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 fashion retailer was struggling even before the pandemic, only emerging from administration in February, but successive coronavirus lockdowns have derailed any possibility of a recovery.
The company, which is targeted at women over 50 and employs 1,500 people, was bought out of administration by British businessmen Philip Day. Its collapse is another blow to his retail empire. Peacocks, Jaeger, Austin Reed and Jacques Vert, which are part of Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, fell into bankruptcy last month.
The news adds to the crisis on the UK’s high street, with dominant players Debenhams and Topshop-owner Arcadia Group also failing this week.
The category’s biggest brands by market capitalisation report results this week, and will need to show they have a plan to fend off fast-growing competition.
By investing in an elevated product and shopping experience, Spanish retailers Inditex and Mango are seeing tremendous growth despite fierce competition from the likes of Temu and a cash-strapped consumer.
The ByteDance-owned app’s e-commerce play has been met with mixed response from users. Still, sales seem to keep ticking up.
The fashion resale company finally became profitable last year, but it was at the cost of losing consignors who complain that reselling is no longer as lucrative as it once was on the platform.