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.
China’s beleaguered high street fashion retailer, Metersbonwe, reported a 13.4 percent drop in revenue to 797 million yuan ($123.1 million) in its first quarter, versus the same period in 2020.
In better news, due to cost-cutting and a recent asset sales, the Shanghai-based company returned to profitability with a net profit of 121 million yuan ($18.69 million) for the quarter. Last month, the company announced the sale of assets worth 448 million yuan ($68.84 million) to increase liquidity.
Last year, additionally affected by the epidemic, the long-troubled company, which has struggled to shake its reliance on sales from its physical retail network in a market swinging aggressively to e-commerce, saw annual revenue drop 30.1 percent to 3.82 billion yuan ($584.89 million).
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.
While travel to Europe remains muted, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations where fashion retailers are hoping Lunar New Year marketing investments will pay off.
Local fashion designers experimenting with puffers and other down clothing have scored collaborations with outerwear companies like Moncler and attracted the attention of prominent international retailers like H.Lorenzo.