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Tag: Fashion

  • Largest Nike store planned to open in Singapore at Jewel Changi

    Largest Nike store planned to open in Singapore at Jewel Changi

    SUTL Corporation will open its eighth and largest Nike Singapore store at Jewel Changi Airport in the first half of this year. Located on the second floor, the duplex store will span more than 1000sqm, and boasts the latest and most extensive range of Nike footwear, apparel and merchandise in the city. Shoppers who visit the store can look forward to customising their Nike t-shirt and footwear purchases at the Nike By You customisation area.

    SUTL Corporation  says the store will seek to enhance shopper engagement with multiple touch points offering customers “a fully immersive Nike experience” as they walk through the store.

    “Despite the rise of e-commerce as a viable option for shoppers, we believe that brick-and-mortar spaces remain an important part of the retail landscape. Nike at Jewel Changi Airport reaffirms our confidence in this space and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with Nike on its journey to transform the sporting world,” said Arthur Tay, chairman at SUTL Corporation.

    SUTL operates in more than 18 markets across Asia-Pacific, distributing products ranging from tobacco, liquor, spirits, beer, water and wine to fragrances and cosmetics for airports and seaports in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.

    Jewel Changi is a 10-storey mega complex that will feature gardens and attractions, retail and dining, a hotel and facilities for airport operations.

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  • Tissot basketball concept store New York opens door

    Tissot basketball concept store New York opens door

    Swiss watch brand Tissot has opened a sports-themed store in New York City. The Tissot basketball concept store is the brand’s fourth boutique in the city, located at 112 W. 34th Street, a prime location in the Midtown neighbourhood. With a 2800sqft area, the boutique has a wall of multi-coloured basketballs, along with action-styled mannequins wearing uniforms of some of the brand’s nine NBA team partners.

    Hung on the walls are photos of the brand’s sponsored athletes, including three-time NBA Champion and five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson, four-time NBA Champion and six-time NBA All-Star Tony Parker and top rookie Trae Young.

    Besides shopping, fans can spend their time playing NBA 2K19, watch an NBA game on the large TV screens or try to beat the clock in a mixed-reality Tissot Buzzer Beater game set to debut at NBA All-Star 2019. A custom art installation debuting at NBA All-Star will then find its permanent home in the store.

    “This is a departure from our traditional merchandising strategy, but with our continued partnership growth and passion around the NBA, we wanted to harness that power to showcase our brand in a different light,” said Francois Thiebaud, president of Tissot.

    “We have seen a tremendous response so far from fans and we are excited to see what is to come.”

  • Blockchain in the business of fashion

    Blockchain in the business of fashion

    Fashion brands are finally beginning to take note of the rising consumer awareness on traceability and sustainability particularly driven by the millenniums. These evolving consumers are deep diving into knowing the history of the apparels before they buy – the story behind each garment and where and how are they manufactured.

    Moreover, mere claims or information is not enough to be trustworthy unless backed by detailed sequence of data on the complete value chain necessitated in wake of some or other global brand getting exposed of unethical sourcing or not being sustainable.

    This is making fashion companies to attempt towards transforming their business models focused on delivering transparency of data – both in backend and frontend by employing the emerging technologies.

    There has been a global buzz around new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Blockchain for some time now and the global Fashion industry has also moved in the last few years to adopt some of these in ways it firmly resisted for a long time. However, blockchain applications haven’t really seen much adoption by fashion organisations.

    So, What is Blockchain?

    According to Digital Trends, blockchain is a database that’s validated by a wider community, rather than a central authority. It’s a collection of records that a crowd oversees and maintains, rather than relying on a single entity, like a bank or government, which most likely hosts data on a particular server.

    Each ‘block’ represents a number of transactional records, and the ‘chain’ component links them all together with a hash function. As records are created, they are confirmed by a distributed network of computers and paired up with the previous entry in the chain, thereby creating a chain of blocks, or a blockchain.

    Blockchain is the technology behind digital currencies like Bitcoin and involve cryptography while in a usability sense they are just shared database or digital ledgers that publicly show a record of transactions having happened. Every time a product changes hands, that information on change in custody is recorded by the user in the ledger and entry becomes linked to every other entry (or Block) and every other copy of the ledger is automatically synchronised via internet. The interconnection among all the blocks forms a chain and the complete application becomes the blockchain. The chain of custody on blockchain provides a record of the last party to gain custody of the product. So, blockchain means decentralised structure that provides security and transparency and thus making data trustworthy.

    In broader sense, blockchain is not just technology, its impact goes beyond the industry or the society for creating a fair, safe and more transparent fashion industry.

    Applicability into Fashion Business

    Blockchain applications are not only for tracking virtual payments and financial transactions but have wider applications in securely distributing other product and supply chain information including complete database at SKU level. In other words, blockchains may be understood as indexes of standardised information or in simple sense, these are community generated data maps by brand and product.

    Most promising application of blockchain in fashion industry could be in supply chain and inventory management. What blockchain technology can enable in the fashion business is uniform real-time access to updated product information supplied by brands, a universal pathway for retailers to immediately report back to suppliers on aspects like stock levels and customer feedback, the final consumer details and many more might come along once something like this new basic building block structure is in play. Distributed nature of blockchain technology makes it superior to other tracking technologies as here the records can’t be altered, destroyed or lost.

    Blockchains have merely begun transforming apparel supply chains through technology such as track-and trace and inventory management. But as other technologies like 3D printing and AI continue to advance, the fashion apparel industry may very well see much more dramatic changes in years to come.

    Greater transparency in fashion supply chains will create new incentives for companies to change the way they do business and even how they view themselves as an organisation. If so, adoption of blockchain is only the beginning as the fashion industry may be entering a new era with vastly different forms of production and consumption.

    Advantages of Blockchain in Fashion

    • Nowadays, one of the major trends in the fashion industry is sustainability and circular economy. Today’s consumers believe in fair trade practices and hence increasingly demanding transparency and want to know where the product is coming from not only in food but also in fashion.
    • Blockchain enables fashion companies to securely communicate to the public the complete product story (DNA) for each and every fashion garment. This includes comprehensive details on all stages of product life cycle starting from design inspiration, raw materials, manufacturing and distribution to the stores and also providing visibility of all stakeholders involved in the value chain to create traceability and transparency in true sense.
    • Blockchain applications allow customers to scan the tag and discover the history of every garment and thus help in improving the customer experience.
    • Global companies like Patagonia and Everlane have been successfully betting on sustainability and supply chain transparency as a distinct selling proposition enabling customers to identify their suppliers.
    • Authenticity of branded products can be verified by both retailers and consumers since branded garments pass through the blockchain steps and hence can be tracked. This could help reducing the counterfeiting and diverting out of authentic products. Every time a fashion item moves from one place to other, its tag or code gets scanned thus recording its location with the time stamp. Consumers would be able to scanthe item and trace its journey from raw material stage to their home and would be able to ascertain if the product is real or a counterfeit. Blockchain applications can help provide protection against the counterfeiting.
    • Blockchain applications also can help fashion companies who license their trademarks or designs in tracking the sales and working out the royalty payments. Similarly, it enables design houses to document design process steps and thus having the organic evidence of ownership on the designs.

    Blockchain helps create peer-to-peer and decentralised network that connects all stakeholders in the value chain (design houses, farmers, raw material suppliers, manufacturers, transporters, distributors, retail outlets, banks, consumers and other parties of the complete supply chain). Using decentralised system, all communication between these parties will be direct and will not pass through a specific central entity. Due to its decentralised nature, the blockchain platform will not have any single point of failure and will not rely on any single entity.

    Through this technology, there could be a possibility wherein everyone from the farmer to the textile mill to the garmenting factory can communicate directly with the brand that buys from them. And, even the consumer can interact directly with the brand/design house for co-creation or customisation of the garments, influencing pricing and even co-investing in the concept.

    Given all the advantages, blockchain clearly seems to be the future for fashion, however, to speed up the application, a single and comprehensive blockchain standard adopted by the fashion industry has to come in fast.

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  • Skechers Takes Control of India Business

    Skechers Takes Control of India Business

    Skechers has bought its joint venture partner in Skechers India, taking the business inhouse. Skechers India has 223 retail locations across the country, 61 of which are company owned and operated, with the remainder franchised. Last year, Skechers saw double-digit increases in wholesale and retail sales and an 80 per cent increase in pairs sold, reaching 2.7 million.

    An additional 80 to 100 stores are planned for this year – of which about 20 will be company-owned.

    The dual-ownership model is expected to allow Skechers India to grow and expand its presence faster, the parent company said in a statement.

    “Skechers is still a relatively young brand in this country, having been in India for less than a decade, yet in the last five years, we have seen significant growth through our joint venture,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers.

    “The substantial existing retail network of over 200 stores, a strong wholesale business and a recently launched e-commerce site is a solid foundation that we can build upon. These accomplishments, as well as opportunities we see to increase the brand’s exposure and drive sales, give us great optimism and confidence for the growth of Skechers in India.”

    Rahul Vira, CEO at Skechers South Asia, said the company was delighted to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Skechers.

    “This development will enable us to amplify our growth plans, accelerate expansion of our operations and build a stronger network to further gain market share in India,” he said.

    Skechers India will continue operating under its existing structure and from its existing headquarters in Mumbai.

  • Guess announces new CEO

    Guess announces new CEO

    Iconic American fashion brand Guess Inc. announced that its chief executive officer and director, Victor Herrero, is leaving the company effective February 2, 2019. Carlos Alberini, who served as Guess’s president and chief operating officer more than ten years ago, will replace Herrero.

    “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Victor for his contributions during his tenure and wish him well in his endeavors,” said Maurice Marciano, chairman of the board.

    Alberini has been appointed as the new CEO and a Director of the company, “effective upon his separation from his current employer,” said Guess in a press release detailing the new hire on January 28.

    Alberini served as COO for the Californian company from 2000 to 2010. He was co-CEO of Restoration Hardware until 2014, and a director on the board of Restoration Hardware from 2010 until present.

    More recently, Alberini has been the Chairman and CEO of Lucky Brand, a role he took on from 2014.

    “I am very excited to have Carlos coming back as CEO at Guess. He was instrumental in building the international business in Europe and Asia during his 10-year tenure with the company,” said Maurice Marciano.

    The company also announced that Marciano has agreed to remain as Chief Creative Officer. His employment will be “at will”, according to Guess.
    During the transition, Marciano will be acting as interim Chief Executive Officer.

    In 2017-2018 financial year, Guess witnessed a steady growth track in Asia, notably in China.

    In March last year, the brand said it planned to open 60 stores in Asia, after also opening its first subsidiary in Singapore.

    In same financial year, the group said it improved its gross margin in Asia by 470 base points, with sales up 40 percent.

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  • Virgil Abloh’s Off-White launches the Simpsons collection

    Virgil Abloh’s Off-White launches the Simpsons collection

    Virgil Abloh‘s Off-White™ debuted its eagerly-anticipated Spring/Summer 2019 collection at Paris Fashion Week, and devotees will not be disappointed. First seen in our exclusive look backstage, the new collection offered goods both playful and earnest, with references to artist Dondi White and The Simpsons. The Simpsons House T-Shirt highlights 742 Evergreen Terrace in Springfield, USA prominently on the front of the shirt via a vibrant print. The back of the 100 percent cotton T-shirt is emblazoned with the ethos of Off-White™ along with the word “ARCHITECTURE.”

    Featured in unison, the front and back of the piece reference both Virgil’s unique approach to design and obsession with architecture. Priced at $350 USD, the Off-White™ The Simpsons House T-Shirt is available now at MR PORTER.

     

    For more contemporary fashion, RHUDE draws from an array of influences for FW19.

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  • Officine Panerai makes debut in Malaysia

    Officine Panerai makes debut in Malaysia

    Officine Panerai Malaysia has opened its first store. The Italian luxury watchmaker’s new boutique is the brand’s 81st worldwide and fourth location in Southeast Asia, forming part of Panerai’s strategy to boost its market in the region. It was designed by Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola to depict Panerai’s naval and wartime heritage.

    “Together with partner Swiss Watch Gallery, we look forward to providing an exceptional experience for our clients and conveying our values and Swiss know-how”, said Panerai Southeast Asia and Oceania MD Giacomo Cinelli at the launch.

    “It’s a little exhausting for the local watch collectors here to keep having to travel to a Panerai boutique, so we are here for our existing clients and we provide an entrance and platform for the new ones as well”, he said.

    Submersible timepieces feature prominently in the store’s range, retailing from RM57,700 (US$14,180) to RM168,470 ($41,400).

  • Uniqlo opens Manchester flagship, expands beyond London

    Uniqlo opens Manchester flagship, expands beyond London

    Japanese retail chain Uniqlo is expanding its store network internationally, announcing the opening of its latest store in the UK. Opening in the city of Manchester, Uniqlo is returning the British city after leaving Manchester back in 2004, not long after it entered the UK market. Uniqlo revealed the news this week on its Instagram: “Uniqlo Manchester – opening spring 2019. Tokyo heads up North. Register for updates on our Manchester store opening at the link in bio.”

    The post also gave location details, revealing the store is slated for Manchester Arnadale at 57 Market Street. The address is the former-space of closed down UK retail chain BHS, which shuttered on Market Street in August 2016, after 35 years of service on the city’s main shopping strip.

    The new store will occupy a 22,690 square feet and will sell Uniqlo’s full range of core items for men, women and kids, as well as jeans and t-shirts.

    The retailer said that the expansion north of London was an important step in its UK growth.

    “The launch of Uniqlo in Manchester represents another major milestone for us in the UK, as we continue to expand our presence in this important market for the company worldwide,” Uniqlo chief executive Taku Morikawa said.

    “We are very excited to be able to offer Uniqlo LifeWear to the people of Manchester and surrounding areas for the first time and show how our high quality, comfortable and functional clothing can help improve their everyday lives.”

    It is hoped that Uniqlo Manchester will fair better than BHS, and in turn compete strongly with fellow fast-fashion brands Primark and H&M, which are currently set up in the millennial-heavy city.

    Uniqlo first launched 20 stores in the UK, but then closed 15 sites outside of London three years later, including two in Manchester.

    It currently operates nine stores across London, one in Kent at Bluewater shopping centre and another in Oxford at Westgate.

    In its most recent earnings update, Uniqlo Europe said that in the year up to August 31, 2018, profits rose from €673,000 to €6.3million on a turnover of €533million, up from €410million.

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  • Ralph Lauren showing good progress

    Ralph Lauren showing good progress

    After a long run of fairly mediocre performance, Ralph Lauren has finally delivered a solid set of numbers. The 5 per cent net revenue growth announced last week is pleasing as are the various regional outcomes. These were supported by a respectable increase in underlying comparable sales. It would be remiss not to note that the good figures have been delivered off the back of a very weak prior year performance, but this should not take away from the fact that the brand is now headed in the right direction.

    Away from the top line, the bottom line has also strengthened with operating income up by 12.9 per cent over last year. Much of this is down to far lower rates of discounting, especially in the wholesale channel. We also see this as a sign that Ralph Lauren’s more disciplined and focused approach to producing collections is allowing more product to be sold through at a fuller price. All of this suggests that the company is doing a much better job at connecting with consumers.

    Our own data backs this up. Brand affinity to Ralph Lauren was the strongest in over five years this holiday season; brand recall and awareness were also higher, including among younger consumers. Some of this is the result of increased marketing spend but a lot of it also comes down to a more targeted approach. Initiatives like the launch of the Palace label have provided the brand with greater visibility among consumers looking for edgier, contemporary designs. There is clearly more work to be done, but this progress represents a good platform on which to build.

    That said, Ralph Lauren needs to remain disciplined; it should not revert to past form by launching rafts of sub-brands and spin-off labels which create confusion.

    Digital was the star channel this quarter with sales up by 20 per cent over the prior year. Some of this is a consequence of the investment in online platforms which are now much improved and delivering higher conversion. However, traffic to websites has also risen as Ralph Lauren has created more visibility around its products and brands. In North America, the slight downside is the imbalance in growth. Online comparable sales rose by 21 per cent, but store comparables were flat. While this is not necessarily surprising, it underlines that Ralph Lauren has more work to do in persuading customers to visit its shops – something that should, in theory, become easier as it pulls back from the wholesale channel.

    For all of this positivity, we are still cautious about the trajectory of the brand. While there is no doubt that Ralph Lauren is now in a much stronger position, a lot of work remains to be done on carefully defining the various parts of the offer and ensuring they remain targeted.

    Because of the vast array of brand elements, this is a challenging task that could easily falter – especially as the economy tightens and the company laps some tougher comparatives.

    Overall, however, Ralph Lauren is on the right track, it just needs to stay on course as it accelerates.

  • Japan’s Zozo expects profit fall, cuts outlook

    Japan’s Zozo expects profit fall, cuts outlook

    Online fashion store Zozo reported its firs-ever profit decline since its launch, adding to the announcement that it plans to discontinue its innovative Zozo suit, as it moves away for custom-fit fashion. One of Japan’s fastest-growing start-ups, Zozo said it expects full-year for the fiscal year ending March 2019 to fall 12%, dipping to 17.8 billion yen ($164 million).

    Zozo said it expects full-year operating profit of 26.5 billion yen, down around 19% from a year earlier. It previously forecast profit to rise to 40 billion yen.

    Sales are still predicted to reach double-digit growth, up 20% to 118 billion yen. However, that’s much lower than an initial forecast of 247 billion yen.

    By category, private-brand revenues are forecast to total 3 billion yen, just 15% of the 20-billon yen prediction made last year. Profits at the new apparel brand will also be negative, registering a loss of 12.5 billion yen.

    Zozo holds close to a 50 percent share of Japan’s e-commerce market for mid to high-end fashion. The Tokyo-based retailer had tried to branch out by launching its private brand and a made-to-measure service. Dubbed the ‘Zozosuit’, a black-and-white spotted body suit that allowed user to take and upload personal body measurements, the suit was overhauled after complaints on how long the suits took to arrive, with some customers complaining the suit did not fit, causing more delays.

    “By distributing the ‘Zozosuit’ for free so that people could take measurements, we were hoping to create demand for the Zozotown business, including the private brand. But the impact did not have the scale that we had hoped for,” the company said in a statement.

    Zozo said it now expects to pay a year-end dividend of 10 yen per share instead of an original forecast of 22 yen.

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  • YSL opens pop-up store to celebrates Valentine’s Day

    YSL opens pop-up store to celebrates Valentine’s Day

    YSL launched a limited store for Valentine’s Day 2019 in Central, Hong Kong, featuring on WhatsApp sticker, photo booth, and games. Obviously, pink and cosmetics are many girls’ favourite. So pink lovers will fall in love with YSL latest limited pop-up store in Central as the store is fully decorated in pink. Not only visitors will have the opportunity to get the cosmetics products, but they will also be able to take Instagrammable photos in front of different props and beautiful background.

    To participate in this event, visitor only need to register online to get a designated QR code and go during the reserved time slot. In addition to taking pretty pictures, visitors can also try YSL new collection of perfumes, blush, and lipsticks.

    One of the most attractive activities is to tailor-made unique WhatsApp stickers.

    In addition, making WhatsApp stickers, printing photos or buying any products in the pop-up provides points for playing the YSL’s clip doll machine. The higher the points, the more opportunities, so you can clip away YSL cosmetics products and take them home.

    The pop-up closes its doors just after Valentine’s Day.

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  • L’Oreal Asia Pacific sales reported soars

    L’Oreal Asia Pacific sales reported soars

    L’Oreal Asia Pacific sales soared by a staggering 24.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis last year. Asia was the beauty behemoth’s fastest-growing market with all divisions of the business winning market share from rivals in the region. “The dynamism of Chinese consumers, combined with the good performance of premium brands and rapid growth in several other Southeast Asian markets as well as in travel retail, were the [region’s] main growth drivers,” the company said in an earnings statement.

    Singles Day in the fourth quarter especially boosted sales in China, along with the acquisition of Stylenanda in June.

    L’Oreal Asia Pacific sales, driven by China, overtook L’Oreal’s North America business, with sales exceeding €7 billion.

    Globally, L’Oreal achieved sales of €26.9 billion (US$30.3 billion) last year, an improvement of 7.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 8 per cent at constant exchange rates. Net profit reached €3.89 billion euros, an increase of 8.8 per cent.

    L’Oreal’s chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon said the results represented the company’s best year of growth since 2007, achieved in a beauty market which had “accelerated significantly” last year.

    All divisions achieved growth, with the standouts being L’Oreal Luxe and Active Cosmetics, which both recorded double-digit sales increases. In the Luxe division, the larger brands led the way, with Lancome sales crossing the €3 billion threshold. The Active Cosmetics division achieved its highest growth for more than 10 years.

    Consumer products sales, led by L’Oreal Paris and Maybelline New York, achieved solid growth and professional products a “modest increase” thanks to a significant acceleration in the final quarter, the company said.

    A growing investment in e-commerce is paying off, with sales online up 40.6 per cent last year, now accounting for 11 per cent of group sales.

    And travel retail broke the €2 billion barrier, increasing by 27.1 per cent.

    L’Oreal reported its gross margin increased significantly and, even after strong investments in research, innovation, and business drivers, its operating margin set a new record at 18.3 per cent of sales.

  • Dapper Dan is holding Gucci accountable for controversial “blackface sweater”

    Dapper Dan is holding Gucci accountable for controversial “blackface sweater”

    Renowned Harlem fashion designer and tailor Dapper Dan’s relationship with Gucci through the years has been a rocky road. After gaining notoriety for knocking off the Italian house’s logo in his designs throughout the ’80s and ’90s, the tables turned in 2017, when Alessandro Michele was taken to task for knocking off one of Dap’s designs in his Cruise 2018 collection.

    However, all’s well that ends well: Both parties made peace and began working together. Not only did Dapper Dan collaborate with Gucci on a vintage hip-hop-inspired capsule collection and lookbook, the Kering-owned luxury label underwrote his brand new studio and atelier in Harlem, also making him the face of a special tailoring campaign.

    As lovely of a story as this is, it might not wind up with a happy ending. Just last week, Gucci apologized for (and pulled from shelves) an $890 sweater that resembled blackface. After several days of impassioned conversation among fans on social media, the brand released a statement, saying: “Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper … We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make. We are fully committed to increasing diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond.”

    While acknowledging the misstep and the need to prioritize diversity is a step in the right direction, the situation did not sit well with Dapper Dan. On Sunday, he posted a statement of his own on Instagram, insinuating that his partnership with Gucci may be on thin ice. “I am a Black man before I am a brand,” he wrote. “Another fashion house has gotten it outrageously wrong. There is no excuse nor apology that can erase this kind of insult. The CEO of Gucci has agreed to come from Italy to Harlem this week to meet with me, along with members of the community and other industry leaders. There cannot be inclusivity without accountability. I will hold everyone accountable.”

    Gucci made a concerted effort to make things right with Dap — and, seemingly, to educate themselves about both his neighborhood and his culture — the last time they were at odds, but this understandably hits very close to home, and could certainly cause major issues within their business partnership.

    Whatever the outcome, this case only underscores the dire need for more inclusion and diversity in the industry, as the frequency with which fashion brands slip up in regards to racism only gets higher by the day. It’s a change that needs to be implemented immediately, and hopefully Gucci will set an example for its industry peers, as it’s already been known to do in other areas.

  • H&M profit drops due to online investment

    H&M profit drops due to online investment

    H&M profit dropped in the year to November 30, the Swedish fast-fashion retailer blaming investment in its online business for the decline. The world’s second largest clothing retailer embarked on a transformation program last year, investing heavily in logistics and digital technology aiming to improve the shopping experience and product range. This included an upgrade in its mobile app, faster deliveries and the rollout of click-and-collect.

    The company is also working on a new H&M concept store.

    In the last three months of its financial year, the company spent around US$48.5 million on logistics and technology, including resolving problems it flagged earlier last year.

    H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said the upgrade in the company’s logistics systems inevitably resulted in increased costs but will lead to a range of improvements for customers.

    “Against a backdrop of rapid changes in the fashion industry, in 2018 we accelerated our transformation to future proof our business, ending a challenging year for the H&M Group and the sector with strong signals that we are on track,” he said.

    Persson said it may have been a challenging year for H&M and the industry but after a difficult first half, there were signs the company’s transformation efforts were beginning to take effect.

    H&M posted a 5 per cent increase in full-year revenue to $22.7 billion, while in local currencies, net sales rose by 3 per cent. Profit fell by 21.8 per cent to $1.36 billion from the same period last year.

    Online sales rose 22 per cent to SEK 30 billion ($3.2 billion) and now comprise 14.5 per cent of the company’s total revenue.

    “With a stronger customer offering and the ongoing improvements in buying and logistics, we expect this trend to continue,” Persson said.

    “While this performance is still some way off the targets that we set at the beginning of 2018, these positive signals confirm we’re making progress across all our strategic focus areas: to create the best customer offering; a fast, efficient and flexible product flow; a stable scalable tech foundation; and adding new growth through store and online expansion.”

    According to Persson, the company opened three new fulfilment centres in the fourth quarter with a total of around 230,000sqm so it can offer customers faster deliveries and a wider assortment while reducing the capacity constraints that slowed them down in some markets in 2018.

    “We have also completed our online transition with investments in 2018, enabling us to successfully migrate online in Germany to the new platform earlier in January 2019,” he said. “With this, all H&M online markets are now on the new platform.”

    Persson said the difficulties with the logistics upgrade in some of their markets earlier in 2018 led to additional costs in the fourth quarter.

    “Applying lessons learned, we have not increased investments to secure upcoming transitions.”

    He added that while these initiatives have a short-term impact on margin, they will lead to continued improvements for their customers, driving increased profitability in the long term.

    “With the transformation now underway, capital expenditure will reduce this year compared to last and we will continue to shift the balance of our investments towards digital.

    “Changing consumer behaviour and technological innovation will continue to transform how and when people shop, we are building a business with the flexibility to respond to this constant evolution.”

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  • Marks & Spencer India to open six more stores in next 60 days

    Marks & Spencer India to open six more stores in next 60 days

    British multinational retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is on an aggressive pace here and is opening six more stores in the next two months alone, a top company official has said.

    According to a report, Marks & Spencer has opened its first store here way back in 2001 and in April 2008 signed a joint venture agreement with Reliance Retail to form Marks & Spencer Reliance India.

    It now has 71 stores across 30 cities like New Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Bhopal, Kanpur, Hyderabad and Chandigarh among others.

    “India has become increasingly an important market for us. We are now the largest market for M&S outside of our home market. We are 71 stores today and we continue to invest in this market. We opened nine stores in the last six months and it is our intention to open six more in the next 60 days,” James Munson, managing Director, Marks & Spencer Reliance India said in an interview.

    Internationally, Marks & Spencer hawks its products in 57 markets across 400 stores and an online presence in 33 markets.

    Munson further said they would look to maintain that expansion pace in the next year as well and said, “there are no other markets which are expanding the way we are expanding here”.

    Of the 71 stores here, 10 are standalone beauty and lingerie stores , including two it opened in the last nine months and said half of the stores it plans to open in the next 60 days would also be for the same.

    The company clocked a revenue of Rs 908 crore last year and has been growing at a CAGR of 24 percent over the last five years, Munson said.

    It had clocked a 9 percent growth in the same store sales last year.

    A fifth of the turnover comes from outside the major metros, he said.

    It sources 30 percent of its products from locally and India is a sourcing base for the wider British market as well.

    M&S has partnered with other e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart over the last few years and he said its a strong area of growth and this year they are expecting 75 percent growth in online sales.

    However, the contribution from online to its revenues is still quite small here, unlike in Britain where it’s targeting 30 percent online sales.

    M&S has developed a rethink campaign specifically for this market, a first globally where a campaign has been designed for the local market.

    In Britain, food is a popular segment for the company but Munson said there are no plans at present to introduce food here.

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