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Category: Fashion

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Fashion news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Superdry in chaos as co-founder gets back in office

    Superdry in chaos as co-founder gets back in office

    UK clothing firm Superdry’s board of directors has resigned following the re-election of the brand’s co-founder Julian Dunkerton to the board.

    Dunkerton was made interim CEO following the immediate resignation of the four board directors and notice given by four non-executive directors in protest of the reappointment, blaming the former board member for the firm’s poor financial performance. Superdry brokers UBS and Investec have also resigned.

    Dunkerton has been publicly critical in recent months of the firm’s management following his departure a year ago.

    The co-founder was reinstated after a slim majority vote of 50.75 per cent. Former Boohoo and Selfridge’s boss Peter Williams has been appointed the firm’s new chairman based on a 50.74 per cent vote.

    “We are very pleased to be joining the board of this great British company,” said the two appointees in a joint statement. “We look forward to rebuilding the Superdry brand and the business.”

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  • Gianvito Rossi Opens Its First SEA Flagship Store in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands

    Gianvito Rossi Opens Its First SEA Flagship Store in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands

    The boutique is a further step in the collaboration between Gianvito Rossi and Milan based architect, Patricia Urquiola. The three backlit logos attract attention towards Gianvito Rossi’s refined world whilst the grand shop window, purposefully designed bilaterally, is the perfect showcase for the designer’s elegant collections.

    As each Gianvito Rossi store retains its unique flavour and individual characteristics, a single undercurrent unites each location reflecting the valued codes of the brand: elegance, feminity, and modernity, as well as impeccable quality and craftsmanship.

    Gianvito Rossi is now open to the public and is located at B1-86/87, Galleria Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

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  • H&M disclosing to customers where their clothes were made

    H&M disclosing to customers where their clothes were made

    Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M announced it will add more information to its products on its website later this month as part of a move to create greater product transparency.

    The new information will allow H&M customers to find out which factory produced a given garment, the material composition and solutions for re-using and recycling products that are worn-out, the company stated on its latest sustainability report.

    According to H&M, the company is making strong progress toward its goal to use 100 per cent recycled or other sustainably-sourced materials by 2030.

    H&M said it saw a 35 per cent increase in its goal to use recycled and other sustainably sourced materials for products, with 57 per cent of all materials classified as “sustainable” in 2018.

    The equivalent figure for cotton was 95 per cent, close to the company’s goal to reach 100 per cent next year.

    “Recycled materials are truly a win-win: they stop waste material from going to landfill and reduce the use of virgin raw materials,” said Cecilia Brännsten, H&M’s environmental sustainability manager.

    “However, for many types of textiles, viable recycling solutions either do not exist or are not commercially available on a large scale.”

    Brännsten said the company has been collaborating with scientists and innovators to increase alternative sustainably sourced materials as quickly as possible.

    H&M has also reported it has reduced its CO2 emissions from operations by a further 11 per cent and has set additional green goals, such as reducing the absolute greenhouse gas emissions in the company’s operations by another 40 per cent by 2030.

    The new goals, which are part of H&M’s vision to become climate positive by 2040, were approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

    The company said it also wanted all packaging used to be made of 100 per cent recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030, a goal which is part of a newly developed packaging strategy.

  • The Athlete’s Foot to open several more stores in New Zealand

    The Athlete’s Foot to open several more stores in New Zealand

    Performance footwear retailer The Athlete’s Foot has confirmed it will be opening at least 12 new stores across New Zealand and Australia in the next year.

    The news comes as the retailer opens a new flagship in Melbourne Central shopping centre in Australia today, featuring a new format that it hopes to replicate in upcoming store openings.

    “We’re not going to waste any time once we’ve proved this concept over the next couple of months,” The Athlete’s Foot general manager Steve Cohen told.

    “I think The Athlete’s Foot hasn’t opened a lot of stores over the last couple of years, and we have the appetite to absolutely get onto the expansion path.

    “If the Melbourne Central flagship works, and we’re confident that it will work, we see another half dozen of these across Australia and New Zealand pretty quickly… plus another half dozen that we’ve highlighted across the country.”

    The new store features an expanded product line and new technology to better suit product to consumer needs, and provides a roadmap for the future of the business.

    “We have had a few different store evolutions, but it’s been a couple of years now since we’ve really gone out and started again,” Cohen told.

    “Being a flagship, it needed to be at the forefront of the performance footwear space. I think our investment in the store, and the way we’ve progressed the whole experience, is leaps and bounds from where we’ve been in the past.”

    For the first time, The Athlete’s Foot has ditched the traditional foot measuring tool, the Brannock, in favour of its new MyFit3D measurement technology, which creates a 3D render of a customer’s feet and measures their gait and pressure points within 1mm.

    This technology is set to be pushed out across the brand’s 140 stores in the next nine months.

    “It gives you a lot more information relating to the consumer’s foot, and it actually ranks their foot relative to the rest of the population,” Cohen said.

    “People like hearing about themselves, so when you put them on the MyFit3D and you show them how long, or wide, or deep their foot is compared to the rest of the population, it’s a nice interactive way to engage with the customer.”

    With a more accurate measurement, the team in the Melbourne Central store will be able to recommend footwear from its expanded product line, which includes exclusive ranges from Asics and New Balance.

    The store also features LED screens that react to consumer behaviour; for instance, by displaying information about a particular shoe after the customer picks it up off the shelf. This keeps customers in the moment, rather than browsing for additional product information on their phones – and potentially purchasing an item online from another retailer.

    “The main thing is that we can be a lot more nimble in our messaging to the consumer [about] our new arrivals, or product or brand that we want to call out in store,” Cohen said.

    “It’s touch screen as well, so if we decide to go down the path of shopping online or engaging with the consumer from a people point of view we can do that as well.”

    The location played a large part in the product line The Athlete’s Foot was able to secure, with suppliers having been asking for a “cutting-edge performance execution” for some time.

    “What we’ve found off the back of that is that the suppliers are giving access to product that we might not have had access to, and we think that this is an exciting step forward for our brand,” Cohen said, indicating this access will filter through the rest of the business moving forward.

  • Fashion Brand Alexander McQueen joins Tmall

    Fashion Brand Alexander McQueen joins Tmall

    British fashion house Alexander McQueen — known for its unique tailoring and audacious designs — has soft-launched a virtual store on the Tmall Luxury Pavilion, Alibaba Group’s platform for luxury and premium brands.

    It will be the first online store in China that’s directly run by the house itself, rather than through a local partner, giving it full creative control over the look and feel of the site, the Pavilion said.

    The luxury brand was founded in 1992 by the late Lee Alexander McQueen, known for combining a respect for traditional craftsmanship with provocative, darkly romantic designs. Today, his eponymous label remains hugely influential, seen as synonymous with modern British couture. Following his death in 2010, Sarah Burton was appointed creative director of the house. Burton, who worked alongside McQueen for 14 years, currently oversees the creative direction of all the brand’s collections.

    The Alexander McQueen brand oversees a network of 73 directly operated brick-and-mortar boutiques, as well as several franchises and specialty stores worldwide, with flagships stores due to open in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2019, per its parent Kering Group.

    The Tmall Luxury Pavilion Alexander McQueen store will officially launch on April 16, featuring items that incorporate images from the John Daekin Archive as part of the designs. The archive manages the work of John Daekin, the 20th-century British photographer who captured the lives of his artist and poet friends in London’s bohemia, Soho.

    Alexander McQueen is the third Kering-owned luxury brand to join the Pavilion, following Hong Kong-based jeweller Qeelin and Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta. Launched in 2017, Tmall Luxury Pavilion now offers more than 100 brands, ranging from apparel and beauty items to watches and luxury cars, including Valentino, Burberry, Tod’s, Versace, Stella McCartney, Moschino, Giuseppe Zanotti, MCM, La Mer, Maserati, LVMH-owned Rimowa, Guerlain, Givenchy, Tag Heuer and Zenith.

    Sherry Lang, MD of Tmall’s luxury division, said the Pavilion helps maisons and premium brands engage with China’s younger generation of consumers, delivering the same brand exclusivity and tailored shopping experience online that they would get in a brick-and-mortar store.

    “We also want to help luxury brands expand their reach in smaller cities and rural areas, where purchasing power is growing, but offer limited access to luxury goods,” said Lang. “The Pavilion is well-positioned to fill that gap.”

    The growth of the Pavilion comes as Chinese consumers drive global high-end spending, with Mainland China’s luxury sales growing 20 per cent to €23 billion ($25.8 billion) last year, according to Bain & Co. The consulting firm forecasts that by 2025, Chinese consumers will account for 46 per cent of the global market, up from 33 per cent last year.

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  • Cole Haan Launches GRANDPRØ TURF SNEAKER Collection for Spring 2019

    Cole Haan Launches GRANDPRØ TURF SNEAKER Collection for Spring 2019

    Cole Haan, the innovative American lifestyle brand and retailer, will be introducing its newest dual gender collection, GRANDPRØ TURF, for Spring 2019. Providing the same featherweight construction as the top-selling GRANDPRØ TENNIS SNEAKER, the GRANDPRØ TURF SNEAKER offers retro style in a sports-inspired silhouette with versatile capability to be dressed up or worn casually.

    An instant classic with featherweight construction & retro T-toe styling

    Minimal, lightweight construction means everything you need and nothing you don’t, as the ultralight Grand foam allows you to move effortlessly. Craft, style and engineering combine to deliver Cole Haan’s operating system for footwear, Grand.ØS. Designed to drastically reduce weight, the Grand.ØS technology mimics the foot’s natural flexibility, offers dynamic breathability and provides responsive cushioning for maximum comfort.

    With silhouettes for both men and women, the GRANDPRØ TURF  features Cole Haan’s proprietary Grand.ØS energy foam integrated throughout the shoe and is fitted with a lightweight, injection-molded EVA sole for flexible ease. With the Grand.ØS technology, the sneaker allows for high rebound and lightweight cushioning that complements the natural running gait cycle of your foot.

    With a classic pivot point integrated onto its forefoot tread pattern, the GRANDPRØ TURF is paired with a rubber bottom for comfort and dual colour contrast effect. For retro finish, the sneaker features waxed handstitch detailing and classic T-toe styling in mixed material accents/full grain leather and crafted.

    The GRANDPRØ TURF collection is now available in Cole Haan Paragon and Suntec City stores.

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  • UNIQLO Announces 19SS UT Collection

    UNIQLO Announces 19SS UT Collection

    The UT collection provides fresh perspectives on an array of pop culture that is perfect for this season, from works by emerging to legendary artists, manga, animations, and other elements of Japanese culture, and games, characters, and other contents. The UT line transforms T-shirts into canvases of art expressing the individuality and tastes of wearers. Offering something for everyone, the range will continue to evolve as exciting and unique LifeWear.

    Giveaway: 500 UTs to be won on UT Trains!

    • From 8 April to 12 May 2019, selected MRT trains on the East-West and North-South lines will be decked out with  UT collections such as JAPAN MANGA, THE GAME by STREET FIGHTER and MARVEL X JASON POLAN.
    • Commuters stand a chance to win a UT by voting for their favourite UT content via the QR code found on the hanger tags on board these special MRT trains.
    • There will be a total of 500 winners who will be notified via email by 19 May 2019.

    New Collection Highlights

    MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM, JAPAN MANGA, and other subculture contents

    ▪      A specially designed UT to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam features key scenes from the first television series, the most impactful for this animation.

    ▪      The UT lineup appeals to everyone, not just fans, such as with items celebrating the manga of Rumiko Takahashi’s “Urusei Yatsura” and “Ranma 1/2”, which are beloved across the generations, as well as items showcasing the hit Detective Conan series in Weekly Shonen Sunday and Weekly Shonen Jump’s wildly popular One Piece.

    Special: Custom Gunpla Display

    ▪      UNIQLO has teamed up with Bandai Namco Singapore and Hobby Art Gallery to put together a one-of-a kind custom Gunpla Kits from local builders.

    ▪      From 25 Mar to 21 Apr 2019, Gundam fans can head to UNIQLO Orchard Central Flagship store to view this special Gunpla Showcase.

    ONE PIECE STAMPEDE UT

    • In collaboration with manga series One Piece and its upcoming 14th film: One Piece Stampede, UNIQLO will be rolling out its ONE PIECE STAMPEDE UT collection in late July.
    • This season, the UT design team and TOEI ANIMATION extended its collaboration to crafting character costume designs supervised by Original author, Eiichiro Oda.

    SUPER MARIO FAMILY MUSEUM UT

    Super Mario has been a favourite worldwide among the young and old, men and women alike, ever since the launch of Super Mario Brothers in 1985. This collection pays tribute to the series that has long been synonymous with video games, with designs that foster communication across generations.

    • The collection features the classic horizontal scroll and 8-bit designs and many of the recurring characters in the series, such as Chain Chomps, Boos, and Goombas.

    Fantasies from the MAGIC FOR ALL collaboration project with Disney

    We continue offering graphics through MAGIC FOR ALL, a global collaboration with Disney Consumer Products that adds a touch of Disney enchantment, Marvel action, Star Wars adventure, and Disney-Pixar creativity to everyday LifeWear fashions.

    ▪      The unique MARVEL X JASON POLAN collaboration highlights such MARVEL superheroes prints as The AVENGERS by renowned New York-based artist Jason Polan.

    ▪      For the third season of MICKEY ART, in addition to Yu Nagaba, we newly harnessed the talents of French graphic designer Genevieve Gauckler, as well as the multi-talented Jeremyville, Esther Kim, the creator of Esther Bunny, and shop signs and graphic artist of NUTS ART WORKS.

    ▪      MICKEY BLUE is inspired by traditional indigo and ocean blue to bring the world together.

    UTs highlighting universally beautiful and sophisticated textile patterns

    ▪      New this season is SCANDINAVIAN PATTERN COLLECTION by northern European designers in various fields. The prints are inspired by simple, everyday life, featuring forest, ocean, and field scenery during the Scandinavian summer.

    ▪      We again showcase the floral motifs of Sanderson, a traditional British interior brand that is renowned for its timeless and elegant designs.

    Redesigned UTs for kids and babies

    ▪      The diverse kids’ UT range incorporates specially redesigned versions of adult UTs for new games, manga, MARVEL X JASON POLAN and other contents. There is also content exclusively for kids, including, SUMIKKOGRASHI and DISCOVERY CHANNEL.

    ▪      For babies, we are adding to our collection of motifs from picture books in which children first interact with art. New designs include Cornelius from picture book master Leo Lionni and prints from David McKee’s ‘Elmer and the Rainbow’.

     

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  • Gianvito Rossi Opens Its First SEA Flagship Store in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands

    Gianvito Rossi Opens Its First SEA Flagship Store in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands

    The boutique is a further step in the collaboration between Gianvito Rossi and Milan based architect, Patricia Urquiola. The three backlit logos attract attention towards Gianvito Rossi’s refined world whilst the grand shop window, purposefully designed bilaterally, is the perfect showcase for the designer’s elegant collections.

    As each Gianvito Rossi store retains its unique flavour and individual characteristics, a single undercurrent unites each location reflecting the valued codes of the brand: elegance, feminity, and modernity, as well as impeccable quality and craftsmanship.

    Gianvito Rossi is now open to the public and is located at B1-86/87, Galleria Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

  • Japanese lingerie brand Wacoal Expanding in India

    Japanese lingerie brand Wacoal Expanding in India

    Premium Japanese lingerie brand Wacoal will invest around ₹100 crore (US$14.5 million) over three years to boost its presence in India.

    A statement released by the firm revealed it will build on its current 11 outlets in the territory to reach 70 exclusive stores and 80 shop in shops across 30 cities.

    The brand will advance sales in India via its partnership with several e-commerce platforms accompanied by an intensive cross-platform marketing and a PR campaign.

    “We have seen an exponential growth seen in the Indian market since Wacoal’s entry in 2015,” said WacoalCorp representative director, president and corporate officer Tomoyasu Ito.

    “With this expansion, we aim to explore its full potential, and further solidify our position as a leading entity in the country’s luxury lingerie market. Our presence in additional metros will introduce a wider audience to the fit and comfort of our innerwear, crucial elements in the life of the modern woman.

    “Our stellar success since launch has rapidly established Wacoal as an indispensable part of India’s inner-wear scene, showcasing India as a mature market with a desire for Wacoal’s innovative, timeless collections.”

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  • Zivame Lingerie raises expansion capital to expand in India

    Zivame Lingerie raises expansion capital to expand in India

    Indian lingerie retailer Zivame has raised about US$8.6 million to fund expansion.

    The funds were raised through Allana Investment and Trading Company, in a round led by existing investor Zodius Technology and individual investors.

    The new capital will be used for store expansion, technology augmentation, product development and omnichannel strategy. Zivame now has more than 30 offline retail stores, and aims to expand to more than 60 in the next year.

    “The funding will enable us to further enhance our footprint and leadership in existing and newer markets as we continue to build on our mission to be the destination for women for all her intimate needs,” said Amisha Jain, Zivame CEO.

    “We continue to build the category as the Indian lingerie market is largely unorganised and under-served.”

    The company plans to a larger fundraising round in coming months.

    Founded in 2011 as a marketplace for lingerie brands, Zivame has expanded into fashion apparel, activewear, sleepwear, and shapewear as well as developed its private labels including Penny and Coucou.

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  • Sephora Hong Kong Reopening Soon

    Sephora Hong Kong Reopening Soon

    Makeup superstore Sephora has confirmed its widely anticipated return to Hong Kong in physical store form.

    The LVMH-owned cosmetics retailer will sublease a 4000sqft space in the Zara store at IFC Mall in Central, nine years after it closed its last store in the territory.

    Despite its physical absence in the market, Sephora Hong Kong has continued to sell products online to loyal customers.

    The last Sephora Hong Kong store traded for just two years in Mong Kok, closing in 2010. At the time, retail commentators said the brand failed due to poor store location, lacklustre marketing and high rents.

    Sephora is popular in Mainland China and has stores across Southeast Asia trading profitably, especially in Singapore and Malaysia.

    According to news reports in Chinese media, Sephora has subleased the space from Zara for HK$2 million (US$254,800) per month.

  • Chanel Opens Flagship Store in Seoul

    Chanel Opens Flagship Store in Seoul

    A new Chanel South Korea flagship has opened in Seoul.

    The Cheongdam-dong boutique opening provided the opportunity for the brand to unveil its latest ready-to-wear collection alongside its capsule accessories collaboration with musician Pharrell Williams, who performed at the event.

    The capsule collection is a bright combination of pop music and street-art motifs, and is currently selling at the new Seoul store, pending global release on April 4.

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  • VF Corp names Daughter Company Kontoor Brands

    VF Corp names Daughter Company Kontoor Brands

    Kontoor Brands – that’s the name chosen for the denim-led fashion business being spun off by VF Corporation next month.

    The US branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories company released an update on the plan, announcing its has filed the necessary regulatory paperwork to start the process rolling.

    Kontoor Brands, to be publicly listed, will take over the Wrangler, Lee and Rock & Republic brands, along with VF’s outlet business.

    “Our teams across VF have made tremendous progress to prepare for the successful separation of Kontoor Brands from VF and this filing is a significant next step in this process,” said Steve Rendle, chairman, president and CEO of VF Corporation. “We are highly confident that the separation is the best path forward for both organisations to achieve even greater potential and enhance long-term shareholder value.”

    He said the split is on track to be completed next month, subject to final approval by VF’s board, customary regulatory approvals, and tax and legal considerations.

    “Today’s filing marks an important milestone in the process of establishing Kontoor Brands as an independent company,” said Scott Baxter, named CEO of Kontoor Brands. “As we prepare for life as a separate, publicly traded organisation, I am confident that Kontoor Brands is strongly positioned to thrive as a leader in the global apparel industry and deliver long-term value for all of our stakeholders.”

    VF’s decision to split the business in two was announced last August. Rendle said at the time that since 2017, the company had been reshaping of its brand portfolio to better position the company for long-term success. In that time, VF had bought Williamson-Dickie, and the Icebreaker and Altra brands, and sold Nautica and its Licensed Sports Group, including the Majestic brand. The brands that will remain in VF’s portfolio include Vans, The North Face, JanSport, Timberland, Smartwool and Eagle Creek.

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  • Shiseido Global Innovation Center Commences Full-Scale Operation

    Shiseido Global Innovation Center Commences Full-Scale Operation

    Shiseido’s new research hub, the Shiseido Global Innovation Center (GIC, also referred to as S/PARK), will commence full-scale operation in the Minato Mirai 21 area in Yokohama, Japan from April. As an urban open lab, the GIC supports and promotes comprehensive communication and collaboration with consumers, researchers, business partners and experts inside and outside of Japan, achieving new, flexible and diverse working styles and inspiring researchers’ creativity and imaginations through the state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment of its newly styled offices. Through these activities, Shiseido achieves “the fusion of diverse people and knowledge” to create unprecedented value. The GIC will open its public communication spaces on the first and second floors starting Saturday, April 13, 2019 and welcomes the interaction of visitors. By creating and communicating innovations of Japanese origin beyond borders and across industries, Shiseido strives to accomplish its new corporate mission, BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD.

    R&D policy

    Shiseido Company, Limited (“Shiseido”) was established as a Western-style pharmacy in 1872, and opened its Testing Room in 1916 for the purposes of product development and improvement. Since then, Shiseido has created high-quality products on the strength of its fundamental research into sensitivity analysis, safety and reliability, and dermatology for over 100 years. Today, Shiseido’s global research centers, located in five countries including Japan, are engaged in various research and development activities to study and analyze the skin conditions and makeup activities of consumers in each region. Going forward, and aiming to take the lead in an ever-diverse global market, Shiseido will enhance its research in digital and environmental technologies. In addition, the company will accelerate its research and development centered on three key categories: 1) The Cosmetics, the improvement cosmetics research, 2) New Category, the proposal of unprecedented areas on the cosmetics spectrum, and 3) Unlimited Beauty, the exploration of new beauty solutions going beyond cosmetics. To this end, Shiseido will shift its research style, integrating outside expertise with its continuing focus on new findings. Through these activities, Shiseido offers new value and aims to “Be a Global Winner with Our Heritage.”

    GIC (S/PARK) overview

    The first and second floors of the GIC are a dedicated open communication space where visitors and researchers can interact, offering various content based on the concept of “get inspired by beauty.” The open communication spaces are produced by Mr. Kundo Koyama (Orange and Partners) and designed by Mr. Naoki Sato (nendo). The collaboration area on the fourth floor includes a lab for joint research with outside institutes and a space for business negotiations, which is quite unique for a research center. Superior research facilities and equipment to support various fundamental research are installed on the fifth through fifteenth floors. Thanks to an out-of-the-box office layout, researchers can pursue more flexible and diverse working styles, while ad hoc work and communication spaces welcome to the free-flowing exchange of ideas and opinions.

  • H&M beats expectations says Audit

    H&M beats expectations says Audit

    Fast fashion giant H&M reported first quarter results on Friday, exceeding expectations on both profit and margin, which it cited as proof that its turnaround strategy is working.

    The global retailer’s pre-tax profit was 1.04 billion Swedish crowns (A$157.58 billion) for the quarter running from December 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019, less than the 1.26 billion Swedish crowns it posted in the previous corresponding period. But this was well ahead of the 708 million that analysts had been expecting.

    Gross margin was 50.0 per cent, up from 49.9 per cent in the previous corresponding period, while analysts had been anticipating a fall to 49.4 per cent.

    H&M said this was the result of ongoing improvements in buying and logistics, which led to a 1.5 percentage point reduction in the markdowns in relation to sales, compared to the corresponding quarter the previous year.

    “Our ongoing transformation work has contributed to stronger collections with increased full-price sales, lower markdowns and increased market shares,” Karl-Johan Persson, H&M’s CEO, said in a statement accompanying the results.

    “Sales developed well both in stores and online in many markets, including Sweden which grew by 11 per cent, the UK by 8 per cent, Poland by 15 per cent, China by 16 per cent and India by 42 per cent in local currencies.”

    H&M has also been working to improve its online offering by launching e-commerce sites in new markets, integrating digital and physical stores and providing faster delivery options. The retailer also said it will launch an upgraded loyalty programme, which has 35 million members, shortly.

    Today, H&M is available online in 47 markets, and Mexico and Egypt will be added in 2019. It is also launching on Myntra and Jabong, India’s largest e-commerce marketplaces, later this year.

    Rival fast fashion giant Zara has made a similar e-commerce push. It is now available in over 200 markets online. The chain’s parent company Inditex last year announced its plan to make every brand available online, including in markets where it doesn’t have any physical stores.

    H&M said it plans to add 175  net new stores to its network in 2019. Most of these stores will open in growth markets, while the number of stores in Europe is expected to reduce by 50.

    “The rapid transformation of fashion retail continues and we can see that our own transformation work is taking us in the right direction, even if many challenges remain and there is still hard work to do,” Persson said.

    “The progress we have made in our strategic focus areas confirms that we are on the right track. Therefore we continue moving forward at full speed and we are optimistic about the future for the H&M group.”

    H&M’s strategic focus areas include:

    • creating the best customer offering
    • fast, efficient flexible product flow in the supply chain, including initiatives within advanced data analytics and AI
    • continued investment in the tech foundation, including scalable and robust platforms to enable faster development of new apps and technologies
    • digital expansion into new markets
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