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Tag: Theory

  • Style Theory Shuts Down: High Operational Costs, Investor Departure Mark End Of Fashion Rental Platform

    Style Theory Shuts Down: High Operational Costs, Investor Departure Mark End Of Fashion Rental Platform

    Style Theory, a Singapore-based online clothing rental platform, has recently ceased operations due to increasing operational costs and the departure of its key investors.

    Established in 2016, Style Theory functioned as an online rental platform that operated on a subscription basis. For monthly fees ranging from $89 to $149, it provided its customers with access to designer clothing and fashionable accessories via its proprietary app.

    The company announced on its online platform that it discontinued its subscription service as of September 30. All related services including rental, delivery, membership, support among others, were also discontinued. Customers were alerted that unused points would not be refunded and they could retain any rented items indefinitely.

    The firm will go into liquidation, and those owed money will be classified as creditors. The economic climate, which the company describes as increasingly challenging, along with rising costs and unforeseen circumstances, including the withdrawal of key investors, were cited as the main factors behind this decision.

    Style Theory was supported by notable investors including Alpha JWC Ventures, Quest Ventures, The Paradise Group, and SoftBank Ventures Asia.

    The decision to shut down was not taken lightly, as stated by the founders. The main mission of Style Theory, since its inception, was to make fashion more sustainable, accessible, and circular. The unexpected discontinuation of services is regrettable, and the company sincerely apologizes for any disappointment caused. The founders assured that every possible alternative was considered before reaching this conclusion.

    This closure follows the shut down of the company’s operations in Indonesia in June. The company stated at that time that it wanted to concentrate its resources on strengthening its foundations in Singapore and Hong Kong.

    Questions & Answers

    Why has Style Theory ceased operations?
    Style Theory has ceased operations due to escalating operational costs and the departure of key investors.

    What happens to the customers who have unused points?
    Customers were informed that their unused points would not be refundable. They can, however, keep any items they have currently rented indefinitely.

    What was the primary mission of Style Theory?
    The primary mission of Style Theory was to make fashion more sustainable, accessible, and circular. The company aimed to achieve this through its online rental platform.

  • Theory Expands Footprint in China with Tmall Debut |

    Theory Expands Footprint in China with Tmall Debut |

    New York-based clothing label, Theory, known for its minimalist, precisely tailored wardrobe essentials, has opened its first online store in China on Alibaba’s Tmall e-commerce platform and its dedicated site for high-end shoppers, Tmall Luxury Pavilion. The stores offer all items in Theory’s womenswear and menswear collections available in its brick-and-mortar stores, including its newest Good Wool and autumn-winter 2018 lines. Offline, the brand currently counts 33 stores across 17 cities in China, a number it expects to double in three years.

    “Tmall’s partnership with Theory is a milestone in our continued market leadership in China as the premier B2C platform for fashion. We will empower Theory through our unparalleled data-driven consumer insight and New Retail technology to serve and discover fashion consumers across China, as well as build lasting relationship with customers,” said Jessica Liu, president of Tmall Fashion and Luxury.

    As part of the partnership agreement, Theory and Tmall will work more closely to leverage consumer insights and offer personalized New Retail experiences, starting with providing the same bonus points, sales benefits and exclusive birthday perks to Theory’s hundreds of thousands of VIP loyalty club members, both online and offline, for a more-seamless shopping experience across all channels.

    Tmall also provided the brand with marketing support, such as promoting its popular merino wool and cashmere clothing on Tmall Cashmere Category Day, an online-to-offline, multi-brand marketing event that ran from Sept. 24 to 26. The category is specially highlighted because of growing popularity of cashmere goods among the 30-40 age group on the platform, with the most rapid sales growth coming from younger consumers under 30 years old, the e-commerce platform said.

    “We will continue to roll out similar campaigns with Theory. At the same time, the brand has already merged its online and offline membership system to ensure the most complete set of rewards and services for its customers across all its online and offline channels,” said Anita Lyu, vice president of Tmall Fashion.

    Owned by Japan’s apparel giant Fast Retailing, Theory has pioneered a new category in the market now known as contemporary fashion — garments and accessories with designer aesthetics and premium quality, but sold at more-affordable price points. Contemporary fashion labels include Massimo Dutti, Charles & Keith and H&M Group’s COS.

    Aside from Theory, Fast Retailing also owns fashion brands, including Austrian contemporary label Helmut Lang, Los Angeles-based demim brand, J Brand and French lingerie brand, Princesse tam.tam, as well as premium fashion brand Comptoir Des Cotonniers. Two of its brands, Uniqlo and GU, have already opened flagship stores on the Tmall platform.

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  • New York brand Theory opens a flagship store in Seoul

    New York brand Theory opens a flagship store in Seoul

    New York contemporary brand Theory opened a flagship store in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu on 4th July.

    The company plans to establish a new “trendy place” in Hannam-dong to enhance brand-customer interaction and raise brand awareness.

    The Theory Flagship Store is a five-story building with a total area of 743 square meters (about 225 pyeong), which offers fashion, music, and café in one place, and features a modern and minimalist brand identity.

    On the basement, there are several collections which rotate from time to time.

    On the first floor, it showcases a ‘Theory 2.0’, featuring a young sensibility as well as trendy men’s and women’s casuals and denim.

    On the second and third floor, there is a 100 seats performance hall called Stradeum run by iriver so that customers can experience classic, jazz.

    Through collaboration with iriver, Theory flagship store is planning to offer a unique customer experience through movies and music performances, but also professional lectures and mentoring programs.

    On the fourth floor, Steven Smith’s pop-up cafe and and iriver’s professional audio player Astell & Kern is set up as a space for listening, creating a trendy space where fashion and music coexist.

    “We have opened a flagship store in Hannam-dong, a young and trendy place, in order to solidify the brand identity.” said Park Young-mi, brand manager of Theory. “We are trying to provide differentiated brand experiences to young customers who are pursuing culture and lifestyle as well as fashion.

  • Fast Retailing profit rebounds

    Fast Retailing profit rebounds

    While Fast Retailing profit fell in the full year, the Japanese apparel giant says its second-half profit rebounded sharply.

    Consolidated revenue rose 6.2 per cent to JP¥1.7864 trillion (US$17.19 trillion) while its operating profit fell 22.6 per cent to ¥127.2 billion.

    Factors underlying the sharp decline in profit include a ¥11 billion foreign-exchange loss, a ¥13.8 billion J Brand impairment loss, and ¥9.3 billion for impairment losses on Uniqlo Japan and Uniqlo US stores, plus retirement and store-closure losses.

    In the second half, from March to August, profit rebounded by 94.3 per cent year-on-year, attributed to a nascent recovery in sales at Uniqlo Japan and Uniqlo International, and concerted cost-cutting efforts.

    For Uniqlo Japan the second-half profit bounced back by 38 per cent. Revenue for the year was ¥799.8 billion, up 2.5 per cent, with profit dropping 12.6 per cent to ¥102.4 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.9 per cent in the second half compared to a 1.9 per cent decline in the preceding six months.

    For Uniqlo International, full-year revenue was up 8.6 per cent to ¥655.4 billion while profit fell 13.7 per cent to ¥37.4 billion. In the second half, however, profit rebounded to 15 times the previous year’s level, mainly because of sharp profit gains in Uniqlo Greater China (encompassing China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Southeast Asia and Oceania, and Europe.

    For the group’s global brands, revenue rose 11.3 per cent while profit fell 34 per cent for J Brand, revenue rose 32.7 per cent and profit by 34.8 per cent for GU, profit was also up for Theory, while Comptoir des Cotonniers, J Brand and Princesse Tam.tam had losses.

    During the 12 months, Uniqlo International opened a series of stores, including its first global flagship store in Southeast Asia, the Uniqlo Orchard Central store in Singapore. As of August 31, the number of Uniqlo International stores had grown by 160 to 958.

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  • Uniqlo struggles with currency and weather

    Uniqlo struggles with currency and weather

    Uniqlo, Asia’s largest apparel retailer, has delivered a disappointing set of results for the quarter to November 30.

    While revenue rose 8.5 per cent year on year to ¥520.3 billion (US$4.44 billion), profit fell 16.9 per cent to ¥75.9 billion ($647.1 million). Considerable depreciation of the Japanese yen was the main factor in a ¥29.0 billion fall in pre-tax profits, the company said.

    Uniqlo International sales also fell short of target in the first quarter, reporting a rise in revenue but a decline in profit (revenue: ¥196.9 billion (+17.2 per cent year on year), operating profit: ¥20.8 billion (-14.2 per cent)).

    “Unseasonal warm winter weather around the globe adversely impacted same-store sales at Uniqlo Greater China (encompassing operations in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Uniqlo South Korea and Uniqlo US in particular, resulting in a lower than expected first-quarter performance and declining profits in all three of these areas.

    Meanwhile, Uniqlo Europe reported higher than forecast gains in both revenue and profit, and Uniqlo Southeast Asia and Oceania reported a steady operating profit, as expected.

    New store openings proceeded as planned, with a net 66 stores opened during the first quarter, mainly in Greater China and Southeast Asia. As a result, the total number of Uniqlo International stores had expanded by 169 year on year to 864 stores as at November 30.

    Uniqlo Japan fell short of expectations in the first quarter, declining in both revenue and profit Revenue was ¥230.9 billion (-0.7 per cent), operating profit ¥44.8 billion (-12.4 per cent).

    “While online sales expanded 23.2 per cent year on year, same-store sales declined 2.3 per cent, resulting the fall in revenue,” the company said.

    “In September and October, fall winter items such as cashmere sweaters, merino sweaters, gaucho pants and wide pants got off to a great start and sales proved strong, pushing same-stores sales higher as a result. However, the unexpected heatwave in November stifled demand for winter items, and led to a sharp drop in revenue.

    “On the profit side, hefty discounting of winter items in November squeezed the first-quarter gross profit margin, while lower than-expected first-quarter sales inflated the selling, general and administrative expenses to revenue ratio.”

    The number of directly run Uniqlo Japan stores, excluding 38 franchise outlets, totaled 806 stores at the end of November 2015. While that represents a net decrease of 18 stores year-on-year, 10 of these stores were converted from directly-run stores to new employee-franchise outlets.

    The group reiterated its goal of becoming the globe’s largest apparel retailer.

    “To this aim, we have focused our efforts on expanding Uniqlo’s global operations, boosting store numbers in each country where we operate, opening global flagship stores and large-format stores in major cities around the world, and offering exciting joint collections with well-known designers from around the world, such as Ines de la Fressange. This strategy is designed to both boost awareness and visibility of the Uniqlo brand and strengthen our global operational base. We are also actively promoting our GU brand by accelerating the opening of new stores in Japan and launching the label in the Chinese market.

    “We believe the GU operation has reached a key turning point in its growth and development as a second pillar brand for the group,” the company concluded.

    Uniqlo’s Global Brands division exceeded expectations in the first quarter by reporting a 17.4 per cent year on year gain in revenue to ¥91.8 billion, and a 29.7 per cent year on year gain in operating profit to ¥12.4 billion.

    “Within the Global Brands segment, our low-priced GU fashion casualwear label reported significant rises in both revenue and profit that surpassed our initial forecasts. GU reported double-digit growth in same-store sales on the back of strong sales of heavily advertised campaign items such wide pants, baggy sweaters and knitted bottoms.

    “Meanwhile, our Theory fashion brand and J Brand premium denim label both fell slightly short of target when they reported a decline in profits.”

    The company’s France-based Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse tam.tam labels reported lower-than-expected sales and a decline in profit, after the November terrorist attacks in Paris forced some stores to close temporarily.

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