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.

  • Gentle Monster opens another flagship store

    Gentle Monster opens another flagship store

    South Korean luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster has unveiled its latest themed store in Starfield Hanam, Seoul.

    Dubbed ‘Self Similarity’, the theme reinterprets the mathematical concept through visual and spatial elements. The Starfield Hanam storehouses various artwork, images, and installations representing “the infinite possibility of ‘expansion’” through repeating geometric structures, such as fractals, Mandelbrot sets, and Julia sets.

    The newly opened flagship features The Probe, the brand’s six-legged walking robot which can also be seen in the Haus Dosan outlet.

    “The kinetic installations located at the facade, repeatedly expanding and contracting, and artwork that expresses infinite proliferation show Gentle Monster’s unique and artistic perspective on the concept of self-similarity,” the company described.

    Meanwhile, Gentle Monster chose Starfield Hanam to land Nudake’s second store in South Korea, offering a range of artistic desserts.

  • Garment production may slow down over Covid-19

    Garment production may slow down over Covid-19

    The textiles and garment sector is likely to be impacted by the Covid-19 situation getting more complicated across Vietnam. Industry insiders say the pandemic situation in HCMC, in particular, will drag the sector down in the remaining months of the year.

    The pandemic has already penetrated some industrial parks in HCMC, so if the staff of garment and textile firms get infected, work would stop and fulfillment of orders would slow down, said Pham Xuan Hong, head of HCMC Association of Garment, Textile, Embroidery, and Knitting (AGTEK).

    Garment and textile firms are labor-intensive affairs with many workers concentrating in certain places, so the risk of Covid-19 breaking out in factories is very high, said Le Tien Truong, chairman of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), adding that the production chain is likely to be broken amid the outbreak.

    Vinatex has 150,000 workers nationwide, with most of its affiliates having an average workforce of 2,000 each.

    In the first three waves of Covid-19, no Vinatex affiliates reported any Covid-19 infection. In the ongoing fourth wave, some enterprises in the northern province of Bac Ninh and the central city of Da Nang have reported infected workers.

    “This is the first time in 18 months of Covid outbreaks that workers in Vinatex affiliates have been infected with the disease, forcing them to stop production and face considerable losses,” the Vinatex chairman said.

    If production comes to a halt due to Covid-19, goods delivery will be delayed, causing losses for producers and exporters, he said.

    Affected enterprises will have to shift to transporting goods by air, instead of by sea to ensure timely shipment. This would make the shipment prohibitively expensive, Truong noted.

    Vinatex and AGTEK have proposed the government prioritizes vaccination against Covid-19 for garment and textile workers. Most garment and textile firms have said they are willing to cover all vaccination costs.

    Vietnam’s textiles and garment export turnover reached $5.8 billion in the first five months, a year-on-year rise of 4.8 percent.

  • Cartier unveils complex, wooden-fronted Osaka store

    Cartier unveils complex, wooden-fronted Osaka store

    Cartier has reopened its flagship in Ginza, Tokyo following extensive renovations. The flagship store covers a surface of 10,764-square-feet.

    The Ginza boutique houses the luxury jewelry company’s men’s and women’s watch collections on the first floor, diamonds, including engagement rings, contemporary designs, and special orders, on the second floor, and fashion accessories and leather goods on the lower level. Interior designer Bruno Moinard created unique spaces for each floor, with the first floor featuring brown tones and soft hues of beige, gold, and champagne, and the second floor featuring feminine contrasting hues of ivory and champagne.

    The façade, which was designed by Sylvain Dubuisson, was constructed in two sections with the lower part being a dark brown, orange-toned granite stone façade inspired by the company’s boutique in Paris on Rue de la Paix, and the second section featuring Japanese screens, or Shoji, made from traditional paper and wood cuts arranged to resemble a Japanese cedar, or Sugi, which is Japan’s national tree.

    Cartier first entered the Asia market in 1970 in Hong Kong and later opened in Singapore in 1973. The jewelry company opened a boutique in Ginza in 1991 and opened the flagship in 2003, which introduced Cartier’s interior design concept by Moinard. The boutique was renovated and reopened in 2007, and it reopens again after being renovated for two years.

  • Zara joint venture records loss in India

    Zara joint venture records loss in India

    Inditex, the Spanish owner of fashion brand Zara posted its first-ever loss in India as sales dipped by 28% due to Covid lockdowns and related staggered reopening during the financial year 2021 (FY21). The fashion house consistently posted profits in India since entering the country in 2010.

    Zara’s joint venture partner with Tata, Inditex Trent, which runs 21 stores in India saw its revenue decline to Rs 1,126 crore in FY21. The company posted a net loss of Rs 41 crore as per Trent’s annual report released Thursday. It posted a profit of Rs 104 crore in the previous year. It is one of the most profitable apparel retailers in the country.

    Trent’s annual report said FY21 started with significant uncertainty due to the pandemic. It added that operating profit was hit by a drop in sales and restaurants profits due to Covid-related lockdowns and trade restrictions.

    According to an Economic Times report, Trent has yet another association with Inditex group to operate Massimo Dutti stores in India. It saw revenues drop by 50% to Rs 34 crore in FY21 with a net loss of Rs 8 crore.

  • Taiwanese footwear maker suspends 18,000 workers over Covid-19 linkage

    Taiwanese footwear maker suspends 18,000 workers over Covid-19 linkage

    Over 18,000 workers of Pou Sung Vietnam were temporarily suspended due to a worker having close contact with a suspected Covid-19 case.

    Health authority found the wife of a suspected Covid-19 case working at the Dong Nai-based firm with 27,000 employees. The worker, who came in close contact with the suspected Covid-19 case, had her sample taken and is awaiting results.

    The company has suspended 18,403 workers starting Saturday morning to disinfect the entire factory, according to Le Nhat Truong, chairman of the labor union of Pou Sung Vietnam.

    It is also tracing those who traveled in the same vehicle carrying the Covid-19 linkage worker. The firm employs 300 vehicles to pick up over 10,000 staff in remote areas across the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Thuan.

    Dong Nai Province has 31 industrial zones and one high-tech zone, with 1,400 enterprises employing more than 620,000 workers.

    The province found two Covid-19 cases Saturday, ending its 45-day streak without new Covid-19 cases.

    Dong Nai has so far recorded three confirmed Covid-19 case since the fourth coronavirus wave hit on April 27.

  • SaSa International Closing 20 Hong Kong stores

    SaSa International Closing 20 Hong Kong stores

    Sa Sa International (0178) projects to close 15 to 20 shops in Hong Kong by the end of March 2022, but will add 30 stores in the mainland after recording a net loss of more than HK$350 million for the fiscal year ending March.

    Sa Sa said that it will close some physical stores in Hong Kong, especially in tourist areas, to cut down on rental costs.

    The group stated that the leases of 38 of their Hong Kong shops expired this year. Last year, the renewal rent in tourist areas was reduced by about 70 percent and in non-tourist areas by about 26 percent.

    So far this year, the rent renewal in tourist areas was reduced by 65 percent and in non-tourist areas by about 30 percent.

    As of the end of March, Hong Kong and Macau stores were reduced from 112 stores to 100 stores, Malaysian stores were reduced from 79 to 75, and mainland stores increased from 44 to 57.

    The group will focus more resources on its online business.

    This came after its net loss narrowed by 32 percent year-on-year to HK$351.4 million.

    Basic loss per share amounted to 11.3 HK cents. The board does not recommend the payment of a final dividend.

    Turnover for the continuing operations decreased by 46.8 percent to HK$3.04 billion. Sales of retail and wholesale in Hong Kong and Macau reduced by 57.8 percent to HK$1.99 billion. Mainland revenue rose 15.9 percent in yuan to HK$289.85 million. From April 1 to June 9, sales rose 55.1 percent. Hong Kong and Macau sales rose 53.5 percent and mainland sales rose 30.7 percent due to low base effect.

  • Unilever buys digital-first skincare brand Paula’s Choice

    Unilever buys digital-first skincare brand Paula’s Choice

    Unilever is to add digital-led skincare brand Paula’s Choice to its portfolio after reaching a purchase agreement with TA Associates.

    The value of the deal – expected to be completed in the third quarter this year – has not yet been disclosed. According to Unilever, Paula’s Choice will join its Prestige division which manages other skincare brands such as Tatcha, Murad, and Dermalogica.

    “Developing Unilever’s portfolio in the high-growth premium skin-care segment is one of our strategic priorities,” said Sunny Jain, president of beauty & personal care at Unilever.

    “Paula’s Choice is a true pioneer in the digital space for beauty and has created a mission-based brand rooted in truth and transparency,” said Vasiliki Petrou, VP and CEO of Unilever Prestige.

    Founded in 1995 by Paula Begoun, the direct to consumer brand Paula’s Choice is known for its science-backed products and digital tools, including its ‘Ingredient Dictionary’ that breaks down the research behind nearly 4000 ingredients, and ‘Expert Advice’, a curated online hub of skincare and ingredient knowledge.

  • Oriental Watch profit soars as Chinese shop at home instead of travel

    Oriental Watch profit soars as Chinese shop at home instead of travel

    Most readers would already be aware that Oriental Watch Holdings’ stock increased significantly by 37% over the past three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long term, so we decided to look at the company’s key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. Specifically, we decided to study Oriental Watch Holdings’ ROE in this article.

    Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

    The ‘return’ is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every HK$1 worth of shareholders’ equity, the company generated HK$0.05 in profit.

    So far, we’ve learned that ROE is a measure of a company’s profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or “retains”, and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

    On the face of it, Oriental Watch Holdings’ ROE is not much to talk about. We then compared the company’s ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 8.5%. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see that Oriental Watch Holdings grew its net income at a significant rate of 42% in the last five years. So, there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company’s earnings growth. Such as – high earnings retention or efficient management in place.

    Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Oriental Watch Holdings’ growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 8.5% in the same period, which is great to see.

    The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Oriental Watch Holdings fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

    The three-year median payout ratio for Oriental Watch Holdings is 45%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 55%. So it seems that Oriental Watch Holdings is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees impressive growth in its earnings (discussed above) and pays a dividend that’s well covered.

    Moreover, Oriental Watch Holdings is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

  • China to become major buyer of Vietnam’s garments

    China to become major buyer of Vietnam’s garments

    China is set to become a major export market for Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, making up for the lull in traditional markets like Japan and the EU.

    According to Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Covid-19 has rendered some of the main markets unstable. For example, the E.U. is facing the risk of a pandemic resurgence, while Japan’s economy is yet to revive. Therefore, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports to these two markets are not expected to rise this year.

    Meanwhile, China has indicated in its 14th five-year plan that it will not concentrate on textile and garment production in the 2021-2025 period.

    Vietnam’s textile and garment exports to China in Q1 experienced the highest growth among the five largest textile and garment export markets (the U.S., Japan, South Korea, E.U., and China), Vinatex reported. Textile and garment export value to China during the period was as high as that to the E.U. at $680 million.

    One challenge for Vinatex this year is the falling demand of office wear, which is one of the group’s main products. Amidst the pandemic, consumers prefer casual wear and sportswear. Another difficulty is that inflation is expected to rise this year, resulting in higher lending rates and increased financial expenses.

    Vinatex targets revenues of VND1.5 trillion ($66 million) this year, up 5 percent year-on-year, and pre-tax profit of VND201 billion, up 37 percent. The group said it will continue to divest from ineffective companies this year.

    Vietnam’s textile and garment exports in the first five months of 2021 hit $12.2 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

  • Temples inspire design of Uniqlo’s latest Tokyo retail store

    Temples inspire design of Uniqlo’s latest Tokyo retail store

    Uniqlo opened the doors of its newest large-format store on Friday, in the historic and culturally significant neighborhood of Asakusa. The store follows the concept of “our neighborhood” and aims to support the area’s local businesses, residents, and artisans.

    With a selling area of more than 21,000 square feet, Uniqlo Asakusa also boasts one of the longest continuous store windows of any Uniqlo store. It is located in the heart of Asakusa, which prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was bustling with international tourists on any day of the week. The area is known for its historic pedestrian lanes lined with souvenir stores and leading up to Senso-ji, Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple and one of its most significant. It is also a district that hosts the workshops and stores of many traditional craftspeople, some of whom Uniqlo featured in various ways inside the store.

    The double-level main entrance to the store is dominated by a giant paper and wooden lantern, which was created by a local workshop and hand-painted with the Uniqlo logo. At nearly six feet per side, it was both the largest lantern the shop had ever created, as well as the first cubic one. In addition, signage used throughout the store was inspired by “senjafuda” votive strips that are a common sight at temples and shrines across Japan.

    Uniqlo also collaborated with local businesses on various products to mark the opening of the store. For example, small ceramic plates designed with traditional snack-maker Asakusa Tokiwado will be available for sale in limited quantities, while original teacups will be given to the first 3,000 customers to spend 5,000 yen or more during the opening weekend. There are also original UTme! stamps that are only available at the Asakusa store to use in customizing T-shirts and tote bags.

    Throughout the store, Uniqlo has highlighted products from local shops, from stationery to skateboards, encouraging customers to explore the neighborhood in order to purchase such items and discover others. Other features of the store include a larger than usual space where customers can try on and order tailor-made items, areas highlighting sustainability and fitting rooms that feature artworks by a local artist, and photographs of Asakusa from the past and present.

  • Chow Tai Fook profit rebounds as Mainland China focus pays off

    Chow Tai Fook profit rebounds as Mainland China focus pays off

    Hong Kong-listed Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd reported a forecast-beating 108% jump in annual profit on Tuesday, thanks to one-off COVID-19 related rent concessions, an unrealised gain on gold loans and foreign exchange gains.

    China’s largest jeweller by market value said net profit surged to HK$6.03 billion ($777 million) from HK$2.9 billion in fiscal 2020. That compared to a forecast of HK$5.23 billion profit by 14 analysts, Refinitiv SmartEstimate data showed.

    It was the highest annual profit since 2014.

    A COVID-19 related rent concession amounted to HK$127.6 million as compared to HK$16.2 million in fiscal 2020, while net foreign exchange gain amounted to HK$336.4 million against HK$234 million loss in a year ago period.

    Revenue for the year to March 31 rose 23.6% to HK$70.16 billion from HK$56.75 billion a year earlier, driven by retail expansion amid improving consumer sentiment in mainland China and a softer gold price in the second half of the fiscal year.

    “As we are optimistic about the mid- to long-term growth in the mainland China market, we will focus on our mainland China’s business development in the coming future,” Chairman Henry Cheng said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

    “We will continue our retail expansion strategy through penetrating into lower tier cities and leveraging franchisees’ local knowledge,” he added.

    The retail network expanded to 4,591 point-of-sales (POS) by the end of March, with a net addition of 741 POS. The company plans to add at least 700 POS in mainland China in fiscal 2022 but may close 10-15 POS in Hong Kong and Macau.

    Same-store sales surged 31.9% in mainland China but plunged 41.3% in Hong Kong and Macau as major border crossings remained closed during the period.

  • H&M closes Shanghai flagship

    H&M closes Shanghai flagship

    H&M has closed one of its Shanghai flagship stores on the Nanjing West Road. The store, which was open for ten years, was considered a key part of the brand’s retail strategy as it was on a high-traffic shopping street.

    According to a statement made to Chinese media, H&M closed this store due to the lease ending. H&M says they will continue to review locations as business develops in China.

    Both Bloomberg and The New York Times have reported that landlords in China have forced the closure of H&M stores across the country after the controversy in late March regarding the company’s stance on using cotton sourced in China’s Xinjiang region. H&M products currently aren’t being sold on China’s top two e-commerce platforms, Tmall and JD.com.

    It’s been a tough year for H&M. In addition to taking a hit last year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, H&M also saw a 21 percent fall in sales for Q1 2021. The company is projected to close 250 stores this year.

  • Yum! Brands buys Australian tech startup Dragontail

    Yum! Brands buys Australian tech startup Dragontail

    Fast food corporation Yum! Brands, the US parent of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, has purchased Australian tech startup Dragontail for US$93.5 million.

    Yum! Brands’ acquisition of Dragontail will take the startup’s emerging technologies in-house in addition to its kitchen order management and delivery software.

    According to CFO Chris Turner, the move would allow the US company to scale Dragontail’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology globally across its operations.

    “With Dragontail, we expect to tap into the power of AI to accelerate and further enhance our delivery technology capabilities, especially at Pizza Hut, and optimize the end-to-end food preparation process,” said Turner.

    Dragontail’s AI-based solution automates the kitchen workflow and incorporates it with the process of dispatching drivers, it also allows customers to track their orders. In addition, this technology can also operate with external food-delivery vendors.

    “Yum! Brands and Dragontail have been working in a fruitful collaboration for years,” said Ido Levanon, MD of Dragontail.

    “Dragontail’s board fully supports this transaction, which it considers to be an attractive opportunity for its shareholders. It will also provide Yum! Brands with innovative technology.”

  • Abercrombie sales soar after online focus, store reopenings

    Abercrombie sales soar after online focus, store reopenings

    With social distancing becoming the new norm due to the coronavirus pandemic, consumers have taken to digital shopping, which in turn is boosting online sales. Catching up with the current trend, the majority of retailers are improving their websites and mobile apps, and omnichannel capabilities to serve customers better. One such retailer is Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF, which has witnessed robust digital growth over the past few months.

    Despite a sluggish top line in second-quarter fiscal 2020 owing to pandemic-induced store closures and consumers’ altered shopping habits, a solid online show provided Abercrombie with the much-needed shield. Even as stores reopened after almost seven long weeks following local health guidelines, the company continued to witness the solid online performance. Digital net sales surged 56% year over year to $386 million in second-quarter fiscal 2020, representing nearly 55% of the top line. The upside can be mainly attributed to improved traffic, higher conversion, and AUR.

    Encouraged by the spike in online demand, management has increased focus on the omnichannel shopping experience, including home delivery, buy online and pick-up in-store, buy online ship-to-store facility, same-day delivery as well as mobile app services. Notably, combined total visits to the company’s website and mobile app increased 25%. Also, app visits alone rose approximately 50% in the quarter.

    Other retailers benefiting from the sudden surge in online sales include Hibbett Sports HIBB, Gap GPS, and PVH Corp. PVH. Notably, Hibbett’s online sales advanced 212.2% year over year in the fiscal second quarter on rising in new customers. Also, Gap’s e-commerce channel recorded 95% growth during the fiscal second quarter. Moreover, PVH Corp’s e-commerce sales improved more than 50% year over year during second-quarter fiscal 2020 driven by strong online sales growth in all regions, even after the reopening of stores.

    Coming back to Abercrombie, the company reopened roughly 90% of its store base at the end of second-quarter fiscal 2020. In the United States, nearly 85% of the company’s store base opened at the end of the second quarter. The company’s entire store base opened in the EMEA region, while the APAC region had 96% of its stores open at the end of the quarter. Further, it has been making efforts to optimize store fleet to improve store productivity. So far through Aug 27, 2020, the company has closed 14 stores, while opening nine. This move will help reduce expenses by nearly $200 million this year.

    All said, we believe that strong digital growth and improved trend in reopened stores are likely to aid this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, which has lost 21.3% year to date compared with the industry’s fall of 15.7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

  • China sales soar for Vans, Supreme parent VF Corporation

    China sales soar for Vans, Supreme parent VF Corporation

    In a year when apparel group VF Corporation experienced a 12-per-cent fall in group sales, its Greater China business saw revenue surge 24 percent, and the company has strong expectations for the new fiscal year.

    VF, which owns brands including Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Dickies, and Supreme, expects global sales to increase by around 28 percent in the new financial year as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on retail trading operations in North America and Europe lessens. In Asia Pacific, where it says nearly all of its stores are open and trading, the company expects to boost sales by 18 to 20 percent this year, helping it achieve US$11.8 billion in sales worldwide, compared with $9.2 billion in the year to last March. The recently acquired Supreme brand is expected to contribute $600 million of that.

    “We are incredibly proud of the results VF achieved across the Asia Pacific region throughout fiscal 2021 and the way in which we navigated the challenges posed by the pandemic,” said Winnie Ma, president, Greater China, and Southeast Asia, at VF Corporation. “Our Asia-Pacific business model transformation is well progressed and will lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth across the region in the years ahead.”

    While Covid-19 dented the company’s global sales for the full FY2021 year, fourth-quarter trading figures suggest the worst is behind.

    Total sales rose by 23 percent (19 percent in constant currency) to $2.6 billion. “Excluding the impact of acquisitions, revenue increased 16 percent driven by VF’s largest brands, e-commerce growth, and an increase in the APAC region, which experienced a significant negative impact from Covid-19 in the prior-year period,” the company said in a statement. However, the fourth quarter also included an extra week’s trading when compared to the previous year.

    Chairman, president, and CEO Steve Rendle said the company took actions early in the last fiscal year to protect its people and the business while maintaining investments to drive our transformation and accelerate organic growth.

    “At the same time, we took bold, forward-looking actions to spark additional growth and value creation. As a result, we are exiting this year in a position of strength with broad-based momentum across the portfolio,” he concluded.

    Adjusted operating income from continuing operations for FY2021 decreased 45 percent to $742 million, including a $34 million contribution from acquisitions.