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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.

  • Avery Baker resigns from Tommy Hilfiger

    Avery Baker resigns from Tommy Hilfiger

    Tommy Hilfiger will jettison the chief brand officer role following the departure of incumbent Avery Baker in June, the fashion label has confirmed. Baker has announced plans to step down from the job in June. The marketer will then rejoin the company on a consulting basis, primarily as part of a new brand advisory board staffed by external advisors and chief executive officer Daniel Grieder.

    Baker’s C-suite brand responsibilities will be divided among other senior members of staff. She is currently responsible for global marketing, communications, brand strategy, creative direction for product design, global licensing and creative services.

    The marketer joined the PVH-owned company in 1998. She landed the chief marketing officer title in 2011 after a stint as executive vice-president of global communications and marketing.

    She was named chief brand officer in 2014.

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  • Shandong Ruyi buys Invista’s global Lycra business

    Shandong Ruyi buys Invista’s global Lycra business

    Chinese textile and retail investment company Shandong Ruyi has bought the US-based Lycra business for an undisclosed sum. Shandong Ruyi, whose retail investments include Aquascutum and SMCP (Sandro, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot), will take over the world-famous lycra brand, all assets and contracts relating to Lycra from current owner Invista and rename the business The Lycra Company.

    Lycra’s CEO Dave Trerotola said in a statement the company was fortunate to have been acquired by Shandong Ruyi.

    “[The] company shares our vision and our commitment to delivering high-quality products, technical expertise, and unmatched marketing support to our valued customers,” he said.

    The new company will operate as an independent subsidiary, and will continue to manufacture advanced fibre and technology solutions for the apparel and hygiene industries. The Lycra Company also owns a raft of consumer and trade brand names, including Lycra HyFit, Lycra T400, L by Lycra, Coolmax, Thermolite, Elaspan, Supplex, Tactel, and Terathane.

    “With the continued investment of Ruyi, we look forward to working with our customers to bring exciting innovations to market. Our new shareholder’s textile and retail experience will be a tremendous asset as we develop differentiated fibres that deliver the lasting performance benefits consumers have come to know and expect from our brands,” said Trerotola.

    The acquisition includes eight manufacturing facilities, four research and development labs, 17 offices located in 14 countries, and about 3000 employees. Current management and employees will continue in their roles.

    Yafu Qiu, chairman of the board of Shandong Ruyi, promised his company would continue to invest in The Lycra Company’s innovation pipeline and brands in order to grow the business.

    “As a spandex producer ourselves, we have admired the iconic Lycra brand for years, and we see the value The Lycra Company adds to our business. We believe its assets and capabilities are a perfect complement to our own and will help strengthen our position as a world-class, fully integrated textile company.”

    The Lycra Company’s legacy stretches back to 1958 with the invention of the original spandex yarn, Lycra fibre.

    Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding is the largest textile and apparel company in China, and ranks among the Top 100 Chinese multinational enterprises. It is headquartered in Jining, Shandong and operates 13 domestic industrial parks.

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  • LVMH’s 2018 sales revenue hits record high

    LVMH’s 2018 sales revenue hits record high

    Following a record-breaking year of sales in 2017, LVMH recently announced that it has surpassed its earnings record in 2018. The French multinational luxury goods conglomerate revealed that it made an incredible €46.8 billion EUR (approximately $53.4 billion USD) last year. Additionally, the impressive feat comes with a record net profit growth of 18 percent.

    LVMH is noting that it was the profitability of Louis Vuitton and Dior that lead to its strong 2018 earnings. The fashion and leather offerings from the two labels has been credited with driving the double-digit increase in both revenue and profit.

    Moving into 2019, it is expected that Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones will be amplifying the popularity of the two houses.

    LVMH also noted a state of reorganization of the Marc Jacobs label, and looked back on the global response to Hedi Slimane‘s inaugural collections for CELINE.

    Aside from a mixed critical reception, LVMH is ambitiously looking towards Slimane’s place at CELINE.

    The results were roughly in line with analysts’ forecasts.

    Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive, said LVMH expected its brands and companies, which include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moët & Chandon champagne, to deliver continued progress in 2019 in spite of “an environment that remains uncertain at the start of the year”.

    Sales growth was steady in all regions in the fourth quarter except the US — similar to the performance earlier in the year, according to Jean-Jacques Guiony, finance director.

    Organic growth in Asia, excluding Japan, was 15 per cent compared with last year. Sales in Europe were up 7 per cent on the same measure, while in the US they climbed 8 per cent.

    “We see no particular sign of a slowdown in the China market,” he said, although purchases by Chinese customers had shifted slightly to the mainland from Hong Kong and other east Asian markets, perhaps because of a weaker renminbi. “The market sees the glass as half empty. We see it as half full.”

    Luxury goods companies and other exporters dependent on sales to China are bracing for the impact of the country’s economic slowdown and for possible fallout from any worsening of the US-China trade conflict.

    In recent days, companies including US chipmaker Nvidia and Caterpillar, which sells earthmoving equipment, have blamed China’s slowing growth for disappointing profit predictions.

    Mr Guiony said luxury goods consumers tended to be affected more by sudden shocks than by gradual changes in economic conditions. “If there was to be real trade war between the US and China — and we’re not there yet — that would have an effect,” he said.

    The company also performed well in Europe, Mr Guiony said. Although LVMH had to close early on several Saturdays because of the gilets jaunes protests in France, many customers had switched to Sunday shopping and there was no obvious impact on LVMH’s numbers in the latest quarter.

    LVMH said it was stockpiling champagne and cognac in the UK in case of severe disruption from a “no-deal” Brexit.

    “We’ve added four months of stock in the UK,” said Philippe Schaus, head of Moët Hennessy, the wines and spirits part of the group.

    Profit from recurring operations in fashion and leather goods, the core of LVMH’s business, rose 21 per cent last year, accounting for €5.94bn of the total. The highest growth in profit from recurring operations came from watches and jewellery, at 37 per cent, and the slowest from wines and spirits, at 5 per cent.

    The company said it planned to lift the total dividend by 20 per cent for the year to €6.

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  • Place to reate your own watch

    Place to reate your own watch

    The Mills officially opened at the end of 2018, becoming a new landmark that combines historical and cultural retailing, attracting a number of local brands in Hong Kong. The Mills is a revitalization project from Nan Fung Group scheduled for completion and actually completed in 2018. A destination consisting of a business incubator, experiential retail, and a non-profit cultural institution may be relatively unfamiliar to Hong Kong people; yet The Mills’ vision and history is a purely Hong Kong story.

    It witnessed the manufacturing heyday in the 1960s, and now it carries the legacy towards a future of applied creativity and innovation. Visitors can explore the continuity of an authentic Hong Kong story, where themes of textile and industry are woven into experiences of innovation, culture, and learning.

    Eoniq successfully raised funds for launching a project a few years ago on the Indiegogo crowdfunding network, which is for customers to make their own personalized unique watches at The Mills. Through engaging in different workshops such as designing automatic tourbillon, printing dial and burning blue steel pointer, customers may experience the watchmaking process.

    In recent years, Swiss watchmaking brands have opened shops all over Hong Kong, however, the Hong Kong local watch industry has also had a glorious history during the 1950 – 1980.

    Although local watchmaking has already faded out, Li Junguo (Quinn), one of Eoniq’s founders, decided to set up his own brand with two partners in 2014.

    “I started building up the brand after I left my work at McKinsey since 2011. It is because I am interested in watchmaking, so I find some fine caliber factory online, and  contact the French freelancer to help me ordering from France as the people from Swiss watch factory usually only speak in French,” he said.

    After buying the caliber from the factory, the brand will assemble the watch according to the custom design of the guests.

    In fact, Eoniq had opened stores in Sheung Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui K11 before, but the shop could hardly afford a monthly rental fee of 1 million HKD in Tsim Sha Tsui.

    In terms of online sales, Eoniq’s customer profile is diversified and located in different regions, namely, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, and Europe.

    “The Mills was interested in Eoniq, knowing that we were assembling the watchmaking on our own, and asked if we could make the watchmaking process transparent so that the visitors could see the process of watchmaking. Thus, we have been given a space on the ground floor at The Mills, which became our current flagship store.”

    For the Automatic Tourbillon design workshop, customers can engrave their name, special phrase, signature or pattern on the watch. With the assistance of a watchmaker, guests can assemble the watch by themselves.

    Guests can also add personal elements to the dial, such as handwritten words or patterns, and there is a traditional printing machine to allow customers experiencing the traditional printing method on the surface of the watches.

    “Our brand is getting bigger, so I hired more masters in watches, including a watchmaker who had previously worked in Omega. In addition to allowing our guests to design their own watches, we want to let more people understand the value of watchmaking.”

  • Onitsuka Tiger store in Singapore is biggest yet

    Onitsuka Tiger store in Singapore is biggest yet

    Onitsuka Tiger Singapore has opened its largest boutique in Ngee Ann City. As part of its efforts to become recognised as a fashion lifestyle brand beyond its sneaker business, the Japanese footwear firm’s new 165sqm store – the label’s fifth in Singapore – exclusively stocks the label’s Nippon Made collection as well as its usual retail offerings, focused on hand-made shoes following traditional Japanese methods.

    The store also sells Japanese-designed athleisure apparel and accessories in a store space fitted out with plush tiger toys.

    Onitsuka Tiger is owned by Asics.

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  • Louis Vuitton celebrates the launch of Virgil Abloh’s SS19 collection

    Louis Vuitton celebrates the launch of Virgil Abloh’s SS19 collection

    For those that have been patiently waiting to get their hands on Virgil Abloh‘s debut Louis Vuitton collection, the highly anticipated Spring/Summer 2019 offerings are now available online. The online release comes shortly after Virgil opened up an exclusive pop-up at Chrome Hearts’ New York City flagship.

    The Yellow Brick Road Hand-Knitted Crewneck, Poppies Dorothy Graphic Windbreaker and colorful Calfskin Cut Away Vest serve as notable garments from the collection. Standout carrying options include the iridescent take on the classic Keepall Bandouliere 50, Soft Trunk Messenger Bag, Mini Polochon Messenger Bag and a host of holster-style utility pouches. Rounding things up is Virgil’s take on LV’s iconic Millionaire Sunglasses, early Jordan Brand model-inspired LV Trainer Sneakers, and the LV Creeper Ankle Boot Timberland homage.

    Check out some of the items above and head over to louisvuitton.com now to shop Louis Vuitton’s SS19 collection.

    In case you missed it, Virgil Abloh recently launched a comprehensive archive of his work.

  • Handsome markets brands in Paris Fashion Week

    Handsome markets brands in Paris Fashion Week

    Handsome, a Korean fashion brand owned by Hyundai Department Store, brought two of its labels to Paris Fashion Week in an effort to expand on the global stage. System for Women and System Homme, the two Handsome brands, showcased their fall and winter collections in a rented showroom for eight days starting from Jan. 17. The Handsome event included a presentation of the collections followed by showroom events, where item were modeled for clients.

    The brands are presenting their new collection one season early to major buyers in the fashion industry.

    In addition to 180 buyers, the event was attended by the Wall Street Journal, Vogue and GQ as well as by fashion influencers.

    It was the first time Handsome has taken its brands to a foreign showroom since being founded in 1987.

    System for Women debuted in 1990 and System Homme in 2008. The company has also introduced other names, including Time, Mine and SJSJ.

    Handsome was acquired by Hyundai Department Store Group in 2012.

    At the Paris event, which featured 200 items for men and women, around 40 department stores from 14 countries participated. Samples were purchased ahead of possible quantity orders.

    It was a buyers’ who’s who. The list included representatives from Bloomingdales, France’s Le Bon Marche, Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford, Japan’s Isetan and Shanghai’s 10 Corso Como. Inquiries also came in from parties in Switzerland and Israel.

    “We predicted the number of businesses that would visit our showroom would be 40 at maximum. But since System Homme was introduced via major media outlets and social media after the presentation on Jan. 18, a great number of fashion businesspeople visited,” said a source from Handsome.

    The company said that visitors appreciated the designs as being unique and set apart from other major Asian brands.

    “In the case of businesses that received the samples, they will decide on quantity purchases in February, and in June, the main products of System [for Women] and System Homme will be sold at department stores and in multibrand shops of each country,” said a source from Handsome.

    Handsome is planning to use the Paris showroom event as a stepping stone for its international expansion efforts.

    In line with the strategy, it will complete its product development earlier and present new design concepts to the market one season ahead.

    It is rare for a ready-made brand to utilize this sort of advanced development.

    “Our brand is still new in the global fashion market, but we will elevate awareness to the point where we could open an exclusive fashion show at a foreign fashion week,” said Kim Hyung-jong, the CEO of Handsome.

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  • Shinesegae targets US$90 million with a new brand

    Shinesegae targets US$90 million with a new brand

    Major South Korean travel retailer Shinsegae Group is set to launch an in-house developed cosmetics line, Yunjac, into the duty free channel at its Myeong-dong store in the capital city, Seoul. An ambitious sales target has been set for the brand. The opening on 2 February of an independent Yunjac cosmetics area adds to existing domestic market locations in Jung-gu and Gangnam in Seoul, and Centrum City in Busan. The brand was launched in October 2018.

    Fashion, beauty and lifestyle specialist, Shinsegae International, which developed the 42-strong product line, has told The Moodie Davitt Report that it aims to make US$90 million in sales by 2020. Four travel retail exclusive sets are part of the product range.

    The duty free exposure will promote Yunjac to a wider audience, with a particular focus on Chinese travellers. A Shinsegae Duty Free spokesman said: “The Myeong-dong store is a trendy shopping place where you can easily experience the world’s most popular brands. We will try our best to be the centre of world beauty. The line is targeting the global market including China.”

    Yunjac, which means ‘nature’s masterpiece’, is chiefly built around skincare with some makeup and other smaller segments, also part of the portfolio. It is the result of several years research and preparation by Shinsegae International. The product development was a joint effort with global cosmetics maker Intercos and world-renowned botanical research institute Vitalab.

    The manufacturing process involves extracting active ingredients from the best Korean herbs and combining them with state-of-the-art science. The end result is what Shinsegae describes as “the whole plant effect” which is claimed to restores the skin’s natural strength.

    Yunjac’s 42 products are priced at around US$30 for cleansing products, US$100 for skincare and US$50 for mother and infant items, according to Shinsegae Duty Free.

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  • The coolest men’s sneakers from Paris Fashion Week

    The coolest men’s sneakers from Paris Fashion Week

    Paris Fashion Week Men’s was not lacking in head-turning street-style looks this year. Attendees brought their sartorial A-game to take in new fall ’19 collections from the hottest designers. A guest paired trendy Off-White socks with shiny silver Maison Margiela sneakers that featured a chunky platform sole and an iridescent finish. Cuffed denim jeans highlighted the pairing perfectly.

    Elsewhere, a guest showed off J.W. Anderson’s new Converse collab sneakers, which feature a rubber jagged platform sole. The high-tops debuted on the catwalk at Anderson’s spring ’19 show.

    Meanwhile, Adidas x Alexander Wang Turnout Mint White runners caught our attention with its chunky midsole design, a mash-up inspired by several previous Adidas sneakers.

    The Nike x A-Cold-Wall Zoom Vomero +5, designed by Samuel Ross, undeniably stands out with its enlarged heel counter. The style, which dropped in November, blends retro and futuristic elements.

    Lastly, the oversized red and white contrast leather sneakers by Alexander McQueen, which Timothée Chalamet has worn on the red carpet, of course, made an appearance at fashion week.

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  • Sandro parent unphased by trade spat

    Sandro parent unphased by trade spat

    The parent of affordable-luxury fashion labels Sandro, Claudie Pierlot and Maje appears unphased by the Sino-US trade spat, vowing to continue its expansion in the region. SMCP’s CEO Daniel Lalonde said in an interview that the company plans to continue to open new stores in Mainland China and invest in e-commerce across the region.

    “From our perspective, everything is still intact [in China]. Any slowdown in our business is related to the comparison base … and we still expect to grow that market by more than 20 per cent this year,” Lalonde said. “We’re still confident on the region.”

    France-based SMCP is controlled by Chinese company Shandong Ruyi. This week it reported an 8.1 per cent increase in fourth-quarter sales to €276.1 million.

    SMCP has doubled its annual sales during the past four years, reaching €1 billion last year, largely due to rapid expansion in Mainland China. Asia is now SMCP’s third-largest geographic market behind France and the rest of Europe, with China accounting for the bulk.

    However, he said sales in Hong Kong were “a little softer” as a result of currency fluctuations between the Hong Kong dollar and the renminbi.

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  • LVMH is “eyeing stakes” in OFF-WHITE‘s parent company

    LVMH is “eyeing stakes” in OFF-WHITE‘s parent company

    LVMH is “eyeing stakes” in OFF-WHITE‘s parent company, New Guards Group, WWD reports. If the rumors are true, the move would bring LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton even closer to fashion’s main man, Virgil Abloh, the founder of OFF-WHITE and artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton.

    New Guards Group Holding SpA is a Milan-based holding company that also looks after OFF-WHITE as well as Palm Angels, Heron Preston, and Marcelo Burlon County of Milan.

    This is not the only venture on the cards over at LVMH at the moment, either. The company is reportedly also making moves to create Rihanna her own luxury fashion house.

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  • Lancôme uses Alibaba Cloud Technology for Chinese New Year promotion

    Lancôme uses Alibaba Cloud Technology for Chinese New Year promotion

    Lancôme has teamed up with Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, to launch its Chinese New Year campaign in Hong Kong. The partnership leverages Alibaba Cloud’s cutting-edge technologies and Lancôme’s bestin-class beauty offerings to bring consumers the warmest festive wishes with fun and engaging experiences.

    As a leader of the beauty industry and a pioneer in adopting technology-enabled customerengagement, Lancôme has worked with Alibaba Cloud to create an augmented reality (AR) game for customers.

    The game, alongside a Lancôme pop-up store in Harbour City, Hong Kong, enable customers to engage with an online and offline brand experience during the Chinese New Year anywhere in the city, at any time. Lucky consumers will be able to bring home limited edition Lancôme products and special gifts.

    “Lancôme is glad to partner with Alibaba Cloud to engage with our consumers in Hong Kong using the most advanced data technologies. One of the brand’s priority is to build ‘Beauty-tech’ leveraging the latest innovations to transform our campaign and offering our customers better interactive experiences. We are excited to see these technological advancements helping us to create a modern Chinese New Year with better understanding of the consumer behavior and eventually with great business uplift with high conversion,” said Lee Sue Jong, Brand General Manager, Lancôme Hong Kong.

    “We are excited to partner with Lancôme to foster the digital transformation of Hong Kong’s retail industry. Our technologies not only offer innovative ways of engaging consumers, but also help Lancôme better understand customers’ needs using data analytic tools,” said Leo Liu, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Hong Kong, Macau and Korea.

    Lancôme will spread joy and good wishes across the city for the coming Year of the Pig with thehelp of Alibaba Cloud’s image search technology and cloud services. Consumers can participate in a Lancôme-branded AR game on their smartphones. Those who find and capture augmented reality images of Lancôme’s signature beauty product Genifiques on their smartphone will be invited to send their seasonal wishes for a chance to win a selection of prizes.

    Alibaba Cloud Image Search is an intelligent service based on machine and deep learning. It enables end-users to take a screenshot or upload an image to search for desired products and fulfill other search requests.

    Alibaba Cloud’s cloud-based technology is part of the Alibaba Operating System, a holistic onestop solution to accelerate the digital transformation for corporations. With strong cloud-computing capabilities, the infrastructure is able to deliver insights and analytics instrumental to better satisfying customer needs and growing their business. New Retail, a strategy that drives innovation around online and offline solutions, is a key interface through which businesses can tap into the Alibaba Operating System.

    The latest collaboration on Lancôme’s Chinese New Year campaign follows L’Oréal Group’s longstanding working relationship with Alibaba businesses across multiple platforms. The beauty company has continuously deepened its use of Alibaba’s ecosystem to meet and create new aspirations from consumers. In terms of grasping the benefits of New Retail, L’Oréal Group was an early adopter of merging online and offline during the 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

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  • Patek Philippe may come up for sale

    Patek Philippe may come up for sale

    Patek Philippe, the closely held maker of $10,000-plus Calatrava watches, may be coming up for sale, according to analysts at Berenberg who cited industry talk. The 180-year-old Swiss watchmaker could fetch 7 billion to 9 billion euros ($8 billion to $10 billion), analysts led by Zuzanna Pusz wrote in a note. Patek Philippe has been owned by the Stern family for almost a century, and Thierry Stern became the company’s chairman in 2009.

    A Patek spokeswoman declined to comment except to say deal speculation tends to occur during the annual watch fairs in Switzerland, including last week’s Geneva show. A sale of Patek Philippe would upend the watch industry and could lead to a bidding war, as it is one of the last prize assets that hasn’t fallen into the hands of a luxury conglomerate. Swatch Group AG, which has bought up brands including Omega, and Richemont, which owns Cartier, make more than half of Swiss watches.

    Patek Philippe has sales of 1.5 billion francs, according to Berenberg estimates. On its website, the company says its “intention is to independently pursue the path that led to its success.”

    “We understand that one of the largest conglomerates in the sector would likely be interested in the asset given its currently relatively low exposure to the watch category,” the analysts wrote. Pusz was not immediately available to comment further.

    Two years ago, family-owned Breitling was sold to private-equity owners CVC Capital Partners for more than 800 million euros.

    In 2014, Stern told Swiss newspaper Le Temps that the company may eventually need to leave Geneva or put itself up for sale if its tax burden was not reduced. Months later, the company announced a 450 million-franc ($451 million) investment plan in the canton.

    Stern’s wife, Sandrine, works in design at Patek Philippe. Their children are in their teens, and Patek’s chairman has said he wouldn’t push them into the business if they did not want to join.

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  • Deciem skincare firm founder passed away

    Deciem skincare firm founder passed away

    Brandon Truaxe, the founder of Canadian skincare company Deciem, has died at the age of 40, the firm announced in an Instagram post. Truaxe launched the brand, best known for its affordable skincare line The Ordinary, in Toronto in 2013. Since then it has since expanded worldwide, with stores in the US, the UK, South Korea, Australia, Mexico and the Netherlands.

    “Brandon, our founder and friend. You touched our hearts, inspired our minds and made us believe that anything is possible,” a Monday post on Deciem’s Instagram reads.

    CIUDAD DE M?????????XICO, marzo 30 (EL UNIVERSAL).- Brandon Truaxe, joven creador del concepto, recibi?????????? a decenas de invitados en este nuevo espacio, donde las personas podr?????????n solicitar asesor??????????a sobre los tratamientos m?????????s efectivos para mejorar el estado del cutis y otras zonas del cuerpo. Foto: Agencia EL UNIVERSAL (GDA via AP Images)

    “Thank you for every laugh, every learning and every moment of your genius. Whilst we can’t imagine a world without you, we promise to take care of each other and will work hard to continue your vision. May you finally be at peace.”

    The Estée Lauder Companies, an investor in Deciem since 2017, said in a statement: “Truaxe was a true genius, and we are incredibly saddened by the news of his passing … he positively impacted millions of people around the world with his creativity, brilliance and innovation. This is a profound loss for us all.”

    Truaxe was removed as co-CEO of Deciem in October 2018 following a lawsuit brought by Estée Lauder, after his posts on the company’s social media accounts became increasingly erratic.

    “Brandon will always be the founder of Deciem,” the company posted on Instagram in October. “We will take the passion and values he has instilled within us as we continue to grow the brands we have created with transparency, integrity, authenticity, function and design.”