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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.

  • The Body Shop Singapore introduces ‘Activist’ store

    The Body Shop Singapore introduces ‘Activist’ store

    Cosmetics & skincare retailer The Body Shop is launching an “activist workshop” store in Singapore at the Ion Orchard shopping center.

    Building on the brand’s reputation for being environmentally aware and natural, the store has been transformed into an interactive ‘activist workshop’ that encourages visitors to explore and recycle products.

    The store features sustainable fixtures of reclaimed wood and recycled plastics as well as low-energy-footprint zinc cladding and worktop surfaces made from material otherwise destined for landfills.

    Features exclusive to the outlet include a DIY gifting station, a cruelty-free fragrance collection, and a water station, as well as an ‘activist bay’ where visitors can take inspiration from the brand’s campaigns.

  • Pandemic causes steep drop in Asics revenue

    Pandemic causes steep drop in Asics revenue

    Japanese sportswear retailer Asics has posted a steep drop in revenues as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The firm has seen a 21.5-per-cent dip in global sales to the equivalent of US$1.4 billion in this year’s second financial quarter, and operating losses of $36.6 million against an $81.2 million profit last year.

    In keeping with a global rise in e-commerce trade heavily influenced by lockdowns and stay-at-home orders internationally, Asics saw an uptick in online sales of 139 percent for its European market – but that was not enough to prevent a fall in gross profits of 20.7 percent to $667 million.

    In its home market sales fell by 24 percent to $444.6 million, while in European sales were down 20.5 percent to $350.9 million.

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  • Luk Fook warns of heavy sales decline in June

    Luk Fook warns of heavy sales decline in June

    Jeweler Luk Fook Holdings has warned shareholders of a “substantial decline” in both sales and profit for the June quarter. Revenue for the Hong Kong-headquartered company was down 60 percent year on year for the three months, with profit down by around 80 per cent.

    However, CEO Wai Sheung Wong said there are signs of improvement since June in Mainland China, if not at home.

    “The overall same-store sales of all shops including self-operated and licensed shops in Mainland China in July improved progressively with narrowed decline as compared to the low double-digit drop in June.”

    In Hong Kong and Macau however, July sales were affected by the unstable outbreak, the decline widening from June’s 60-per-cent drop.

    “Therefore, the group’s overall trend of revenue and profit for the period from July to Sep

  • Gentle Monster shows its flagship concept in Shenyang

    Gentle Monster shows its flagship concept in Shenyang

    Gentle Monster has unveiled another flagship concept in Shenyang, China after launching the “Memory” theme in Hangzhou last month.

    Themed “New Normal”, the Korean eyewear retailer’s new store in Shenyang is inspired by the idea of how AI will be “deeply embedded in human life.” The story behind the new concept, according to the company, is “the upcoming future where AI is no longer a strange concept, but a ‘New Normal’.”

    When entering the store, visitors will see a sculpted “AI shepherd”, keeping an eye over his sheep.

    “With more data collection, this AI shepherd is able to nurture the herd with more care than the past generations,” Gentle Monster explained. “The space past him exhibits the advanced technology of monitoring devices used to detect potential danger to guard the sheep.”

    Several artworks are featured on the store’s walls and floors. The Gentle Monster Shenyang store also houses a lion head sculpture in gold and dark blue-grey colors.

    “The Gentle Monster Shenyang store embodies the brand’s evolving identity, and visitors will be able to experience the future world where the ‘New Normal’ dominates the norm,” the company said.

    The store extends the technology theme of Gentle Monster’s new flagships. The Hangzhou store ‘Memory’ explores the concept of future technology restoring lost memories.

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  • Allbirds enters South Korea

    Allbirds enters South Korea

    New Zealand’s footwear label Allbirds is expanding its retail network into South Korea. From the early stages of Allbirds’ international expansion plan, South Korea was always high on the destination list as the company makes its Wool Runner product in Busan.

    “As we continue to expand our international footprint, we’re excited to finally enter the Korean market and connect with our existing community here, further establishing Allbirds as an important sustainable fashion player in Asia,” said Sandeep Verma, head of international.

    The company considers South Korea as a strategic market as it looks to strengthen its presence in greater Asia.

    “Allbirds’ mission to tread lighter on the planet has resonated with people far and wide, from Berlin to New York, from LA to Shanghai, and we’re delighted to share our purpose-led products and a world-class level of care with our Korean customers,” Verma said.

    Founded in 2016 by New Zealand footballer Tim Brown, who later teamed with American biotech engineer Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds now sells in 35 countries with more than 20 of its own brick-and-mortar stores worldwide. The brand is renowned for its logo-free sneakers made from sustainable materials.

    “The response we’ve received thus far has been beyond what we could’ve ever imagined when we first started this,” said Zwillinger, Co-CEO of Allbirds, referring to the international expansion program.

    Last April, Allbirds became the first apparel brand to label all of its products with a Carbon Footprint score, designed to inform customers of the carbon impact of its products.

  • Australia’s Mecca opens in China

    Australia’s Mecca opens in China

    Australian beauty retailer Mecca is entering the competitive Chinese market and launching its luxury flagship store at the online marketplace Tmall today.

    Known for its curation of niche and luxury local and international cosmetics, the brand has launched an edit of 22 first-to-market brands at its Tmall store, including its private-label brands, Mecca Brands and Mecca Max. Mecca’s Beauty Loop loyalty program will also now be available to Chinese customers.

    “I started Mecca with the desire to make every customer look and feel their best. From our very first store in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, to now launching in China our second international market, we have stayed true to this philosophy over the last 23 years,” said Mecca founder Jo Horgan in a statement.

    “I am thrilled that we are assisting Chinese customers, some of the most well-informed beauty shoppers in the world, to unearth incredible new brands and products and know that once they experience the Mecca magic, it will be love at first ‘add to cart’.”

    Celebrations will kick off today in Shanghai in the penthouse of luxury hotel Middle House, and will be attended by more than 100 Chinese media and key opinion leaders, while Horgan live streams from Melbourne.

    Horgan opened Mecca’s first shop in 1997 and the well-loved beauty business has since grown to 100 stores in Australia and New Zealand, along with e-commerce in both markets.

    “The idea was to bring these innovative brands into a service-driven, luxury boutique environment where women could shop across all brands and customize the product offer to suit their specific needs and wants,” Horgan said back in 2017.

    “Our goal was to take someone from a beauty novice to feeling like an expert in a single session, and for a makeup artist to feel like they had found their nirvana – we really wanted everyone to feel welcome, in control and walking out having had a great time.”

    While some beauty brands have avoided the Chinese market as legislation mandates cosmetic products in government laboratories must be tested on animals, many others such as Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and The Body Shop have found a loophole by selling on cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.

    Several brands now available at Mecca’s Tmall store are vegan and cruelty-free.

    According to a report from AlixPartners last year, 90 percent of those Chinese millennial customers surveyed indicated that purchasing ‘healthy or clean products’ was of importance to them.

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  • Elie Saab vows to rebuild after devastating Beirut blast

    Elie Saab vows to rebuild after devastating Beirut blast

    It felt like an eternity rather than just a few minutes as haute couture fashion designer Elie Saab scrambled to make sure his 200 staff members, including his son, were safe when this month’s massive explosion shook Beirut.

    Like many Lebanese on August 4 when chemicals at the port detonated, the 56-year-old felt the blast was on his doorstep.

    “I saw my son covered in blood, I could not believe it. I said okay, he is wounded, but it was okay, it was just cut to his head and arms,” Saab said.

    “But it was 15 minutes that felt like two days long. It was not just because it is a father and son thing, it was because we all work together like one family under one roof.”

    The explosion killed 178, injured 6000 and damaged whole neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital.

    Saab said his main office and headquarters were badly damaged. His home a few hundred meters from the port, was gutted.

    The blast destroyed the shops and ateliers of at least two other designers, Zuhair Murad and Rabih Keyrouz, himself badly injured.

    Saab is no stranger to devastation. He started his label in 1982, at the height of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

    The August 4 blast revived those memories.

    “It was the same smell, the same dust, the broken glass. Honestly, we did not want to relive this and it was not necessary,” he said.

    “This is a huge setback but we have to be like Beirut – every time dusting itself off and returning to the way it was,” Saab said.

    Saab’s team plan to go back to their offices from August 20 to meet a deadline for the September Paris couture show.

    He also plans to rebuild his residence, with its high ceilings and arches, marble columns and Arabesque tiles. For now, rubble and dust were everywhere.

    “We must go on … It does not become us as Lebanese to give up,” Saab said. “That is the doable part. But the biggest loss is the people you can’t bring back.”

    On a table lay a record by singer Fairouz, “Lebanon Forever”. It was broken in two.

  • Dunhill opens new outlet in Macau

    Dunhill opens new outlet in Macau

    British luxury menswear label Dunhill has opened a new store at Wynn Palace in Macau.

    The Dunhill Wynn Palace opening is part of the brand’s expansion strategy in Asia, according to the company.

    The store features a contemporary yet elegant design with modern elements such as its signature marble, leather, and metal details.

    Inspired by the Dunhill’s 1950s South Rodeo Drive store, the Wynn Palace store’s facade features the brand’s logo under a grey marble background and floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

    The store also houses a walnut burl cabinet and table inspired by the original furniture from London’s Duke Street and Paris’ Rue de la Paix stores.

    The Dunhill store in Macau offers a selection of luxury menswear by creative director Mark Weston, including ready-to-wear, leather goods, and accessories.

  • 7-Eleven launches apparel range with Forever 21

    7-Eleven launches apparel range with Forever 21

    Forever 21 has teamed with 7-Eleven to launch a casual apparel range, featuring the US convenience chain’s famous logo and soft drinks.

    The US-released 7-Eleven apparel collection comprises 16 colorful pieces, including regular Tees and hoodies, representing the convenience-store chain’s summer drinks – Slurpee and Big Gulp.

    “7-Eleven is a modern breathing brand, but also a nostalgic phenomenon for many,” said Joanna Choo, global creative director at Forever 21.

    “Forever 21 echoes this mindset by presenting a collaboration for its customers that pays homage to everyone’s favorite memory of being out, but staying close to home, heading out for a quick snack run with friends, and finding comfort in the little things.

    “During this time, it makes sense to create a capsule that’s about being cozy but stylist,” she said.

    Forever 21 has launched several promotions on Instagram and TikTok, including a dance challenge, poll, games, and sweepstakes. A Slurpee AR hologram in the Forever 21 app allows followers to take photos and share on social media.

    “When this year turned everyone’s summer plans on their head, including our free Slurpee drink birthday celebration, we were thrilled to add some sizzle to the summer through our collaboration with Forever 21,” said Marissa Jarratt, chief marketing officer and senior VP at 7-Eleven.”

    The Forever 21 x 7-Eleven collection is sold only online.

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  • Foot Locker launches Singapore’s largest store on Orchard Rd

    Foot Locker launches Singapore’s largest store on Orchard Rd

    Foot Locker Singapore has opened its largest store yet on Orchard Rd, celebrating basketball culture.

    Located at Orchard Gateway @Emerald, the Foot Locker store spans five stories, three of which are retail spaces, offering a multi-branded basketball collection.

    Foot Locker Singapore also partnered with local artists MessyMsxi and Clogtwo to feature artworks at both Level 1 and the B2 basketball half-court, expressing the brand’s appreciation for basketball culture.

    “This is where we embarked on our Asia journey and Singapore has really embraced our brand out of the gate,” said Tomas Petersson, GM, and VP at Foot Locker Asia. “Our purpose is to inspire and empower youth culture and our belief is that when we speak to the consumer through the lens of curated brand and product stories via our omnichannel focus, then we connect deeply with the Sneaker and Sport community.”

    Besides basketball collections, Foot Locker Orchard also features a wide range of footwear and apparel from global brands, including Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Puma and New Balance.

    “The Orchard Road store is a pinnacle expression of our brand together with our partners and we are especially proud as a team to deliver this in these challenging times, as this will give the Singaporean consumer a truly unique experience,” said Petersson.

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  • Esprit set to post US$503 million loss

    Esprit set to post US$503 million loss

    Enfeebled clothing retailer Esprit has just advised shareholders it expects to post a loss of US$503.2 million when it releases its annual results late next month.

    With its European subsidiaries operating under a form of statutory administration and its shares trading for 12 cents each in Hong Kong today, many investors must by now be wondering if the chain has any reason to continue trading.

    The company said the loss was primarily attributable to the impact of Covid-19 which it blamed for a 24-per-cent decline in revenue from $1.66 billion last financial year to about $1.277 billion this year and another $310 million in impairments on trademarks, property, plant and equipment, provisions for store closures and severance payments.

    Falling sales and massive losses are not the company’s only worries right now. On July 8, Karen Lo of the family that founded Vitasoy called a special meeting of shareholders to vote on the immediate removal of Esprit’s CEO Anders Christian Kristiansen along with CFO and director, Dr Johannes Georg Schmidt-Schultes from the board.

    Lo’s investment vehicle North Point Talent Ltd had spent $17 million boosting its stake in the company from 4.93 percent to just under 13 percent, making it the single largest shareholder before it lodged the requisition. That was withdrawn on July 21 by which time North Point had built its stake to 20.1 percent.

    In an apparent compromise, the board appointed North Point nominees Marc Andreas Tschirner, Christin Chiu Su Yi and Wong Hung Wai as additional executive directors of the company and subsequently declared it had “strong confidence in the Group CEO and Group CFO as well as their management team”

    Earlier in July, Esprit said it would axe 1100 jobs, mostly in Europe, and close another 50 German stores under its court-protected administration process. The company had closed all its Asian by the end of June in an earlier round of cuts as it attempted to reverse years of losses driven by a long-standing inability to design clothes that appeal to its core customer base.

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  • Asos upgrades sales and profit outlook as returns drop

    Asos upgrades sales and profit outlook as returns drop

    British online fashion retailer Asos forecast full-year sales and profit significantly ahead of market expectations, saying it was benefiting from stronger than anticipated underlying demand and fewer products being returned by shoppers.

    Shares in Asos surged 8.5 percent on Wednesday morning UK time, extending gains this year to 36 percent after it said revenue growth for its 2019-20 year was now expected to be between 17 and 19 percent.

    It forecast pretax profit in the region of $170-$196 million, up from $43.2 million in 2018-19.

    Several British clothing retailers, including Next and Superdry , have recently reported better-than-expected trading as Britain emerged from coronavirus lockdown.

    Asos, whose fast fashion is popular with shoppers in their twenties, said it had expected to see return levels normalize once lockdown measures eased and customers were able to ship returns and felt more comfortable doing so.

    However, it said returns were not increasing at the rate it had anticipated due to strong demand during the lockdown for activewear and a shift to more deliberate

    It said this reflected robust demand for “lockdown” categories, such as activewear, and a prolonged shift in customer behavior towards more intentional purchasing across all ranges.

    German online fashion retailer Zalando said on Tuesday it had also benefitted from a decline in returns, though it assumes the fall will be temporary

    “Looking forward, the consumer and economic outlook remains uncertain and it is unclear how long the current favorable shopping behavior will persist,” Asos said.

    Last month Asos said it would repay the money it claimed under Britain’s scheme to furlough workers during the crisis.

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  • World-first Sour Patch Kids store launches in New York City

    World-first Sour Patch Kids store launches in New York City

    Soft-candy brand Sour Patch Kids has launched a world-first store in New York City selling confectionery and a raft of themed products.

    Located between New York University’s Washington Square campus and the SoHo Shopping district, Bond Street and Broadway, the Kids’ permanent home features a wide selection of the brand’s merchandise, including mugs, t-shirts, socks, and beach totes.

    “We created this new experience for our fans to engage with the Sour Patch Kids brand on a whole new level, but of course understand that these are uncertain times,” said Danielle Freid, the brand’s manager.

    “With this store as our new permanent home, we want our fans to know that the Kids aren’t going anywhere. We welcome visitors to join us for a colorful, flavourful experience whenever they’re ready to explore the city again,” he said.

    Operated by specialty candy retailer It’sugar, the store also houses a Sour Patch Kids Sweets Bar where customers can find a selection of desserts, including ice creams, smoothies, and cookies.

    The Kids’ store also features a create-your-own candy mix station and a full-size Instagrammable Yellow Cab for customers to take photos with.

    “The concept behind this store is about bringing the beloved Sour Patch Kids brand to life through exclusive products and unique experiences,” said Jeff Rubin, CEO of It’sugar.

    As New York City just begins to reopen, to ensure visitors’ safety, the Sour Patch Kids’ customers are required to follow social distancing and wear face coverings. The Sweets Bar features only a to-go menu until indoor dining is allowed.

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  • H&M has created a jacket that gives the wearer a hug

    H&M has created a jacket that gives the wearer a hug

    Much has been made of the way technology has helped people stay connected since the introduction of social distancing measures and travel bans due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

    But anyone who has been separated from a loved one knows that even a video call falls short of the feeling of being together in real life. Many people have spoken about just wanting to give their friends or family members a hug.

    With a new jacket created by H&M Lab, the fast-fashion giant’s innovation hub in Berlin, they just might be able to.

    Earlier this month, the lab unveiled a new denim jacket with flexible sensors built into the shoulder areas, which gives the wearer the feeling of being hugged when the sensors are activated.

    Every jacket comes with a registration code that the user can share with their loved ones via an accompanying app. Only those with the registration code will be able to activate the sensors to let the jacket-wearer know they are thinking of them. Contacts can also create an individual touch pattern, so it’s clear who the hug has come from. The sensors are activated via the app by Bluetooth.

    The lab is calling the concept “Wearable Love”. It released a video about the invention earlier this month, but it is not yet clear when or where the jacket will be available for purchase, or how much it will cost.

    H&M is not the first apparel brand to explore the possibilities of wearable technology. Levi’s has also put sensors in a denim jacket, but they were geared towards more functional tasks, such as answering a phone call without having to take your mobile device out of your pocket. The context of the coronavirus has created an opportunity to explore new use cases for wearable tech.

    “Whether long-distance relationship or social distancing – no matter why you can’t have your loved ones around you: wearable love helps you to overcome boundaries and brings together what belongs together,” H&M Lab said on its website.

    H&M Lab created the Wearable Love jacket together with Boltware, a Berlin startup whose mission it is to turn analog garments into modern tech devices.

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  • Hong Kong leads ‘drastic’ drop in sales for Giordano

    Hong Kong leads ‘drastic’ drop in sales for Giordano

    A “drastic” drop in sales has led apparel retailer Giordano International to record a US$22.6 million loss in the six months to June, of which $13.2 million alone was attributable to its Hong Kong operations.

    The company said in a stock-exchange filing that post-June 30, sales have begun to recover, but while it continues to assess the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on its operations it is too soon to project its full-year performance.

    Last year’s first half saw the company report a net profit of $20.8 million.

    Group-wide sales fell by 44.4 percent for the half-year to $182 million, with the impact of Covid-19 beginning in January in Mainland China, leading to a ban on cross-border travel from Mainland China into Hong Kong and Macau.

    Non-cash provisions relating to Hong Kong accounting laws also contributed to the loss.

    Online sales surged 93.8 percent during the six months to $17.9 million, accounting for 9.8 percent of total group turnover, nearly double the share of the same period last year.

    Giordano’s chairman and CEO Peter Lau said the group will continue to focus on third-party online platforms for future growth.

    Giordano operated 2187 stores at the end of June.

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