Sir Stuart Rose | Source: Guardian

Rose: no growth for retail in 2010 (Independent)
“Sir Stuart Rose has said that the UK retail market will not grow this year, as uncertainty over how the next government will tackle the public deficit hangs over consumer spending.”

Burani Seeks New Adviser to Help Rescue Fashion Group (Bloomberg)
“Burani, which makes clothes under license for Vivienne Westwood, on Jan. 3 said Mediobanca withdrew as an adviser, citing Burani’s failure to set up a 50 million-euro ($72 million) escrow account. It said the same day that Burani is seeking to guarantee ‘ongoing operations.’”

The Influence Of Fashion Bloggers On Retail (PSFK)
“It’s part of this reason that fashion bloggers have begun to take the reigns from traditional media in the fashion industry. While to those inside the new media zeitgeist view this is old news, many inside both the retail and advertising world have been scrabbling to capitalize on Internet fame.”

Zara releases a pointless iPhone app (Econsultancy)
“Fashion retailer Zara released an iPhone app recently, which falls well short of what a retailer could achieve with an iPhone app, in terms of promoting products and providing useful information for users.”

Spain’s Breakout Talent (IHT)
“On first meeting, Josep Font does not seem the sort of designer who would be especially fond of lace-trimmed collars and velvet bows. But Mr. Font’s spirit — nourished by Spanish folk verse and nostalgic Charles Trenet songs — is clearly romantic.”

Introducing the Gap’s new 1969 Denim

VANCOUVER, Canada — Those of you in North America over the past week can’t have missed the media bombardment from the Gap, the ailing San Francisco-based mass fashion retailer, as it announced the launch of its new 1969 premium denim range, with six new fits for women and seven new fits for men.

Huge full-page ads featuring Anja Rubik appeared in the Thursday Styles section of the New York Times, radio spots with voiceovers from Patrick Robinson, the Gap’s head designer, touted the launch of the “best premium jeans in America,” and a Facebook page was launched with even more links to a Twitter page, a Youtube page (see the video from the Gap explaining the new fits above) and even an iPhone application.

The Gap’s new denim was simply everywhere you looked.

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Thom Browne, courtesy of NYMag

Is Thom Browne Going Downe? (Blackbook)
With lavish spending on tailors and elaborate shows, Thom Browne’s business may be amongst the first high-profile independent designers to face financial difficulties as demand for his high-priced shrunken suits wanes.

Breaking into the West is hard to do (IHT)
Due to Indian designers “lack of Western-style business structure and of financial support” their effort to break out of the local market is being hampered.

H&M profits hit by currency turmoil (Drapers)
“H&M saw first quarter profits fall back 12% to SEK 3.5 billion after gross margin was hit by currency fluctuations.”

America’s Favorite Foreign Retailers (Forbes)
In terms of market share, foreign retailers are closing in on American stores.

Turning a Page (Newsweek)
“In response to tough times, the fashion business discovers inclusiveness.”

Rathore Jodhpurat A/W 09 at Wills Fashion Week

Sustainability is back in fashion (IHT)
As the industry redefines the meaning of luxury, “Sustainability” and “Responsibility” have become the new buzz words.

Ted Baker profits fall (Drapers)
Ted Baker saw pre-tax profit fall 19.5% to £17.8 million for the 53 weeks ended January 31.

In Fashion, Some Like It Haute (WSJ)
“Economic crisis doesn’t mean the end of luxury. But while many brands have been battered, those that show grace under fire should be coveted investments.”

Inditex sales rise 12% (Drapers)
Sales are up at Inditex for the fiscal year 2009 and sales are trending ahead by 9% in February.

Stella McCartney on ecology, luxury and life (IHT)
Stella McCartney sits down with Suzy Menkes and lets us in on her label’s eco conscious stance.

Manish Arora A/W 09, courtesy of Coutorture

Indian designers make their mark with craft (IHT)
During Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, designers are making a mark through artisanship.

Nike realigns global footprint (Just Style)
Sporting goods giant Nike last week unveiled plans to reorganise its namesake brand into six regions with reduced management in a bid to make its operations more efficient and trim costs.

Tiffany’s Reports Sales Declines (Seeking Alpha)
“Tiffany’s has exceeded earnings expectations five of the last six quarters, which seems to suggest that analysts underestimate Tiffany’s ability to sell in a tough consumer spending market. However, the declines in sales are serious and a real cause for concern.”

H&M and Zara top Retail Best Brands list (H&M)
According to an Interbrand report, H&M & Zara are in the top 5 of most valued retail brands.

Inflation surprises and jumps to 3.2% (FT)
“Inflation as measured by the consumer price index rose to 3.2 per cent in the year to last month, up from 3 per cent in January.”

Daniel Silver and Steven Cox of Duckie Brown; Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava; Andrew Buckler; Sophie Buhai, courtesy of the New York Times

The Make or Break Season (New York Times)
“The age of the young designer, however, may be coming to an end.”

Zara’s Inditex latest to join the stampede to open India stores (The Spectator)
Zara, the Spanish fast fashion chain, will open in India.

Monique Lhuillier’s New Lower-Priced Gowns (WSJ)
Responding to the requests of retailers, Monique Lhuillier will now offer evening gowns that will retail around $2,500.

Lauder to Cut Jobs, Restructure (WWD)
“The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. plans to reduce its payroll by 2,000 employees – 6 percent of the workforce.” (Subscription required)

Zara owner Inditex posts strong sales (Drapers)
Despite the volatile market conditions, Inditex has posted a net sales increase of 11 percent this year.

So it’s official. As of the first quarter of 2008, Inditex, the phenomenally successful Spanish fast-fashion conglomerate and parent company of Zara, has officially overtaken The Gap to become the world’s biggest fashion retailer. In the meantime, the once venerable Gap is still tweaking its product around the edges, struggling to find a formula that works.

Zara stores have been popping up on high streets and in malls around the world, registering  a whopping €6.3b in sales in 2007, making it larger than Louis Vuitton. Perhaps more surprisingly, the performance of Inditex’s smaller brands like Bershka and Massimo Dutti has also been strong, registering revenues of €925m and €696m respectively, in 2007, making Bershka’s business larger than that of Christian Dior Couture and Massimo Dutti’s greater than that of Bottega Veneta.

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