How much do top fashion brands really depend on China? When, in July 2011, LinkedIn hired Dan Roth, everyone in the media industry thought the “professional” social network was up to something big. Roth came with an impressive résumé: Forbes, Condé Nast Portfolio (a great but ill-fated glossy), Wired, then Fortune, where he served as managing editor before being poached by LinkedIn. Four years later, Roth snatched Caroline Fairchild, a young, talented writer and editor from Fortune. Again, many thought this was the moment. The trade press, always prompt to draw doomsday scenarios, came up with sensational headlines such as “How Dan Roth became the most powerful editor in business publishing” (Digiday), or “Media frenemy LinkedIn raids Fortune, Wall Street Journal for editors” (AdAge). Everyone (yours truly included) was wrong about LinkedIn editorial potential; it didn’t became a significant business media player—and most likely never will. Why? A discussion with Daniel Roth, while nice, quickly turns to mutual incomprehension.
Britain Now World's Cheapest Luxury Market | News & Analysis | BoF LONDON, United Kingdom — In the wake of Britain's vote to leave the EU, which pushed down the value of the pound about 10 percent against the euro, the country has become the cheapest luxury goods market in the world, helping to buoy British luxury labels, at least in the short term, according to new research by Luca Solca, the head of luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas. "The Brexit vote has made the UK the cheapest market in the world for luxury goods,” Solca told BoF. “A weak British pound will boost travel inflows to the UK, helping British luxury goods players like Burberry, Mulberry and Jimmy Choo." While luxury goods companies are not expected to raise prices in the UK in the coming months — at least until there is more clarity around exactly when and how the country might exit the EU — Britain should see a boost from tourist inflows and spending due to its weakened currency.
UK fashion tipped to create thousands of jobs Demand for designer fashion made in the UK has the potential to grow rapidly in the next few years and create thousands of jobs, according to the British Fashion Council. About 8,750 people were employed at 137 companies making clothes and accessories for the designers who show at London Fashion Week and London Collections Men in 2013. The companies had sales of £1.76bn and contributed £732m to the UK economy, research by Oxford Economics for the British Fashion Council has shown. But the study found that, with the right support, sales could increase by £406m by 2018, supporting a further 1,700 jobs, and contributing another £169m to the UK economy. The measures needed to fully realise the potential of high-end fashion were set out on Tuesday by the British Fashion Council, alongside the UK Fashion and Textiles Association, Creative Skillset, the skills body for the UK creative industries, and retailer Marks and Spencer. - Caroline Rush, British Fashion Council
Global fashion industry statistics - International apparel Total trade of clothing and textiles: 726 billion dollars The most traded apparel and textile products are non-knit women’s suits, knit sweaters, knit T-shirts and non-knit men’s suits. Non-knit women’s suits: 54.6 billion dollars, 7.5 percent Knit sweaters: 52.8 billion dollars, 7.3 percent Non-knit men’s suits: 43.4 billion dollars, 6 percent Knit T-shirts: 36.9 billion dollars, 5.1 percent Knit Women’s suits: Knit women’s suits: 28.2 billion dollars, 3.9 percent Light rubberized knitted fabric: 23.9 billion dollars, 3.3 percent Synthetic filament yarn woven fabric: 20.9 billion dollars, 2.9 percent Raw cotton: 18.9 billion dollars, 2.6 percent Non-retail synthetic yarn: 18.8 billion dollars, 2.6 percent China is the largest exporter of apparel in the world, it has exported for 265 billion dollars in 2014. Total trade of footwear and headwear: 139 billion dollar Over 40 percent of all traded footwear are leather footwear.
MADE IN BRITAIN - Topshop Blog Featured Tis the season to be British – tralalalala… lalalala… With the Jubilee and the Olympics encouraging our patriotic tendencies, we thought it was high time classic, quintessential style hit the fashion headlines and thus, our new collection Made in Britain was born. Marrying tradition with innovation (because isn’t that so the British way?) Queue our fashion fantasies of countryside frolicking in a sailor dress and wellies, pounding the city streets in the ultimate biker jacket and not to mention enjoying a spot of afternoon-tea (with her majesty and corgis of course), while sporting the cutest swan-print jumpsuit. Made in Britain is available now at our Oxford Circus London Flagship, New York store and Topshop.com – so whether you’re British by birth or simply British by nature, it’s time to don some Union Jack nails and wave your tips with pride!
Primark blames the weather for falling sales Image copyright Getty Images A warm winter and a cold spring has been blamed for a fall in sales at low-cost fashion retailer Primark. Shoppers left winter clothes on the rails in the run up to Christmas due to unusually warm weather, and a cold March and April depressed sales of summer clothes. As a result Primark, like other stores, had to cut the price tag to sell them. The retailer expects like-for-like sales, which ignore new-store sales, to fall 2% for the year to 17 September. "If the weather's warm consumers make do with clothes from the previous year," said Maria Malone, principal lecturer for fashion business at Manchester Metropolitan University. For retailers like Primark that causes a problem as they source their clothes from the Far East and South Asia and cannot adjust their stock to reflect the weather conditions. "Once stock is on its way you can't turn the ships around," points out Ms Malone. Pound impact Pension deficit
How fashion is shaping the UK economy | Summit 27 April 2015SEO Team London celebrated its 61st Fashion Week this year Written by Caroline LeekContent Manager London celebrated its 61st Fashion Week (LFW) last February, a highlight of the international fashion and retail calendar which turned global attention to the UK. As Changemakers in Retail, it is critical that we are up to speed on the trends, consumer insights and innovation & technology in the fashion industry. This season we were lucky enough to attend some of the shows, and were certainly not let down by the creativity and pride that shone through from our British designers. Despite the glitz, the glamour and the all-night parties, a more serious note prevailed, which is the important financial impact that the British fashion industry is having on our UK economy – £26billion to be precise! The UK fashion industry now employs over 797,000 people in the UK and the figure is likely to rise over the next few years as more positions open up within the industry in various fields.
Brexit causes dramatic drop in UK economy, data suggests Image copyright Getty Images Britain's decision to leave the EU has led to a "dramatic deterioration" in economic activity, not seen since the aftermath of the financial crisis. Data from IHS Markit's Purchasing Manager's Index, or PMI, shows a fall to 47.7 in July, the lowest level since April in 2009. Both manufacturing and service sectors saw a decline in output and orders. However, exports picked up, driven by the weakening of the pound. The report surveyed more than 650 services companies, from sectors including transport, business services, computing and restaurants. It asked them: "Is the level of business activity at your company higher, the same or lower than one month ago?" It also asked manufacturers whether production had gone up or down. The PMI is the first significant set of data measuring business reaction to the result of the UK referendum. Business Live: Pound tumbles Chancellor may 'reset' economic policy 'Record slump' So this is a troubling set of results. 'No surprise'
Can big brands catch up on sustainable fashion? | Guardian Sustainable Business Imagine a pair of trousers you could throw on the compost. After years of use, they could decompose among the eggshells and tea bags to leave behind nothing but some fertile soil to help grow new raw materials. It takes the circular economy to a whole new level. This is the idea behind F-ABRIC, a range of materials developed by Swiss company Freitag. While natural fibres like cotton will compost over time, synthetic fibres like polyester won’t, and natural fibres are often blended with synthetic. The fact that it is biodegradable does not make the fabric any less hard-wearing, says one of the founders, Daniel Freitag. Freitag is not the only company looking to microorganisms for inspiration. Essi Johanna Glomb, head of design at Blond & Bieber, says: “The colours for dyes are extremely toxic and really harm the people working with them and also nature. Perhaps most intriguingly, the colours change dramatically over time, from pink to bright orange, for example, or green to blue.
How Zara's founder became the richest man in the world - for two days Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Browsing the rails at Zara, you might not be aware of this: but there's an 80-year-old grandfather in northern Spain who helped pick out what you're taking to the till. Amancio Ortega stepped down as chief executive at Zara's owner, Inditex, five years ago. But he didn't give up work. Not at all. Even this week, when the company's rising share price made him the richest man in the world for two days, he wasn't ready to retire. Image copyright Getty Images Every day he still makes the 10km journey from his town centre house to the Inditex headquarters, based just outside the coastal town of La Coruna where he first launched the Zara brand. Sometimes he sits down with the Zara Woman design team and they kick around ideas for the coming weeks and months - the new layout for a store, a new design for the upcoming winter collection. This was not Mr Ortega's first time at the top of the tree. "When Amancio was telling me this, he was terribly emotional.
Falling gold price a ‘positive’ for luxury brands Luxury jewellers face challenges on numerous fronts — but a battered gold price is not one of them, making the sector one of the few winners amid a global commodities rout. The yellow metal had a long bull run at the beginning of the 21st century, steadily climbing from 1999 onwards and soaring after the financial crisis hit in 2008. However, the market had peaked by the end of 2011, and this summer began hitting multi-year lows, spurred by falling demand from China and India as well as by a strengthening dollar and the prospect of rising US interest rates. Although gold prices began climbing again in August as investors grappled with a global equity sell-off, the price is still about 40 per cent down from its historic peak of $1,900.20 in May 2011. “Gold [price] is not an issue and raw prices have been a benefit,” says Erwan Rambourg, luxury analyst at HSBC. “The fact is it’s a positive, and on a net basis [the luxury industry will] gain at the gross margin level.”
The Global Economics of Fashion and Clothing - Part 1 – Clothing | Elliott Morss How Important Personal appearance – how we look – is important to most people. Nevertheless, we spend very little on clothing. Table 1 provides consumption expenditure shares for selected developed nations. Table 1. – Consumption Expenditure Shares, Selected Countries, 2008 Source: OECD (2010),”Final consumption expenditure of households”, Detailed National Accounts (database). Table 2 provides data on total and per capita clothing expenditures in selected developed nations. Table 2. – Clothing Expenditures, Selected Nations, 2008 International Trade As Table 3 indicates, the United States is by far the largest importer of clothing. As the last column in Table 3 indicates, most clothing is produced domestically. Table 3. – Clothing Imports, Selected Nations (mil. Source: Table 4 provides data on the leading clothing exporters. Table 4. – Largest Clothing Exporters (mil. Recession Effects Clothing outlays are not recession-proof. Fashion
Investigating The Sustainability Claims Behind H&M ColumnIs fast fashion giant H&M really making moves to become more sustainable, or is it all just greenwashing? Editor’s Note: This is Jessica Marati’s first column for Behind The Label, which will explore whether brands claiming sustainable initiatives are going green – or just plain greenwashing. It’s so easy to love and hate H&M. In recent years, H&M has made efforts to be more transparent with its social responsibility efforts, releasing a hefty Conscious Actions Sustainability Report in 2010 that outlined its sustainability goals and action roadmap. In 2011, however, H&M stepped up its efforts with the release of a much-anticipated Conscious Collection, a white-hued line of separates made from organic cotton, Tencel®, and recycled polyester. But how much of this progress is part of an honest, dedicated commitment to doing good, and how much is just great greenwashing? THE QUESTIONABLE: H&M’s corporate transparency about its steps toward sustainability are certainly laudable.
How American Eagle Dodged the Teen Retailer Trap | Intelligence | BoF PITTSBURGH, United States — For its first global advertising campaign, American Eagle isn’t relying on the typical teen-retail tropes to send its message. You won’t find fresh-faced, unreasonably tanned models running on the beach or palling around a campfire. Instead, the Pittsburgh-based company appears to be focusing on that uniquely millennial mix of individuality and collectivism, enlisting fashion industry cool-kids like photographer Cass Bird and stylist Sara Moonves to capture a cast of young influencers, from actress Hailee Steinfeld to musician Raury, in black-and-white portraits. Each image is tagged with both #WeAllCan and a personal declaration. For instance, “Black-ish” actress Yara Shahidi chose the statement “I can be heard,” while YouTube personality Troye Sivan said, “I can love who I want.” The campaign stars are dressed in American Eagle denim and t-shirts, layering on jackets hand-painted with the American Eagle logo. Related Articles: