U.S. retail catch-up, Asos magic, Benetton handover, H&M expansion, Hanneli Mustaparta

| Daily Digest

American Eagle Outfitters | Source: Store Appeal

U.S. retailers play catch-up in fashion speed race (Reuters) “After years of losing customers to Europe-based retailers that give young shoppers fresh fashions more quickly, U.S. clothes retailers are fighting back.” A Magic Formula: Recession-proof collections from Asos (Independent) “Few brands are posting a rise in sales right now, let alone an increase of almost 50 per cent. But the online fashion and beauty

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Benetton ponders delisting, Good life, Bright young things, Diesel collaboration, New extremists

| Daily Digest

Benetton Autumn/Winter 2012 | Source: Fashion Latest

Benetton to make decision on delisting (FT) “The Benetton family will decide at a board meeting on Wednesday whether to delist the Italian knitwear group known for its brightly coloured jumpers after the company posted another plunge in profits as it struggles to compete with Inditex and H&M.” Luxury Companies That Can Bring You Closer to the Good Life (Money Morning) “A lot of consumers are hurting right now,

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The perfect match, Marc Jacobs collection stolen, PPR goes green, Abercrombie suffers, Benetton’s provocation

| Daily Digest

A Marriage of Economic Convenience (NY Times) “More than a decade since Target first popularized collaborations between high-end designers and mass retailers, and seven years since H&M introduced a collection with Karl Lagerfeld, there is still allure in the concept of cheap and chic… Such collaborations are proving to be both a reliable business model for retailers and a business in themselves.” Marc Jacobs’s

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CEO Talk | Alessandro Benetton, Executive Deputy Chairman, Benetton Group

| CEO Talk

Alessandro Benetton | Source: Benetton Group

MILAN, Italy — It’s not always easy running the family business, especially when that business is an Italian fashion powerhouse, operating in 120 countries around the world and earning more than 2 billion euros in annual revenue from its more than 4,000 directly-operated and franchised store locations. That’s exactly what Alessandro Benetton, 47 year-old scion of the Benetton fashion dynasty has been doing for the past few years.

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Back in Print, Brands reach out to Japan, Insights from SXSW, Benetton profits slip, The new ‘It bag’

| Daily Digest

Missy Rayder for WSJ Magazine Spring 2011 | Source: Art8amby

Is Print in Vogue Again? (WWD) “Maybe the Web’s ascent and print’s decline is happening a bit more slowly than originally thought. Maybe the only money to be made these days is in print or some tablet-Web-print hybrid. Whatever it is, it appears the old-fashioned print world has a little left in the tank.” What luxury brands are doing to help Japan victims (Luxury Daily) “Brands such as Bergdorf Goodman, Gilt

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