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.
ARC, a South African digital beauty retailer first launched in April, has opened its first physical store in Johannesburg’s Sandton City shopping centre, according to a Bizcommunity report.
The retailer has dubbed itself South Africa’s first independent beauty store and stocks brands including Huda Beauty, Guerlain and Gucci, alongside A-Beauty favourites like Suki Suki Naturals. ARC has also flagged further store openings in Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront and Durban’s Gateway by 2022.
In Sandton, South African luxury fashion reseller Luxity has also opened a physical store at Nelson Mandela Square and another at Menlyn Maine shopping precinct in Pretoria, per Bizcommunity. The retailer, which sells pre-owned handbags, shoes, and accessories from high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès, reportedly grew 63 percent year-on-year in 2020 and is now South Africa’s largest pre-owned luxury player.
While both retail developments signal growing interest in South Africa’s luxury fashion and beauty industries, as well as a desire for in-person shopping, Covid-19 cases are seeing a worrying rise in South Africa.
ADVERTISEMENT
The country this week announced a two-week lockdown to combat a surge in infections linked to the more transmissible Delta variant. The lockdown will restrict all gatherings indoors and outdoors, except for funerals, and will institute a curfew from 9pm to 4am.
“We are in the grip of a devastating wave that by all indications seems like it will be worse than those that preceded it,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, when announcing the measures.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Latin American mall giants, Nigerian craft entrepreneurs and the mixed picture of China’s luxury market.
Resourceful leaders are turning to creative contingency plans in the face of a national energy crisis, crumbling infrastructure, economic stagnation and social unrest.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features the China Duty Free Group, Uniqlo’s Japanese owner and a pan-African e-commerce platform in Côte d’Ivoire.
Affluent members of the Indian diaspora are underserved by fashion retailers, but dedicated e-commerce sites are not a silver bullet for Indian designers aiming to reach them.