Articles by AFP
Made in France: Mélenchon wants to revive French textile industry
Paris - Jean-Luc Mélenchon unveils his “productive investment plan” for the textile sector on Friday. The strategy aims to reshore a mass-market apparel industry, expand flax and hemp cultivation, and structure reuse and recycling supply chains. The goal is for 10 percent of new garments to be manufactured in France by 2032. Mass-market apparel...
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Richemont: half-year net profit climbs to 2.5 billion euros
Zurich - Swiss group Richemont, owner of jewellery house Cartier, reported a 39 percent increase in net profit to 2.5 billion euros (2.76 billion dollars) on Friday for its staggered first half. For the period from April to September, the Geneva-based group generated revenue of nearly 12.3 billion euros, up 16 percent. According to a press...
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New Printemps CEO Rémy Baume insists department store model is 'not in crisis'
Rémy Baume, the new chief executive officer of the Printemps Group, which is currently undergoing a major reorganisation, insists that the department store is “not a model in crisis”, even if it remains “complex”. Having joined in June, he aims to make Printemps the benchmark for “customer welcome and hospitality”, he said in an interview with...
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Menswear brand Balibaris acquired by its shareholder and director
Paris - The French menswear ready-to-wear brand Balibaris, which had been placed in administration, has just been acquired by its shareholder and director. The move saves 145 of the 157 jobs, according to a court ruling seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) that confirms a report by specialist website FashionNetwork. When administration proceedings...
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'Sometimes I spit blood': Vast landfill in Ghana threatens local health and environment
Accra - Acrid smoke hangs over the sprawling Agbogbloshie landfill, a district in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. Excavators cut through mountains of slowly smouldering waste, while thin black plumes rise from burning plastic and rubber. Thousands of tonnes of waste have accumulated here in the open air for decades. This has overwhelmed the Accra...
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Bangladesh: textile workers demanding wage increases return to factories
Dhaka - Textile industry workers in Bangladesh largely returned to their factories on Thursday, the day after an agreement in principle was announced regarding the minimum wage increase they had been demanding on the streets since last week. The number of protesters recorded in the morning in the industrial suburbs of the capital, Dhaka,...
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In New York, Iris van Herpen invites public to try their hand at haute couture
New York - Around a table, two women chat quietly while pleating a silver fabric that a third attaches to the train of a mermaid gown. Gradually, a sculptural tangle forms, resembling frozen sea foam, lava flows and climbing ferns. The garment was born from the imagination of Dutch designer Iris van Herpen. She is known for her haute couture...
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New EU package fee: online retailers face levy on non-EU imports
Brussels - The European Union will from November 1 slap a two-euro (2.25 dollars) handling fee on packages from outside the 27-nation bloc in a bid to curb the influx from China. The new levy -- coming just weeks before the Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas season shopping rushes -- will be on top of the EU's three-euro fee on small...
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Hermès posts 5.5 percent Q3 sales growth driven by Europe and Americas
French luxury group Hermès reported a 5.5 percent increase in third-quarter revenue on Thursday, supported by Europe, the Americas and Japan. The company also confirmed its full-year forecast “despite the deteriorating macroeconomic and geopolitical environment”. Known for its silk scarves and leather handbags, the brand saw sales reach...
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Looted stores in France: Fashion retailers suffer sharp drop in revenue
Paris - Fashion stores recorded an average revenue drop of 14 percent across France on Saturday, the day of the protests, the Alliance du Commerce reported on Monday. This decline was particularly pronounced in city centres. Indeed, city-centre boutiques and shopping centres, which were particularly affected by the damage during the October 17...
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