June 11th, 2012

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H&M Collaborates With Maison Martin Margiela For Autumn/winter 2012

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Hennes & Mauritz AB said today it has tapped Maison Martin Margiela to produce a one-off collection that will go on sale worldwide on Nov. 15.

Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M, described Maison Martin Margiela as “one of the most important and influential fashion houses of the past three decades.”

“This collaboration will be a great and memorable fashion moment,” she stated. The Swedish fast fashion giant has previously collaborated with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Comme des Garçons and Marni.

While controlled by Italian industrialist Renzo Rosso and designed by an in-house team, the Margiela label is still strongly associated with its namesake, press-shy founder, who exited the Paris-based house in 2009 after two decades of creation.

“The democracy of our fashion has always been at the center of our creativity, and the collaboration with H&M allows us to push this instinct further. We will bring together the contrasting universes of the two houses in ways that will surprise all,” the house stated.

Considered the breakaway seventh member of the famed Antwerp Six that put Belgium on the international fashion map, Margiela introduced cleft-toed boots, deconstructed fashions and all-white stores to the fashion lexicon.

Today, Maison Martin Margiela produces various clothing and accessories collections for women and men, and has expanded into jewelry, fragrances and home decoration. It is slated to present its latest men’s wear and couture collections here in the coming weeks.

According to its Web site, Margiela operates 34 boutiques and shops-in-shop worldwide.

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Claire’s names CEO

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Jewellery and accessories retail chain, Claire’s Stores, Inc., has announced that the Board of Directors has appointed James D. Fielding as Chief Executive Officer. The search for a new CEO has been on-going since the retailer’s management changes at the beginning of the year, and Fielding will assume the CEO position on June 18, and he will also join the Company’s Board of Directors.

Fielding joins Claire’s from The Walt Disney Company, where he was most recently President of Disney Stores Worldwide, a role where he was responsible for all global operations of the 360 Disney Stores in twelve countries as well as the DisneyStore.com business in five countries.

Peter P. Copses, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented: “After conducting an extensive search and considering many capable candidates, we are pleased to appoint Jim Fielding the CEO of Claire’s. Jim is a proven retail executive with 25 years of experience who possesses a compelling combination of leadership skills and merchandising acumen.

“Jim joins a talented and experienced senior management team at Claire’s today who have helped to build a successful foundation on which the Company is well positioned to grow. We are confident in Jim’s ability to lead this team and to capitalize on the many growth opportunities available to Claire’s today.”

Claire’s Stores, Inc. operates over 3,000 stores in North America and Europe. The retailer also has nearly 400 franchised or licensed stores in Japan, the Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Guatemala, Malta, Ukraine and Mexico.

Posted in Brand, Labor, Men, Retail, accessories, ladies | No Responses »

Counterfeit Olympic apparel goods seized

Monday, June 11th, 2012

A range of counterfeit Olympic apparel goods have been seized by Border Force officers in the UK, including themed vests and football shirts carrying brands like Adidas and Polo Ralph Lauren.

The haul included some 432 Olympic themed vests seized at the port of Dover, while 15 fake Olympic Adidas football shirts and 90 fake Olympic Polo Ralph Lauren shirts were confiscated at Coventry’s international postal hub. Meanwhile, more than 7,000 fake Olympic gym bags were seized at the port of Felixstowe.

“In this Olympic summer our officers have utilised intelligence sources, scanner technology and search techniques to successfully thwart those seeking to illegally profit from the Games,” said Home Office minister Damian Green.

Counterfeiting is estimated to be worth around GBP1.3bn (US$2bn) in the UK each year.

Posted in Apparel, Media, Men, News, Sourcing, ladies | No Responses »

Comptoir des Cotonniers names COO

Monday, June 11th, 2012

French fashion retailer Comptoir des Cotonniers, which is owned by Japan’s Fast Retailing, has appointed Chrystel Abadie-Truchet to the newly-created role of COO.

Abadie-Truchet will focus on the global management of the Comptoir des Cotonniers brand, including design, merchandising, marketing and retail operations. She will report to Elisabeth Cunin, CEO of the Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam brands.

“Thanks to her wealth of experience in the management of international brands, not just from a design and image perspective, but also in terms of commercial strategy and international deployment, Chrystel Abadie-Truchet will be able to offer Comptoir des Cotonniers expertise that will take the brand to a new stage in its global development,” said Elisabeth Cunin, president of Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam.

Abadie-Truchet has previously worked for Yves Saint Laurent Parfums and perfume and cosmetics firm Puig Group.

Posted in Apparel, Brand, Labor, News, Operations, Retail | No Responses »

J Crew and Lane Crawford ink Asia retail deal

Monday, June 11th, 2012

US clothing retailer J Crew Group is to make its collection available to shoppers in Asia later this year after inking a strategic partnership deal with designer department store chain Lane Crawford that will make women’s and men’s collections available through Lane Crawford’s retail and online stores.

From October 2012 a “curated selection” of the J Crew  autumn women’s ready-to-wear and shoes, men’s apparel and accessory collections will be available at select Lane Crawford stores in Hong Kong and Beijing and online, according to a joint statement.

The project is the first-ever collaboration for J Crew with Lane Crawford, and provides a new and exclusive positioning for both brands across Greater China. The deal will allow customers in Hong Kong and Mainland China to shop for J. Crew merchandise in a retail environment outside North America for the first time.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with J Crew on this first-ever, unique multi-channel project,” says Andrew Keith, Lane Crawford’s president.

While Millard Drexler, J Crew’s chairman and CEO, adds: “We always want to work with the ‘best of the best, and Lane Crawford was at the top of our fantasy list… When it comes to editing and presenting collections with a creative and elevated point of view, no one does it better. We are beyond excited to partner with Lane Crawford to help introduce J Crew to Asia.”

The project is the first collaboration between J. Crew and Lane Crawford. J. Crew will make its Asian debut at Lane Crawford at the IFC mall in Hong Kong and the Seasons Place store in Beijing, as well as on lanecrawford.com.

Lane Crawford’s parent company, The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, operates more than 550 points of sales across Greater China and South East Asia.

Posted in Apparel, Brand, Collaborations, E-tail, Men, News, Operations, Retail, ladies | No Responses »

Tesco Q1 Sales Rise, Backs Full Year Outlook

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Supermarket chain Tesco Plc on Monday reported a modest growth in first-quarter sales and said its performance in the UK has been steady during a challenging quarter for the industry as a whole. The company left its full-year outlook unchanged, noting it is performing in line with market expectations.

Philip Clarke, Chief Executive, said, “Tesco has performed robustly in the first quarter despite subdued consumer confidence in all our markets…Against the backdrop of continuing uncertainty in the Eurozone, it is pleasing to see that our businesses have largely sustained their performance.”

Tesco has been going through hard times as high rate of unemployment and muted wage growth is forcing consumers to tighten spending. The firm reported dismal Christmas and New Year sales and issued a weak outlook in January.

In March, Richard Brasher, the chief executive officer of its UK operations, decided to leave the company after barely a year into the job, following a profit warning in January – the company’s first in 20 years.

Tesco said today that group sales for the thirteen weeks ended May 26 increased by 2.2 percent both including and excluding petrol. At constant exchange rates, the growth was 3.8 percent including petrol and 3.9 percent excluding petrol.

Performance in the UK was as expected and total sales including Value Added tax, or VAT, and petrol grew 2.1 percent. The growth was 2 percent excluding petrol. Like-for-like sales in the UK, excluding VAT and petrol, reduced by 1.5 percent in the quarter.

In Asia, total sales grew 9.1 percent at constant rates and 9 percent at actual exchange rates, with positive like-for-like sales growth and contribution from new stores. All markets in Asia saw improvement in like-for-like sales compared to the fourth quarter of last year, except China which continues to experience slowing economic growth.

In Europe, total sales excluding petrol grew by 6 percent at constant exchange rates, but dropped 4 percent in actual rates. Like-for-like sales edged up 0.4 percent helped by improved performances in Poland, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland, which reported its first full quarter of positive like-for-like sales growth since 2010.

Tesco said the week in the run up to the Diamond Jubilee turned out to be the biggest ever week outside of a Christmas period for the retailer, with over 1 billion pounds in sales.

Additionally, the firm confirmed that the final phase of migration for Tesco Bank has been completed with 2.8 million accounts migrated in May. The extended migration slowed down the progress of Tesco Bank and has contributed to slightly lower revenues compared to last year, apart from the impact of a more competitive car insurance market.

Posted in Apparel, Beauty, Brand, Finance, News | No Responses »

Laura Ashley revenues boosted by online growth

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Fashion and furnishings retailer Laura Ashley has managed to shrug off declining consumer confidence and unseasonably wet weather to report a rise in sales in the first 18 weeks of its current year.

The retailer today (11 June) said UK retail sales increased by 4.1% in the period to 2 June, while like-for-like sales grew 5.4%.

E-commerce sales jumped 18.8% compared to the same period last year, which was partly attributed to a revamp of the company’s website.

Laura Ashley said it is confident its brand, product offering and strong balance sheet will ensure the like-for-like sales growth trend continues across its retail business for the rest of 2012.

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