This month, BoF Careers provides essential industry insights for retail fashion professionals to help you make sense of the fashion retail landscape.
Discover the latest industry news and insights for retail fashion professionals updated monthly so you can stand out in job interviews, promotion conversations, or improve your performance in the workplace by expanding your market knowledge and emulating the leaders market.

BoF Careers pulls business intelligence from all of our content – editorial briefings, newsletters, case studies, podcasts and events – to provide key insights and insights tailored to your position, listed alongside a selection of the most exciting jobs posted by BoF. . Race partners.

Key articles and information needed by today’s retail professionals:

Discover the latest industry news and insights for retail fashion professionals updated monthly so you can stand out in job interviews, promotion conversations, or improve your performance in the workplace by expanding your market knowledge and emulating the leaders market.

BoF Careers pulls business intelligence from all of our content – editorial briefings, newsletters, case studies, podcasts and events – to provide key insights and insights tailored to your position, listed alongside a selection of the most exciting jobs posted by BoF. . Race partners.

Key articles and information needed by today’s retail professionals:

1. How some brands are surviving the retail downturn

Most major fashion companies have advised investors to brace for slower growth. In some cases, those predictions have come true: Earlier this week, owner Michael Kors Capri reported a six percent drop in sales in the latest quarter and cut its 2023 earnings forecast by 24 percent. [At the same time] shares of Tapestry Inc., the owner of Coach, surged after the company reported a record profit of $318 million in net income on $2 billion in sales, down 5 percent from last year. Ralph Lauren also impressed with a slight year-over-year increase in revenue as shoppers continued to buy his clothes even at higher prices.

What separates the winners and losers in a recession? Basically, these are strategies that these companies implemented long before inflation hit and the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates. Unlike Capri, Tapestry and Ralph Lauren controlled the prices of their products. Tapestry generates most of its sales through its own website or stores, while Ralph Lauren has prepared for its wholesale partners’ holiday sales ahead of the season. Capri, on the other hand, fell victim to rampant discounts at its partner department stores, where sales fell 20 percent.

2. Chanel is opening a beauty salon in Williamsburg this Summer

Chanel will open a store in , Brooklyn this June, according to a government construction announcement released Sunday. It’s the latest luxury brand to show interest in the trendy waterfront as the hybrid work-from-home lifestyle spreads to spending outside of Manhattan. This summer, Hermès will introduce a pop-up, and in 2026, a double-decker flagship.

But even the most affordable and big brands are interested in it. In November 2022, H&M launched an experimental pop-up site. […] In the same month, Glossier opened a permanent outpost in the neighborhood by painting hourly lines. “National and international luxury retailers have been eyeing vibrant and trendy neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Park Slope for years,” according to the New York City Real Estate Board’s Winter 2022 report.

3 Sephora London Debut Explained

According to market research firm Euromonitor International, the UK beauty sector represents a $13 billion opportunity for Sephora and is one of the last major markets where it has yet to operate. [However] the UK beauty market is characterized by fierce competition due to a very fragmented distribution network. UK shoppers have a huge choice, from pharmacy brand Boots to specialty retailer Space NK and luxury department stores such as Selfridges, Harrods, Liberty and Harvey Nichols. That’s more than e-beauty retailers like Cult Beauty, known for its selection of popular independent brands, and Beautybay, which caters to a younger, social media-savvy audience.

However, the decline of UK department store chains such as Debenhams and House of Fraser has left a niche market during the pandemic, especially in key regional cities such as Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol. Sephora has the opportunity to fill this gap in the market, especially as shoppers are excited to be back in stores after the pandemic. After all, physical stores are what Sephora does best.

4. Do DTC brands achieve physical success?

After the downturn during the pandemic, consumers have returned to shopping in person. In 2022, physical stores accounted for more than 70 percent of U.S. apparel and accessory sales, according to the Census Bureau. But not all digital brands have mastered their physical strategies yet.

Keeping physical stores running depends on whether the brand’s products and in-store experiences are interesting enough and different from their online experiences, analysts say. But brands will have to find a channel that will give them a competitive edge.

5. How to choose an intermediary partner

Brand resale is on the rise, with retailers ranging from Shein and Canada Goose to Mara Hoffman and Balenciaga adding a sort of used clothing to their stores or websites. But building a resale business from scratch is expensive and time consuming. Turning a profit is also not easy: most of the large resellers, such as The RealReal and ThredUp, are operating in the red.

A parallel white-label resale platform industry has emerged that does much of the behind-the-scenes work. Most of them charge a setup fee and then take a percentage of each sale, although services like Trove that do end-to-end logistics can be more expensive. Ultimately, launching a resale service should require the same focus and attention as developing a collection, according to Mimi Margalit, retail strategy consultant and former DTC merchandising director at Rebecca Minkoff. “Reselling is marketing,” said Margalit. “If you don’t choose the right experience, if you don’t choose the experience that your client finds most meaningful or resonates the most, then it won’t really be the most successful experience.

6. Inside the Fashion Ecommerce Management Battle

As online shopping has become a bigger part of retail, it has spawned an industry of e-commerce companies that promise brands and retailers a fast, hassle-free and hassle-free experience for their customers on the go across all channels and countries. Along with Shopify, there’s Commerce Cloud from Salesforce, Magento from Adobe, FPS from Farfetch, BigCommerce, and more. Each offers different features, but all compete for the ability to do the hard work on the back end, allowing brands and retailers to focus on manufacturing and marketing products.

In order to attract customers, e-commerce companies keep adding new offerings such as improved storefront capabilities, logistics solutions, and other options. According to Ryan Foster, director of e-commerce agency Fostr, which specializes in advising fashion and luxury brands, ultimately one platform differs from another in terms of flexibility and how much effort the developer requires from the brand.

7. Thebe Magugu wants to create an international brand without forgetting the customers at home.

When Tebe Magugu won the LVMH award in 2019, she rose to fame almost instantly. In the months that followed, she appeared at Paris and London Fashion Weeks, dressed for Rihanna, Naomi Watts and Lupita Nyong’o [and signed] partnerships with major wholesalers including Bergdorf Goodman, Net-a-Porter and Dover. Stall. He has become a coveted member of brands such as Dior, AZ Factory and Adidas.

Today, Magugu plans to continue serving this global base, he said, but will be careful to move out of the public eye, favoring private performances over large shows or presentations, and events outside of the traditional fashion calendar. She will also be prioritizing her local client base, who primarily shop on her website, which features her designs alongside her annual Faction Press, which she created is a blend of unexplored South African history and cultural reference. for the creative people of the country.

8. The future of fashion in auction houses

Auction houses are caring for a new generation. [Roman Krausl, professor of finance at the University of Luxembourg] points to the initial hype around the NFT market as evidence that young people are hungry for new ways to invest. He believes that the fallout from a cryptocurrency crash could lead buyers to acquire more tangible assets.

This comes at a time when fashion auctions are also attracting the attention of the public. Joan Didion’s Celine sunglasses sold for $27,000 at auction on online auction platform Bidsquare, and Karl Lagerfeld’s highly publicized estate raised over $18.5 million for Sotheby’s. At Christie’s auction, André Leon Talley’s estate raised almost $4 million last month after it was put on display during a busy Paris Fashion Month showcase and New York party. This week, Sotheby’s announced an auction of Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” sneakers, which are expected to fetch between $2 million and $4 million.

It was “the strongest collection to date” from Chloe designer Gabriela Hirst.
Paris: Women’s autumn/winter season finally comes to a halt on Tuesday, after touring New York, London and Milan, before wrapping up in the French capital. Here are some of the highlights from the latest show series in Paris.

– Vivienne and Paco, goodbye –
Fashionistas said goodbye to two design titans of the 20th century.

Vivienne Westwood’s widower, Andreas Kronthaler, has unveiled a greatest hits collection that includes new versions of his iconic pirate boots, corsets, petticoats and platform shoes.

“Perhaps the most important thing they taught me was to put women on a pedestal,” she said in a poem that accompanied the show, as Westwood’s granddaughter, Cora Corre, ended the performance in an inappropriate wedding dress.

For Spanish eccentric Paco Rabanne, who died last month at the age of 88, it was a jingle of gold and silver dresses, a fitting tribute to the man who created the 1960s sci-fi “incredible dresses”.

– Humble core by Balenciaga –

When the ad bubble gets too big and bursts in front of your face, it’s time to reset your settings.

Balenciaga’s Demna is completely remorseful after a disastrous ad campaign last year that seemed to allude to child abuse (unintentionally, he insists).

No clever staging or provocative $1,500 trash bags this time, just a clean white room and trendy clothes. Call it the “humble core”.

Before the Fall, it would have been “glorified to the skies,” wrote the New York Times, but given the circumstances, “it looked more like a penitent march.”

– Buyer’s Delight –

For Harrods buyers, the highlights were Chloe, Rick Owens and Schiaparelli.

It was “Chloe designer Gabriela Hirst’s strongest collection to date,” said the department store’s head of womenswear, Clemmie Harris, which features “luxury fabrics… in newer, cleaner forms” and “instant gifts” like quilted capes. and sheepskin vests.

Rick Owens is constantly finding new twists on his dark, alien aesthetic, this time with dramatic layers and chunky wraps.

“While he is always true to his clear and compelling vision, he never stops pushing the boundaries,” said Simon Longland, Harrods Purchasing Director.

Praise was also received for Daniel Roseberry Schiaparelli’s first ready-to-wear show: “An important step in reviving the house… rich in production and execution details,” said Longland.

– Louis Vuitton eye lenses

The French brand’s hot streak was evident from the front row, which featured film stars Zendaya, Alicia Vikander and Lea Seydoux, as well as hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams, a new menswear designer.

The show was a mix of classic, elegant and inventive cuts, but it was the accessories like the luminous visors that caught the most attention.

– Pencil –

The latest fashion with her wrapping around the legs of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, several brands seem to think it’s time to bring back the pencil skirt.

They were part of Dior’s homage to the 1950s, albeit in a wrinkled, less form-fitting form, while Saint Laurent paired them with oversized shoulder pads and aviator sunglasses to create a sort of ultra-chic fever dream of the decade from the 1980s. X.

The young designer Charles de Vilmorin made them out of vinyl for Rochas and, as he put it, “the silhouette of a pimp mermaid”. (AFP)

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