The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
"Hong Kong Protests Impact Golden Week Luxury Sales" (Bloomberg)
"Imagine a Christmas shopping season with closed stores and customers stranded because cabs are nowhere in sight. For retailers of Fendi bags and Rolex watches in Hong Kong, pro-democracy protests wreak havoc during one of the busiest times of the year, the China National Day holidays known as Golden Week."
"Zara Partly Cedes China Web Control to Alibaba to Aid Growth" (Bloomberg)
"Since opening its first website four years ago, Inditex SA (ITX) has maintained full control of online sales for its flagship brand Zara. To gain a stronger foothold in China, the Spanish retailer plans to partially cede both oversight of the chain's Web sales and a share of its profit."
"Ports Fashion Looks for Haven from China Storm in Europe" (Business Insider)
"Ports 1961, the designer subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Chinese fashion retailer Ports Design Ltd., is poised for 'substantial growth' in Europe after completing an Italian makeover, according to chief executive Salem Cibani."
"Big Shift in China Economy To 'Disrupt' Western Retailers" (Reuters)
"China's role in supplying cheap consumer goods to the West could end in coming years due to rising domestic consumption and worker pay, stoking inflation and unsettling retailers in Western markets, the chairman of logistics group Li & Fung warned."
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.