Ferragamo Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Ferragamo

Fashion Opts for Safety in Paris, Milan (Bloomberg)
“Even amid signs that demand for luxury clothing and accessories is returning, makers of the goods will ‘play it safe’ for spring-summer 2011, according to Sue Evans, senior editor of catwalks at fashion forecaster WGSN.”

Gucci Unpacks ‘La Dolce Vita‘ (WSJ)
“During the consumer-spending slump, aspirational purchases slowed sharply, and Gucci was hit harder than competitors … So when Mr. di Marco joined the company… he wanted to elevate the brand away from the recent cheapening of its image.”

Is India ready for luxury shopping? (News Center)
“The critical mass needed to sustain profitability of luxury stores is currently not available… There’s no getting away from the fact that at the core, Indian retail will continue to be defined by value-consciousness.”

Rising fashion labels get backing from LVMH chief (Just Style)
“Private equity funds L Capital, which is owned by LVMH chief Bernard Arnault and his family and Florac, have taken a 51% stake in SMCP, the holding company of rising French fashion labels Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot.”

Bulletproof Clothing: Take Your Best Shot (NY Times)
“Fashion reviewers have struggled to be kind about Mr. Krakoff’s sartorial talent… Blog commenters, grumbling and eye-rolling, have declared that it is not possible to do it this way: that you can’t buy yourself into the role of an important, relevant fashion designer.”

Nordstrom.com's new look | Source: Nordstrom

Nordstrom Links Online Inventory to Real World (NY Times)
“The company wove in individual stores’ inventory to the Web site, so that essentially all of the stores were also acting as warehouses for online. Results were immediate… It also means that inventory is moving faster, and often at higher prices.”

The Demand for Emerging Fashion: Part I (Huffington Post)
“[The first trend] noticed was brand exhaustion with regard to the majors in the fashion industry… the rise of discount shopping for the masses through sites like Gilt Group has been disastrous to consumer’s mentality on luxury goods… But how do emerging designers benefit from this?”

American Apparel receives possible delisting note (Bloomberg)
“Struggling retailer American Apparel Inc. said Monday it has received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange Amex LLC saying it could be delisted if it does not file its second-quarter results in a timely matter.”

For social success, think content (Biz Report)
“The survey of 457 corporate management and marketing/sales management professionals revealed the vast majority (85%) thought original content to be the key to the success of any social media campaign.”

Condé Nast in push to court India’s affluent (FT)
“The plan for the group’s flagship travel publication comes as Condé Nast is also poised to open a Vogue Café restaurant in Mumbai next year and is considering the launch of up to six other magazine titles over the next three years.”

Industrial sewing machine, detail | Source: Act Now

Britain’s appetite for fast fashion is pushing workers into starvation (Guardian)
“Ethical trade has to be to ensure that workers are being paid a living wage… [including] food for her family and cover housing, education and health needs – Asian garment workers are currently being paid about half of what they need to do this.”

Fashion chains H&M and Zara launch online operations (Guardian)
“Several retailers have warned that consumer confidence is waning as people worry about their jobs… Online fashion sales, however, are proving remarkably resilient. Zara and H&M are two more in a long line of fashion stores that have moved into the online retail market.”

Fashion provides opportunities everywhere (Times of India)
“Designers from small towns as well as big cities have bright prospects… The future of the Indian fashion industry is very bright. Our designers have to stick to their basics and class and style in their work.”

A Garment District Perennial (WSJ)
“Although M&S flowers have graced J.Crew shoes, Teen Vogue photo shoots and Marchesa gowns (including the crimson dress actress Anne Hathaway wore to the 2008 Academy Awards), the company has struggled to stay in business amid competition from overseas.”

A Return to Basics, One Stitch at a Time (IHT)
“When Sara Checcucci opened her atelier in Galluzzo… she was astonished by the number of young people who would stop to gaze at her through the window as she worked. Later some of them came in and asked her to teach them her skills.”

Prada Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Prada

The chic learn to click (Economist)
“Luxury firms may at last be waking up to the internet, but they have a long way to catch up… It is odd that an industry that would not be seen dead in last season’s colour is wedded to the last century’s technology.”

India’s luxury market remains underdeveloped (CPP Luxury)
“The lack of upscale retail space, high taxes and red tape are the main factors which have been hampering the development of the Indian luxury market. Luxury spending in India… was less than a tenth of that in China last year.”

Harvey Nichols profits up (Retail Week)
“Harvey Nichols… has revealed that the luxury department store will return to record pre-recession profit levels in its current financial year but has warned of a drop in shopper spend in 2011.”

Aquascutum fights to turn things around (Independent)
“The fashion brand Aquascutum is working with a debt advisory firm to raise capital to drive its turnaround, following its acquisition by the owner of Jaeger last September.”

Grow Your Own McQueen Garden With the New Visionaire (QS)
“The nicest touch: it turns into flowers. The issue will include images inspired by McQueen, printed on paper embedded with wildflower seeds. When you plant the pages, water and sun them, they’ll eventually blossom.”

DLF Emporio, New Delhi | Source: DLF

MUMBAI, India — According to Forbes, India has the fastest-growing population of millionaires in the world. But for Western luxury brands operating in the country, grabbing a piece of the market has proven more difficult than anticipated and many are in the process of re-conceiving their India strategies.

Part of the problem is that Western luxury brands don’t seem to understand Indian consumers. When they first entered India, they created splashy advertising campaigns targeting the old money elite. But the results were poor, largely because this customer segment consists of frequent international travelers who overwhelmingly prefer the experience of purchasing Western luxury goods abroad, where brands offer them wider choice, better service and more competitive pricing than what’s currently available inside India.

In response, brands are starting to refocus on new pockets of wealth emerging in regional hubs across the country. But a private report on luxury in India produced by management consultants AT Kearney and The Economic Times revealed that the newly affluent lack sufficient knowledge and awareness of luxury brands to drive significant sales. Furthermore, the current strategy of establishing a large retail footprint supported by traditional mass marketing is not working.

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