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.
THE CHEAT SHEET
Bankruptcy Court’s Newest Graduates
J.C. Penney | Source: Shutterstock
The Bottom Line: The trend of malls owning their most troubled tenants is the latest chapter in a story many expected to be wrapped up by now. It's been conventional wisdom for a decade that there are too many stores competing for the attention of American shoppers, but there's too much money sunk into brands and the malls that house them for investors, landlords and creditors to pull the plug.
Fashion Week's Make-or-Break Moments
David Koma's Autumn/Winter 2020 show during London Fashion Week | Source: Getty Images
Fast Fashion's Slow Recovery
The owners of both Zara and H&M will give sales updates this week. | Source: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
The pandemic has acted as an accelerant for the long-term trends reshaping the fashion industry, and many brands find themselves ill-equipped to handle a reality they thought would take years or even decades longer to arrive. Fast fashion's giants have had an easy time adjusting to the shift from officewear to loungewear; after all, they are set up to chase trends the moment they surface on Instagram. The owners of Zara and H&M said earlier in the pandemic they were confident that sales would quickly rebound. This week, we'll see if they were right.
Zara and H&M were also in the middle of digital pivots before Covid-19 touched off an e-commerce boom, though the jury was still out on whether those efforts were bearing fruit. Inditex's announcement that it would close 1,200 stores was an indication that the company expects a permanent shift in consumer behaviour.
The Bottom Line: Watch for whether these companies address the resale market, which has gotten a big boost during the pandemic. (Hennes & Mauritz's Cos brand launched resale earlier this month.) Though still small, sites that make it easy for consumers to buy and sell used clothes play a similar role in allowing budget-conscious shoppers to keep their closets fresh.
SUNDAY READING
Professional Exclusives You May Have Missed:
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Malls across the US have been ‘flash robbed’ by groups of about 20 to 30 suspects stealing retail merchandise.
BoF Careers provides essential sector insights for fashion professionals in retail this month, to help you decode fashion’s retail landscape.
The sportswear giant’s lifestyle and fashion division is set to release a new campaign and “visual identity” to emphasise the cultural cachet of its Samba, Gazelle and Superstar sneaker franchises.
European retailers have been unlikely stock market stars this year, but a long spell of high borrowing costs and inflation has started to bite, so wary investors will be looking for reassurances from the likes of H&M and Zara-owner Inditex when they issue business updates this week.