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Korea is now one of the top beauty product exporters to the European Union, surpassing Japan to take the No. 5 spot in terms of value.
According to a report released by the International Trade Association on 5 June, Korea exported 135 million euros (US$158 million) of beauty products to the EU last year, pushing Japan down to the No. 6 spot.
The United States took the top spot last year, with 1.2 billion euros of exports to the EU. China came in second with 630 million euros, followed by Switzerland with 574 million euros and Canada with 137 million.
Although it placed fifth overall, Korea actually recorded the highest year-on-year increase among the top five, at 46.8 percent. The report added that the 135 million euros was a 10-fold increase compared to 2010.
A major contributor to the rise in popularity of Korean beauty goods across Europe is the growing trend for eco-friendly or vegan lifestyle. The analysis, from Korea International Trade Association’s (KITA) Brussels office, pointed out that Korean brands managed to cater to these changing tastes as they heavily promote the use of natural ingredients like ginseng, green tea and aloe plants.
This was backed by a survey conducted by Cosmetics Europe in April last year: 52 percent of respondents answered that a product’s effect on the environment was a major factor they considered when making beauty purchases.
The analysis said that there is a growing perception in Europe that Korean beauty products are good quality. Korean brands also offer products that are otherwise hard to find from European brands, like sheet masks and cushion foundations.
For companies that aim to launch businesses in Europe, KITA advised that it’s necessary to verify that product ingredients are not animal-tested, as such testing was banned by the European Union in 2013.
“Several European companies said Korean brands have to work more to increase awareness and particularly make sure to emphasize that they are Korean, as a lot of European consumers know that animal-testing is mandatory for beauty products in China,” said the report.
Following Dubai and Seoul, the next stop on the Burberry Conservatory pop-up world tour is Singapore.
The headline star for the pop-up is a tote known as the Belt Bag, which made its debut at Burberry’s February show in London.
Modelled after quintessentially English greenhouses, the space will offer exclusive Belt models, namely limited editions in medium and small sizes sewn with rainbow belt detailing and equestrian knight embroidery. For customisation, a sample of exclusive belts with rainbow and grommet details will be available, bolstered by the brand’s now-signature monogram service.
Another model will be the Pin clutch with four colourways in leather.
Open from June 21 to July 8, the Burberry Conservatory will be open at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, China’s largest jeweller by market value, on Thursday reported a 34 percent rise in full-year net profit, buoyed by improving consumer sentiment and an uptick in mainland tourists arrivals.
Net profit rose to HK$4.10 billion ($521.98 million) for the year ended in March from HK$3.06 billion a year earlier. It was its highest yearly profit in three years. That compared with a HK$4.25 billion forecast by SmartEstimate.
Revenue for the 12-month period rose 15.4 percent to HK$59.16 billion from HK$51.25 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Same-store sales of its jewellery business in mainland China rose 8 percent for the year, while that in Hong Kong and Macau climbed 10.2 percent.
British-based retailer House of Fraser is set to close 31 of its 59 stores, but its Dundrum store in Dublin and its Victoria Square outlet in Belfast will survive the cull.
The company is implementing a restructuring plan that will affect 6,000 jobs – 2,000 House of Fraser employees and 4,000 concessions – in a bid to save the company.
The closures are part of a proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement. CVAs allow insolvent firms to continue trading while paying creditors over a fixed period.
The CVA, a legal process in the UK that requires landlords to agree to reduced rents or terminations of lease, is a condition for the sale of a controlling stake in the department store group to Hong Kong listed company C.banner, that also owns toy shop Hamleys and plans to inject £70 million of fresh capital into House of Fraser.
The stores scheduled for closure, which include the group’s Oxford Street store in London and many outlets in provincial cities in Britain’s north and midlands, will remain open until early in 2019.
Creditor meeting
The creditor meeting to approve the CVA will be held on June 22nd. Landlords have already signalled their disquiet with the proposal, because it does not impose losses on other creditors or shareholders.
In a statement, House of Fraser said without the restructuring plan, the company did not have a viable future.
The restructuring process will also see the company relocate its head office in Baker Street and its Granite House office in Glasgow to new locations to help cut costs.
The planned closures follow last month’s announcement that another Chinese group, retailer C.banner, had agreed to become the majority owner with a 51 per cent stake, with Nanjing Cenbest remaining a minority shareholder. Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct chain owns an 11 per cent stake in the retailer.
House of Fraser said it had held constructive initial discussions with landlords and other key stakeholders.
“The retail industry is undergoing fundamental change and House of Fraser urgently needs to adapt to this fast-changing landscape in order to give it a future and allow it to thrive,” said Frank Slevin, chairman of House of Fraser.
“Our legacy store estate has created an unsustainable cost base, which without restructuring, presents an existential threat to the business. “So whilst closing stores is a very difficult decision, especially given the length of relationship House of Fraser has with all its locations, there should be no doubt that it is absolutely necessary if we are to continue to trade and be competitive.”
The use of CVAs have been criticised by landlords in the UK. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday morning, Ian Fletcher of the British Property Federation said: “The only way to challenge [a CVA application] at the moment is to go to court – that’s not a particularly appetising proposition for anybody.
“These are big decisions, they involve billions of pounds and they involve people’s jobs and at the moment the only person that is the judge and jury on those is the insolvency practitioner so there is a group already that exists called the pre-pack panel, they could have a role in terms of giving a second opinion.”
Those affected by the store closures have already been informed. Among those set to close are the company’s Oxford Street store in London and stores in Birmingham and Bournemouth.
The House of Fraser store in Dundrum is a separate legal entity.
Prada China is boosting its retail presence by opening seven stores in the city of Xi’an.
The Italian luxury fashion group plans three Prada stores for the SKP Mall, plus two Miu Miu boutiques and two outlets for its Church’s brand.
Xi’an is an expanding city, with its luxury shopping scene including boutiques for brands including Chanel, Dior and Gucci as reported.
SKP Mall is seeking to replicate its successful model in Beijing with its new location in Xi’an, which has just opened. Designed by London architecture firm Sybarite, SKP Xi’an is a 19-storey structure.
For SKP, Prada is opening spaces for its menswear, womenswear and women’s footwear. The apparel boutiques are on the ground floor, while the shoes boutique is on the fourth floor. The stores are representative of Prada’s codes, with architectural details such as green marble, black-and-white checkered floors and mid-century Italian furniture.
Miu Miu is also setting up on SKP’s ground level with a store for its apparel, accessories, handbags and shoes. The second Miu Miu store in SKP is a footwear-focused boutique on the fifth floor. Both spaces feature elements such as blue damask fabric and velvet sofas.
Church’s, meanwhile, will retail men’s and women’s footwear on the second and fifth floors, respectively.
To mark the openings, Prada is taking its Silver Line pop-up to SKP – the installation is inspired by train travel and offers shoppers products that serve purposes for different parts of the journey.
Supreme’s James Jebbia is one of the big winners, walking away with the Menswear Designer of the Year award.
Jebbia was up against strong competition in the category, beating out Raf Simons for Calvin Klein, Virgil Abloh for Off-White, Thom Browne, and Tom Ford.
Since 1981, the CFDA Fashion Awards have recognized those making the biggest impact in the fashion industry every year.
Notable winners this year included Ralph Lauren (Members Salute), Kim Kardashian West (Influencer Award), British Vogue‘s Edward Enninful (Media Award), and Naomi Campbell (Fashion Icon Award).
Calvin Klein’s Raf Simons walked away with the Womenswear Designer of the Year gong.
Michael Kors Holdings recorded $1.18bn in the crucial fourth quarter, close to an 11% gain on last year, a revenue result driven most by sales brought in from Jimmy Choo, the luxury shoe business it acquired last summer for $1.2bn.
Like-for-like sales during the three months to end of March were up 2.3%, besting expectations for a 1% decline, marking the first time in two years that Michael Kors reported a comp sales rise. For the same period last year, comp sales were down 14.1%.
By brand, Michael Kors sales hit $1.07bn, the rise in sales at its own stores helped offset the decline in wholesale
Less discounting also boosted operating margins and helped the company swing back into the black. Net income was $44.1m, or 29 cents a share during the quarter, compared to a net loss of $26.8m or 17 cents per share last year.
For the year, the company reported profit of $591.9 million, or $3.82 per share. Revenue was reported as $4.72 billion.
In light of sluggish in-store retail sales, Kors has been trying to overhaul its business as shoppers shift many of their purchases online, where there’s an abundance of luxury goods at lower prices.
The company said it also closed some locations during the quarter, cutting some costs.
Looking forward, the American company reiterated that it remained on the lookout for further acquisitions following the Jimmy Choo deal.
“We will continue to explore acquisitions to complement our existing luxury portfolio,” said chairman and chief executive John Idol.
For the current quarter ending in July, Michael Kors said it expects revenue in the range of $1.14 billion
The company expects full-year earnings to be $4.65 to $4.75 per share, with revenue expected to be $5.1 billion and flat same-store sales.
MuleSoft, provider of the leading platform for building application networks, announced that Lane Crawford, Asia’s leading luxury department store, has selected MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform™ to power its industry-leading omnichannel customer experience, including the launch of its new mobile app in early 2017.
For more than 165 years, Lane Crawford has been a leader in luxury retail in Asia, and offers the largest designer portfolio showcasing more than 1,000 international brands. Since 2011, Lane Crawford has significantly invested in digital technology to become a luxury lifestyle destination across all channels becoming the first luxury omni-channel fashion retailer in Greater China.
Anypoint Platform Enables Lane Crawford To Bring Luxury Shopping at Consumers’ Fingertips
To continue to advance the omnichannel experience Lane Crawford pioneered in Greater China, the company selected MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform to launch its first mobile shopping app. With MuleSoft’s full lifecycle API management capabilities, Lane Crawford built an API integration layer to expose access to the CRM and eCommerce applications. Exposing these systems through APIs enabled Lane Crawford to create a data-as-a-service platform to orchestrate 360-degree views of customers and inventory, such as up-to-date loyalty balances and shopping history. The same APIs are leveraged across digital channels including their new mobile app, website, and WeChat, one of China’s most popular text and voice messaging apps.
“Lane Crawford is constantly at the forefront of retail technology. We are dedicated to helping our customers to shop anytime, anywhere,“ Sebastian Picardo, Deputy President, Lane Crawford. “MuleSoft’s API-led connectivity approach is an important step in our digital investment and commitment to offering our customers the seamless shopping experience whether in-store, online at lanecrawford.com or through mobile”.
“As we strive to build a world-class omnichannel retail platform, we need to be agile and identify the best technologies in the market. We are on track and will deliver a five-year technology blueprint to help Lane Crawford become a digital-enabled brand,” said Picardo.
Lane Crawford’s new mobile application built on Anypoint Platform will be a critical revenue driver for the business, as China’s shown a remarkably high demand for mobile shopping with more than $500 billion of all eCommerce purchases in China made on mobile devices according to eMarketer.
An Application Network Will Accelerate Innovation for Lane Crawford
The launch of its mobile application is just the start of the developments that Lane Crawford plans to launch as a result of creating an application network. Lane Crawford has set up an innovation team and is building out a repository of APIs in a center for enablement to maximise IT reuse. Future projects will focus on expanding WeChat capabilities and creating internal applications to increase operational efficiency.
“By building an application network, we’ve relieved the IT bottleneck that previously hindered our ability to innovate. Modernising our legacy systems with APIs has reduced our time spent on IT maintenance and left us with a repository of reusable assets we can use to launch future business initiatives faster,” Picardo continued. “We’re excited to continue to deliver even more innovative customer experiences in the future.”
When Alexandre Arnault became co-chief executive of Rimowa in October 2016, following its sale to LVMH for €640 million, the 26-year-old son of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault set about pushing the German luggage label, best known for its ribbed aluminium suitcases, into new territories.
First came a collaboration with the Roman fur and leather house Fendi, followed by a partnership with Los Angeles-based Anti Social Social Club. But it was the company’s tie-up with billion-dollar streetwear juggernaut Supreme that really made a splash.
Now, Arnault is about to drop what could be one of Rimowa’s biggest product collaborations to date: a pair of transparent polycarbonate suitcases created in partnership with Virgil Abloh’s haute streetwear sensation Off-White.
Below is the gallery of the suitcases (3 images) :
rimowa x off white 1
182505 essnl cabin offwhite pf
“At LVMH, we have a saying that we like to be between tradition and modernity. Rimowa is a 120-year-old brand and what we’re doing with Virgil is a great example of modernity,” explained Arnault, who first teased the collaboration on his personal Instagram account in September 2017 and will officially debut the resulting product on June 20 at Off-White’s Paris menswear show.
The move comes as more and more luxury brands are tapping the cultural energy and business model of streetwear to stay relevant with millennial customers, who drove 85 percent of luxury growth last year and increasingly demand newness and novelty.
“Maybe there’s a bit of fatigue from customers of traditional brands and they’re excited by fresh products done in a different way and this is something that’s really well embraced by streetwear,” said Arnault. “One collaboration in itself won’t be a key sales driver, but ultimately the social media value of them is extremely important for driving awareness and desirability.”
Rimowa will follow the Off-White initiative with a partnership with Parisian streetwear label NasaSeasons. But Arnault says he isn’t planning to continue product collaborations at this pace. “You’ll see us come with collaborations for sure but not all in the same space or at the same scale every two months. I’m very cautious of one collaboration too many.”
Abloh said suitcase he created for Rimowa is transparent in order to let consumers participate in the design process, much as he has with some of his recent sneaker designs for Nike.
“It’s like 3.0 of personalisation. It’s not just putting your initials on it but allowing another layer to come in play,” he explained. “There’s an emotional component to owning [the suitcase] and you become a performance art piece just by using the thing. It’s like putting your items on display and rethinking the premise of a product.”
Abloh was recently named men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton as part of a series of changes on the men’s side of LVMH, including the appointment of Kim Jones at Dior Homme and the appointment of Kris Van Assche at Berluti. Both Jones and Van Assche are known for their modern, streetwear-savvy sensibilities.
But although the worlds of streetwear and luxury are undoubtedly merging as part of a wider generational shift, Arnault is quick to note that quality will remain a long-term marker of authentic luxury goods. “The thing that changed is the way luxury goods are perceived, marketed and distributed,” he explained. “But people are willing to pay a premium if we know a product comes from a trusted brand with quality craftsmanship — that won’t change.”
“Heritage, quality, craftsmanship and authenticity from the preceding generation of luxury, that’s valuable. Those things won’t waver,” agreed Abloh, “But being a part of the new era is the halo effect, the cultural attachment and relevance. Married in the right way you have the future of how a brand can be one-part luxury from the preceding generation and coveted by the next generation. That’s the unique fit going forward.”
Abloh’s ability to bring his streetwear-infused aesthetic to a major European luxury house will be put to the test later this month when he shows his debut collection for Louis Vuitton.
“What you’ll see with what Kim and Virgil are doing at Dior Homme and Louis Vuitton isn’t the most streetwear-inspired collection — you’re not walking into a skate shop,” hinted Arnault. “They also have to adapt to codes, quality criteria and brand DNA.”
Active lifestyle smartwatch Garmin Philippines will introduce its expanded line to the Philippine market and open another location this year in Vertis North Mall Quezon City and its first-ever branch in Mindanao at the SM Lanang Premier (Davao).
Garmin Philippines (Navco Inc.) president Ryan Tan says the expanded range is made for any kind of lifestyle, whether for everyday or for adventures.
“Before, Garmins were primarily used by hardcore runners, triathletes and adventurers. In IronMan events almost 80 per cent of athletes use Garmin. Now Garmin has evolved into a lifestyle watch brand.”
He says it looks like a normal everyday analog watch but with smart wellness features. The Vivomove HR, for example, is a hybrid smartwatch with a discreet touchscreen. It features a crystal touchscreen with a discreet display. Precision hands show the time and dynamically move away when the user swipes through their messages, heart rate and more. It counts the user’s steps and calories while monitoring wellness, including all-day stress tracking plus the relaxation-based breathing timer.
The US brand has also introduced multisport watches such as Forerunner® 645 and the DescentTM Mk1. Up to 500 songs are built in to the Forerunner® 645 Music, which also offers smart notifications plus the ability to send prewritten responses to text messages, automatic uploads to the Garmin connect app and the ability for others to track your runs with the LiveTrack feature.
Meanwhile, the Garmin DescentTM Mk1 is a do-it-all dive computer, the first of its kind to pack surface GPS navigation with full-color onscreen mapping and location reference. On top of that, it features an algorithm that alerts you when you’re beyond your dive limits.
Meanwhile, Garmin is launching the Garmin PH Community on Facebook for Garmin users and fans in the Philippines.
Garmin opened its first concept store in Glorietta 5 in 2014, followed by outlets in Uptown Mall BGC, SM North Edsa, The Podium, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura Premier and Alabang Town Center.
The Nature Republic flagship store in Myeongdong, Seoul, has been named the most expensive commercial property in South Korea for the 15th consecutive year.
According to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the official government appraisal of the land currently housing the cosmetics retailer’s stroe increased by 6.16 per cent from last year to 91.3 million won (US$85,439) per square metre.
Other properties within Myeongdong rounded out the list of the 10 most expensive properties per square metre in the nation.
Properties currently occupied by jewellery shops Lloyd and Clue were the second and third most expensive, coming in at 90.25 million won and 90.12 million won, respectively.
The site of Woori Bank’s Myeongdong Branch dropped to fourth place at 88.6 million won per square metre after holding the second highest position for many years.
The average price of land per square metre rose 6.28 per cent with Mapo-gu showing the highest increase at 11.89 per cent.
Seocho-gu followed with 8.76 per cent, while Yongsan-gu and Seongdong-gu were tied at 8.14 per cent each.
Gangnam-gu, with a 7.85 per cent increase, rounded out the list of districts in Seoul that saw the greatest rise in land prices.
According to MOLIT, the least expensive land can be found in Uljin-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, boasting an appraisal price of 142 won (US13 cents) per square metre.
In addition, the greatest price leap came from Guneop-ri, Hwachon-myeon in Hongcheon-gun of Gangwon Province, having seen a 700-fold increase from 286 won per square metre last year to 200,000 won this year.
The jump in price is attributed to a newly built rest service area along the Seoul-Yangyang highway.
Fashion giants H&M and Gap vowed on Tuesday (05/06) to investigate reports that Asian garment workers who supply their high-street stores routinely face sex abuse, harassment and violence.
Based on interviews with some 550 workers in 53 H&M and Gap supplier factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, rights groups said women were at “daily risk” of violence and faced retaliation if they reported the attacks.
The coalition has investigated the factories for several years as efforts mount to push Western brands into improving safety along their supply chains and render them slave-free.
Clothes stitched by low-paid Asian workers – part of a complex global supply chain – end up on high-priced Western high streets, with some 4,750 H&M stores located in 69 countries and about 3,700 Gap shops operating in about 90 nations.
Sweden’s H&M — the world’s No. 2 clothes group after Zara owner Inditex — said it would review the findings of the recent report by the civil society groups and unions.
“We will go through every section of the report and follow up on [a] factory level with our local teams based in each production country,” a company spokesman said in a statement.
“All forms of abuse or harassment are against everything that H&M group stands for.”
US retailer Gap said it was “deeply concerned about the troubling allegations raised by this report.”
“Our global team is currently conducting our due diligence to investigate and address these issues,” a spokeswoman said.
The charities said they had found widespread sex harassment, verbal and physical abuse – such as slapping – and threats of retaliation when women refused sexual advances from bosses.
Forced Labor
A separate report published last month by the coalition of rights groups found similar abuse of women at supplier factories in Asia for US-based Walmart, the world’s largest retailer.
Walmart said last month that it was reviewing the “concerning” accounts cited in the report.
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), a group of trade unions, firms and charities of which both Gap and H&M are members, said it expected the retailers to work with the suppliers to ensure that women have swift access to remedy.
“These allegations are deeply concerning,” said Debbie Coulter of the ETI. “Gender-based violence is unacceptable under any circumstances, and brands need to make sure that women working in their supply chain are protected.”
Campaigners told the Thomson Reuters Foundation last month that the level of pressure and harassment faced by the workers in the three separate reports was approaching forced labour.
“Any time you have retaliation against workers, and coercion and control … you are coming close to the line of forced labour,” Jennifer Rosenbaum of Global Labor Justice, a network of worker and migrant organizations, said last month.
The reports have been published amid meetings hosted by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization to work on the first global convention against workplace harassment after the #MeToo campaign thrust the issue into the spotlight.
LVMH Group announced that Giuseppe Oliveri is leaving his role as general manager of Dior China to take over global retail and wholesale at Fendi.
Effective 1 July 2018, Oliveri will return to his homeland Italy, commencing as Fendi’s managing director of retail and wholesale.
Oliveri began his career in banking, before moving into retail with Italian group Benetton, followed by a stint at Stefanel in Hong Kong. From there, he became general manager of Versace’s Asia-Pacific region, before heading over to lead Dior’s Chinese operations in 2015.
The news comes on the heels of several management reshuffles across the LVMH Group fold.
Oliveri’s predecessor, Charles Delapalme, recently left to take over Dior’s commercial activities, a role in which he succeeds Serge Brunschwig, who is now CEO at Fendi, following Pietro Beccari’s appointment at the head of Dior.
LVMH, whose 70 brands range from Dom Perignon champagne to fashion houses like Fendi and Givenchy, said sales rose 11 percent between October and December on a like-for-like basis, which strips out currency swings.
At the time of reporting in January, the French company said demand from Asian shoppers boosted makers of high-end handbags, clothing and watches during 2017, thanks in particular to thriving Chinese demand.
While individual brand results were not disclosed, the firm said operating income for the whole of 2017 stood at 8.29 billion euros ($10.36 billion), up 18 percent from a year earlier.
In Hong Kong, Fendi has more than 200 employees with seven stores in Landmark, Times Square, Pacific Place, Canton Road, Harbour City, DFS Sun Plaza and Elements, according to the French Chamber Hong Kong.
In the Asia Pacific region, Fendi also has locations in Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. The brand employs over 2500 employees worldwide.
After watches, India’s Titan is planning to take its jewellery retail business to international markets by end of its next financial year.
Firstly, the Bengaluru-headquartered company is looking at franchising forays into the Asian market, says Titan Company MD Bhaskar Bhat.
“The watches business has a minuscule presence in the international markets,” he says. “The big change will come when our jewellery becomes international.”
Given that jewellery is a low-margin business unlike watches, the company will not make large investments to enter these geographies, but instead opt for a low-cost franchise model. “These stores will be launched on a partnership basis,” says Bhat.
Jewellery accounts for around 75 per cent of Titan, which also sells watches, eyewear, fragrance and even sarees. It will be the company’s second bid to enter the global markets in the jewellery segment. By focusing on Asia, the company wants to test the model before taking it to other geographies.
