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Tag: fashion retail

  • Furla Opens 75Sqm Boutique at the Venetian Macao

    Furla Opens 75Sqm Boutique at the Venetian Macao

    Italian accessories brand Furla has opened a boutique at Shoppes at The Venetian Macao in September 2026, adding more than 75 square metres of retail space to its Asia-Pacific network.

    It carries the brand’s full range of handbags, small leather goods, eyewear, textiles and charms under an updated store format.

    Modular Layout and Interior Fit-Out

    Inside, the boutique features dedicated product zones and a magnetic display wall for seasonal arrivals. The setup lets staff reconfigure floor layouts without structural work.

    Italian materials anchor the interior, mixing natural oak and painted metal with lacquered surfaces, tiles and light gold accents. A palette of ivory, latte, white, grey, burgundy and aqua green runs across the display fixtures and perimeter shelving.

    Casino Footfall and Regional Push

    Casino mall retail relies heavily on mainland tourist traffic. Leases demand steady transaction velocity from transient shoppers rather than local repeat footfall. In this corridor, premium leather goods makers face direct competition from heritage luxury houses upstairs and accessible fashion labels fighting for discretionary travel spend.

    A compact 75-square-metre footprint keeps operating costs down while the brand tests product turnover along high-density casino walkways. Success at The Venetian will depend on converting foot traffic during peak holiday windows when mainland visitor volumes surge.

    Greater Bay Footprint

    Founded in Bologna in 1927, the company expanded its retail presence earlier in the year with a refreshed store format in Hong Kong. That rollout introduced lighter fixtures and revised zoning across urban locations.

    The Macao opening extends that format across the Pearl River Delta, where retail performance tracks incoming visitor arrivals alongside cross-border ferry and bridge volume.

  • Chinasquad Expands Global Cross-Border Sales with Curated Chinese Fashion

    Chinasquad Expands Global Cross-Border Sales with Curated Chinese Fashion

    Chinasquad is scaling international distribution for domestic apparel designers, offering direct deliveries across global markets with a free shipping threshold set at $99.

    The platform has accumulated more than 7,200 verified customer reviews while targeting shoppers seeking curated streetwear, statement dresses, and modern Hanfu-inspired collections.

    To address cross-border fulfillment friction, the operator provides optional DHL Express transport with delivery times between two and four days. Returns operate on a 14-day window supported by a checkout protection add-on that covers return handling and exchanges across multiple international territories.

    Sizing Standards and Cross-Border Logistics

    Cross-border apparel exporters from China routinely face high return rates tied to sizing discrepancies. Chinasquad produces its inventory to Asian sizing specifications, advising international buyers to size up on fitted garments and evaluate flat measurements across shoulders, bust, and waist. Flat garment measurements published on the site account for manual variations between one and three centimetres.

    Discounts on the storefront reach up to 90 percent on clearance lines. The merchandising mix focuses on structured trousers, outerwear, and dresses that emphasize tailored cuts rather than disposable basics.

    The Shift Toward Niche Chinese Aesthetics

    Direct-to-consumer fashion exporters in China are shifting away from pure low-cost volume to focus on distinctive regional aesthetics, including contemporary interpretations of traditional Hanfu tailoring. While mass-market players compete primarily on bottom-tier pricing, specialised curators seek higher basket sizes by pairing distinctive cuts with express air freight.

    Customer service operations and global return intake remain centred on managing cross-border garment fits as the platform tests overseas appetite for contemporary Chinese designer labels.

  • Pomelo Operator KCG Collects 231 Kilos of Garments in Indonesian Take-Back Push

    Pomelo Operator KCG Collects 231 Kilos of Garments in Indonesian Take-Back Push

    PT Kurnia Ciptamoda Gemilang collected 231 kilograms of used clothing across eight Pomelo stores in Indonesia during the first month of its in-store take-back programme.

    The haul more than doubled the retailer’s initial 100-kilogram target despite launching without promotional marketing.

    KCG installed drop-off boxes in every Indonesian Pomelo branch to collect apparel directly from shoppers. Wearable items go to the Cinta Laura Foundation for distribution to orphanages and local communities. Unwearable, damaged pieces head to domestic textile recyclers Lestari and New Factory for industrial processing.

    Haryanto Pratantara, business and operations director at KCG, said the intake relies on repeat donors seeking practical reuse for old apparel. Turning ruined garments into usable raw material carries high processing costs that the company cannot sustain alone. KCG is seeking corporate social responsibility funding and state backing to expand the processing chain.

    High Processing Costs and Policy Gaps

    Pratantara expects garment recycling to shift from a competitive differentiator to standard retail practice within five years. Government policy will dictate how fast that transition happens.

    “The key is the government,” Pratantara said. “Regulation cuts the timeline. Without it, this cannot work.”

    Fashion operators across Southeast Asia frequently launch circularity pilots to retain younger shoppers, but few manage to scale mechanical recycling without state subsidies or formal producer responsibility rules. While donation bins clear closet space and bring foot traffic back into stores, true fibre-to-fibre recycling remains bottlenecked by local sorting and processing infrastructure across the region.

    Expanding Beyond Store Bins

    KCG has not yet measured the direct revenue impact of the programme on overall apparel sales. The operator is now tracking repeat drop-offs while waiting for state policy clarity and corporate partners to fund the next stage of textile processing.

  • LC Waikiki Starts Production at New Apparel Plant in Aleppo

    LC Waikiki Starts Production at New Apparel Plant in Aleppo

    Turkish apparel retailer LC Waikiki has started production at a new manufacturing facility in Aleppo, Syria, initially hiring 150 workers.

    The company plans to expand the plant’s workforce to 1,000 staff over the next three years.

    Scaling up in Al-Rai

    Operations at the facility in Al-Rai Industrial City began in June. The site establishes direct garment assembly capacity just south of the Turkish border.

    Other Turkish manufacturers are now preparing similar cross-border production arrangements in the industrial zone. Lower wage bases and proximity to established Turkish textile supply chains make northern Syrian border zones an emerging manufacturing corridor.

    Cross-border textile shifts

    Apparel groups based in Turkey have faced rising domestic labor and energy expenses, prompting brands to explore assembly hubs across nearby borders. The move mirrors how Asian garment manufacturers established cross-border supply networks between higher-cost domestic hubs and lower-wage neighboring markets.

    The Aleppo facility provides an operational test for cross-border logistics and labor stability in the region. The primary milestone to watch is whether LC Waikiki reaches its 1,000-worker employment target within the three-year window.

  • Giordano Net Profit Drops to HK$108 Million as Asian Margins Lag

    Giordano Net Profit Drops to HK$108 Million as Asian Margins Lag

    Giordano International reported a net profit drop to HK$108 million for the six months to June 30, down from HK$121 million a year earlier.

    Group revenue slipped 1 per cent to HK$1.914 billion as store counts dropped across Mainland China and Indonesia, leaving the apparel retailer heavily dependent on earnings from the Gulf Cooperation Council.

    The geographic split reveals an uneven business. Greater China, Southeast Asia and Australia generated HK$1.572 billion, representing 82.1 per cent of total sales, but produced only 61 per cent of segment results. In contrast, the GCC delivered HK$62 million in segment profit on just 18 per cent of revenue, even after traffic in Gulf stores fell by up to 40 per cent following regional disruption in late February.

    Pruning China and Sourcing Locally

    In Mainland China, Giordano cut its store footprint to 239 doors from 359 a year earlier, halving its directly operated outlets to 48. The downsizing helped narrow the mainland segment loss from HK$16 million to HK$9 million, with constant-currency revenue down 0.9 per cent at HK$334 million. Management cleared older stock through VIP.com and shifted higher-margin product lines to Tmall, intending to rebuild physical retail starting in southern China.

    Southeast Asia and Australia remained the largest regional earnings contributor at HK$86 million in segment results on revenue of HK$699 million. Indonesia, the anchor market, brought in HK$330 million after import restrictions slowed merchandise shipments and forced store closures from 199 locations to 176. The company countered the disruption by shifting production to Indonesian factories, which began delivering local stock in June.

    Taiwan proved the regional exception. Segment profit climbed to HK$21 million from HK$15 million on a 5.9 per cent constant-currency revenue gain, meaning Taiwan generated more profit than Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China combined.

    Korean Drag and the Next Overhaul

    The company faced additional pressure from its 48.5 per cent-owned South Korean joint venture, where revenue slid 8.9 per cent to KRW59.7 billion and 19 stores closed. Giordano deliberately restricted wholesale shipments into the venture to clear excess stock, causing group wholesale revenue to decline 12.2 per cent and cutting royalty income.

    For years, Giordano relied on high-density physical networks in lower-tier Chinese cities and steady franchised wholesale to support its balance sheet. With those legacy channels retreating under fierce domestic e-commerce competition and supply chain friction, the group is now forced to extract higher gross margins from a much smaller physical footprint across Asia.

    Management plans to launch its Giordano 2.0 concept in the fourth quarter, rolling out revamped store layouts and core product lines in Hong Kong and Singapore before expanding to overseas digital channels in Europe and North America.

  • Lululemon Cuts Full-Year Forecast to US$10.35 Billion as Sales Slide

    Lululemon Cuts Full-Year Forecast to US$10.35 Billion as Sales Slide

    Lululemon Athletica lowered its full-year sales forecast to between US$10.35 billion and US$10.5 billion, posting its second consecutive guidance downgrade in three months.

    Comparable store sales dropped 9 per cent across the second quarter ended August 2, falling below market estimates and marking the company’s first quarterly decline on that metric since the pandemic.

    Shares tumbled 15 per cent in extended trading in New York following the announcement. The activewear maker has seen its equity lose more than 40 per cent of its value in 2026, trading at less than a quarter of its late-2023 record high.

    Slumping Americas and Rising Rivals

    Revenue in the Americas contracted 8 per cent during the quarter, while women’s apparel sales slipped 4 per cent. International revenue offered the lone bright spot, rising 4 per cent across overseas markets.

    Discounts and design missteps have eroded the brand’s pricing power across primary markets, opening space for fast-growing athleisure competitors such as Alo and Vuori. In Asia-Pacific, where premium sportswear demand has remained relatively steady, Lululemon faces a tight battle against agile regional entrants alongside these expanding Western labels.

    “While we continue to navigate some challenging dynamics, we are taking a prudent approach with our revised full-year outlook,” interim co-chief executive Meghan Frank said.

    Leadership Handover and Boardroom Truce

    Former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill assumes the chief executive role next week, concluding a four-month transition period after her appointment. She inherits depleted executive ranks following several senior departures this year.

    O’Neill must also manage relations with billionaire founder Chip Wilson. Wilson entered a cooperation pact with the board in May, agreeing to regular strategy sessions with O’Neill and an 18-month freeze on public criticism.

    Her first major operational milestone arrives with the release of third-quarter earnings in December, when investors will assess whether the product pipeline can arrest the slide in North American foot traffic.

  • Central Retail First-Half Profit Jumps 35% to $155 Million

    Central Retail First-Half Profit Jumps 35% to $155 Million

    Central Retail posted a 35 per cent increase in first-half net profit to 5.0 billion baht ($155 million), driven by grocery gains and aggressive store pruning in Thailand and Vietnam.

    Total revenue from continuing operations rose 2.4 per cent to 123.7 billion baht ($3.9 billion), with grocery accounting for 46 per cent of all sales.

    Store and online sales rose 2.2 per cent across the network, beating a 2.2 per cent expansion in total retail selling area. Gross margins widened by 110 basis points to 24.8 per cent, outpacing operational cost growth. Finance costs dropped sharply, while profit contributions from a newly acquired 40 per cent stake in JD Sports lifted the bottom line.

    Pruning hardlines and shifting to athleisure

    The conglomerate closed 11 branches of Power Buy, B2S, and Officemate over the past 12 months. It also severed 39 stores in April by exiting the NK appliance retail business in Vietnam. Hardlines revenue fell 2.9 per cent during the half, or 0.5 per cent when excluding the NK divestiture.

    Fashion sales edged up 2.1 per cent. Central Retail took its minority stake in JD Sports partly to overhaul sports merchandising at its proprietary Supersports chain, shifting shelf space toward high-turnover athleisure ranges.

    Food delivered the bulk of operating momentum. Grocery sales increased 6.1 per cent, recording same-store sales growth of 2 per cent in the first quarter and 3 per cent in the second quarter. Overall group same-store sales slipped 0.1 per cent for the six months, dragged down by two-year stacked declines of 7.5 per cent in hardlines and 5 per cent in fashion.

    Uneven regional recovery

    Across Southeast Asia, diversified retail conglomerates have spent the past two years ditching fragmented specialty formats to defend supermarket cash flow against inflation. Central Retail mirrors regional peers that expanded fast into bulky non-food retail during low-rate cycles, only to find floor space unproductive once discounters and online platforms undercut consumer electronics and stationery.

    Trading conditions remain split between its two core markets. In Thailand, high household debt and slow tourism recovery continue to curb discretionary spending, even with the central bank lifting its 2026 economic growth forecast to 1.9 per cent. Vietnam provides stronger retail momentum, backed by rising inbound tourism and state efforts to lift domestic consumer spending.

    Central Retail now manages 3,834 stores and 75 shopping centres with 779,000 square metres of net leasable area across both countries. Investors are watching third-quarter same-store sales figures to see whether hardlines and fashion can pull out of negative territory.

  • Uniqlo to Double Japanese Flagship Count to 20 in Ten-Year Strategy Shift

    Uniqlo to Double Japanese Flagship Count to 20 in Ten-Year Strategy Shift

    Uniqlo will double its network of Japanese flagship stores to roughly 20 locations over the next decade as parent Fast Retailing pivots away from standard shopping mall outlets.

    The apparel group currently runs about 10 flagship or flagship-equivalent premises across domestic city centres, anchored by 3,000-square-metre destinations in Tokyo’s Ginza and Osaka’s Umeda districts. Future domestic openings will focus on major regional hubs such as Nagoya and Sapporo alongside central Tokyo retail corridors, targeting local foot traffic and spending from inbound foreign tourists.

    “Every major city in Japan needs a flagship store,” Fast Retailing chairman and chief executive Tadashi Yanai said. He added that the group sees little value in opening conventional stores that function solely as transaction counters.

    Demographic pressures reshape store networks

    As of late May, Uniqlo operated 785 retail locations across Japan. That count reflects an 8 per cent drop from its peak of roughly 850 outlets in August 2013, following years of flat domestic store numbers.

    A shrinking domestic population and the rise of digital commerce have forced the company to rethink its physical footprint. Stores in Japan now operate less as basic distribution points and more as brand showrooms where customers handle garments and interact with services before buying across omnichannel channels.

    Exporting the Western retail model

    The domestic overhaul mirrors Fast Retailing’s recent playbook in Europe and the United States, where it secured historic buildings and prominent high-street addresses. Those two Western regions together account for nearly 20 per cent of total group revenue and have delivered double-digit sales growth since the pandemic.

    RetailNews Asia views this as a clear signal that the era of aggressive suburban store expansion in mature Asian markets is over. Just as department stores in regional Japan have retreated, fast-fashion operators must concentrate capital into higher-yielding, destination-scale flagships that can capture international tourism spend while digital channels absorb routine replenishment sales.

    Fast Retailing is also preparing to apply this revised large-format strategy to its broader store networks across Southeast Asia and mainland China over the coming fiscal years.

  • Ten Australian Fashion Designers Head to Hong Kong for Centre Stage

    Ten Australian Fashion Designers Head to Hong Kong for Centre Stage

    Ten Australian fashion designers will travel to Hong Kong this September to present their collections at the Centre Stage trade fair. The trade mission aims to connect independent labels directly with regional department store buyers, boutique owners, and commercial distributors across North and Southeast Asia.

    Organised by the Australian Fashion Council under its Global Gateways programme, the delegation includes Gary Bigeni, Buluuy Mirrii, Van Brussel, Asiyam, Briar Will, Mos the Label, Niamh Galea, Permanent Vacation, Viceta Wang, and West 14th. The show runs inside a dedicated pavilion at the event, alongside an industry reception hosted by Australia’s consul-general in Hong Kong, Gareth Williams.

    Targeting Asian Wholesale Accounts

    Canberra is funding the initiative through the Trade Diversification Network’s Accessing New Markets Initiative. The programme helps mid-tier apparel companies reduce their exposure to sluggish domestic consumer spending by establishing wholesale accounts in higher-growth Asian markets.

    Austrade trade diversification taskforce general manager Jay Meek pointed to previous cohort transitions, including designer labels securing follow-on pop-up retail spaces in Tokyo, as the benchmark for measuring commercial returns from the Hong Kong trade floor.

    The Regional Buying Circuit

    Hong Kong serves as an entry hub for global labels testing appetite across Greater China and regional luxury stockists before committing to local retail infrastructure. For Asian multibrand retailers and luxury department stores, bringing in niche Australian labels provides exclusive inventory differentiation against dominant European luxury houses.

    The 10 labels will meet buyers during the September trade show schedule, with initial Asian wholesale orders and regional delivery windows expected to begin rolling out for early 2027 collections.

  • South Korea Retail Sales Rose 6.4% in July on Summer Spending

    South Korea Retail Sales Rose 6.4% in July on Summer Spending

    South Korea’s major retailers increased combined sales by 6.4 percent year-on-year in July. Demand for vacation gear, imported fashion, and food delivery services drove the rise.

    Internet platforms handled the bulk of that growth. They captured 60.8 percent of total retail revenue during the month, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

    Department Stores and Convenience Chains Expand

    Brick-and-mortar turnover climbed 3.2 percent from a year earlier. Both department stores and convenience chains extended their unbroken run of year-on-year growth to 13 consecutive months.

    Department stores posted the sharpest gains offline, with sales jumping 17.9 percent. Demand rose across every major category. Imported apparel, summer travel gear, and cooling appliances led the expansion.

    Convenience stores generated a 1.1 percent sales increase over the same period. Foot traffic slipped. Higher spending per transaction kept overall takings positive.

    Online Channels Take Larger Revenue Share

    Digital platforms posted an 8.5 percent revenue increase compared with July last year. Food delivery orders, packaged groceries, and home appliances recorded the fastest category gains across web storefronts.

    Consumer habits in the country continue to split. Digital channels dominate everyday replenishment, while physical stores rely on experiential shopping and premium apparel to draw spending.

    Trade ministry officials will publish the August retail index next month. That report will show whether back-to-school shopping and late-summer promotions sustained the sales momentum.

  • Esprit Posts HK$87.7 Million First-Half Loss as Licensing Pivot Stumbles

    Esprit Posts HK$87.7 Million First-Half Loss as Licensing Pivot Stumbles

    Esprit Holdings swung back into the red with a net loss of HK$87.7 million (US$11.2 million) for the first half of 2026. Revenue for the six months to June totaled just HK$14.9 million ($1.9 million), reflecting the brand’s radical downsizing into a pure licensing shell.

    The result reverses a brief HK$1.3 million profit recorded a year earlier. Esprit has booked a full-year profit only once since 2016, racking up more than $1 billion in cumulative losses while shuttering store networks and liquidating units across Europe and North America. In June, the company deconsolidated its Canadian business following local insolvency filings.

    Balance-sheet cash generation was minimal, with net cash inflow standing at $712,000 for the period. Total assets stood at HK$295.45 million against liabilities of HK$232.19 million, supported by HK$335 million in total credit facilities, of which HK$125.13 million was drawn at the end of June.

    Accumulating Legal Claims

    Legal liabilities from defunct operational entities continue to drain group reserves. In July, the International Court of Arbitration ordered Esprit to pay $3.93 million and HK$40,900 plus interest over disputed 2024 legal fees, forcing an additional HK$22.5 million charge on top of earlier provisions.

    A Dutch bankruptcy trustee handling the collapse of Esprit Europe is seeking up to 49 million euros ($57.1 million) over contested intra-company transfers. Esprit contends the claim is unenforceable in Hong Kong courts. A separate dispute over an early lease termination poses an estimated HK$14 million exposure.

    Retail Partners and Royalties

    Under acting chairman Bradley Wright, the company has staked its survival entirely on collecting royalties from third-party partners. Licensees handle inventory, logistics, and store operations across Asia and the Americas while Esprit trades as an asset-light trademark owner.

    In Hong Kong, Esprit’s licensee opened a second location with a flagship store at Olympian City. Mainland Chinese partners sell across Tmall, Douyin, Vip.com, and JD.com while pushing the brand into activewear. In North America, the local licensee placed retro logo fleece sweatshirts into Costco in the United States and Walmart in Canada in July.

    The shift mirrors the path taken by troubled apparel names across the region that abandoned direct retail in Asian markets in favor of wholesale brand licensing. Stripping away direct operating costs lowers overhead quickly, but the model leaves Esprit dependent on wholesale discounters and cut-price online channels that risk diluting whatever brand equity remains from its 1980s peak.

    Attention turns next to the legal jurisdiction dispute in Hong Kong, where proceedings on the 49 million euro Dutch trustee claim will test whether Esprit’s offshore corporate structure can protect its remaining HK$63.26 million in net assets from European creditors.

  • Giordano Profit Drops 9% to HK$121 Million as Middle East Sales Slump

    Giordano Profit Drops 9% to HK$121 Million as Middle East Sales Slump

    Giordano’s first-half profit after tax dropped 9 per cent to HK$121 million as revenue slipped 1 per cent to HK$1.9 billion (US$243 million). A sharp sales contraction across Gulf Cooperation Council markets dragged down the Hong Kong-listed retailer during the six months ended June 30.

    Management pinned the downturn on Middle Eastern disruptions that began hitting regional trade in March. Excluding the Gulf business, underlying revenue rose 0.4 per cent, supported by steady demand in core Asian territories and a 12.5 per cent expansion in online sales.

    Pricing Shifts and Margin Gains

    Gross margin climbed 1.6 per cent during the period. The margin improvement followed a deliberate channel shift away from lower-margin wholesale volume, tighter product pricing, and cost reductions across production.

    For Asian apparel chains running international store networks, regional diversification usually provides insulation from domestic slumps, but leaves earnings vulnerable to distant geopolitical shocks. Giordano protected its unit margins through tighter price discipline, yet lower store turnover in the Middle East quickly eroded operating profit.

    Rebranding and Western Push

    The business is currently in the second year of its five-year “Beyond Boundaries” restructuring plan. Management wants to restore top-line momentum by overhauling existing lines and entering new regions.

    Execution now turns to the rollout of the Giordano 2 brand refresh, while the company prepares digital launches in North America and Europe alongside a brand relaunch across India.

  • Cettire Net Loss Widens to $8.5 Million as US Tariffs Hit Sales

    Cettire Net Loss Widens to $8.5 Million as US Tariffs Hit Sales

    Australian luxury platform Cettire posted an annual net loss of $8.5 million for the year ended June 30, more than trebling its deficit from a year earlier.

    The loss widened from $2.6 million in the previous financial year as sales revenue dropped 3.2 per cent to $718.4 million. Gross revenue fell 2 per cent, though it posted a small gain when measured on a constant currency basis.

    Tariff Friction and Middle East Disruption

    Active customer numbers fell 8 per cent to 605,000 during the twelve-month period. Management attributed the decline to weaker demand in the United States and a deliberate cut in paid marketing expenditure.

    The platform ran into direct regulatory friction in its largest market after US authorities removed the de minimis import duty exemption. In the second half of the financial year, consumer sentiment in high-growth Middle Eastern markets also weakened as regional conflict disrupted cross-border trade.

    During the period, US tariff changes, including the impact from the removal of the de minimis exemption, contributed to ongoing challenges in our largest market.

    Dean Mintz, founder and chief executive of Cettire, said US tariff refunds helped ease pressure late in the financial year.

    Momentum Outside North America

    Business outside the United States delivered better results, with sales revenue rising 14 per cent across the rest of the company’s geographic footprint. The expansion beyond North America cushioned the top-line decline and delivered market share gains across secondary regions.

    Pure-play luxury aggregators in Asia-Pacific have spent the past two years wrestling with excess inventory and fading post-pandemic demand. Cettire’s reliance on cross-border drop-shipping makes it unusually sensitive to customs thresholds, putting operational execution under scrutiny as border rules tighten.

    Attention now turns to trading updates in early fiscal 2027 to see whether the 14 per cent growth rate outside the US can offset lingering drag in North America.

  • City Chic Lifts Underlying Earnings 92% to $12.3 Million Despite US Sales Drop

    City Chic Lifts Underlying Earnings 92% to $12.3 Million Despite US Sales Drop

    City Chic Collective nearly doubled its underlying core earnings to $12.3 million in the fiscal year ended June 28, despite total group revenue slipping 3 per cent to $130.5 million.

    Margin expansion and strict operational discipline drove underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation up 92 per cent from the previous year.

    Australia and New Zealand anchored the turnaround. Revenue across the home market rose 7.6 per cent to $113.8 million, with comparable sales lifting 5.6 per cent across physical stores and digital channels. Higher average selling prices and steady customer acquisition cushioned the group while its overseas operations took a hit.

    Retreat from American Tariffs

    The United States delivered a sharp contraction. US sales plunged 42 per cent after management deliberately throttled purchasing activity to limit exposure to import tariff volatility.

    To fix the unit economics, City Chic converted its US Amazon operation from a wholesale setup to a direct marketplace model. Group inventory fell 11 per cent to $24.1 million by the close of the financial year, reflecting reduced capital tied up in North American stock.

    The Sydney-based apparel retailer has deployed automated forecasting and software tools to sharpen buying decisions and lower product return rates. Chief executive Phil Ryan said the company has built a simpler and more resilient operating base after clearing out high-risk inventory channels.

    Trading Momentum in Early FY27

    Cross-border apparel brands have faced intense margin pressure across international channels over recent reporting cycles, forcing operators to protect local margins rather than chase unprofitable foreign volume. City Chic’s retrenchment in North America reflects a broader shift among Australasian specialty chains refocusing on core domestic trade.

    Early numbers indicate the strategy is holding. Comparable store sales in Australia and New Zealand rose 11.4 per cent through the first seven weeks of FY27, with management forecasting a return to revenue and margin growth in the US during the first half.

  • Korean Fashion Labels Cluster in Seoul’s Hannam District for Flagship Retail

    Korean Fashion Labels Cluster in Seoul’s Hannam District for Flagship Retail

    Independent Korean fashion labels are securing standalone flagship stores across Seoul’s hillside Hannam-dong district, establishing physical footprints along Itaewon-ro to capture rising domestic and inbound tourist spending. The neighborhood offers an alternative to the crowded retail pop-ups of Seongsu-dong, giving younger brands space for full-collection stores and dedicated hospitality concepts.

    Womenswear label Glowny anchors the strip with a 660-square-meter flagship, its first physical location before opening a second store in Apgujeong. Founded in 2020 by sisters Choi Jane and Choi Ji-ho, the label built an audience of nearly 400,000 social media followers on basic jersey lines and low-rise denim before scaling into multi-level retail.

    Celebrity Placement Drives Footwear and Apparel Sales

    Physical stores in the quarter rely heavily on styling seen on Korean pop performers. Open YY, operated by sisters Kim Ji-young and Kim Bo-young, pairs its runway apparel and in-store cafe with sell-out shoe lines, including ballet boots that emptied inventory after appearances during Paris Fashion Week. The store combines seasonal ready-to-wear with swimwear and footwear on open floor plans.

    Streetwear outfit SunburnProject sells graphic apparel alongside accessories like its multi-way M.O.S Bag, supported by licensed partnerships including a collaborative line with American character brand Paul Frank. Nearby, Davichi singer Kang Min-kyung opened a dedicated Hannam outpost for her brand Avie Muah in June, selling higher-priced tailoring alongside metal phone accessories.

    Global Retail Roadmaps and Category Expansion

    For several emerging operators, Hannam flagships serve as testing grounds before international rollouts. TooMuchTax, launched in 2023 around bodywear and swimwear, merchandises its hotel-lounge concept store with individual displays for waffle knitwear and scarves. The label plans to run a US pop-up next year ahead of a targeted permanent American store opening in 2028.

    Across menswear, brand Pottery occupies an entire multi-story building focused on workwear and durable textiles, incorporating lounge space to increase dwell time. Multi-brand retailer Beaker provides broader distribution for domestic labels alongside international home goods from Tekla and Ilkwang Lighting, while makeup brand Hince operates a standalone cosmetic store offering custom palette formulation.