Benetton Unhate campaign | Source: Foto Telegraf

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, but you wouldn’t know that looking at the earnings of major luxury companies. Many luxury companies like LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Hermès, and Coach Inc had a stronger-than-expected 2011 campaign.”

Bright Young Things (Vogue)
“The British Fashion Council has announced the launch of International Fashion Showcase – a platform for international emerging designers – which will take place during London Fashion Week. Nineteen embassies and cultural institutes across London will display work from over 80 rising designers, spanning the world from Belgium to Botswana.”

The Finnish Fashion Blogger Who Landed A Deal With Diesel (Business Insider)
“Sandra Hagelstam, 24, is the founder of the hot fashion blog 5inchdesandup.com. She started blogging to create a daily log of what she wears… ‘(The blog) has opened up doors for me I never would have imagined in terms of being able to design my own collection and collaborate with others.’”

Divided they stand: the new extremists (Telegraph)
“This may look like a classic case of Roundhead versus Cavalier. Or Minimalist meets Maximalist. But that’s too simplistic.Neither Mary Katrantzou or Osman Yousefzada can be that easily pigeonholed.”

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 Entire Spring / Summer 2012 Collection Stolen (The Daily Beast)
“Call it the case of the missing dresses. Marc Jacobs’ entire Spring/Summer 2012 collection has been stolen from a train en route from Paris to London for the brand’s European press day, the company has announced. According to the e-mail circulated to press on Wednesday morning, the PR team wrote ‘our press day tomorrow in the Marc Jacobs store is cancelled, due to the theft of the spring/ summer 2012 collections during its transfer from Paris.’”

PPR to follow PUMA’s green accounting lead (Business Green)
“The parent company of some of the world’s biggest luxury and sporting brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and PUMA, is to embark on one of the world’s most ambitious green accounting programmes, after announcing it will create a group-wide environmental profit and loss statement (EP&L)… By placing an economic value on its environmental impact, the company hopes to improve its reporting of a wide range of green metrics.”

Missed profit forecasts hurt Abercrombie (FT)
“Shares in Abercrombie & Fitch plunged more than 13 per cent as the US teen fashion retailer missed Wall Street profit forecasts and was put on the defensive over its strategy in Europe. Abercrombie executives were grilled by analysts over falling sales at its international flagship stores after it reported a 1.8 per cent rise in net income to $50.9m, or 57 cents per share, which fell short of market expectations of 72 cents a share.”

Benetton Retries Provocation (WSJ)
“Italian clothing chain Benetton is trying to drum up attention for its flagging brand with ads showing global leaders kissing… Now, after having lost ground over the last decade to competitors such as Inditex SA’s Zara and Hennes & Mauritz AB’s H&M, Benetton is trying for publicity.”

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 Groupe, David Yurman, Gucci and Swarovski are using Facebook and Twitter to encourage consumers to donate money to the Red Cross and other disaster-relief organizations dedicated to helping those affected by the tsunami and earthquake in Japan.”

5 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch (Mashable)
“If this year’s SXSWi conference is any indication, the foremost digital marketing trends of 2011 will be central to one theme: user presence. Too often, businesses over-engineer their marketing efforts in an attempt to capture the attention of their audiences’ minds and wallets.”

Benetton warns of rising costs as profits slip (BBC)
“Italian fashion retailer Benetton has reported a fall in 2010 profits and warned the high cost of raw materials could hit profitability this year. Net profit for 2010 came in at 102m euros ($142m; £89m) compared with 120m euros in 2009.”

When It Comes to Style, It’s In the Bag (WSJ)
“All of the attention lavished over the past decade on behalf of luxury-goods companies in the quest to create and sell ‘the world’s most desirable bag’ has led to the construction and revamping of some pretty thoughtful, well-put-together classics, with a degree of longevity one would never have attributed to the ['it bag'].”

Giambattista Valli Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Style.com

Inside a Jet-Set Designer’s Atelier (WSJ)
“Mr. Valli has become a go-to designer for the rich and royal. Producing confections of silk satin, cashmere and tulle that have been compared to Rolls-Royce sedans and have prices to match, he has dressed clients from Queen Rania of Jordan to Sarah Jessica Parker.”

Benetton CEO Leaving In April After Sales Drop (WSJ)
“Italian clothing retailer Benetton Group said Thursday Chief Executive Gerolamo Caccia Dominioni will depart after nearly three years at the helm, news that came as the company cut its dividend amid a drop in sales.”

Ralph Lauren Takes Online Marketing to Next Level (The Thread)
“Right now on Ralph Lauren’s website, anyone can watch a virtual presentation of the Lauren by Ralph Lauren collection, and — here’s the kicker — buy anything you like straight off the runway… Ralph Lauren has even created a virtual front row.”

Brazil: Lessons in luxury for an emerging class (FT)
“But it is only in the past 10 years that they have begun to develop an original style. Today, thanks to a flourishing economy, a growing middle class and increasingly sophisticated buyers, the domestic luxury jewellery market is thriving.”

CFDA Announces 2010 Awards (Vogue.com)
“Alexander McQueen will be honoured with a posthumous CFDA Board of Directors Special Tribute award in June, it was announced in New York last night.”