Raf Simons for Calvin Klein: The verdict
I’m a big fan of Raf Simons. Honestly. I loved (most of) what he did for Dior and so was really looking forward to his Calvin Klein debut. But I really don’t know what to make of it.
Global luxury: Time for a rethink
Luxury stores need to put the brakes on their expansion plans and get used to the new reality. That’s the conclusion of a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Now, the natural response to that might be “tell me something I don’t know”. But it’s interesting. The fact is, department stores, big chains and…
Kate Hudson Fabletics: One celeb line that looks like it could last?
When you think of celebrity fashion labels you tend to think of lines that really make an impact just because the celebs at the helm are so very very famous. Think Victoria Beckham (hard to avoid at the moment given her OBE and the storm of faux outrage in the press about the news leaking…
Christmas 2016 and how we really screwed up retail’s key season
Boxing Day footfall in the UK is down 6% so far and shopping centres are seeing a decline that’s heading towards 20%. Online may be up but that causes its own problems. What’s to blame? Step forward Black Friday.
Black Friday Weekend: The rise of the night owl
Well, that was a surprise wasn’t it? All those predictions of an online surge and physical store armageddon seem to have been wrong. As I said in a post yesterday, it’s clear Black Friday weekend is still evolving. That became even clearer after some more figures today.
Black Friday weekend: Physical crush or digital crash?
OK, what actually happened late last week and at the weekend. Did we all shop ’til we dropped? Did we click like crazy causing websites to crash? Did we bristle with rage every time we heard the words Black Friday?
Pre-fall 17: Can Bottega Veneta fight back?
Bottega Veneta’s having a tough time of its at the moment. Formerly a growth star at Kering, it appears to be one brand that’s suffering from the luxury downturn more than some others. And that’s made worse by its Kering stablemates Gucci and Saint doing so spectacularly well.
Ken Cole: Pureplay plans mean it’s (almost) all over for physical stores
We’ve heard about pureplay e-tailers adding stores to maximise omnichannel opportunities. And we’ve heard about physical retailers boosting their online ops. But it’s rare that we hear about brands going pureplay, outside of a few tiny indies who’ve realised that trying to make a little store on a local high street pay is madness when…
Digital divas and digital dunces: L2’s Index is out and it might surprise you
L2 is back and just waiting to tell fashion businesses how badly they’re doing at digital. Quite right too. Anyway, at least this time the performance tracker isn’t blasting the luxury sector, it’s mass-to-premium retail that’s under the spotlight. So how are the assorted ranks of footwear, beauty, homewares and fashion brands doing? Well, actually…
Retail, wholsale and e-tail: SuperGroup, Superdry, super brand
Now that’s what I call a trading statement. SuperGroup I mean. In the same week as M&S reported retail Armageddon and online sales barely moving, SuperGroup today said the half year to October 29 saw group revenues up 31.1% to £334m and its online sales soared 25%.
