British Fashion Council The purpose of the British Fashion Council’s digital pillar is to support the British fashion industry to become the world leader in creativity, business and innovation. It is important for the British designer community to drive forward sales and increase their profile on the global stage and innovating digitally is a perfect way to achieve this. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'I am delighted to support British fashion, which continues to be at the forefront of innovation. From how our designers are working and presenting their collections, to the fast paced dynamism of the retail sector, fashion is utilising the latest technologies to ensure this important industry continues to generate billions for our economy. London is developing a reputation as one of the tech capitals of the world, but it is already a global leader for fashion.' Today, market research firm Mintel has released the following statistics: Digital at London Fashion Week The British Fashion Industry
Thrive Retail Forecast for 2018 - Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham UK Retail in 2018 - Shop numbers, Online and the High Street The Centre for Retail Research published its analysis of how UK retailing will have changed by 2018 on 28 May 2013, entitled Retail Futures 2018 forecasts that by 2018: Total store numbers will fall by 22%, from 281,930 today to 220,000 in 2018. Job losses could be around 316,000 compared to today The share of online retail sales will rise from 12.7% (2012) to 21.5% by 2018 or the end of the decade. There will be a further 164 major or medium-sized companies going into administration, involving the loss of 22,600 stores and 140,000 employees. UK retailing has the highest proportion of online retail sales, so what happens here is being closed watched by foreign observers as Britain becomes a test bed for retail innovation. Key catalysts for the looming retail crisis: Consumer spending has increase by 12% since 2006 outstripped by retail operating costs (including rates) which have risen by 20%. UK is facing a crisis. Store Closures
ABOUT THE NUMINOUS Portrait: Thomas Giddings Hey there Numis, my name is ‘Mystic Ruby’ (a.k.a. lifestyle writer Ruby Warrington), and I came up with the concept for The Numinous during conversations with my friend, the eminent astrologer Shelley Von Strunckel. “It’s my favourite word, it means ‘that which is unknown, or unknowable’,” she explained, as the Universe leaned across the table and flicked a light switch on in my head. And wouldn’t that be a brilliant name for a chic new site about everything mystical…and cool? And so, in summer 2013, The Numinous was born. We are living (no matter how it might feel after a particularly blissed-out yoga session), in a material world after all, and who says just because you believe in fairies, you can’t also believe that Marc Jacobs is the true manifestation of God’s Gift to Women?
London on course for another year of record-breaking visitor numbers in 2014 London welcomed over 3.6 million overseas visits in the first three months of 2014, resulting in the best ever first quarter tourism numbers in the city’s history. The figures published today from the latest International Passenger Survey (IPS) show an 8.6 per cent increase on the same period last year, confirming that London is on track to welcome more visitors in 2014 than the 16.8 million that came to the city in 2013 – already a record-breaking year for the capital. Tourist spending over the same period was £2.44 billion, a 14.6 per cent increase compared with the first quarter of last year. The total spend in London’s tourism sector has gone up every quarter for the last two and a half years. These promising figures come just one day after London was crowned the most popular tourist destination in the world by the respected MasterCard Global Cities Index report, putting the city ahead of Bangkok and Paris. Notes to Editors
Experiential retail: The UK high street revolution One of the latest to think ahead of the curve is online auction site eBay, with the unveiling of a physical outlet in the UK today with a ‘pop-up' shop, reports the Guardian. But there will be no tills. Shoppers will instead pay using their smartphones to scan a ‘quick response' code on the price tag. This directs the phone's browser to the payment section of the eBay website, with the pitch behind this technique being: ‘no queues, no bags, no stress'. The need for change Given the impact of the uncertain environment it is vital for brands to shift to new modes of shopping. Commenting on the bleak situation for UK brands, a spokesman for asset manager Henderson says: "Travel firm Thomas Cook has been rescued by £200 million of new financing and we have seen profit warnings from many other consumer-facing businesses including Blacks Leisure, Carpetright, French Connection and Jacques Vert. New strategies Tesco has even tested ‘augmented reality' in its stores. The digital revolution
Foreign Tourists Fuelling UK Growth Spend on retail, hospitality and leisure is set to rocket as overseas visitors flock to the UK over the next few years, according to a new report from Barclays. The research, independently commissioned for Barclays' Retail and Hospitality & Leisure banking teams, reveals that spending from foreign tourists is predicted to reach over £27 billion by 2017, an increase of 34% on 2013. Rapid growth in spend among tourists from emerging economies will be further boosted by loosening visa restrictions, and overseas visitors will deliver a significant boost to the economy this year and beyond. Visitors from the US currently spend the most in the UK, followed by France and Germany and this spending pattern will continue through to 2017. However, emerging economies such as China, the UAE and Russia are set to outstrip them in growth terms owing to the increasing wealth of consumers in these countries, in particular their growing middle-classes.
A mindful approach to retail – Orange Keel Brand Strategy & Design There is a clear and growing shift within certain, still fairly narrow, segments of society from rampant consumerism to a more mindful, thoughtful approach to purchasing decisions. This trend may be hard to see in the dark shadows of the rampant buying of Black Friday and the annual feeding frenzy that Christmas brings, however, my social media monitoring suggests that greed may be coming socially reprehensible. Perhaps the combined concerns evolving from the environmental movement, the evidence of the harm we’re doing to our world with massive waste, and the emptiness many feel regardless of how many possessions they acquire is generating a movement toward simplicity and a culture of less vs. more. One such example is Japanese retailer Muji. In an article published in the Globe & Mail on December 3, 2014 Nathalie Atkinson wrote: Though for a retailer built on the philosophy of simplicity, Muji sure sells a lot of stuff. Is there a lesson within this for the branding and design community?
Global Recession Impacts on Fashion Industry: Strategies for Survival The whole world is facing global recession. The economy is slowing, the business environment is unpredictable and the consumers are getting increasingly diverse, informed, technologically strong and demanding. The global meltdown has, in no way, spared the fashion industry. This industry, along with other textile products industry, is also feeling the pinch of financial adversity. The Fashion Industry The fashion industry can be termed as complicated with no standard for defining fashion companies. Impacts of Recession on Global Fashion Industry The trends all over the world is that of rising unemployment, credit squeeze and plummeting home budgets. Many big names in the fashion industry are facing financial problems, many of whom have even declared their negative condition. Consumer spending has got lower resulting in pressure on retailers' margins.
MUJI Online - Welcome to the MUJI Online Store. About MUJI MUJI was founded in Japan in 1980 as an antithesis to the habits of consumer society at that time. On one hand, foreign-made luxury brands were gaining popularity within an economic environment of ever-rising prosperity. MUJI was conceived as a critique of this prevailing condition, with the purpose of restoring a vision of products that are actually useful for the customer and maintain an ideal of the proper balance between living and the objects that make it possible. MUJI began with three steps: selecting materials, scrutinizing processes, and simplifying packaging. Selection of Materials Tasty and healthy foods. Streamlining Processes The processes by which each product is manufactured are subjected to careful scrutiny at MUJI. Simplifying Packaging When packaging products, MUJI seeks not to adorn them but rather to highlight their natural colors and shapes. MUJI is not a brand whose value rests in the frills and “extras” it adds to its products.
Support for the creative economy (28th November 2012) Written Evidence submitted by the British Fashion Council [SCE 084] This submission is made on behalf of the British Fashion Council (BFC) by Caroline Rush (Chief Executive) and Simon Ward (Chief Operating Officer). The BFC welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s call for submissions relating to the support for the creative industries. Executive Summary · The UK fashion industry is advancing its economic position but requires continued government support in a number of key areas to fulfil the Chancellor’s ambition for the creative sector to become a "world leader". · The fashion industry is rightly perceived as dynamic, young and vibrant and hopeful. · Government needs to work with industry to find practical and vocational solutions to its approaching skills shortage to sustain its economic growth for the creative economy. 1.2 The role of the BFC is to nurture, support and promote British fashion talent at a designer level to a global market.
Decoding the cult of Muji, the Japanese minimalist retailer The sets of colouring pencils and felt-tip pens notwithstanding, the fiery red stanchion snaking inside the mall on press preview night is the most colourful thing about the new Muji store. The retailer has 385 locations in Japan and 255 elsewhere, now including its first Canadian store, in Toronto, a stone’s throw from the Eaton Centre. Since 1980, the retailer has built a cult following by offering what you might call affordable restraint. Like a Japanese normcore IKEA, Muji commodifies a certain brand of comforting plainness and utility. In its native Japan, that aesthetic philosophy also extends to space – via branded campgrounds and Muji House, their range of prefab abodes designed by architects such as Shigeru Ban and Kengo Kuma. The orderly shelves of non-brand wares have a certain uniformity (and a trio of visual display artists from Muji’s Tokyo headquarters team are on hand to ensure sameness of vision). Plain without being forgettably generic – special, and just boring enough.
Facts and Figures in the UK fashion industry - statistics about the fashion business in England - size of economic activities Archive: Fashion industry statistics United Kingdom 14 February 2014 At a press conference to open London Fashion Week Natalie Massenet, Chairman of the British Fashion Council, announced updated figures showing substantial growth in the UK fashion industry over the past five years. - The direct value of the UK fashion industry to the UK economy is £26 billion; up from £21 billion in 2009. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘These latest figures are clear evidence of the hugely important contribution that fashion makes to our economy. George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer said: 'London is about to host one of the central events in the fashion calendar, but more importantly it is about to showcase the world class talent we have in our fashion industry. Sam Moore, COO, Oxford Economics, added “Our research underlines the continued and growing importance of the fashion industry’s contribution to the UK economy. In 2009 there were 293,510 retail outlets in the UK.
Headspace At Headspace we believe there is nothing more important than looking after the health of the mind, so we’ve made it our mission to get people everywhere to look after this precious resource by sitting to meditate for a few minutes a day, everyday. When this simple activity is considered no more strange than taking a shower, we’ll have achieved our aim. Headspace was a very long time in the making (good things always are), but has grown quicker than we could have ever imagined since launching in 2010. From events, to books, to a comprehensive online resource and mobile app service, Headspace is now used in over 150 countries, with the books translated into 12 different languages. As the project has grown, so has our team.