Burberry Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Burberry

Burberry to buy out Chinese franchises (FT)
“[Burberry] said it would buy out its Chinese franchises in a £70m deal that will see it take direct control of its 50 stores on the mainland. The deal came in the same week China reported 10.3 per cent growth in the past quarter.”

Hello Tommy (Vogue.com)
“Tommy Hilfiger is adding a new lifestyle label to its repertoire, entitled Tommy. Aimed at twentysomething men and women, the line will move away from the preppy styles for which the brand has become known, instead focussing on handmade and distinctive details.”

Superdry fashion label boosts profit at SuperGroup (Independent)
“The fashion retailer SuperGroup has tripled its annual profits and vowed to step up international expansion. The owner of the Superdry brand said it would open 20 stores in the UK this year and 38 overseas.”

H&M Revenue Growth Weakens (Bloomberg)
“Europe’s second-largest clothing retailer, said revenue growth weakened in the final week of June, causing same-store sales for the month to miss analysts’ estimates.”

New stars and welcome returns for London Fashion Week (Telegraph)
“The Swedish design powerhouse, Acne, and the NewGen hot talents, Holly Fulton, David Koma and Michael Van Der Ham, will all make their catwalk debuts at London Fashion Week in September… [Giles Deacon] will also return to the LFW scene.”

H&M flags discounts, Q2 profit in line, shares dip (Reuters)
“Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz said a two-month sales dip brought on by cold weather could force it to make deeper discounts for the next three months as it met forcasts for second-quarter profit.”

Why Amazon Needs to Stay Out of Fashion Retail (BNET)
“Do we really need another place to buy clothes online? Amazon is apparently so encouraged by double-digit growth in women’s retail it’s re-launching its clothing and shoe business with a focus on haute looks that will compete directly with such established high fashion destinations as Net-A-Porter.”

Gap plans four China stores this year (Reuters)
“Gap Inc will open its first four owned and operated China stores in Beijing and Shanghai later this year and simultaneously launch an online shopping site for the key consumer market. China, as the third largest clothing market in the world, has a growing middle class with an interest in America’s casual style.”

Wanted: Social Media Policy, Strategy and Resources (Brandchannel)
“It’s fairly well established that social media is a channel that businesses must participate in, leaving CEOs with the new challenge of planning and implementing brand aligned initiatives enterprise-wide. This leaves the majority of organizations exposed to problems arising from employees saying the wrong things in the wrong ways to the wrong people at the wrong time.”

25 Years of Inez and Vinoodh (WWD)
“If you have opened a fashion magazine, or any magazine for that matter, over the last decade or so, you’ve seen the work of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, known in the industry simply as Inez and Vinoodh. The Dutch photographers (partners in work and life) are the creative eyes behind such contemporary imagery as the Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Yohji Yamamoto and Chloé ad campaigns.”

Tommy Hilfiger Summer 2010 | Source: Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Replants His American Flag (NY Times)
“Once a preppy kingpin and then a megabrand designer of urban streetwear, with over $1.9 billion in sales… at his peak, Mr. Hilfiger, in the 1990s, was very cool. But then, about 10 years ago, he just wasn’t…When did Tommy Hilfiger become cool again?”

H&M Examining Latin America, Australia for Openings (Bloomberg)
“Hennes & Mauritz, Europe’s second- largest clothing retailer, is looking at opening its first store in the southern hemisphere to tap emerging-market growth and catch up with larger rival Inditex.”

Prada Coerced Japanese Staff to Buy Goods? (Daily Finance)
“Prada’s lawyers and executives return to court to respond not only to accusations of gender-based discrimination and abuse of employees, but also to charges that it forced employees to buy Prada bags and other items in order to mask its falling sales.”

Touch-screen Selfridges window displays (Telegraph)
“Selfridges has unveiled two touch-screen window displays which will allow shoppers to ‘try on’ virtual 3D watches without even entering the store.”

Fashion and philosophy (FT)
“Should fashion be more meaningful? Every few decades the question gets asked, and as we move into the 21st century’s teen years, it has rolled around again, thanks to a pair of surprising collaborations.”

Malcolm McLaren, pictured in June 1994 | Source: Times

Causing Outrage: Remembering Malcolm McLaren (NY Times)
“Malcolm McLaren… was never really into fashion, though we fashion writers loved to pick his brain. Mr. McLaren saw the big cultural picture of which fashion was a part, and he sensed the small vibrations long, long before they reached the mainstream.”

LVMH signs luxury hotel deal with Egypt’s Orascom (FT)
“LVMH, the luxury goods company, is to enter the five-star hotel management business, initially through a partnership with Egypt’s Orascom Development Holdings, to build two resorts in the Middle East.”

American Apparel scramble (Retail Week)
“The “rummage” Sale of one-off samples, vintage pieces and old stock at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane drew more people than expected and scuffles broke out. The police temporarily stopped the Sale. Ten police officers were injured and three people were arrested on disorder charges.”

H&M Q1 pretax beats forecast, March sales strong (Reuters)
“Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz beat expectations for first-quarter profit on Thursday, offsetting economic weakness while strong March sales suggested a return to higher spending in the second quarter.”

The Future Of Fashion, Part Five: Julie Gilhart (Style.com)
“Julie Gilhart is fashion’s free spirit… But as the fashion director of Barneys New York, she’s a free spirit who guides the buying decisions of a multimillion-dollar, multicity luxury retailer.”

Adidas Y3 Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Adidas

Adidas Net Profit Drops 65 percent (WSJ)
“Adidas reported a sharper-than-expected 65% fall in quarterly net profit Wednesday, but said it expects a rise in 2010 sales and earnings.”

H&M plans two-for-one stock split (Reuters)
“The world’s third largest fashion chain by sales said on Wednesday its board would propose the split at its annual shareholders’ meeting on April 29 and it would take effect between May 20 and June 18.”

Tesco launches recycled clothing collection (Guardian)
“The news that Tesco have collaborated with an ethical fashion label to create a line of recycled clothing for the Florence & Fred label may raise a few eyebrows.”

Christian Lacroix eyeing comeback (Independent)
“Lacroix’s ready-to-wear and haute couture might be things of the past… but the label will be branching out into stationery, sunglasses, and home decoration.”

Fashion is still a feminist issue (Times)
“Did Miuccia Prada really say after last week’s show in Milan that she was a former feminist? I lent in closer.  Yes, that’s what she’d said all right. ‘Feminism?’ she sighed, ‘it doesn’t really exist anymore does it?”