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Tag: Fashion

  • Pomelo Cares programme launched to aid Covit19 battles

    Pomelo Cares programme launched to aid Covit19 battles

    Asian omnichannel fashion brand Pomelo has launched Pomelo Cares, an initiative to support the community and frontline medical sector during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as educate and encourage people to practice social distancing.

    From today, Pomelo Cares will support organizations and charities leading Covid-19 relief efforts in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. It will see 100 percent of profits from three-pack antibacterial fabric masks transferred to partner health organizations such as the Red Cross. Pomelo has also become a producer in creating these masks, using fabric originally procured for fashion items, and has pledged to donate more than 40,000 surgical masks to Thailand’s Red Cross.

    “We want to do our part to help spread the message of the importance of social distancing and giving back in this time of need,” said Pomelo CEO David Jou. “The coronavirus situation will evolve and we will continue to do our part to mitigate its spread, as well as finding new ways to engage our community in this time of need.”

    The website for the Pomelo Cares campaign will feature content from #PomeloGirlsAtHome, a social campaign aiming to spread positivity, unite the community, and encourage social responsibility with weekly Livestream shows. The campaign will also focus on the importance of social distancing during this time, with content encouraging Pomelo customers and the wider community to stay at home and find new ways to come together.

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  • H&M’s sales recovery derailed by Covit 19 virus

    H&M’s sales recovery derailed by Covit 19 virus

    Solid results from restructuring have been dented, but fast-fashion label sees potential online.

    A recovery in fast-fashion retailer H&M’s sales and profit has been muted by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on stores across Asia.

    First-quarter data for the company showed global sales growth of almost 8 percent, despite sales in China, the company’s second-largest market, plunging 24 percent in local currency.

    Demand collapsed in February when more than two-thirds of the chain’s stores in China were closed, driving sales down 84 percent.

    Kate Ormrod, the lead retail analyst at GlobalData, said that while a slow recovery in the Chinese market offered hope for the brand as stores began to reopen, the spread of coronavirus through other markets including Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan saw March sales slump by 46 percent, contrasting with a 7-per-cent rise in the same month a year ago.

    Online has provided some respite with H&M’s e-commerce sales lifting 17 per cent during the first month of the second quarter, and 47 out of 51 online sites it sells through still operating.

    With three-quarters of its stores worldwide now shuttered, including all shops in Australia and the US, H&M is looking at ways to boost turnover online.

    “We do think that the crisis, in general, will lead to a fast shift towards digital,” new CEO Helena Helmersson told the Financial Times. “We need to be ready for that and accelerate some parts of our work.”

    Despite a plan to see operating overheads reduced by up to 25 percent, H&M’s sales during the second quarter are projected to fall far enough to result in a loss.

    ‘‘Present in 74 markets, H&M’s global operation makes the challenge of dealing with Covid-19 all the more harder, ensuring the pandemic is a true baptism of fire for Helmersson,” said Ormrod.

    Evidence of the impact of restructuring undertaken during the last year, H&M achieved a net increase in an operating margin of 2.9 percentage points to 4.9 percent during the first quarter, despite the impact of the coronavirus.

    “H&M has reaped the rewards of its extensive transformation plan – which we expect to help protect the retailer in the long run and ensure it can better cater to a post-coronavirus consumer,” observed Ormrod.

    Meanwhile, the Swedish-headquartered company has suspended new orders but undertaken to pay for stock already fulfilled or in production.

    “Protecting the business is a priority but just as it continues to lead the way on sustainability H&M has an opportunity to set itself apart from other fast-fashion retailers by setting the standard when it comes to treating stakeholders ethically amid the crisis,” said Ormrod

    “Producing PPE equipment and making donations is commendable, but all eyes are on how H&M treats its thousands of workers, with reduced working hours and temporary lay-offs already enacted and redundancies remaining on the table.”

  • AI fashion-tech firm Odd Concepts receives $6 million

    AI fashion-tech firm Odd Concepts receives $6 million

    South Korean AI-based fashion-tech firm Odd Concepts has raised US$6 million in Series B funding, taking the company’s accumulated investments to about US$10 million.

    The funding is expected to allow the business to expand its growth into Asia-Pacific markets, applying its proprietary machine learning technologies to other industries.

    Fashion-tech firm Odd Concept’s fashion-styling service PXL is based on the firm’s own algorithms for recognizing, analyzing and searching images and recommends personalized fashion products based on an analysis of products that interest consumers. Around 100 e-commerce firms in Korea and other countries in the region use the service, with about 9 million unique users.

    Participants in the funding round included KB Securities, HB Investment, Kiwoom Investment-Shinhan Capital, Korea Development Bank and SBI Investment Korea.

    “We decided to invest in Odd Concepts because the company’s own technology clearly verifies the class of excellence in the popular field of fashion commerce,” said KB Securities assistant manager Jeong Seong-hoon.

    “I expect Odd Concept’s proprietary machine-learning technologies would be applied to other industries extensively.”

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  • K11 Musea launches global fashion showcase K11 Antonia

    K11 Musea launches global fashion showcase K11 Antonia

    Hong Kong cultural-retail hub K11 Musea’s fashion destination Muse Edition has launched a multi-brand flagship, K11 Antonia.

    The fashion center (situated on the site of the former New World Centre) is collaborating with influential fashion-forward style maker Antonia Giacinti in hosting the more than 5700sqft space, now featuring around 50 curated spring/summer looks. It will debut both co-founders Antonia Giacinti’s & Maurizio Purificato’s hand-picked selection and a signature blend of high fashion, streetwear and ready-to-wear brands.

    “Hong Kong is a global fashion Hub,” said Giacinti. “We have always thought of Hong Kong as the most interesting international city to open a new Antonia location… With the launch of K11 Antonia today, it marks our shared vision in which together we nurture different forms of fashion cultures and dialogues from around the world.

    “Through K11 Musea, we believe this global fashion venture will further enrich our consumers’ cultural-retail experience in the world of fashion. We are certain that it will be a success.”

    K11 Antonia will retail a broad range of brands, including Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Chloe, Miu Miu, Jacquemus, Balmain, Alessandra Rich, The Attico, Alanui, Ambush, Kolor and White Mountaineering.

    The interiors of the store’s three distinct retail spaces are designed by Italian architect Vincenzo de Cotiis, and feature mirrors, smokey glass and rustic-stained glass, steel, brass and marble with gold, gray, beige and blurred-pink tones.

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  • Vestiaire Collective launches coronavirus charity sale

    Vestiaire Collective launches coronavirus charity sale

    Vestiaire Collective, the online platform for pre-owned luxury fashion, has launched a charity sale to support the fight against coronavirus.

    Vestiaire Collective has partnered with more than 50 influential celebrities, including Kate Moss, Rachel Weisz, Thandie Newton, Anna Dello Russo and Charlotte Tilbury, to offer luxury pieces from their wardrobes.

    Some items were already sold on the first day of the sale such as leopard print faux fur coat from Kate Moss or a Penny Packham maxi dress from Charlotte Tilbury.

    “We’re doing everything we can to combat the effects of the virus with our community, and to help fight it with charity fundraising,” the company said in a statement.

    According to the company, all proceeds from the sale will be used to support hospitals and scientific researchers working on coronavirus, including the World Health Organization, the Italian Lombardia Region Fundraising, the France/Paris Hospitals Foundation and Madrid’s La Paz Hospital.

    Founded in Paris in 2009, Vestiaire Collective now has more than 7 million members from more than 50 countries across Europe, the US, Asia and Australia, with 25,000 new items submitted every week.

  • LVMH Group brands invite consumers to travel abroad

    LVMH Group brands invite consumers to travel abroad

    LVMH Group brands are using social media campaigns to allow consumers to “escape differently” with branded content inspired by “nomadic thinking” during the coronavirus crisis.

    Multiple brands within the LVMH stable are embracing the concept which is in response to the global imperative for people to stay home in the midst of the pandemic.

    “With physical travel limited to a strict minimum and billions of people around the world asked to remain at home, the desire for distant horizons has rarely been felt so strongly,” the company explains. “People confined to their home must battle boredom as they ponder the closed doors in front of them…”

    One of the LVMH Group brands involved in the project is luxury luggage label Rimowa whose Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa who transformed its iconic aluminum suitcase into a chair, “an invitation to rest, reflect and dream of a radiant future”.

    Another example was the firm’s beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics, which invited followers to join a “globe-spinning” contest to win a year of cosmetics supplies.

    Clos19, the Moet Hennessy e-commerce platform, is publishing content that offers followers a chance to broaden their knowledge of vineyards and grape varieties.

    Part of the LVMH Group brands campaign dips into the pages of its history to share photos shot by French photographer Jean Lariviere in the 1980s for several emblematic advertisements.

    In a separate response to the pandemic, LVMH has moved to provide several million surgical masks in France to help those affected by Covid-19.

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  • Indian fashion chain W expands into footwear

    Indian fashion chain W expands into footwear

    Indian women’s fashion chain W is expanding its business into footwear.

    The firm is preparing to retail shoes in more than 80 W stores across the country, as well as online, offering a collection of various styles of heels and flats. The collection presents classic Western designs with Indian flourishes.

    “At W, we have always strived to give the modern Indian woman a complete wardrobe solution,” said TCNS Clothing MD Anant Daga. “True to our brand promise, we are launching Footapparel, which is an amalgamation of fashion and functionality.

    “Looking at the footwear options available to our customers, we believe finding that one perfect pair which coordinates best, is fashion-forward yet keeps you comfortable throughout the day is a real challenge. This is the space we are addressing with our range of fusion footwear which is both fashionable and comfortable.

    The brand’s shoe designs feature craftwork such as embroidery, braiding, hand weaving, pleating, laser cutwork, quilting, and raffia weaving, amongst others.

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  • More fashion companies join coronavirus fight

    More fashion companies join coronavirus fight

    Major international retailers are lining up to join the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

    Swedish fashion retailer H&M has begun producing protective face masks intended for use by hospital staff initially in Spain and Italy, to be followed by other regions.

    “At this first stage, 100,000 face masks will be produced and ready for delivery on April 2,” said a spokesperson for the brand. “Half will go to Italy and half to Spain. It is a factory in China that makes the masks.”

    Meanwhile, Japanese fast-fashion casual wear brand Uniqlo will donate 10 million masks produced by its Chinese manufacturing partners to medical facilities around the world, with the majority headed for the US, Italy and Japan. The first 1 million masks were scheduled to be delivered to Italy this week.

    McDonald’s Philippines has pledged to serve 50,000 meals to medical health workers, volunteers, police, government agencies, and local communities affected by the disease. The distribution of the meals is being handled by partner agencies.

    “We continue to reinforce our commitment to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos by providing aid to Filipinos in need during this very challenging time,” said Ronald McDonald House Charities executive director Marie Angeles.

    In China, Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook has set up an in-house face mask production line in its dust-free T Mark diamond processing factory in Lunjiao, Shunde. The facility has been operating since mid-March and produces around 100,000 masks per day.

    The masks are being given as a priority to the group’s employees globally, with donation for charitable purposes to be considered once productivity increases.

    “Anti-epidemic materials are short in supply under the global outbreak”, said Chow Tai Fook executive director Bobby Liu. “To take good care of more than 30,000 employees worldwide, the group has to secure an adequate supply of face masks for our staff to ensure they can return to work safely and worry-free. In response to this challenge, we shifted from global sourcing to producing our own face masks.

    “Contributing to fight against the outbreak, we plan to donate face masks to people in need through medical institutions or non-profit organizations once we ramp up our production.”

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  • Li Ning profit boosts almost double

    Li Ning profit boosts almost double

    Chinese sportswear giant Li-Ning reported a massive 110-per-cent boost in profit for last year on sales up 32 percent.

    Total revenues reached ¥13.87 billion (US$127.9 million) compared with ¥10.51 billion ($96.95 million) in 2018. Net profit attributable to shareholders increased from ¥715.3 million ($6.6 million) to ¥1.5 billion ($13.8 million).

    CEO and executive chairman Li Ning, said the result reflected the company’s strategy of creating and enhancing the brand’s “experience value”.

    “We have adopted diversified strategies and approaches to consolidate the advantages of online and offline and also made use of digital marketing to further promote our engagement with different consumer groups and hence enhance the image and value of the Li-Ning brand.”

    The former Olympian said throughout last year the company steadily improved profitability and operational efficiency.

    The group improved its gross profit margin by a whole percentage point to 49.1 percent.

    “The increase in gross profit margin was mainly attributable to the group providing a higher percentage of tag price on delivery to franchised distributors due to the increasing brand recognition, and there was better sales discount on both new and old products in self-operated channels, while the tag-cost-ratio further improved,” the company said.

    Last year, Li Ning continued to focus on five core categories: basketball, running, training, badminton and sports casual.

    At the customer front, Li Ning opened full-category flagship stores and China Li-Ning stores in shopping malls, while actively exploring new channel types.

    “To enhance channel efficiency and optimize store structures, the company continued to accelerate the closure of loss-making stores, as well as upgrade and improve low-efficiency stores.”

    The company ended the year with 6449 Li Ning points of sale in Mainland China, a net increase of 105 for the year, along with 1101 Li-Ning Young stores, a net increase of 308.

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  • Burberry trench-coat factory to make coronavirus protection gear

    Burberry trench-coat factory to make coronavirus protection gear

    Luxury fashion label Burberry is retooling its Yorkshire trench-coat factory to produce non-surgical gowns and masks in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

    The supplies will be produced for patients and will be subject to approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

    Burberry is also working to leverage its existing supply chain to help deliver surgical masks, non-surgical masks and gowns for use by medical staff and patients in the UK.

    The firm’s other contributions include funding research into a single-dose vaccine for Covid-19 developed by the University of Oxford with human trials scheduled to begin next month, as well as donations to charities tackling food poverty across the UK.

    “The whole team at Burberry is very proud to be able to support those who are working tirelessly to combat Covid-19, whether by treating patients, working to find a vaccine solution or helping provide food supplies to those in need at this time,” said Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti. “Covid-19 has fundamentally changed our everyday lives, but we hope that the support we provide will go some way towards saving more lives, bringing the virus under control and helping our world recover from this devastating pandemic.”

    The contributions reflect luxury fashion house Ralph Lauren’s commitment to making face masks and medical gowns in the US via its Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation charity. The firm intends to produce 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation medical gowns.

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  • Esprit places its German subsidiaries into administration

    Esprit places its German subsidiaries into administration

    Hong Kong-listed apparel retailer Esprit has placed six German subsidiary companies in administration to give them protection during the coronavirus crisis, which has decimated sales.

    The move was finalized at the end of last week while the company’s shares were suspended from trading.

    The measure, called Protective Shield Proceedings under the German Insolvency Act, allows restructuring to take place in self-administration. Esprit stresses the process is only available to businesses that are still liquid – ie: they are able to continue to meet day-to-day expenses as opposed to long-term debt.

    In an explanatory statement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange, Esprit said that with many countries implementing public health measures and taking drastic actions to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, all of Esprit’s European stores have been temporarily shuttered, along with almost all those of the group’s franchise and wholesale partners.

    “Subsequent to the announcement, the position of the European companies in the group has further deteriorated significantly, as they currently generate only weak e-commerce turnover, while salaries, rents and operating costs continue to accrue.”

    Esprit describes the protective self-administration as a “proactive and forward-looking measure to protect the solvency and liquidity of the group”. It protects the company from claims from individual creditors while they work out a restructuring plan for the approval of creditors and the courts, which must be lodged by June 29.

    The German courts approved the process on Friday, appointing Dr Biner Bahr, a Dusseldorf-based partner of the international law firm White & Case, as the preliminary custodian to supervise the restructuring of the subject subsidiaries in self-administration. Esprit has appointed Detlev Specovius, a partner of the German restructuring law-firm Schultze & Braun, who has extensive experience in self-administration cases, to actively support the process.

    Esprit said in its filing that while under the protective shield process, it will continue to “pursue and accelerate” the group’s restructuring plan launched in 2018.

    “The restructuring plan will help to significantly reduce the liabilities of the [German subsidiaries] to a sustainable and manageable level and one that is in-line with the business needs of the group. By pursuing the Protective Shield Proceedings, the subsidiaries aim to effectively restructure all their liabilities and long-term lease contracts, obtain funding for salaries and social security payments of the German workforce from the German Federal Employment Agency and negotiate with works councils for more flexible solutions.”

    Esprit said the move was necessary because while the group is currently liquid, its future liquidity was threatened due to the pandemic and its consequences.

    “The company has been working relentlessly to secure the continued operation of all other European subsidiaries in order to allow each of them to return to its ordinary course of business when public life will start again and shops will be reopened with the lifting of the mandatory public lock-down measures as the pandemic subsides in the future,” Esprit said.

    “Facing the unprecedented challenge caused by the pandemic, management is focused on optimizing and streamlining the group’s business in order to be stronger, leaner and fitter so as to be better placed to pursue the market opportunities that may arise after the pandemic.”

    In Hong Kong, Esprit’s share price fell by more than 20 percent when trading resumed this morning. From a previous closing price of HKD 71 cents last week before trading was suspended, it fell below 55 cents in early trading, before recovering to about 60 cents (about USD0.077).

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  • Third Uniqlo x Marimekko collection launches

    Third Uniqlo x Marimekko collection launches

    Uniqlo has for a third time partnered with Finnish design company Marimekko to launch a new limited-edition collection.

    The new Uniqlo x Marimekko collection offers items for women and babies in six of Marimekko’s patterns, designed by Maija Isola and Annika Rimala. The patterns feature prints with different shapes and vibrant colours, “adding a splash of fun to LifeWear”.

    “Brand collaborations with partners with whom we share values and are able to create something special for customers represent unique opportunities for Marimekko to share our design philosophy with a wide global audience,” said Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, president and CEO of Marimekko.

    Prior to the Uniqlo x Marimekko 2020 collection, the two companies collaborated twice during previous seasons.

    “Our three seasons of working closely with Marimekko have deepened our understanding and appreciation for the Finnish fashion and design house and its art of printmaking,” said Yuki Katsuta, head of research & development at Uniqlo.

    The Uniqlo x Marimekko limited edition will be on sale from April 10.

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  • Gap cuts capital spending and hunkers down to survive coronavirus crisis

    Gap cuts capital spending and hunkers down to survive coronavirus crisis

    Apparel retailer Gap Inc has revealed precautionary measures it is taking to bolster its financial flexibility during the coronavirus outbreak.

    The measures include drawing down its US$500 million credit facility, suspending this year’s quarterly dividends, reducing capital expenditure this year by $300 million and reviewing all operating expenses to reduce spending.

    “We entered 2020 in a strong financial position,” said Gap Inc president and CEO Sonia Syngal. “However, in this time of unprecedented disruption to the retail sector, we are proactively taking prudent actions to further strengthen our financial liquidity and flexibility.”

    The company had declared earlier that its first-quarter fiscal year dividend would be delayed until late April depending on the condition of the outbreak, among other factors. Gap will now review its quarterly cash dividend policy as the situation develops.

    The firm’s US North American stores are now closed in compliance with actions to slow the spread of the virus, while the firm continues to trade online.

  • Uniqlo Vietnam opens new store in Ho Chi Minh City

    Uniqlo Vietnam opens new store in Ho Chi Minh City

    Uniqlo Vietnam is to open Ho Chi Minh’s second store this year despite the coronavirus outbreak.

    Located at SC Vivo City shopping mall in District 7, the city’s second Uniqlo Vietnam store will occupy more than 2000sqm of area, featuring its LifeWear products for males, females and kids.

    The opening date has yet to be disclosed, but the store is expected to open this spring/summer with the interior fit out well underway.

    “We are aware of the huge demand from Vietnamese customers for Uniqlo products,” said Osamu Ikezoe, Co-CEO of Uniqlo Vietnam. “We are excited to open the SC Vivo City store to introduce our fashion philosophy LifeWear to our customers.”

    Osamu said Uniqlo Vietnam plans three more stores this year. According to a prior company statement, the brand aims to operate at least three stores in Hanoi and eventually reach up to 20 nationwide.

    Earlier this month, Uniqlo Vietnam made its Hanoi debut, attracting more than 2000 people on its opening day.

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  • Shiseido kicked off Baum retail brand

    Shiseido kicked off Baum retail brand

    Japanese cosmetics label Shiseido has released a new skincare brand, called Baum.

    In response to consumers placing greater importance on companies’ and brands’ attitudes toward social responsibility and environmental considerations, Baum focuses on sustainability. It features a range of 27 products to be released on May 30 via Shiseido’s Prestige business category.

    The products are formulated to support healthy skin regardless of age or gender, with a focus on three key characteristics found in trees – water storage, growth, and environmental defense. The brand is positioning itself as focusing on the “power of trees, gracefully harmonizing with environmental changes and living for hundreds of years”. It ascribes to a sense of coexistence with nature that it asserts has been “valued by Japanese people for centuries”.

    Production of the Baum range is particularly attentive to sustainability concerns, with the use of upcycled wood in product packaging; actively offering to refill products; using bio-based plastics and recycled glass and participating in forest conservation activities – with plans to plant and grow oak trees scheduled to begin next year.

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