corp has named Cheryl Abel-Hodges as the new Calvin Klein CEO, replacing Steve Shiffman.
Abel-Hodges had previously served as group president, Calvin Klein North America and The Underwear Group. In her new role, she reports to Stefan Larsson, PVH’s president.
Since joining PVH in 2006, Abel-Hodges has held various leadership positions across the organisation. As group president for Calvin Klein North America, she helped set the strategic direction for the brand, driving a consumer-centric approach. Within The Underwear Group, Abel-Hodges led the development of PVH’s underwear platform, overseeing design, merchandising, product development and planning for all of PVH’s underwear and women’s intimates businesses.
“I have great confidence that Cheryl is the right person to lead the Calvin Klein brand,” said PVH Corp chairman and CEO Emanuel Chirico. “Her strong management abilities, together with her consistent track record for operational excellence, will provide strong direction for the Calvin Klein team. I believe this leadership change, coupled with our incredible management teams around the world, will allow us to capture the brand’s long-term growth potential.”
Outgoing Calvin Klein CEO Steve Shiffman is leaving the company to pursue other interests.
PVH’s brand portfolio includes Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
Zara is outpacing archrival H&M in one of their fastest-growing markets, Vietnam.
Zara Vietnam’s revenue reached US$73 million last year, six times the 2017 figure.
The Spanish fast-fashion retailer has opened two stores in Vietnam – one in Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City.
During three years of operations, Zara Vietnam has achieved US$128 million. Rival H&M, which runs seven Vietnam stores, reportedly achieved revenue of $33 million last year, double that of its first year in the country.
Along with three other Inditex’s brands, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius, Zara is distributed by Indonesia’s Mitra Adiperkasa Group.
According to Mitra Adiperkasa’s financial report, Zara remains its main revenue earner and Vietnam is its second-largest market after Indonesia.
The company’s revenues in Vietnam last year were almost double the previous year’s figure and four times higher than its sales in Thailand.
Global apparel, footwear and accessories retailer VF Corporation is entering an exclusive collaboration with environmental charity Redress to deliver the Redress Design Award 2019 x VF Challenge in Hong Kong.
The award is the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition and works to educate emerging fashion designers around the world about sustainable design techniques to drive growth towards a circular fashion system.
The collaboration is being supported by financial contributions from VF and charitable grants from the VF Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation funded by VF Corporation.
“This collaboration presents a unique opportunity for VF to provide mentorship to the next generation of fashion leaders while also learning from them,” said VF executive VP & group president APAC region Kevin Bailey, “all with an emphasis on advancing a more sustainable business model for our industry.”
VF’s collaboration with Redress will provide 10 shortlisted emerging designers the opportunity to learn from one of the world’s foremost leaders in apparel and footwear.
Designers will present their competition collections on September 5th at the live Grand Final at Centrestage in Hong Kong.
Shares in UK-headquartered Ted Baker slumped 25 per cent as the latest financial results show the fashion label may be losing its mojo.
After years of strong growth, the previously infallible Ted Baker says retail revenue fell by 1.1 per cent on a reported basis, and by 2.9 per cent at constant currency during the 19 weeks to June 8. The company warned shareholders its profit for the current financial year may fall by as much as 20 per cent to somewhere in the range of £50 million to £60 million.
CEO Lindsay Page blamed the result on weaker trading due to unseasonable weather in North America and a highly promotional retail environment worldwide which impacted on gross margins.
“As a team, we are proactively addressing the challenges we face as an industry,” said Page.
“Several of our new product initiatives will commence imminently and we are confident in our collections for the coming season. We are relentlessly focused on achieving cost efficiencies as well as further cost savings throughout the business.”
Sofie Willmott, lead retail analyst at GlobalData, believes Ted Baker is suffering from overexposure.
“As a result of its past success and demand for the brand, Ted Baker products are widely available from department store players like John Lewis and House of Fraser, and online pureplays including Asos and Very.co.uk. But overexposure can damage brand appeal particularly when it is positioned at a premium level.
“Alongside this, the struggles of department store retailers coupled with the misconduct allegations against the brand’s founder, Ray Kelvin, who stepped down permanently in March, will not have helped its performance. To reverse its sales decline, Ted Baker must rein in the number of distribution partners it has, to reaffirm its premium positioning.”
Willmott said Ted Baker has reached a point where “it will either sink or swim”.
“For the brand to be able to survive without its former leader and retain its loyal shopper base, it must seize the opportunity to shake up the business and re-establish its brand identity.”
New 460sqm boutique at IconSiam was designed by Milan-based Studiopepe. A new Jaspal concept store has opened at IconSiam in Bangkok, designed by Milan-based Studiopepe and featuring local materials.
The 460sqm flagship store is the Thai fashion label’s largest to date and provides a contemporary backdrop to Jaspal’s collections using contrasting materials. The store uses large columns affixed with handmade ceramics and a tile motif that extends throughout the retail area in an homage to traditional local craftsmanship while still sticking close to the brand’s colour scheme.
“The concept is based on the interpretation of the free plan, a fluid and continuous design that incorporates different spaces without setting any barriers,” the studio explained, in a profile published by Dezeen.
“The repetition of vertical lines contrasts the soft forms of the furnishings, while rough materials are juxtaposed with glossy and lacquered surfaces.”
Mannequins are positioned to appear to have climbed a circular display of ladder-like shelves in one part of the store and the fitting room area features diamond-shaped natural wood blocks on the walls to create a graphic 3D look.
The brand marked the opening featuring its limited edition collaboration with London-based artist Lynnie Z, one of a series of partnerships between Jaspal and global artists to ensure that unique styles emerge each season.