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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.

  • UNIQLO and Alexander Wang Collection Launched

    UNIQLO and Alexander Wang Collection Launched

    UNIQLO announced a new collaboration with top New York fashion designer Alexander Wang. The line brings Alexander Wang’s signature design and styling to UNIQLO’s HEATTECH functional apparel – LifeWear that has kept people warm and comfortable in winter since its debut in 2003.

    About the new collection, Alexander Wang said, “When I look into expanding into additional categories, I seek out partners that really can innovate the product we make and how our fans can access it. UNIQLO are the ideal partners for this collection of innerwear because we share an appreciation of functionality and utilitarianism, and I am thrilled our collaboration has resulted in developing a new HEATTECH line; the perfect place to pick up from where we left off ten years ago.”

    Yuki Katsuta, Group Senior Vice President of Fast Retailing and Head of UNIQLO R&D, commented, “Alexander first collaborated with UNIQLO ten years ago on the UNIQLO Designers Invitation Project. At the time he greatly impressed me with his ability to identify trends. I hope that consumers can enjoy this new dimension in HEATTECH, which takes our long-selling line beyond its innerwear origins by augmenting its functionality with Alexander’s inspiring design.”

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  • The theme for Uniqlo’s UTGP 2019 T-shirt design contest is… Pokemon!

    The theme for Uniqlo’s UTGP 2019 T-shirt design contest is… Pokemon!

    Now on its 13th year, UTGP 2019 will accept entries via smartphones and tablets to enable as many as possible to take part. The competition’s Grand Prize winner will receive USD $10,000; other winners will also receive cash prizes. All winning designs of the contest will be featured in Uniqlo Spring/Summer 2019 collection, with t-shirts being avialable for men, women, and kids.

    The competition will be judged by the following:

    • Tsunekazu Ishihara, President of The Pokémon Company
    • Ken Sugimori, Managing Director of Game Freak Inc.
    • NIGO® （UT Creative Director）

    The top three winners will be awarded in a ceremony in Tokyo, and they’ll be able to watch the 2019 Pokémon World Championships in Washington, DC. Entries can be submitted on October 23 until December 2, 2018 (10:59 PHT) at the official UTGP 2019 website.

  • Major trade mark victory for Alfred Dunhill in China

    Major trade mark victory for Alfred Dunhill in China

    Alfred Dunhill has announced it has won a major victory in a long-running trademark battle in China. In a ground-breaking decision, the luxury brand has been awarded RMB 10 million (USD 1.47 million) after the Foshan Intermediate People’s Court, Guangdong Province, ruled that rival menswear brand Danhuoli was guilty of both trademark infringement and unfair competition practice.

    In a rare move for Chinese courts, the judge also deemed that the individual responsible for the company was personally liable for the infringement, giving extra teeth to the court’s decision and strengthening China’s growing reputation for intellectual property protection.

    The trademark infringement centred around Danhuoli’s illegal imitation of the ‘long tail mark’ of Alfred Dunhill’s globally recognised logo.

    Danhuoli had originally registered the ‘Danhuoli’ trade mark in plain font, but had for several years used the mark in a manner bearing striking similarities to Alfred Dunhill’s signature elongated lettering and black and white colour palette.

    The budget clothes company had also established a shadow company named ‘Dunhill Group’ in Hong Kong, to manage corporate business activities for the brand. Alfred Dunhill had previously been successful in shutting down the shadow company in Hong Kong; however, it had continued to trade across the Chinese mainland.

    Danhuoli operates more than 200 franchisee stores across 61 cities in China, claiming to generate annual turnover of RMB 100m (USD 14.7m).

    The case represents a landmark trade mark victory in China for any global brand, given the scale of the damages awarded. The RMB 10 million awarded is significantly larger than the average ruling in trade mark infringement cases in China.

    The ruling is another key milestone in China’s continued crackdown on IP infringement. Over the past decade China has made significant strides in developing and enforcing a robust IP rights regime, bringing the Chinese IP landscape in line with other developed systems in the US and Europe.

    Alfred Dunhill were supported by international IP consultancy Rouse and its Chinese law firm partner, Lusheng Law Firm.

    Commenting on the ruling, Andrew Maag, CEO at Alfred Dunhill said:

    “Today’s ruling demonstrates Alfred Dunhill Ltd.’s unequivocal resolve in tackling infringement of our IP rights in China and globally. Our system of IP management and enforcement is second to none. With the support of Rouse and Lusheng Law Firm, we’ve secured a fair and proportionate ruling.”

    Luke Minford, Global CEO of Rouse, said:

    “This win for Alfred Dunhill is just reward for all their hard work protecting their brand in China. The decision should reinforce to other brand owners that China is finally getting serious about protecting foreign brands.”

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  • Korea’s Skinfood getting close to bankruptcy

    Korea’s Skinfood getting close to bankruptcy

    South Korean cosmetics firm Skinfood has filed for court receivership after increasing financial losses.

    The company’s former popularity of a decade ago was hit by the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak and diplomatic disputes between Seoul and Beijing, both events affecting the brand’s core overseas markets.

    A company spokesperson said: “We are having temporary difficulty in securing liquidity due to excessive debt. We sought the court restructuring as we thought settling the debt and promptly normalising management will benefit everyone, including the creditors.”

    The company has plans to sell off some of its overseas business rights and expand its online channels to improve its standing.

    Skinfood’s sales reached KRW126.9 billion (US$111.96 million) last year, a drop of 25 per cent from the year previous, with an operating loss of KRW98 billion ($86.46 million).

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  • Brooks Brothers Selects Manhattan Active Omni to Elevate Global Omnichannel Commerce

    Brooks Brothers Selects Manhattan Active Omni to Elevate Global Omnichannel Commerce

    Brooks Brothers, the oldest clothing retailer in the U.S., selected  Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH) to improve contact centre operations and deliver a seamless omnichannel shopping experience for customers worldwide. New York-based Brooks Brothers is deploying Manhattan Active Omni to fuel its “buy anywhere, get anywhere” customer experience platform across its full network of 300 retail locations.

    Brooks Brothers selected Manhattan Active Omni, which marries order management and store fulfilment applications on a single platform, to deliver superior product fulfilment across all channels. No matter how customers choose to shop, they expect their purchase experience to be positive, quick, and unified. The Manhattan Active Omni solution will provide Brooks Brothers associates with a 360-degree view of customer information and access to the company’s full network of inventory, enabling them to deliver a truly seamless omnichannel experience.

    “Brooks Brothers has been a leading provider of apparel for 200 years, and we take great pride in both the quality of our products and the customer experience we deliver,” said Todd Treonze, CIO, Brooks Brothers. “The Manhattan Active Omni platform will enable us to increase the level of service we provide by expanding our ‘buy anywhere, get anywhere’ offerings on a global scale and significantly improve the customer journey across channels. Working with Manhattan Associates will help us ensure that all our customers enjoy the type of shopping experience they desire, one that reflects the quality they have come to expect from Brooks Brothers.”

    A cloud-native, versionless and fully extensible offering, Manhattan Active Omni is always current and able to seamlessly scale to meet Brooks Brothers’ future needs. In addition to fuelling omnichannel growth, the platform will also help Brooks Brothers scale its flourishing uniform business.

    “Meeting the transformative demands of today’s omnichannel shoppers is perhaps the most significant challenge confronting modern retailers,” said Eddie Capel, president and CEO, Manhattan Associates. “Manhattan Active Omni helps iconic brands, like Brooks Brothers, remove boundaries across channels and capture the network-wide insight they need to consistently deliver high-level customer experience and maintain valuable brand loyalty.”

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  • Platinum Jewellery Continues Strong Growth from The Global Wedding Industry

    Platinum Jewellery Continues Strong Growth from The Global Wedding Industry

    Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank will marry on 12 October at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom, just months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signified their love with platinum jewellery, the metal of choice for love gifting.

    The tradition of men wearing wedding rings is said to have started in early 20th during the World Wars, as a way for soldiers to be reminded of their wives and family. However, male royalty typically do not wear wedding bands. Breaking with royal tradition, Prince Harry chose to signify his love and union to actress Meghan Markle with a platinum wedding band. According to the official website of the British Royal Family, both Prince Harry’s wedding band and Meghan Markle’s tiara were set in platinum.

    The current Royal family has a tradition of wearing wedding jewellery set in platinum. Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring was designed by Prince Philip, with a 3ct diamond set in platinum. Princess Eugenie’s mother, Duchess of York, wore the York Tiara on her wedding day, a platinum piece by Garrard, with leaf and flora motifs.

    Historically, platinum is associated with the best jewellery houses and designers this is due to its strength, never-fading white colour and long-lasting value, platinum is preferred for bridal jewellery setting in many markets, and a platinum crown is the securest way to hold a diamond or gemstone.

    Platinum Guild International (PGI)’s consumer marketing and educational programmes develop awareness and appreciation for platinum’s unique qualities as a precious metal for fine jewellery. Known as pure, rare and eternal, the metal has often been associated with love-gifting, and preferred in the wedding market.

    “Around the world we see key growth and increased popularity for platinum jewellery with relation to the global wedding market. The younger generations see platinum as a metal of love. Looking at the acquisition of wedding bands as well as beyond to love-gifting occasions, platinum is the predominant metal of choice when it comes to precious jewellery to say I love you,” says Huw Daniel, CEO of Platinum Guild International.

    In the United States, the 5th consecutive year of growth for platinum jewellery consumption at 11% in 2017 mainly comes from strong sales in bridal jewellery including engagement rings and wedding bands.

    In Japan, platinum holds an astonishing 92% share of the engagement ring market and 82% share of wedding rings and is continued, dominating the bridal jewellery category.

    In China, platinum is associated with eternal love and has been doing very well in the bridal category and the market has grown 22% between 2014 and 2016 in Tier 1 to 3 cities.

    For young India, PGI is tapping into modern couples’ desire for jewellery that better represents the bonds of love in a modern relationship between equals. Platinum has become the metal of choice among today’s young Indian consumers shaping the country’s culture and fashion.

  • British Designer Louise Trotter Named Creative Director for Lacoste

    British Designer Louise Trotter Named Creative Director for Lacoste

    British fashion designer Louise Trotter is Lacoste’s new Creative Director, the brand informed in a statement this Thursday. She is the very first woman to hold this role at the French label best known for its crocodile logo. Her first collection will be showcased at the next Paris Fashion Week.

    “We are very happy to welcome Louise in our team. Her visionary approach to lines and materials and her expertise in designing highly technical pieces, are valuable assets to strengthen the positioning of our collections”, said Thierry Guibert, CEO of Lacoste Group, in a statement.

    “I’m looking forward to joining a French brand with such a unique heritage. The brand managed to stay fresh and modern in throughout the last 85 years thanks to its unique combination of sports and fashion. I’m proud to be able to contribute to the next chapter of its history”, added Trotter.

    Trotter replaces the Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista who parted ways with Lacoste in May. She stepped down from the role of Creative Director at British luxury label Joseph in July, after nine years. Before Joseph, Trotter held the same position at Jigsaw.

  • MarlMarl Sanjo-Street Kyoto Open door

    MarlMarl Sanjo-Street Kyoto Open door

    Acclaimed for its abstract world view, MARLMARL, with Atsushi Suzuki / TANSEISHA as the designer, is one of the most dynamic brands of original baby clothing in Japan today, and is   continuing to expand in both domestic and overseas markets. MARLMARL worked on interior design for the brand in conjunction with the opening of a new branch in the Sanjo-street district of Kyoto, Japan’s historic capital.

    Kyoto’s Sanjo-street, featuring an attractive urban landscape characterized by a mixture of old and new, is a place where traditional architecture and modern architecture stand side by side. In these surroundings, we had to draw up a plan for the interior of a modern building highlighted by enormous and remarkably eye-catching arches. So, while honoring Kyoto’s historic landscape, we came up with a design concept that would integrate the brand’s abstract world view with the surrounding cityscape.

    Using the brand’s neutral tones and drawing on the motif provided by the building’s arches, we continued the arches inside the store, keeping the lines as simple as possible in combination with a monotone coloring to integrate the cityscape with the brand’s abstract world view. The imposing arches of the building and the light arches of the interior serve as complementary expressions, imbuing the space with a bright and airy impression befitting of a baby clothing brand.

    View the gallery below to join the mini tour to the store :

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  • Luxasia revealed expansion plan to Australia and NewZealand

    Luxasia revealed expansion plan to Australia and NewZealand

    Luxasia, the leading omnichannel partner for beauty and luxury lifestyle brand distribution, retail, and e-commerce in Asia Pacific, has announced its expansion plans into Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) through the acquisition of a majority stake in fragrance and beauty distributor, Pacific SMM. This brings the expanding company’s regional presence to 14 countries, in line with their strategic plan to delight consumers with an omnichannel beauty experience and transform the beauty landscape in Asia Pacific.

    “We are excited by the immense potential of our partnership, given that Australia and New Zealand are mature beauty markets,” said Dr. Wolfgang Baier, Group CEO, Luxasia. “By combining Pacific SMM’s extensive market knowledge in ANZ with Luxasia’s end-to-end brand distribution and channel management competencies, Luxasia is well-poised to bring its repertoire of beauty brands to the ANZ market speedily and successfully.”

    Luxasia’s acquisition of the majority stake in Pacific SMM will be completed in October 2018, and would be renamed to Luxasia Oceania Pty Ltd. The newly established company aims to build upon Pacific SMM’s current setup with experienced team members, innovative retail concepts, e-commerce best practices, as well as an efficient back-office and supply chain management. Adding to the currently fragrance-heavy offering of Pacific SMM, Luxasia aims to bring ANZ consumers more skincare and cosmetics brands.

    “We have great admiration for the Luxasia team’s consumer-centric approach in brand distribution, having worked closely with them for several years across numerous brands,” said Mr. Nicholas Gorick, Managing Director, Pacific SMM. “Leveraging our collective strengths, we are confident that Luxasia Oceania will be a dominant force in ANZ’s beauty industry.”

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  • Uniqlo Opens Biggest Southeast Asian Store in Manila

    Uniqlo Opens Biggest Southeast Asian Store in Manila

    Uniqlo opened its largest Southeast Asian store yet on Friday, in Manila’s Glorietta 5 shopping centre.

    The store spans two floors with more than 4000sqm in retail space. The Japanese fast-fashion brand’s 15th global flagship, it has been likened to its stores in Paris, Oxford Street in London, Orchard Road in Singapore and on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

    “The new store offers local and international customers a huge shopping area and a world-class immersive shopping experience featuring large visual displays and state-of-the-art design concepts,” said Uniqlo in a statement.

    “As with other global flagship stores, it will also showcase the full lineup of LifeWear for men, women, kids and babies.”

    Uniqlo Philippines has been running a nationwide campaign as a lead-up to the store’s launch, called ‘Our Future Is Here’. The fast-fashion retailer has been inviting customers to nominate Filipinos who they believe are leaders in sports, film, music, culture, design, and other disciplines, influencing the nation’s future.

    As part of that campaign, an installation from local artist Leeroy New takes centrestage on the store’s second floor.

    “The great success of Uniqlo Philippines is thanks to our customers here,” said John Jay, president for global creative at Uniqlo’s parent, Fast Retailing.

    “The Our Future Is Here campaign is an exciting opportunity to deepen our connection with the city of Manila through our global flagship store, to engage communities and celebrate the innovators who will shape its future.”

    Opening its largest Southeast Asian store in Manila is testament to the Uniqlo brand’s strength in the Philippines.

    The store’s ground floor features the brand’s basics range including its Airism and HeatTech ranges, while the second floor hosts Uniqlo U and Uniqlo UT t-shirt collaborations.

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  • Stephen Marks mulls French Connection sale

    Stephen Marks mulls French Connection sale

    French Connection founder and CEO Stephen Marks plans to sell his remaining cornerstone stake in the fashion label.

    Sky News UK has reported Marks has engaged Numis Securities to approach prospective buyers for the 42 per cent stake in French Connection which he still holds. He founded the brand back in 1969.

    UK media is reporting that should a buyer be found for the stake, it would almost certainly trigger a takeover bid for the entire company. A formal stock exchange announcement is pending.

    French Connection is emerging from a challenging period in its history after its hugely successful FCUK era brand positioning fell from favour in the late 2000s. In recent months, it has built strong sales online via Asos and it raised £23.3 million from the sale of 75 per cent of its Toast label in April to Danish retailer Bestseller United, parent of Selected, Vera Moda and Jack & Jones, among others.

    But the parent brand, now down to a store network of only about 30, recorded a like-for-like sales decline of 7 per cent in the half year to July 31 and a loss of £5.5 million. Marks, however, anticipates the business will be profitable by January with licensing income on the rise, reaching £2.6 million for the period, and wholesale revenues up 6.2 per cent.

    Any deal for Marks’ stake will be heavily influenced by the second largest shareholder in French Connection, Mike Ashley, who holds 27 per cent of the stock. Ashley recently bought out troubled House of Fraser and is CEO of Sports Direct.

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  • Li-Ning launches outlet in Lahore Pakistan

    Li-Ning launches outlet in Lahore Pakistan

    Li-Ning Pakistan has made its debut with a flagship in the capital city of Lahore.

    The Chinese sportswear and accessories giant says the new Gulberg flagship, opened late last month, signals a nationwide expansion in the territory following the introduction of Li-Ning products in resellers earlier this year.

    Pakistan’s international badminton champion Mahoor Shehzad has been made the face of the brand in this market.

    Li-Ning was founded by its namesake, a prominent Chinese gold medallist athlete in 1990, before becoming one of the world’s largest sports apparel brands.

    Li-Ning operates more than 6400 stores and outlets worldwide.

  • Daniel Wellington put more focus to boosts travel retail sector

    Daniel Wellington put more focus to boosts travel retail sector

    Daniel Wellington is strengthening its expansion in global travel retail, opening more than 35 stores in key travel destinations during the past six months.

    Helen Wong, head of travel retail at Daniel Wellington said that the watch brand has consolidated its brand image in travel this year through stronger collaborations and exclusive concepts.

    “We are approaching the travel retail experience not only on a product level, through our new Daniel Wellington travel retail-exclusive products, but also through elevated brand concept environments,” she said.

    “Thanks to stronger collaborations with our partners and popular demand from our fans, we have been able to present the brand in creative and engaging pop ups and shops-in-shops this year, with more exciting spaces to come.”

    The company opened at Shenzhen Bao’an Airport last month, marking the first Daniel Wellington boutique in a travel retail location at a Chinese airport.

    In Malaysia, the brand has partnered with Dufry to open at the Genting Highlands integrated resort, northeast of Kuala Lumpur.

    And in Thailand, Daniel Wellington has signed the lease for its first store, to be opened at Chiang Mai in partnership with local duty-free retailer King Power.

    Travel is also on the agenda in South Korea, where the brand is consolidating its presence with renovation projects planned across 16 locations, including in Seoul, Incheon, Busan and Jeju. The brand is also targeting premium destinations and has designed a new furniture concept specially for travel retail locations.

    Other travel retail openings this year include a first store in Cam Ranh Airport, which serves the popular Vietnamese tourist destination of Nha Trang.

    Besides opening stores in travel-related locations, Daniel Wellington has developed products exclusive to these stores this year, including the Classic Cambridge 36mm style modelled on the 40mm size, one of the brand’s first styles launched.

    Wong said the company’s greatest focus during coming months will be to solidify the brand awareness through controlled distribution and a global social media strategy for travel retail.

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  • Hypebeast launches Hypefest

    Hypebeast launches Hypefest

    Hypebeast is the prime destination for young male in their mid-2000s with a vague interest in Japanese denim or limited-colorway Nike Dunks or whatever it was that Pharrell was wearing that month.

    The fashion blog was among the first to enthusiastically document trends in sneakers and streetwear.

    Kevin Ma, who founded the blog in 2005 when he was a student in Vancouver, didn’t know much about fashion then. But 13 years later, the Hong Kong native sits quietly at the top of a publicly traded Hypebeast empire.

    His dominion includes the website, a quarterly print magazine, an online store, legions of influential fans and now a Hypebeast festival, which will take place the first weekend of October in an undisclosed location in Brooklyn with a “breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline.”

    It will be called Hypefest.

    Mr. Ma, 36, and his team have been reluctant to share too much information in advance of the festival; it might kill the hype.

    Instead, taking cues from the brands that they’ve promoted for years, they are letting news about the festival trickle out slowly, and letting intrigue build.

    Upward of 10,000 tickets will be available online next week — for free.

    But promotional materials promise that Hypefest will be a “highly curated and educational experience.” There will be booths from global clothing companies like Adidas Originals, Diesel and Moncler, as well as streetwear brands like Needles and Girls Don’t Cry.

    There will also be music, food, art and talks with fashion designers, held in a “Hypetalks panel discussion area.”

    Perhaps most notably, Hypefest will not be a merch-fest.

    “We want people to really have an experience as opposed to shopping,” Mr. Ma said. “I feel that you can shop any time. You can shop at a shop. You can go to a pop-up to shop. You can go online to shop.”

    Hypefest merchandise will primarily be sold online, which could curtail the secondhand market that is endemic to hypebeast culture, in which “drops” of merchandise from vaunted brands are snatched up quickly in person and resold.

    Scarcity is part of the aesthetic, which has been adopted by celebrities like Jonah Hill (called “a budding darling of the hypebeast community” by Dazed) and Justin Theroux (a “low-key hypebeast,” according to The Cut). Their outfits have helped to incubate an entire media ecosystem, as tabloids analyze their casual style.

    The 2018 hypebeast bears only a loose resemblance to the one whose wardrobe Mr. Ma assembled in the early days of his site.

    During a recent interview at his apartment in SoHo, he was dressed down in a loose black long-sleeve shirt, jeans and black Vans. Even the most discerning eye might have missed that the jeans were from Mr. Completely, the Los Angeles store; that the shirt was from the Japanese brand N.Hoolywood; that his frames were from Gentle Monster, the Korean glasses retailer.

    Though Mr. Ma’s understated, globally sourced look spoke to the style ideology he has long tried to inculcate in his readers, Hypebeasts are now more easily identified by flashy, recognizable brands.

    But Mr. Ma understands, he said, that the term is now mostly out of his control.

    “It can be anything nowadays I feel,” he said. “Which is kind of cool.”

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  • Stéphane Bianchi to head LVMH watchmaking division

    Stéphane Bianchi to head LVMH watchmaking division

    LVMH has tapped Stéphane Bianchi, the former CEO of the cosmetics firm Yves Rocher, to succeed Jean-Claude Biver as head of LVMH’s watch division.

    Biver, who recently turned 69, stepped down from his operational duties as president of the LVMH watch division and CEO of TAG Heuer for health reasons but will nevertheless remain as non-executive chairman of the division.

    After spending over 45 years in the industry, Biver said he wishes to focus more specifically on “advising and sharing” his experience.

    Bianchi will become CEO of TAG Heuer and oversee the operations of Hublot and Zenith, the other two brands in the watch division, effective 1st of November.

    Recently on the board of the Maus Group, a family business, Stéphane spent most of his career with the Yves Rocher Group where he was CEO from 1998 to 2015.

    LVMH has also promoted Frédéric Arnault to the position of director of strategy and digital director at TAG Heuer. Arnault, 23, was named TAG’s head of connected technology last year. He is the son of LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault.

    “I would like to applaud Jean-Claude Biver for the decisive leadership that he has shown in his role at the head of the watchmaking division,” Bernard Arnault said in a statement. “Since the integration of Hublot within LVMH, he has elevated our watchmaking division to a world class technical level of the highest order and has significantly accelerated its commercial growth. I am delighted that the Group will continue to benefit from Jean-Claude’s advice, and I am sure that his entrepreneurial spirit will bring many innovative new ideas to the world of watchmaking.”

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