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.
"Asos Shares Sink 30% on Profit Warning" (The Financial Times)
"Shares in Asos tumbled 30 per cent on Thursday after the online fashion retailer warned its profit margins were being hit by a strong pound and increased promotional activity. The company, which until recently was a stock market favourite, admitted that it would be less profitable over the medium term."
"E-Commerce Sites Flare Up in Emerging Markets" (The Financial Times)
"MarkaVIP is only one of a number of ecommerce sites catching on fast in emerging markets. China's Alibaba dominates its home market and is growing quickly in places including Russia and Latin America. India has Snapdeal, the nation's largest online marketplace with 20m users and 4m products, while Russia has Ozon."
"To Watch Alibaba and Amazon Battle for Online Shoppers, Keep an Eye on Malaysia" (Quartz)
"But as both push aggressively into new markets, there are a few countries where they are going to meet on relatively equal footing. Take Malaysia, a country with a fast-growing middle class with access to the internet. The country's consumers are facing higher living costs, which makes it a perfect microcosm of the cost-conscious, plugged-in consumers that Alibaba and Amazon desire."
"Iconic London Shopping Street Gets Latest Accessory: Beacons" (Recode)
"Regent Street, a popular shopping and tourist destination in the west end of London, is picking up a new bauble: Mobile beacons. The Crown Estate will introduce a new smartphone application that takes advantage of location-aware beacon technology to deliver discounts, new-product promotions and other alerts to the smartphones of shoppers as they stroll past stores and restaurants."
"Need, For Men Who Dislike Shopping But Love Fashion, Raises $500,000 Seed Round" (TechCrunch)
"Need is an online magazine and retailer for men who hate to shop, but still want to find unique clothing and lifestyle items. The Dallas-based startup announced today that it has raised $500,000 in seed funding led by investors Greg Abbott, CEO of International Dispensing Corporation (IDC); Imran Sheikh, CEO of Aftershock London U.S., and Mobelux, Need's development partner."
At The Business of Fashion’s Professional Summit in New York last week, Sona Abaryan, partner and global retail and luxury sector lead at tech-enabled data science firm Ekimetrics, shared how businesses can more effectively leverage AI-driven insights on consumer behaviour to achieve a customer-centric strategic approach.
From customer loyalty types to its pillars of personalisation, SAP Emarsys customer engagement provides more than 1,500 companies with personalised marketing campaigns via AI-powered analytics, including Puma, Aldo and Reformation. BoF learns more.
Before fashion businesses can put artificial intelligence to work or target the right shoppers online, they need good data and a deep understanding of who their customers are and what they want. This case study offers a guide for brands that want to truly know their customer, allowing them to make smarter decisions that serve shoppers and drive results.
The US House of Representatives approved a bill that could ultimately lead to a ban of the app, but its path forward remains far from certain.