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.
Japan’s retail sales surged in April, compared to the same period last year, largely thanks to the comparatively low base of figures in April 2020, when the country’s Covid-19 restrictions were even stricter than those currently in place.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose 12 percent, the government said on Monday, citing a strong appetite for general merchandise and clothing, in particular. This said, on a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, retail sales were down 4.5 percent, as recent measures to combat the pandemic are dealing a blow to consumer sentiment.
There is widening concern that Japan’s economy could fall into recession in the current quarter, after the government extended a state of emergency for Tokyo and other major areas until June 20, which is likely to further hurt consumer spending over the next few months.
Local streetwear brands, festivals and stores selling major global labels remain relatively small but the country’s community of hypebeasts and sneakerheads is growing fast.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Senegalese investors, an Indian menswear giant and workers’ rights in Myanmar.
Though e-commerce reshaped retailing in the US and Europe even before the pandemic, a confluence of economic, financial and logistical circumstances kept the South American nation insulated from the trend until later.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Korean shopping app Ably, Kenya’s second-hand clothing trade and the EU’s bid to curb forced labour in Chinese cotton.