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.
JD.com-backed fashion e-commerce start-up Pomelo plans to boost revenue by offering its own technology in analytics and demand forecasting to other fashion brands in the region, its chief executive said on Tuesday, amid slowing offline sales.
The women’s fashion firm, which started as an online business in 2013, plans to launch its business-to-business (B2B) unit, Prism, next month to offer services like demand planning and logistics for other fashion and lifestyle brands, chief executive David Jou said in an interview.
The plan comes as physical store sales and traffic have dropped.
Store traffic in Thailand plummeted 71 percent in the first quarter of this year and about 20 percent in its other markets, he said, adding that e-commerce was strong.
ADVERTISEMENT
Its B2B service has drawn brands like Levi’s as customers.
The startup has raised a total of $83 million from investors including Thailand’s largest retailer Central Group and competes with companies like Japan’s Fast Fashion Co Ltd.’s Uniqlo.
Retailers are accelerating digitisation due to the pandemic, creating demand for the service, he said.
Local brands, which already know their customers, can get support in product development, textile sourcing, and supply chain management, Jou said.
Pomelo would continue to sell its own apparel brand and is planning to add 44 more physical stores on top of its 25 existing locations.
The company is also experimenting with having customers try on clothes at home in a partnership with ride-hailer, Grab.
By Chayut Setboonsarng; Editor: Ed Davies
Antitrust enforcers said Tapestry’s acquisition of Capri would raise prices on handbags and accessories in the affordable luxury sector, harming consumers.
As a push to maximise sales of its popular Samba model starts to weigh on its desirability, the German sportswear giant is betting on other retro sneaker styles to tap surging demand for the 1980s ‘Terrace’ look. But fashion cycles come and go, cautions Andrea Felsted.
The rental platform saw its stock soar last week after predicting it would hit a key profitability metric this year. A new marketing push and more robust inventory are the key to unlocking elusive growth, CEO Jenn Hyman tells BoF.
Nordstrom, Tod’s and L’Occitane are all pushing for privatisation. Ultimately, their fate will not be determined by whether they are under the scrutiny of public investors.