The start-up Tilt, an e-commerce platform specialising in live shopping and live auctions, has reached a key milestone by announcing a 26 million dollar funding round on LinkedIn. While the funding intends to accelerate the platform's technological innovations, the core element of this announcement is the major and highly strategic participation of Vinted Ventures.

Vinted Ventures is the first industry investor from the re-commerce world to back Tilt. With this investment, the financial arm of the second-hand platform provides essential validation for this new vision of live selling.

The partnership between Tilt and Vinted Ventures is not coincidental but stems from a deep industry synergy. While Vinted has structured and democratised the global second-hand market asynchronously, Tilt aims to achieve a similar transformation in real-time through the video format.

In a post on LinkedIn, Abhi Thanendran, co-founder and CEO of Tilt, highlights the power of this alliance: “What Vinted did for the second-hand market, we are doing for live selling. The support from Vinted Ventures, our first strategic investor from the re-commerce sector, is the strongest possible confirmation that the future of the market is right here.”

Other investors, including Balderton Capital, Earlybird and Seedcamp, also participated in this funding round, as reported by Business Insider.

Madrid – Valencia-based startup Flipflow, a market analytics firm specialising in the retail sector, announced this week that it has successfully completed a three million euro funding round. This injection of funds will allow the company to accelerate the technological development of its solutions for the retail industry and its international expansion plans. The company is focusing its efforts on the US and the countries of northern Europe.

According to reports from local media and publications specialising in the Spanish startup ecosystem, such as RH Lab, Expansión and El Referente, the investment round was led by Spanish venture capital firm 4Founders Capital. The Barcelona-based investment firm specialises in early-stage technology startups. Its portfolio includes investments in emerging companies such as GuruSup, a Spanish platform for artificial intelligence agents for customer service and process automation; Vidext, a startup focused on converting text into AI-generated videos; and BCome, a Spanish technology platform that provides solutions and tools for fashion industry companies to measure and manage environmental impact data.

Alongside 4Founders Capital, both new and existing Flipflow investors participated in the round as “strategic investors”. These include Abac Nest; Acurio Ventures; Lanai Capital Partners; Angels Capital, the investment vehicle of Juan Roig, president of Mercadona; Mango; and Puig. Notably, Angels Capital, Abac and Lanai participated in the 900,000 euro round that the startup closed in late 2023. Mango invested in the company through a convertible participating loan via its accelerator, Mango StartUp Studio, in early 2024. Puig is also understood to be among the new investors backing this latest funding round for the emerging company. Puig would be familiar with Flipflow's operations, as Isdin, a Spanish dermatological products company in which Puig holds a 50 percent stake, is one of the startup's clients. The platform reportedly already provides its services to manufacturers and retailers such as Gucci, Nestlé, Unilever, L’Oréal, Isdin and Mango.

Centralised data analytics platform for retail industry companies

Founded in 2021 by the entrepreneurial trio of Ricardo García (CEO), Ismael Gandarillas (chief technology officer) and Mario Rodríguez (chief customer officer), Flipflow launched the first versions of its unified data platform for retail companies that same year. The platform has since scaled up, particularly after joining the Lanzadera acceleration programme in 2022, a startup accelerator created in Valencia by Juan Roig. Roig invested in Flipflow during its first funding round in 2023. This fundraising helped to support its growth into other strategic sectors of the retail industry, attracting interest from new investors such as Mango and now the Puig group.

Continuing this trend of growth and consolidation, the new funds raised in this round will be used to accelerate Flipflow's technological development and international expansion into the US and northern Europe. The startup, which already operates in Spain and Latin America, remains focused on its goal of offering retail companies a centralised platform to manage their commercial, marketing and product management operations. To this end, it has also evolved its artificial intelligence-driven data analysis engines from reactive analysis of company realities to the design of proactive solutions for businesses.

“Retail can no longer be operated with fragmented tools, manual analysis and large consulting expenses,” says Ricardo García, co-founder and CEO of Flipflow. In this context, “our vision is to build the intelligence layer that guides companies to make decisions autonomously and at the same speed as the market moves”. To achieve this, the startup states, “every day we ingest and process millions of market signals using massive crawling, proprietary AI models and normalisation engines that convert chaotic data into a single, coherent and usable vision”. It connects “information from e-commerce, marketplaces, pricing, content, reviews, competitors, prices, promotions and supply, allowing companies to see their business as a complete system, not as silos”. “The retail OS” is “where critical decisions are made and where competitive intelligence becomes a real advantage,” they maintain. In this new reality, “Flipflow constitutes the strategic infrastructure of modern retail: the system that integrates heterogeneous data, interprets it in a unified way and converts it into immediate action within increasingly complex organisations”.

In short, Flipflow is presented as “the central brain of retail,” a “SaaS platform and copilot that unifies disparate data from the retail ecosystem”. This data comes from “online, physical and global market channels, with maximum granularity and precision,” and is then “transformed into actionable decisions”. With this, “our goal is for brands and retailers to understand not only ‘what is happening’” within their companies, they add, “but what each team and person in the organisation should do now” to respond to the reality revealed by the platform's centralised data.

British activewear brand Aybl has become embroiled in a legal dispute between its founders and one of its largest shareholders.

Lewis Morgan, a co-founder of Gymshark who invested 7 million pounds in Aybl in 2021 in exchange for a 20 percent stake, is reportedly suing brothers Reiss and Kristian Edgerton over his departure from the business, according to The Times.

Morgan alleges he was removed from the company under unfair circumstances and claims his position as both a director and employee was terminated following a short-notice meeting.

High Court filings seen by The Times allege that changes to Aybl's corporate structure reduced the value at which Morgan could sell his shares, while Morgan further claimed he was pushed out after refusing to include part of his stake in a proposed public listing.

The Edgerton brothers have rejected the allegations, describing them as unfounded. They argue that Morgan's involvement in Dubai-based supplements and energy drink business Ownkind created a conflict of interest, claiming the venture competed with Aybl's expansion ambitions beyond apparel.

The legal dispute comes as Aybl continues on a rapid growth trajectory, with the athleisure brand recently reporting revenues of more than 72 million pounds for the 15 months to June 2025, while profit after tax more than doubled to 9.4 million pounds.

Online off-price fashion retailer BrandAlley has been acquired out of administration in a pre-pack sale, allowing the business to continue trading under new ownership.

Administrators from BDO were appointed to BrandAlley UK on 29 May before completing an immediate sale of the business and most of its assets to BrandAlley International Limited, a newly formed company described as unconnected to the previous owner.

The deal brings an end to a lengthy strategic review, which had been underway for several weeks following the appointment of advisors earlier this year. The company had initially been exploring a debt raise as it sought to address financial pressures despite remaining a sizeable player in the UK off-price market.

Founded in 2008, BrandAlley operates a members-only flash-sales model across fashion, beauty and homeware, working with more than 1,000 brands and offering discounts of up to 80 percent.

In a statement on its website, BrandAlley said the transaction secures the future of the business and that customers will see no disruption. Existing orders will be fulfilled as normal, while returns and refunds will continue to be honoured.

While the rescue preserves a significant portion of the business, it has resulted in job losses, according to various media platforms. Among BrandAlley's 163 employees, 88 have transferred to the new company, while 15 were made redundant upon administration. A further 60 employees have been retained temporarily to support the transition, with a total of 75 roles expected to be lost.

In its statement, the company said the sale marks “an exciting new chapter” and that it remains “business as usual” for customers.

Westminster City Council has said it will no longer pursue a judicial review of plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street, reducing the potential for a major legal battle over one of London's most significant regeneration projects.

The scheme, backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan, will see traffic removed from the area between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, with the first section expected to become traffic-free later this summer. The project is being overseen by a mayoral development corporation, which transferred planning powers from the local authority to the mayor.

The decision marks a shift from the council's previous position following the Conservatives' return to control of Westminster earlier this month. The party had pledged to establish a legal fund to challenge the plans, yet legal advice indicated a judicial review would be unlikely to succeed and that any challenge would now be too late.

In a statement, the council said: “The advice we have is that a judicial review would be unlikely to succeed and that submitting a late claim for judicial review would result in refusal.”

Despite dropping the court challenge, Westminster said it remains concerned about issues including accessibility, bus routes and the impact on residents and businesses. The council confirmed it is exploring other legal and procedural options and that Swaddle has requested a meeting with Khan to discuss its concerns.

Oxford Street pedestrianisation has been debated for decades, and supporters argue it will help revitalise Europe's busiest shopping destination. Critics, meanwhile, have raised concerns around transport access, safety, servicing and increased pressure on surrounding roads.

France's fraud authority has issued two fines to Shein totalling over 22 million euros (25.56 million dollars), it announced on Wednesday. The authority cited failures related to product traceability, environmental claims, withdrawal periods and delivery times.

The institution, which reports to the French Ministry of Finance, has increased the total penalties imposed on the Asian fashion giant in France in recent years. These now amount to over 210 million euros in total.

The two latest fines were issued following a wide-ranging investigation into several e-commerce platforms, particularly non-European ones, including Shein.

The first fine, for 5.77 million euros, targets Infinite Styles Ecommerce Limited (ISEL), the company that sells clothing and accessories under the Shein brand.

The General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) accuses Shein of failing to respect the 14-day withdrawal period for certain purchased products.

The DGCCRF also cited the omission of mandatory traceability information, such as the countries of weaving, dyeing and manufacturing for its garments. It also noted the failure to mention the presence of microplastics in fabrics. These are mainly found in polyester and are released into the water with every machine wash, which is a significant ecological problem.

Shein stated that the DGCCRF "confuses (...) the right of withdrawal with our more advantageous commercial returns policy". The company also cited a "technical incident" for the "temporary" absence of environmental information.

Furthermore, the DGCCRF fined another Shein company, Infinite Styles Services Limited (ISSL), 16.73 million euros. ISSL manages the marketplace, which is the online platform offering products from both Shein and its partner sellers.

The authority noted numerous breaches of consumer law. At the order confirmation stage, the unit price of each product is not provided. Delivery times, information on the identity of partner sellers and their contact details are also missing. This information must be provided on a "durable medium" to be retained by the customer.

Shein argued that this information is available in the customer's account.

Shein considers these sanctions to be "manifestly disproportionate and discriminatory", while minister of commerce Serge Papin has condemned the platform for "unfair competition".

The US has threatened 60 economies with new tariffs for failing to prevent imports of products made with alleged forced labour or for inadequately enforcing existing import bans. The Office of the US Trade Representative announced this late on Tuesday evening (local time).

Consequently, the European Union (EU), the UK and Switzerland, as well as countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Canada and China, can expect additional tariffs of between 10 and 12.5 percent. “It is unacceptable that our most important trading partners are doing nothing to prevent the import of goods produced using forced labour. This forces American workers to compete on an uneven playing field globally,” said Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to the statement. “We will no longer tolerate this inequality.”

Hearing deadline set for early July before new tariffs are due

The US Trade Representative is basing this on an investigation that began on March 12, as stated in the announcement. According to the statement, it was related to the “failure of various economies to enact and effectively enforce an import ban on goods produced using forced labour.” The tariffs are not scheduled to take effect immediately. Instead, objections can be raised until July 6, with a hearing scheduled for July 7.

China criticised the US action. The People's Republic has always opposed any kind of tariff measures, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning in Beijing. Tariff and trade wars are not in the interest of either side. Regarding the accusation of forced labour, Mao said that China rejects it. “There is no so-called forced labour in China,” she continued.

In the legal battle over his controversial tariff policy, US President Donald Trump achieved a partial victory in mid-May. An appeals court temporarily suspended a lower court's decision that had classified Trump's temporary tariffs on imports from around the world as illegal. Importers must now continue to pay the 10 percent levy for the time being.

Madrid – Following the publication of its first quarter 2026 results, Inditex has called its investors to the 2026 Annual General Meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, July 7. During the meeting, the appointment of José Ignacio Goirigolzarri Tellaeche as a new independent director on the Inditex Board of Directors will be proposed. Goirigolzarri is the former chief executive officer of BBVA and former executive chairman of CaixaBank.

According to information submitted by the Spanish fashion multinational to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the Inditex Board of Directors agreed to convene the company's ordinary Annual General Meeting during its meeting last Tuesday, June 2, 2026. The meeting is scheduled for 12pm Central European Summer Time (CEST) on Tuesday, July 7. Shareholders of the Spanish company can participate both online and in person by attending the meeting at Inditex's headquarters in Arteixo, A Coruña.

Beyond these formalities, the meeting's agenda has been structured around a total of nine points. The meeting will begin with the approval of the individual annual accounts and management report for the 2025 financial year. This will be followed by the approval of the annual accounts and management report of the consolidated group; the approval of the Consolidated Non-Financial Information and Sustainability Report; and the fourth point, of particular interest to investors, will be the approval of the proposed application of the 2025 financial year's results and the distribution of dividends.

In this regard, and following what was previously announced by Inditex's management during the presentation of its 2025 annual results on March 11, the Board of Directors will propose a dividend of 1.75 euros per share to the Annual General Meeting, charged to the 2025 results. This amount is 4.16 percent higher than the dividend agreed for the 2024 results. It consists of an ordinary dividend of 1.20 euros and an extraordinary dividend of 0.55 euros per share. These amounts will be paid in two equal instalments of 0.875 euros per share. The first was paid on May 4, and the second will be paid on November 2, 2026. The second payment will comprise the 0.55 euros extraordinary dividend and the remaining 0.325 euros per share proposed as the ordinary dividend.

Renewal of the board of directors

Continuing with the agenda, the fifth item will be the renewal of the Inditex Board of Directors. This governing body currently consists of 10 directors. The re-elections to be agreed upon are: Marta Ortega as a proprietary director; Óscar García Maceiras as an executive director; Flora Pérez Marcote—Marta Ortega's mother—as a proprietary director; Denise Patricia Kingsmill as an independent director; Pilar López Álvarez as an independent director; and Belén Romana García as an independent director.

Amancio Ortega, Roberto Cibeira and José Luis Durán Schulz will not be part of this renewal and will remain in their current positions on the board. Rodrigo Echenique Gordillo, however, will leave the Inditex Board of Directors when his term ends on July 12 this year. To fill this vacancy in the Spanish fashion multinational's governing body, the appointment of José Ignacio Goirigolzarri Tellaeche as a new independent director will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting. The board will thus remain unchanged with a total of 10 directors.

A well-recognised figure in the Spanish economic and financial world, Ignacio Goirigolzarri stood out during the 90s and the beginning of the 21st century as one of the main executives at BBVA, where he was appointed chief executive officer in 2001. He held this position until he left the company in 2009, taking early retirement. However, this did not mark the end of his professional life. Goirigolzarri returned to the forefront of the financial world with his appointment in 2012 as executive chairman of Bankia. He led the entity following the departure of Rodrigo Rato and during the period of the bank's partial nationalisation by the state. This stage concluded in March 2021 with the merger of Bankia and CaixaBank, under the latter's brand, with Goirigolzarri appointed as the new chairman of the resulting financial entity. He remained in this position until his resignation was announced on October 30, 2024, effective from January 1, 2025. From that date, the bank has been chaired by Tomás Muniesa, as non-executive chairman, with Gonzalo Gortázar remaining as chief executive officer.

Re-election of Ernst & Young and approval of remuneration policy

Completing the agenda for the upcoming Inditex Annual General Meeting, following the item on re-elections and new appointments to the Board, the re-election of Ernst & Young as the company's auditor for the 2026 financial year will be addressed. The meeting will conclude with the proposal for the approval of the directors' remuneration policy for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 financial years. This will be followed by a consultative vote on the Annual Report on Directors' Remuneration for the 2025 financial year. Finally, as a matter of procedure, the agenda includes the granting of powers for the execution of all resolutions passed during the meeting.

UK-based supermarket group Asda has announced its first quarter financial results for the three-month period ending March 31, 2026, highlighting a steady stabilization across its core operations under its Formula for Growth turnaround plan.

Total revenues, excluding fuel sales, reached 5 billion pounds for the first quarter, representing a modest decline of 1.5 percent year-over-year. Despite the slight top-line contraction, the group registered a significant quarter-on-quarter recovery in its sales velocity. Like-for-like (LFL) sales performance improved noticeably, narrowing from a decline of 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year to negative 0.8 percent in the first quarter. Adjusted for the shifting calendar timing of Easter, LFL sales stood at negative 1.3 percent.

Digital transformation and strategic outlook

In tandem with the corporate trading update, executive chairman Allan Leighton observed that performance throughout the period progressed broadly in line with internal expectations.

“This progress is due to the stabilisation of our core systems, which has enabled us to deliver ongoing improvements in availability, price and customer satisfaction,” Leighton stated.

Leighton also highlighted the roll-out of the ‘Take a Fresh Look’ consumer initiative, alongside an expansive digital infrastructure partnership with online technology specialist Ocado Group. The technological alliance will introduce automated systems and enhanced digital capabilities to the supermarket's e-commerce channel.

Chief financial officer Michael Gleeson confirmed that trading was underpinned by a highly disciplined approach to cash management and a fortified corporate capital structure. Gleeson noted that all upcoming debt maturities have been successfully addressed through to 2028, providing a stable platform to run the business with greater consistency moving forward.

Broad group divisions support wider turnaround While the current quarterly update focused heavily on core grocery systems and organizational infrastructure, the performance of the wider group divisions remains an integral element of the retailer's long-term commercial strategy.

Asda continues to lean on non-grocery retail formats to capture broader market share, with past financial periods showing that nearly half of total group revenues are generated outside of traditional food sales. A key driver of this structural diversification is George, the supermarket's prominent internal apparel and lifestyle brand.

According to historical financial performance data, the George fashion division has consistently outperformed its broader market benchmarks. The label remains central to the group's retail proposition alongside other non-food segments like pharmacy, optical, and its expanding e-commerce platform.

Fine Chaos is closing five years after its launch and will celebrate one last time during Copenhagen Fashion Week.

The Danish fashion brand, founded in early 2021 by Ludvig Isaksen and creative director Marc Møllerskov, will cease operations in August. Isaksen announced the news in an email to FashionUnited.

“The vision we set for ourselves in 2021 was one of the most important things in my life, and I am proud of what we have built,” said the co-founder. “However, the numbers have caught up with us, and we have decided to end the project on our own terms and shape the exit ourselves – in the way we see fit.”

With its dark, foundational aesthetic, Fine Chaos has been a fixture at Copenhagen Fashion Week in recent seasons, also exhibiting at the Danish fashion trade fair CIFF. According to its website, the brand had its own store in Copenhagen. It was also available from various fashion retailers in countries such as Denmark, Austria, and Belgium, as well as in Japan, South Korea, and China.

The brand's own community always played an important role, whether at fashion shows; pop-up and store events; or at hanger parties, clubs and warehouse raves. It was seen as the brand’s “infrastructure” rather than an “extension”. This community will be celebrated at a final event on August 7, the last day of Copenhagen Fashion Week. The final sale, which includes the current spring/summer 2026 collection, has already started on the brand's webshop.

UK online retail group Boohoo Group plc, which operates as Debenhams Group, reported a return to growth for its first quarter ended May 31, 2026. The company experienced an acceleration in its multi-year turnaround momentum, with group gross merchandise value, or GMV, increasing by 0.5 percent year-over-year.

Trading during May was notably strong, achieving GMV growth of approximately 8 percent. This performance was primarily led by the Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing, alongside improvements within Boohoo, BoohooMan and Karen Millen.

“Debenhams Group has returned to growth, and Q1 marks the inflection point we have been working towards,” stated Debenhams Group chief executive officer Dan Finley. “Group GMV grew 0.5% year on year - with May trading particularly strong at around 8%, led by the Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing.”

Profitability and cost reductions underpin turnaround

Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded during the period, which resulted in a substantial increase in adjusted EBITDA.

The company is progressing with its transition to an asset-light operational model. All fashion brands under the group have transitioned to the marketplace model, with approximately 25,000 brands and partners now integrated into the ecosystem.

Outlook remains positive for fiscal year

The company expects lease costs for the current year to decline to 13 million pounds; these costs will further reduce to 6 million pounds once the vacant US property lease is exited. The remaining 6 million pounds in ongoing lease obligations will cover the fully automated Sheffield warehouse, the Manchester head office, and a small London footprint.

The board of directors expressed confidence in achieving double-digit percentage growth in full-year adjusted EBITDA from the 53 million pounds guided for fiscal year 2026 in March. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA is on track to fall below 1x in the current year, driven by trading cashflow and planned asset disposals. These divestments include the Burnley property and the US warehouse, both of which are scheduled for disposal in the current year.

Finley added that the financial turnaround was driven by warehouse consolidation, a comprehensive cost reset, and the rebuilding of every brand onto a single proprietary platform. The executive reiterated corporate guidance pointing toward double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth and free cash flow generation for fiscal year 2027.

Full-year financial results for the period ended February 28, 2026 are scheduled for release within the next two weeks.

Madrid – Spanish fashion multinational Inditex group reported its results for the first quarter of 2026 earlier today. The company, which owns chains such as Zara, Bershka and Massimo Dutti, completed the three-month period from February 1 to April 30 by recording its best first-quarter results in its history.

According to information submitted by the Spanish group's management to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Inditex reported first-quarter sales totalling 8.75 billion euros (10.17 billion dollars). This amount represents a 5.75 percent increase from the 8.27 billion euros invoiced by the company during the same period in 2025. The group, chaired by Marta Ortega, has consequently delivered the best first quarter in its history, setting a new record for the first three months of a financial year. This is a very positive result, particularly as the company estimates that at constant exchange rates, sales would have seen even stronger growth of 8.8 percent.

In line with this strong sales performance, Inditex reported a net profit of 1.38 billion euros for the same period. This figure represents a 5.36 percent increase compared to the 1.31 billion euros in net profit recorded during the same period last year. It also marks another new record for Inditex for a first quarter.

Reactivation of growth

A detailed breakdown of how the company's different chains contributed to these total revenue and profit figures is not yet available. This information will be released on September 9 with the publication of the first-half results. However, the figures announced today clearly show a revival in Inditex's performance in both sales and profits compared to the latest financial data released by the Spanish fashion multinational.

Regarding sales performance, the 5.75 percent growth recorded at the start of the 2026 financial year significantly surpasses the 1.52 percent experienced during the same period last year. This growth is also higher than the 4.88 percent recorded in the third quarter, which was the highest of the entire financial year. Furthermore, it exceeds the 3.19 percent growth with which the company concluded the last fiscal year of 2025, achieving total sales of 39.86 billion euros.

Similarly, in terms of profitability, the 5.36 percent growth rate comfortably surpasses the 0.46 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2024. It is, however, lower than the 12.77 percent growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2025. Inditex completed that year with a 5.84 percent increase in net profit, amounting to 6.22 billion euros.

Outlook for 2026

Looking ahead to the rest of the financial year, the initial estimate for the start of the second quarter shows sales at constant exchange rates between May 1 and June 1 maintaining a year-over-year growth rate of 11.5 percent. For the full 2026 financial year, Inditex reiterates its forecast of a stable gross margin (+/- 50 basis points) and anticipates a currency impact of -1 percent on sales.

The “Mould Crisis” of 2026 is a direct byproduct of the extended maritime detour around the Cape of Good Hope, which has become a semi-permanent fixture due to the 2026 Strait of Hormuz (SoH) closure and continued Red Sea instability.

What began as a logistical delay has evolved into a quality assurance nightmare, particularly for shipments originating in high-humidity hubs like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. The Financial Times recently dedicated a specialised report (“The Cape Route Detour and the Microclimatic Risks to Global Apparel Intermediaries”) to the subject.

“The prolonged exposure to fluctuating maritime microclimates has turned what used to be a simple transit delay into a catastrophic cargo degradation issue,’ noted a senior supply chain analyst in the report. “We are seeing unprecedented volumes of inventory compromised before they ever touch a European dock, forcing brands to choose between expensive localised salvage operations or complete stock write-offs.”

While the crisis is very real, statements from fashion brands and retailers remain scarce as companies navigate the reputational risks associated with damaged inventory. The fact is, though, that garment and textile supply chains are changing.

The “incubation” effect

Under ‘normal’ circumstances (meaning pre-SoH closure), a garment container from Dhaka to Rotterdam would take around 30 days. Current rerouting has pushed this to 45 to 55 days, equalling 50 to 88 percent longer journeys.

Mould spores (specifically Aspergillus and Penicillium) typically require 14 to 21 days of sustained high humidity to colonise fabric. Thus, the Cape route keeps garments in the “danger zone” for double the usual time, hence brands and retailers need to account for this critical window.

In addition, the longer routes mean that containers now cross the equator twice — once down the coast of Africa and once back up — where they experience extreme temperature fluctuations. This causes “container sweat” or condensation that drips from the ceiling directly onto cardboard cartons, compromising the silica gel packets inside within the first 15 days (the “sweat cycle”).

Two-fold risk mitigation

Logistics managers are currently using a two-tier strategy to mitigate these risks, both of which are eroding profit margins: One is the chemical and mechanical pre-treatment: Brands are mandating “anti-mould stickers,” which release chlorine dioxide gas, and VCI (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor) liners for all maritime cargo. While the latter are safe for humans to handle when used as directed, breathing in chlorine dioxide gas or ingesting it poses severe health risks, thus increasing the risk to dock workers and anyone opening the containers and handling the products.

Then there is the top-off strategy: Brands are still shipping 80 percent of an order by sea, but because sea freight is quite unreliable, top off the remaining 20 percent via expensive air freight. This ensures that even if a sea container arrives with mould-damaged stock, the air top-off provides enough clean inventory to launch a collection on time.

Mould-prevention measures

While this may work in the short run, the industry is currently also rapidly pivoting toward active rather than passive protection.

Smart desiccants are packets with RFID indicators that change colour or signal when they reach 100 percent saturation. This way, logistics teams can identify at-risk containers before they are even opened. Smart desiccants carry a 5 to 15 percent markup on bulk packaging compared to standard or passive desiccants.

Pneumatic textile channels are integrating airflow structures into the garment folding process. This improves micro-climate stability inside the polybag during long transit. This can be initiated at the stitching stage itself, while robotic air blasts can be utilised through automatic folding machines. While initially incurring costs and reprogramming may be required, this strategy should amortise quickly.

Bio-based fungicides like peppermint or lemongrass-based coatings are applied during the finishing stage of manufacturing. This provides a natural, non-toxic barrier that inhibits spore growth for up to 90 days. Lemongrass is typically abundantly grown and found in tropical climates; it is cheaper than nanotechnology-enabled antimicrobial coatings, which are priced at approximately 19 to 38 US dollars per litre. These solutions are typically applied at a ratio of 0.2 to 1.35 percent of the textile’s dry weight.

The salvage industry

One industry’s loss, another one’s gain — a new sub-sector of logistics has emerged in view of the 2026 mould crisis: ozone remediation centres. Major ports like Antwerp and Felixstowe now have dedicated ‘garment recovery’ facilities where mould-affected shipments are treated with high-concentration ozone gas and UV light to kill spores before being re-packaged for sale. This process costs roughly 2 to 3.35 US dollars per garment, a cost most brands are now forced to build into their 2026 pricing models.

What is mould?

Fabric mould is a type of fungus (like the ones mentioned above) that feeds on organic materials within textile fibres like cotton wool and linen, but also synthetic fibres like polyester and nylon. It thrives in damp, dark and humid environments like sea freight containers. Mould may appear as ‘fuzzy’ or ‘slim spots in black, green, grey or white, depending on the type of fungus. A distinct, musty odour can confirm mould suspicion.

What is the difference between mould and mildew? While mildew is also a fungus, it is a surface fungus that stays flat and looks powdery. It is typically white, grey or yellow in colour and easy to wipe away. Thus, it is easier to eliminate and less of a threat. It can be stopped in most cases with a bit of bleach.

A customer orders a dress on Monday morning for a birthday on Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, she realises she won’t be home for the delivery. What follows is a familiar sequence: an email to customer service, frustration and, in the worst case, a return that could have been avoided.

In fashion e-commerce, the post-purchase phase is often the weakest part of the customer journey. Logistics partner Monta addresses this with MontaTracking 2.0, a solution that goes far beyond a standard status page.

From delivery to brand experience

The tracking page is the touchpoint that fashion brands have overlooked for years. On average, consumers check the status of a parcel multiple times, only to land on a generic carrier page with no brand identity whatsoever. MontaTracking changes that by putting the brand front and centre: logo, brand colours and look & feel create an experience that seamlessly matches the rest of the webshop.

Giving back control

The biggest innovation lies in self-service. Consumers can switch carrier, choose a nearby pick-up point, reschedule delivery and correct a typo in their address, all without involving customer service. For fashion retailers, that translates directly into fewer failed deliveries and fewer unnecessary returns.

When orders contain multiple items with different availability, for example a pair of trousers shipped immediately while a matching jacket is still on its way from the supplier, MontaTracking displays all partial deliveries in one clear overview, each with its own status and expected delivery time. No confusion, no unnecessary support requests.

Mobile first

In fashion, mobile shopping is dominant: Instagram, TikTok, quickly ordering on the go. The tracking page is fully optimised for mobile use, automatically adapting to any screen size and aligning with how fashion consumers actually shop and communicate.

Results in practice

Luc Schoenmakers, E-commerce Specialist at a Dutch menswear retailer, sees the impact directly with his customers:

“Our customers are especially happy with the clear communication. They want accurate updates on when their parcel will arrive. Thanks to the clear track and trace emails from MontaTracking, our customers know exactly where their parcel is.”

MontaTracking is available in seven languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish and Danish, making it suitable for fashion brands selling internationally.

The message is clear: delivery is no longer just a logistical process, it’s an integral part of the brand experience.

US lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret & Co. exceeded its own targets and analysts' expectations in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. The management subsequently raised its full-year forecast on Tuesday.

In the 13 weeks to May 2, the parent company of the Victoria’s Secret, Pink and Adore Me brands generated sales of 1.56 billion dollars. This represented an increase of 15.3 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Sales in brick and mortar stores in North America rose by 11.3 percent to 802.8 million dollars. In direct sales, it grew by 8.4 percent to 469.4 million dollars.

Revenue from the international business increased by 44.9 percent to 287.4 million dollars. This was partly because sales in the European Union markets, previously managed in the direct sales segment, are now recorded in this division.

Lingerie retailer more than triples its operating profit

The operating profit rose to 76.3 million dollars, thanks to an improvement in the gross margin. According to the company, this was achieved through lower discounts and more efficient cost management. This was more than three times higher than in the same period of the previous year, when it was just 19.8 million dollars.

The bottom line was a net profit attributable to shareholders of 47.7 million dollars. The group had closed the first quarter of the previous year with a corresponding loss of almost 1.7 million dollars.

CEO Hillary Super praises “strong start”

In light of the latest figures, CEO Hillary Super spoke of a “strong start” to the new financial year. She emphasised that the group had exceeded its own expectations in terms of sales and profit. Double-digit growth for the Victoria’s Secret and Pink brands and in the cosmetics category contributed to this.

The recent development and “continued momentum” prompted the management to raise its forecast for the full year. The sales target, which was previously between 6.85 and 6.95 billion dollars, has been increased to between 7.03 and 7.13 billion dollars. The forecast for adjusted operating profit is now between 550 and 580 million dollars. Previously, only 430 to 460 million dollars had been forecast.

UK-based business growth expert Champions (UK) plc (Champions) has announced a new global partnership with menswear e-commerce brand Dobell.

The deal, which includes a significant equity investment from Champions, marks a new chapter for both organisations. Champions will provide its full-service expertise in strategy, digital marketing and brand development as the British-designed menswear brand continues to expand its presence in key global markets.

Strategic backing scales formalwear operations

Dobell founder Mike Dobell stated that the mission has always been to bring top-quality formalwear to everyone at affordable prices.

Dobell added: “With Champions’ strategic backing and equity investment, we are perfectly positioned to scale our operations and reach more customers than ever before.”

Headquartered in Eastbourne, the brand was originally founded in 2003 after Dobell struggled to find an affordable tuxedo while at university and realised there was a gap in the market for accessible formalwear. The business has since grown into one of the leading online menswear retailers in the UK.

Expanding international presence

The partnership highlights the focus of Champions on backing ambitious entrepreneur-led brands that offer high potential for scale and innovation.

Champions managing director Matthew Hayes stated that the business is one he has personally followed, shopped from and believed in for many years.

Hayes added: “Dobell has built a genuinely strong brand, British designed formalwear, accessible pricing, a huge range of sizing options and a clear understanding of what customers actually want from menswear today. Having started back in 2003 at the same time as Champions, the brand already has a strong foundation, but internationally there is significant room for growth and we’re looking forward to supporting that journey over the coming years.”

The remit for Champions is to expand the online presence of Dobell worldwide and drive sales across all product categories. The strategic focus centres on building the brand, driving awareness in key markets and introducing products to new audiences.

The long-term objective is to establish Dobell as a highly recognisable menswear brand in the UK and a primary choice for all occasions by blending British-designed suits and accessories with an efficient online shopping experience.

Madrid – Modelia, the Spanish international business-to-business (B2B) platform specialising in AI-generated image creation and management for the fashion industry, has announced the successful completion of a 1.2 million dollar seed funding round. The capital will be used to drive and further scale its operations, with the US currently standing as its largest market.

According to details provided by the Spanish tech platform, Modelia was founded in 2024 by entrepreneurs Iván Rodríguez, its chief executive officer, and René Haas, its chief technology officer. The company has closed a 1.2 million dollar seed round. The funding was led by Spanish investment fund Next Tier, which specialises in artificial intelligence start-ups. Other existing investors also participated, including US-based Rapid Scale and Spanish investment firm Archipelago Next. A group of business angels from the fashion sector completed the round. Notably, Nacho Rivera, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of fashion brand Blue Banana alongside Juan Fernández-Estrada, participated in a personal capacity.

“We are living in one of those moments when an entire industry changes its language,” said Iván Rodríguez, co-founder and chief executive officer of Modelia. He noted that the emergence of artificial intelligence “has made the ability to generate an image accessible to everyone.” However, “producing fashion images on an industrial scale, true to the garment, true to the brand, edition after edition, collection after collection, is still a craft,” which is where Modelia comes in. He argued that while “small brands cannot operationalise AI on their own,” large ones “cannot do it without governance or workflows.” In response to these challenges, “Modelia is the infrastructure that closes that gap,” working towards the goal of “building the standard on which fashion imagery will be produced for the next 10 years.”

“What convinced us about Modelia was finding a team that combines top-tier technical execution with a deep understanding of the sector they serve,” added Patricia Pastor, founder and manager of the Spanish fund Next Tier, which led the investment round. “In applied AI, every advance in large models does not narrow the space for vertical start-ups; it expands it.” She explained that, in this context, “the defensive moat is no longer in the model, but in the application layer, in sector-specific workflows and in the user experience.” Against this backdrop, “Modelia understood before anyone else that fashion brands do not want to choose between AI models; they want production results,” Pastor added. Based on these demands, she stressed, “we see Iván and René, along with their team, as the natural candidates to lead this vertical globally.”

New funds to scale international operations

Modelia's current clients include multinationals such as Desigual and All We Wear Group (AWWG), the parent company of fashion brands Pepe Jeans, Façonnable and Hackett. The platform has also established collaborations with key industry events like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, where it was an official sponsor during the last edition in March. This highlights the company's distinctly international profile. Its global footprint is further emphasised by its revenue figures. The management team noted that the United States currently accounts for 44 percent of its total global revenue, with Europe as the second-largest market at 27 percent. The remaining revenue comes from operations in Asia and other smaller markets. Over the last six months, Modelia's platform has processed more than 300,000 SKUs for brands from 26 countries.

Building on these metrics and with the support of the funds raised, the company aims to accelerate and scale its operations. To achieve this, Modelia will “allocate the new funding to completing its enterprise platform layer, with new capabilities for consistency, style control, business rules, approval workflows” and enhancing “collaboration between teams and APIs to integrate into the e-commerce processes of large brands.” The platform aims to strengthen “its commercial expansion in Europe and the United States, its two main markets,” focusing on securing new “enterprise accounts in the fashion sector” with its AI image generation services. These services offer companies “garment fidelity, automatic application of brand guidelines, reusable models, governance, team collaboration and traceability.” This allows “a visual campaign that traditionally required weeks of production, model coordination, photography, editing and channel adaptation” to be “produced in hours, maintaining brand consistency across collections, geographies and commercial formats.”

“We are in a moment of acceleration for the ecosystem,” said Rodríguez. “Each new generation of generalist models reduces cost and latency, unlocking enterprise use cases that were not viable months ago due to ROI.” He continued, “In this context, value shifts to the orchestration and application layer,” where “deciding which model solves each task, integrating it into real production flows and ensuring brand fidelity at scale” is key, and “this is precisely where Modelia operates.” He acknowledged, “we are aware of where we are,” and that Modelia is “a young company in a category that is still being defined.” However, “every advance in large models makes us stronger, not weaker, because our job is not to compete with them but to turn them into reliable industrial production for a brand.” He concluded, “we have the right team, technology, clients and investors to aspire to lead this category globally.”

The surge in oil prices following the Iran war fuelled inflation in the Eurozone in May.

Consumer prices rose by 3.2 percent year-on-year. This was announced by the statistics office Eurostat in Luxembourg on Tuesday, according to an initial estimate. In April, the inflation rate stood at 3.0 percent.

Economists had, on average, expected this development. The European Central Bank (ECB) is aiming for a medium-term annual inflation rate of two percent.

Madrid – On Running, or simply On for true sports enthusiasts, celebrated the final of its ‘On Squad Race’ initiative in Barcelona this past weekend, featuring teams from France, Italy and Spain. The relay competition has been promoted globally by the brand. FashionUnited had the privilege of participating first-hand, an experience that provided the perfect backdrop to uncover the Swiss sportswear brand's strategy for Spain.

In just over 15 years, On has established itself as a benchmark brand in the sports world. This is a significant milestone for a company that has managed to compete head-to-head with historic giants like Nike and Adidas, whose origins date back over 60 and 75 years, respectively. On is undoubtedly one of the sportswear brands of the moment. From this position, the company is working hard to strike a difficult balance. It aims to continue growing as a premium brand while focusing on further consolidating its identity and, crucially, avoiding becoming a victim of its own success.

The story of falling into irrelevance is a familiar one in the fashion world. On is trying to shield itself from this fate by executing a meticulous and well-studied strategy. This strategy is applied both globally and is aligned with the respective roadmaps designed for each of its key markets, including Spain. This past weekend, Spain hosted the final of the 'On Squad Race' relay between France, Italy and Spain. This international initiative, driven by On, serves as a perfect example of one of the main pillars of its strategic plan and business model: community connection. This key factor currently acts as a unifying constant for all of On's operations and strategies. On this basis, the company outlines and executes its various 'country initiatives'. For On's roadmap in Spain, the Swiss sportswear brand is focusing its attention on the country's two largest cities: Madrid and Barcelona.

More community

As a core element of its business model, we begin our breakdown of On's strategic plan for Spain with its 'connection with the community'. This factor is "multidimensional" in both form and substance, as evidenced by the 'On Squad Race' relay competition. The initiative allows On to go beyond organising the usual running clubs promoted by sports brands in major cities. It offers a different experience to the same community of people interested in sports and running.

To clarify exactly how On is building and assembling a "community" through activations like this, we will use the first-hand experience from this past Friday, May 29, in Barcelona, during the 'On Squad Race' final between France, Italy and Spain. The competition features teams of four runners representing their broader running communities. The Barcelona final was held after preliminary qualifying rounds in each of these countries. The French team Jolie Foulée won, with the Spanish teams No Breaks Squad and Apalarun finishing second and third, respectively. With this result, the French team's runners emerged as the winners of the race, earning a spot in the grand final of this global initiative, which will be held in Los Angeles.

Through the 'On Squad Race', the brand has created a dynamic of healthy competition around a relay race. This allows On to connect with its target audience of sports and running enthusiasts, offering them a unique experience. It also helps establish connections and relationships that extend beyond the product and any commercial transaction. At the same time, On strengthens ties with its commercial partners and local running communities. Through them, it organises the events for the various races and finals taking place worldwide as part of this initiative, from Beijing to Los Angeles; Medellín; Tokyo; Rio de Janeiro; Sydney; Lima; Buenos Aires; Mexico City; and now, Barcelona.

“‘On Squad Race’ is a global series of activations centred around the running community, with a strong focus on community,” emphasises Antonio Melero, marketing director for Southern EMEA at On, during a conversation with FashionUnited just minutes after the Barcelona final concluded at the incomparable setting of Montjuïc castle. “The reality of running communities and ‘Community Cruises’ is that they are emerging very actively within the sports world, especially in major global cities, and brands obviously want to join this trend.” In On's case, we launched the 'On Squad Race' relay competition primarily because “we found it interesting to promote an activation that would bring community members together without necessarily establishing active, direct collaborations with them, and for them to unite simply for the sake of the activity.”

“The whole ‘Community Cruise’ concept, which also has a significant social component, is a fantastic phenomenon that is bringing young people closer to running,” adds Melero. “As a premium brand, we wanted to offer them something that truly fits their community positioning, so they could first enjoy the experience and then also use it as a vehicle to generate visibility.” From an internal perspective, the competition also allows On to “tap into the current fertile ground of ‘Run Cruises’ and the running community at a local level, especially in key cities, to fuel the running industry and rejuvenate it.” At a brand level, On was “interested in reaching a younger consumer and, as a premium brand, providing them with an experience very different from a typical race on an athletics track.” These two factors emerge as the main drivers that will clearly shape the Swiss brand's strategies in its commitment to building more community, both globally and in Spain.

Focus as a premium brand

Focusing on the specific keys of On's "country plan" for Spain, the first thing to highlight is its premium brand approach towards the consumer. On carefully maintains this through all its initiatives and executions as a sports brand, whether through activations like the 'On Squad Race' relay or its commercial activities. The brand admits this was a challenge, facing a price-driven market like Spain. However, they report a very successful performance despite maintaining a no-discount pricing policy and tight control over the brand's exposure in the multi-brand channel.

“In terms of positioning, we will never deviate one millimetre from being a premium brand, which means we operate in a more niche part of the consumer pyramid,” Melero points out. “In a market like Spain, which is very price-driven, knowing how to work it well means making certain decisions that, in most cases, involve giving up a large part of the distribution the market offers. We will not deviate from that,” he warns. This strategy, despite the risks, is clearly proving very positive for the brand. “Even playing the no-discount game and implementing other policies to guarantee this positioning, the market is responding very well. It was one of the big unknowns when you enter a very price-driven market as a premium brand, and you don't know how it will react. Fortunately, Spain is reacting very positively to our commercial strategy.”

New openings in Madrid and Barcelona

On has had its own store in Spain since November 2025, when its first store in the country opened at 17 Calle de Serrano in Madrid. This opening, in the heart of the Salamanca district, the capital's "golden mile," perfectly exemplifies the premium positioning strategy Melero detailed. On's marketing director for Southern EMEA also revealed the next steps the brand plans to take in Spain. Madrid and now Barcelona will be the locations from which it will seek to strengthen its operations in the country.

First flagship store on Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona

Starting with Barcelona, the choice of the city to host the 'On Squad Race' final between France, Italy and Spain is the "icing on the cake" for the brand's investments in the city in recent years. These investments include On's sponsorship of the last two editions of the Barcelona Marathon. The brand's growing presence in the city's sports scene complements the activities carried out from its head office in Barcelona. However, this contrasts with the lack of an On store in the city. The absence of a store is not for lack of trying, but due to the difficulty in finding a retail space that meets all of On's requirements for establishing a presence in Barcelona. On has confirmed to FashionUnited its plans to open its own store in the city. This store is set to be the brand's first flagship in the country, and they are currently waiting to find the ideal retail location for its opening. On emphasises that the location will definitely be on Barcelona's Paseo de Gracia.

As one of the "key cities" identified by On, a label also applied to strategic locations like Milan, Paris, London and Berlin, “in Barcelona, there has been an organic investment over the last three years that is generating very good results and performance. While it's true we don't have our own store yet, it's purely a logistical issue of not having found the location we want,” Melero explains. For the location, “our goal is Paseo de Gracia.” “Until we find the right place, we won't make the move, but the decision has been made,” as has the decision that Barcelona will be a “flagship location.”

Second store in Madrid

The store concept for Barcelona will therefore be different from the smaller "chapter store" model with which On entered Spain and Madrid, with the opening of its first store on Serrano last November. On is already considering reinforcing the operations of this establishment with a second, similar "experiential" store, which would be different from the "flagship store" model planned for Barcelona. This difference is due to On's outstanding performance in Barcelona, which is similar to that in Madrid, but achieved without even having its own point-of-sale to support it.

“We opened in Madrid with the ‘chapter’ concept, which is a more limited format, and with just that one store, things are going as well as in Barcelona, where we haven't invested yet.” From there, “we are already considering a second store in Madrid,” Melero reveals. This opening will align with On's strategic objectives for Spain, just as the first store in Madrid did. For that city, “it was very clear that Serrano had to be one of the main objectives” for the brand, “and it was.” “In Madrid, luckily, things came together very quickly and smoothly, but we still haven't reached the point of investing in Madrid as a city,” in the same way it is already being done in Barcelona. The city, compared to Madrid, “has evolved much more quickly” because “the brand structure is here,” and also because “we decided to bet” on making a series of investments that “have helped us a lot to create a footprint in the local community and with the local customer.” This influence has been capped off “after the investment of recent years with an event” like the 'On Squad Race' final. It will be crowned by the long-awaited On store on Paseo de Gracia.

Although second-hand fashion has become a global phenomenon, the patterns of adoption and growth vary significantly across regions. The US, the UK and continental Europe together account for the majority of the global resale market, but each is evolving in its own way, shaped by local culture, consumer behaviour and policy.

United States: scale and regulatory momentum

The US is the world’s largest and most mature resale market, representing roughly 40% of global second-hand apparel revenue. Estimates suggest that the US market will expand to around USD 74 billion by 2029, with growth consistently outpacing the broader apparel sector. By this point, it’s also estimated that second-hand apparel will hold a 19.97% share in the market, up from a forecast 15.87% for 2025. In 2024, resale sales grew by 14%, five times faster than the wider clothing retail industry, and online resale surged by 23% in the same year.

A defining feature of the US market is the breadth of participation across segments. Consumers embrace both high-volume, mass-market resale through platforms like Poshmark, ThredUp and eBay, as well as luxury consignment through specialists such as The RealReal and Fashionphile. Affordability is a primary driver, especially as households grapple with inflation and cost-of-living pressures. But sustainability and style uniqueness are increasingly important, particularly for younger shoppers. Gen Z and Millennials dominate activity: surveys show they are twice as likely as older generations to make resale their first choice when shopping for fashion and they are also more likely to save money in doing so.

Regulation is also beginning to shape the contours of the market. As previously mentioned, California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707) created the first EPR scheme for textiles in the US, requiring fashion companies to finance collection and recycling programmes by the end of the decade. Other states, including New York and Washington, have introduced similar bills, while Massachusetts has moved to ban most textiles from landfills altogether. These measures are laying the groundwork for resale and reuse to become embedded features of the apparel economy.

At the national level, momentum is building as well. The Government Accountability Office has called for coordinated federal action on textile waste, and new legislation such as the Americas Trade and Investment Act proposes billions in incentives for circular fashion. Industry coalitions like American Circular Textiles are also pressing for changes such as ending double taxation on second-hand goods. Together, these developments point to a future in which the US resale market is not only the largest in scale, but also one of the most regulated and structurally supported worldwide.

Affordability remains a central driver of consumer engagement. In 2025, 66% of US adults said they regularly shop second-hand, with Gen Z leading – 28% report that they thrift on a weekly basis. 72% of US consumers cited saving money as their primary reason, followed by 51% who stated it was due to the thrill of unique deals. Thrifting is increasingly viewed as an act of self-care and a cultural statement, especially among younger shoppers.

Together, the US, the UK and continental Europe show how second-hand fashion is evolving along different paths: scale and innovation in the US, cultural mainstreaming in the UK and infrastructure-led acceleration in continental Europe. Yet the destination is the same: resale is embedding itself as a structural part of fashion’s future. These regional variations highlight the diversity of the market and offer a preview of how other parts of the world may follow, adapting the second-hand model to their own cultural and policy landscapes.

UK streetwear label Trapstar has been placed on an insolvency marketplace as the business seeks a buyer to navigate working capital challenges, according to a report by London-based business publication City AM.

The fashion house was founded in 2005. It achieved global prominence by pioneering the drop retail model, utilising short-notice social media announcements to release limited-edition collections and generate consumer demand.

The brand attracted a high-profile following, with its apparel worn by international artists including Jay Z, Rihanna, Stormzy and Central Cee.

Revenue drops following pandemic peak

The business experienced accelerated demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, with turnover peaking at just under 40 million pounds in 2022. This growth was driven by strong sales of its core product categories, which include hoodies, tracksuits and puffer jackets.

Subsequent financial periods showed a downward trajectory. In 2023, profit declined from 7.4 million pounds to 1.2 million pounds, while sales decreased to 17.7 million pounds in 2024.

Advisers to Trapstar told the publication that the recent performance was structural rather than a loss of consumer interest. “Management have advised that recent revenue decline has primarily been driven by working capital constraints impacting inventory availability, rather than any underlying demand or brand performance,” the advisers stated.

Inflationary pressures impact operating margins

The brand highlighted macroeconomic headwinds in its 2024 financial statement, noting that it had been a challenging year for the business as both customers and the supply chain had to deal with rising inflation against the backdrop of an uncertain economic outlook. The company added that it saw an increase in costs which led to a fall in the operating margin.

Despite the financial contraction, the management team expressed confidence in the underlying loyalty of its consumer base.

Madrid – In one of the week's major business stories, Puig held its 2026 Annual General Meeting last Friday, May 29. The meeting proceeded as planned, with shareholders approving every item on the agenda. These items ranged from the approval of the group's financial and non-financial statements for the 2025 financial year to the renewal of its Board of Directors. During the meeting, the company announced the presentation date for its new strategic plan. It also issued a clear warning following the collapse of negotiations with The Estée Lauder: “Puig is not for sale”.

According to Puig's management, a qualified majority of shareholders in the Spanish multinational group approved all proposals presented by the Board of Directors during the Annual General Meeting. The agenda was structured around 13 points for discussion. The agenda began with the review and approval of Puig's annual accounts for the 2025 financial year. The Spanish company concluded the year with sales reaching 5.04 billion euros (a 5.26 percent increase) and profits of 617.10 million euros (a 13.74 percent increase). This solid performance in both revenue and net profit contrasts sharply with the company's negative stock market performance since its IPO. Shares closed last Friday with a cumulative drop of 34.16 percent, falling from their initial public offering price of 24.50 euros to 16.13 euros at the close of trading on Friday, May 29.

Beyond the approval of the agenda items, which was largely a formality given the Puig family's control over 93.21 percent of voting rights, a key moment was the address by Marc Puig, the executive chairman. He spoke to shareholders who attended the meeting exclusively online, with no in-person attendance. Puig used his speech to defend the recent negotiations with Estée Lauder, despite them ending without an agreement. He also reaffirmed the Puig family's commitment to the company and their decision to remain as reference shareholders. Finally, he clarified that the negotiation process with Estée Lauder does not imply that Puig is for sale; in fact, the opposite is true.

“Although these talks did not result in a transaction, they highlighted the strong recognition Puig has achieved in the sector,” stated Marc Puig during his address to the company's shareholders at the meeting. Elaborating on the reasons for the lack of agreement, he added, “the potential combination would have required aligning three key aspects of a possible merger: governance; business leadership; and economic considerations that correctly recognised the company's value and were fair to all stakeholders”.

“In any case, as has been made clear throughout this process, Puig is not for sale,” asserted its executive chairman, a member of the third generation of the founding family leading the Spanish group. “We have always maintained that the family is and will remain a long-term shareholder, and this would have been the case even in the contemplated business combination.” Looking ahead to the company's next chapter, he said, “we have a very exciting long-term project, with very well-positioned brands, a winning team, a very solid balance sheet, and a history of over 110 years that supports us”.

Approval of dividend and renewal of Board of Directors

In addition to the approval of the accounts, financial and non-financial reports, and the authorisation to grant “Class B” shares to executive directors as payment for the variable components of their remuneration, two other key points from Puig's AGM are worth noting. The first, following the agenda's order, concerned the approval and distribution of the dividend. The second related to the renewal of Puig's Board of Directors.

Regarding the first point, in line with the announcement made by Puig's Board of Directors last February during the 2025 results presentation, the AGM has approved a gross dividend of 0.42 euros per share, to be paid from the 2025 profit. This amounts to a total of approximately 617.10 million euros. The board has agreed to allocate 435.54 million euros as available funds, with 198 million euros designated as a voluntary reserve and the remaining 237.47 million euros for this year's dividend payment. This amount aligns with Puig's shareholder remuneration policy of approximately 40 percent of its net profit. The dividend will be paid to shareholders from June 17, with the final date to be eligible for payment being Friday, June 12.

Regarding the renewal of the Board of Directors, the AGM approved the re-election of eight board members: Marc Puig (executive director); Nicolas Mirzayantz (independent director); Daniel Lalonde (independent director); Ángeles García-Poveda Morera (independent director); Jordi Constans Fernández; Ioannis Petrides; Rafael Cerezo Laporta; and Christine Ann Mei (independent director). The appointments of Jose Manuel Albesa as executive director and Julie Van Ongevalle as a new independent director were also approved. Following the resignation of Josep Oliu, it was agreed to set the number of Board of Directors members at 13.

Additionally, among the items discussed at the AGM, the proposals that faced the most opposition from Puig shareholders were the approval of the company's director remuneration policy, with 31.37 million votes against, and the approval of granting Class B shares to executive directors, with 33.65 million votes against. This opposition was notably weak against the majority power held by the Puig family, representing only 1.51 percent and 1.62 percent of the total voting rights, respectively.

Presentation of new strategic plan on October 28

Looking beyond the Annual General Meeting, during which Jose Manuel Albesa made his debut before shareholders as Puig's new chief executive officer, the company reiterated its outlook for 2026. It expects to close the year “growing above the premium beauty market” with a stable adjusted EBITDA margin at the same level as the end of 2025. The company ended 2025 with an adjusted EBITDA of 1.05 billion euros (a 7.8 percent increase) and a margin of 20.7 percent. To reinforce these trends and build further momentum, the company has scheduled the presentation of its new strategic plan for October 28. This will coincide with the eventual celebration of Puig's first “Capital Markets Day”. The event was initially scheduled for April 16 and 17, then moved to April 14, and was ultimately postponed indefinitely following the start of negotiations with Estée Lauder.

“The leadership of this management team gives us the confidence to move further and faster, building Puig with greater scale and agility,” stated Jose Manuel Albesa. He was addressing shareholders about the management changes agreed upon last March, including his own appointment as the new CEO. “Over the last five years, Puig has been the fastest-growing multi-brand premium beauty company in the industry, significantly outperforming the global premium beauty market.” “We are not only growing rapidly, but we are also becoming a more balanced, global, and resilient company.” Building on these strengths after concluding its 2021 to 2025 strategic plan, the company is now preparing for its next phase of growth. To this end, “our teams have worked intensively on defining our new strategic plan,” which “was originally scheduled to be presented during our Capital Markets Day”. He added, “I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience and understanding regarding the event's postponement. I am pleased to confirm that our Capital Markets Day will be held on October 28 in Madrid.”

Regarding the new roadmap, Albesa elaborated, “without revealing too many details that we will save for the Capital Markets Day, I can say that the future involves scaling up what is already working. In short, it means consolidating our three-axis brands; strengthening our leadership in the ‘Niche’ segment; continuing to revolutionise ‘Prestige’ perfumery; and, beyond our core business, positioning ‘Derma’ as a new pillar of growth.” This will all be part of a new strategic plan, which will demonstrate that “we have full confidence in our ability to continue creating value while remaining true to what has always made us unique”.

From this same forward-looking perspective, Marc Puig noted during his speech, “what I see today is a company that is stronger than ever. Above all, I see a company with the confidence, ambition, and values needed to build for future generations.” He added, “as executive chairman, my commitment is to help protect this vision and guide Puig in its next stage, so that future generations inherit an even stronger, more admired, and more relevant company than the one we lead today.”

The Textile ETP Annual Assembly brought together over one hundred professionals from the textile industry at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) last week. Researchers, engineers, innovation managers and technology companies attended the event. It was marked by the challenges of an industry seeking to redefine its future amidst regulatory pressure, digitalisation and growing concerns about the sector's competitiveness.

Among the presentations and debates dedicated to the digital transformation of the European textile and apparel industry, one concept emerged as the central theme of the meeting: data. It was present in almost every speech. Data appeared not only as a technological tool but as the sector's new strategic raw material; a common language and the invisible infrastructure upon which a new industrial architecture is being built.

With different nuances, the message was repeated throughout the two-day event: under the idea of share and conquer, sharing to advance. The premise is as simple as it is ambitious. Only an industry capable of exchanging information in a structured way can build a truly competitive and sustainable long-term model.

System built on excess

For Lutz Walter, secretary general of Textile ETP, digitalisation cannot be understood solely as a lever for efficiency. In his view, it represents an opportunity to correct some of the structural inefficiencies of a model that for decades has been producing more than the market can absorb.

Every year, between 150 and 166 billion garments are produced worldwide, equivalent to about 20 pieces per person. However, only 30 to 40 percent are sold at full price. Another 30 percent end up in promotions and discounts, while up to 10 percent never find an end consumer.

The presentation by Ahmed Zaidi of Huubland Technologies offered a complementary perspective. He warned of the risk that the industry is focusing its efforts on optimising a model that is fundamentally broken. “The problem is that we are adding artificial intelligence to broken systems, without changing the system”.

The ultra-fast fashion company Shein is rarely used as an example in the fashion industry. However, in the context of Textile ETP, it appeared on several occasions as a case study for a very specific reason. It exemplifies what happens when a supply chain operates constantly fed by shared information, working on real-time data streams.

Zaidi argued that the competitive advantage of this model lies not only in speed or technology but in the continuous exchange of information between all links in the supply chain. This is something much more complex to replicate in Europe. The result is reduced production times; flexible factories; reactive systems; and immediate access to demand data. This allows for more precise production adjustments and a move towards on-demand models. However, this format has only worked in China; they themselves tried to clone it in Brazil without success.

The main obstacle, however, remains cultural. Many brands continue to view data as an asset to be protected even from their own suppliers. This attitude limits collaboration and hinders the construction of truly agile supply chains.

Data spaces

The key is to share the right information, at the right level of complexity, in a controlled environment.

This was explained by Dena Arabsolgar of Syxis Innovation Hub. She presented European data spaces as an architecture designed to facilitate the secure and governed exchange of information throughout the value chain, without companies losing control over their own data. Each organisation retains its own systems and information bases, while a network of connectors allows everyone to communicate with each other without needing to centralise the data in a single location.

The gap between the discourse on digitalisation and the reality of many factories was made clear in the presentation by Gilberto Loureiro, co-founder of Smartex, based on his experience in Asia. Many processes still rely on manual fabric inspections. “When you visit a textile factory in Asia, where almost 85 percent of the world's textiles are produced, you travel twenty years into the past,” Loureiro summarised.

“Inefficiency has become the norm.” In many factories, data is still recorded with pen and paper. It is difficult to imagine truly agile supply chains or future tools like the digital product passport if the technological reality at the source of the chain is ignored. Looking the other way would be, as Zaidi said, “putting a supersonic AI rocket on a horse-drawn carriage”.

In response, Smartex has developed defect detection systems using cameras installed directly on circular knitting machines. The technology identifies manufacturing errors in real time, automatically stops production and prevents defects from spreading throughout an entire run. Loureiro also presented a QR code technology capable of withstanding industrial dyeing processes, which can facilitate supply chain tracking from the raw material itself. However, the market reception was limited, despite its minimal added cost of just one cent per kilogram. This highlights the ongoing difficulties many innovations face in achieving widespread adoption in the sector.

The technology, therefore, already exists; what is still lacking is the collective will to adopt it. He, like many other speakers, argues that as long as legislation does not drive progress, many of these solutions will continue to lack the necessary attention, even though they already anticipate and shape the future of the industry.

Structural barriers

Lutz Walter's diagnosis identified several persistent obstacles to the sector's digital transformation: a lack of interoperability between systems; the limited capacity of SMEs to invest in digitalisation; the uneven quality of available data; a cultural resistance to making information-based decisions; and a disconnect between European machinery manufacturers and the real needs of production.

To this list, Mario Jorge Machado, president of Euratex, added a decisive factor: structural cost disadvantages that erode European competitiveness. These include higher labour costs; environmental regulatory requirements; and rising energy prices, including the European Emissions Trading System, which adds around 40 euros per tonne of CO₂. A systematically higher cost of capital than in markets like China or the US is also particularly relevant.

“Europe is losing industry at a rate of around -4 percent per year,” warned Machado. “In ten years, we will have -40 percent less industry.” In this context, the Antwerp industrial summit, held two months ago with the president of the European Commission and several heads of state in attendance, was cited as a political turning point. For the first time in decades, industry is once again a priority on the agenda.

Circularity with an incomplete equation

Much of the conference was framed by the weight of incoming European legislation, a cross-cutting theme on the agenda. The sessions on the ESPR, the DPP, the AI Act and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks underlined a shared idea: without structured information management, their effective implementation is impossible.

David Schoenwerth, policy officer at the European Commission's DG CONNECT, outlined Brussels' ambition to position Europe as an “AI continent”. This is supported by a Data Union Strategy designed to address three structural challenges: the scarcity of training data for AI systems; regulatory complexity; and the new geopolitical dynamics around digital sovereignty. Between 2021 and 2024, the Commission channelled 336 million euros into the deployment of data spaces, with an additional 100 million planned for later phases.

However, the contrast between the regulatory architecture and the industry's actual implementation capacity re-emerged in several presentations. Eugenio Alessandro Canepa of the Piacenza Group noted that the European framework still lacks clear operational guidance, particularly regarding responsibility for data capture and management along the value chain. Joffrey Delfgaauw, head of innovation at O’Neill Europe, summed it up pragmatically: “We talk about getting the data, but sometimes it simply doesn't exist.” In parallel, companies like Schijvens, represented by its CEO Jaap Rijnsdorp, are already developing internal traceability systems to bring production and the end-user closer together.

Workforce of the future

The gap is not only technological but also generational. Anne Schwarz-Pfeiffer, a researcher in smart textiles, pointed out that traditional academic cycles are too slow for an industry where knowledge in digitalisation and artificial intelligence is updated in just two or three years. “The problem is no longer what we teach, but how quickly we are able to adapt it”.

From the Fashion and Textile Innovation Lab+ at HOGENT University, Aleksandra Delac presented the Skills for Circularity project. This is a consortium of 23 partners in 12 countries that analysed over 300 job offers, nearly 200 company surveys and multiple industry interviews. The study points to a growing demand for hybrid profiles capable of combining textile knowledge with skills in data, sustainability and regulation. The biggest gap identified by companies is not technical but interpretative: translating regulatory complexity into real operational processes. The first edition of the training programme has already been launched and has a waiting list.

Decisive decade

Walter closed the conference with four possible scenarios for the European textile industry in 2035, built around two variables: where value is generated and where production is concentrated. The most favourable scenario, the “Digital Renaissance,” envisions a specialised, competitive European industry supported by highly digitalised regional value chains. A second model, the “European Mediterranean Digital Belt,” proposes production distributed between Europe and neighbouring countries, connected by shared information infrastructures.

The other two scenarios describe less optimistic trajectories: a progressive outsourcing of manufacturing to Asia or, at the extreme, a structural loss of industrial and technological capacity on the continent.

“The future is not written,” Walter recalled. “But the decisions are being made now, and they will define the next decade.” This idea summarises the spirit of the meeting: digital transformation is no longer seen as an isolated technological project, but as the factor that will determine industrial survival, investment attraction and regulatory adaptability.

The next Textile ETP annual conference will be held in France, maintaining the itinerant format that each year moves the debate to a different industrial ecosystem to connect with local players.

Paris - Amazon plans to invest more than 15 billion euros (17.49 billion dollars) in France over three years. The company announced on Monday "three new logistics sites" intended to create 1,000 permanent jobs. These will be in addition to the more than 7,000 already promised by the company in early May.

"Amazon is strengthening its presence (...) (in France) with three new logistics sites in Pays de la Loire, Ile-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine," the e-commerce giant announced in a statement during the annual Choose France summit, organised by the Elysée Palace to attract foreign investment.

When contacted by AFP, Amazon specified that this would include one distribution centre and two delivery depots.

"These new investments reflect our confidence in the economic potential of the regions," said Jean-Baptiste Thomas, general manager of Amazon in France, as quoted in the statement.

"With the distribution centre planned for late 2027 in Ensisheim, Alsace, these four sites represent more than 400 million euros in investment and more than 3,000 permanent jobs," the company stated in its press release. These sites are part of the investment plan announced by Amazon in early May. This is its largest investment in France to date, totalling more than 15 billion euros by 2028. The company added that this will bring "the number of jobs created by the company to more than 8,000."

These job creations "will begin from 2026, with the upcoming opening of three distribution centres" in Illiers-Combray (Eure-et-Loir), Beauvais (Oise) and Colombier-Saugnieu (Rhône), the logistics company highlighted in early May.

The plan also includes developing cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities and consolidating the existing network. "Between 2019 and 2025, we opened two warehouses. In 2026, we are opening three, then two next year," summarised Thomas, general manager of Amazon in France, in an interview with Ouest-France on Monday.

Founded in 1994, the US giant established its presence in France in 2000. It was the third country it launched in outside the US, following Germany and the UK.

Facing competition from Asian platforms in recent years, the group claims to have invested "more than 30 billion euros in the French economy" since 2010. It also claims to have "more than 25,000 permanent employees spread across more than 35 sites."

US footwear group Genesco reported a 3 percent increase in net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, reaching 487 million dollars compared to 474 million dollars in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

The revenue increase was driven by a 2 percent rise in comparable sales, including a 3 percent gain in same store sales, which helped offset the impact of net store closures. Performance across the brand portfolio was mixed, led by a 6 percent increase at Johnston & Murphy, a 5 percent gain at Journeys and a 4 percent increase at Genesco Brands. Conversely, sales at Schuh declined by 5 percent, or 9 percent on a constant currency basis.

Gross margin for the quarter improved by 30 basis points to 47 percent of sales, up from 46.7 percent in the previous year.

Outlook raised following positive start

The group recorded a GAAP operating loss of 15.4 million dollars, narrowing from a loss of 28.1 million dollars in the same period last year. Adjusted operating loss was 23.9 million dollars compared to 27.9 million dollars in fiscal 2026, representing an adjusted operating margin loss of 4.9 percent of sales. GAAP loss from continuing operations was 14.8 million dollars, while adjusted loss from continuing operations stood at 22.7 million dollars, or 2.18 dollars per share.

During the quarter, the company opened two stores and closed 30 locations, ending the period with 1,208 stores. Genesco did not repurchase shares during the quarter and retains 29.8 million dollars under its authorized repurchase programme.

Following the first quarter performance, Genesco board chair, president and chief executive officer Mimi Vaughn expressed confidence in the company's strategic initiatives. Based on the results, the group raised its full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share outlook to a range of 2 dollars to 2.40 dollars, up from the previous guidance of 1.90 dollars to 2.30 dollars. Total sales for the full year are still expected to be down 1 percent to flat, while YoY comparable sales are projected to increase between 1 percent and 2 percent.

The German government-funded future project, “Textile Factory 7.0” (T7), launched almost a year ago. It is a collaboration between the University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) and other stakeholders from research, business and local authorities. The ambitious goals were announced in July 2025 already: Production and business processes are set to become digital; robotics will be introduced and production will become circular.

Supply chains will also be made resilient, while the shortage of skilled workers and the need for an adequate energy supply will be addressed. In other words, the aim is CO2-neutral, circular and economically viable textile production in Mönchengladbach, a central location between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border that has textile production in its DNA.

Over a period of ten years, the HSNR will receive a total of 25 million euros in funding from the German government. Different institutes, universities and local associations are involved as project partners and have already founded a joint company, the T7 Management GmbH, to manage and structure the project after the funding period ends.

The project officially started in October 2025 and focuses on four core modules: On-Demand Manufacturing, MicroFactory Engineering, Digital Textiles and Biosphere. Workshops were held with various representatives of the textile industry at the official kick-off on 19th March 2026 on site, at business park Monforts Quarter.

Industry insiders shared their needs and wishlists so that these could be considered during planning and implementation and to find sustainable and economical solutions jointly. The project is now entering its operational phase. This means that the currently empty factory hall will be filled with most of the required machinery over the course of the year.

In the future, the creation of 3,000 jobs is planned in conjunction with a proposed industrial park. What specific knowledge and skills should potential employees possess? How will the integration of automation and human labour function? Where will artificial intelligence be used? FashionUnited discussed these and other interesting questions with Prof. Dr. Maike Rabe, who as head of HSNR's Research Institute for Textiles and Clothing is also in charge of the Textile Factory 7.0.

To begin: What is the current status of the project?

The project officially started in October 2025, and our “Technology Centre” at Textile Factory 7.0 is open since 1st January 2026. It consists of an area of approximately 2,000 square metres at Monforts Quarter in Mönchengladbach. This is an old industrial building that is now undergoing innovative reuse as part of the project. This is the first unique feature: moving away from new construction and soil sealing, and towards sustainable industry with its own power supply.

This is the site of the former C&A FIT jeans factory in Mönchengladbach, which had to close at the beginning of last year.

Textile Factory 7.0 is an independent project and not a continuation of the C&A FIT jeans factory. The Monforts Quarter was chosen as a historically significant location. As a former centre of textile machinery production, it is closely linked to Mönchengladbach's industrial textile history. The project's aim is to find CO2-neutral, circular economy solutions. This was also a factor in the choice of location, which is why an existing factory hall was deliberately selected and will be upgraded accordingly. Most of the machinery is scheduled to be procured by the end of this year and fully installed in 2027.

Up to 3,000 new jobs are planned. Could you elaborate on how these will be distributed across the various project phases and areas?

An industrial park is planned in addition to the technology centre at Monforts Quarter. It will have its own energy supply, optimal connectivity and digitalisation, and will use sustainable raw materials. A development team will continue to support and advise companies not located in the industrial park, carrying out application-oriented developments for them.

The industrial park is currently still in the planning phase. This is where the 3,000 new jobs will be created. The findings from the emerging Textile Factory 7.0 technology centre will be used to realise this industrial park. It will also continue to exist in the future to create new applications with the industry and strengthen the location's competitiveness. Around 50 jobs will be created in the technology centre itself.  

What specific knowledge and skills should employees have? Are entirely new job profiles emerging?

The project is developing solutions for the megatrends of defossilisation, robotics, automation, AI and biotechnology. The T7 team is already qualified to combine knowledge of textile and clothing technology with the ability to handle cross-disciplinary topics. In the future, people with interdisciplinary training will be needed. The traditional engineering profession will change; knowledge of AI, programming, robotics control and microbiology will be required.

Is this development also taken into account in training and further education modules?

The Textilakademie NRW is also a project partner, so there is a close exchange with vocational training, where the new job profiles can be applied in the future. Passing on the knowledge gained is also part of Textile Factory 7.0. The “Academy” module plans to transfer this knowledge into practice through workshops and training courses.  

How will you ensure that the workforce perceives increasing automation as a support rather than a threat?

The goal is high value creation through excellence in work. Demographic change, in particular, necessitates the use of robotics and automation to maintain economic output and thus jobs, even if certain manual tasks can no longer be performed. This will require qualifications so that employees can control the complex machines and monitor quality. Here, too, the “Academy” module is of central importance. Through early communication about the project, it will ensure that technological developments are perceived as progress and not as a threat.  

Regarding technology and digitalisation: in which specific process steps is artificial intelligence already being used productively?

Artificial intelligence will be used primarily in production planning, quality assurance and process optimisation. This includes AI-supported planning tools for micro-factory layouts, machine-vision systems for real-time fault detection and intelligent assistance systems for employees. The aim is to make production processes more flexible, efficient and data-driven, especially for small batch sizes and on-demand manufacturing. AI is also playing an increasingly important role in design, which we will not neglect in the project.  

Does the project use an open data format for the digital twin of textiles, allowing information to flow seamlessly between different stakeholders in the value chain?

Our aim is to connect the physical and digital worlds. We will cooperate with our partners on this to find the most practical solutions possible. The Textile Factory does not conduct basic research but rather tries to transfer good ideas from research into practice. What we consider suitable will be passed on through the academy to create the easiest possible access to the information.  

What does the energy concept for the planned T7 industrial park look like? Is the aim to cover production entirely with local renewable energy sources?

In the T7 technology centre, we are focusing on the electrification of heat processes, such as heat pumps for high-temperature processes, generating electricity from solar and wind energy and, of course, energy efficiency. In our technical centre, all systems and processes are controlled so that energy requirements can be recorded in real time and matched with the energy provided. This opens up new possibilities for industrial processes.

The T7 industrial park will, of course, be powered entirely by renewable energy. The specific implementation is part of our planning work. Our goal is for the T7 park to have its own energy concept, making it independent of large suppliers.  

What about competitiveness? How will the T7 concept compensate for Germany's high energy and ancillary wage costs, so that on-demand manufacturing can compete on price with imports from low-wage countries?

We assume that regulations in the European Union will change the conditions in the textile industry. The global, highly distorted supply chain will be transformed, at least in part, into a value-added cycle. This is precisely where technological and qualitative offerings are needed. On-demand with digital concepts, but without long delivery routes by air and social disruption, would be a step forward.

Society is currently flooded with a kind of “push demand”. Even if Chinese direct sales are presented as innovative and needs-based, they are in no way so. We will use automation to help keep production costs low in order to provide European solutions. The developed recycling processes and green fibre production will also help to save costs and simultaneously become more independent of international supply chains, creating a competitive advantage.

As part of science communication, consumers must also be reached to encourage more sustainable consumption and achieve a higher willingness to pay. The Textile Factory focuses not only on clothing but also on technical textiles, for example. These are not in direct competition with imports from low-wage countries, but their competitive conditions are to be strengthened through new production methods.  

How is the topic of recycling being addressed? Are there binding guidelines for material blends in the “Biosphere” module to ensure that the textiles produced can be recycled as a single material at the end of their life cycle?

Binding guidelines are not planned; we see ourselves as enablers, not preventers. The “Biosphere” module will recycle mixed materials and investigate various blend ratios. Based on these findings, recommendations can then be made for optimal material compositions with regard to recycling possibilities. At the same time, we are working to increase recyclability and the proportion of recycled fibres through technical and qualitative improvements. Legislative demands can only be met with limitations according to the current state of technology.  

What about market access and scaling? Are the micro-factory modules developed in the real-world laboratory already standardised enough for a medium-sized company to integrate them into its existing processes as a “plug-and-play” solution?

Plug-and-play is a good question – we should answer with plug-and-knit/weave/dye. Micro-factory concepts for fabric production and dyeing are already quite advanced, and we are building on that. We must also move away from conventional processes: away from piece goods and towards moulded parts.

What is the first, smallest step a traditional textile company can take today to become part of the 7.0 world? How does one get in touch?

Manufacturers and retailers can contact the development team directly by email with a brief description of the topic and their contact details: t7-factory@hs-niederrhein.de. The next step is to classify the request into one of the working areas of Textile Factory 7.0.

At present, we can address issues related to the project's objectives. Scientists are already on site to take on these tasks. These individuals are also setting up the technology centre. The project team selects and prioritises the topics.

What specific offers and forms of cooperation are available for interested companies?

The services offered include research, consulting, the planning of trials and, where appropriate, the execution of trials, up to the development of demonstrators or a maximum of a small series. The terms are discussed on a case-by-case basis. Textile Factory 7.0 is not conceptualised to manufacture products Therefore, there is no competitive situation. On the contrary, the focus is on supporting companies from industry and retail.  

As part of T7, are you working on a counterfeit-proof digital product passport that guarantees the sustainability of production to end consumers?

Not at the moment, but we are developing approaches to link product data, for example for digital product passports, with production data for end-to-end traceability. We first want to ensure that reliable data can be found in the DPP; this starts with a realistic ecological footprint.  

Last but not least: are there plans to transfer the findings from the Monforts Quarter to other textile clusters in Germany, such as the Swabian Alb or Saxony?

Yes, the findings should be transferable to other textile clusters. A transfer to other industries is also planned. For example, the findings gained in the area of microplastics are not only relevant in the textile context. Another field of application could be microplastics in connection with tyre abrasion. In summary: We are inventing Industry 7.0 in Mönchengladbach and thus the industry of the future. This vision needs to be propagated.

The interview was conducted in written format.

The UK government has introduced new guidance aimed at helping consumers safely shop second-hand fashion online, following a rise in counterfeit goods circulating across resale platforms.

Published by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the guidance is part of a wider campaign developed alongside online marketplaces including Vinted, and responds to growing concerns around organised counterfeit operations targeting the resale market.

New IPO figures show one in four UK second-hand fashion shoppers unknowingly purchased counterfeit items online in the past year. Nearly 60 percent reported negative experiences, including poor quality products, refund disputes and rapid deterioration, while 14 percent said the experience put them off shopping pre-loved as a whole.

The government said younger consumers are particularly exposed, with almost half of 18 to 24 year olds reporting encounters with counterfeit designer goods on resale platforms.

The guidance's launch follows a series of notable enforcement actions enacted across the UK. In March, Trading Standards seized more than three million pounds worth of counterfeit luxury goods from storage facilities in Bury, while another police operation in Rotherham uncovered over 1.1 million pounds worth of fake clothing and trainers, alongside suspected stolen goods valued at a further one million pounds.

In a statement, minister for online safety and intellectual property Kanishka Narayan said: “The UK’s pre-loved fashion trade is a booming market that’s good for bargain hunters and for the environment. That’s why we’re acting to help shoppers browse with confidence, and spot counterfeits before it’s too late.”

Consumer prices (April)

UK headline CPI eased to +2.8 percent year-on-year in April 2026 per the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from plus 3.3 percent in March — the lowest reading since March 2025 and a 50 basis-point single-month moderation. The Bank of England targets headline CPI at 2 percent, so April sits 80 basis points above target but has moved sharply closer. Core CPI, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, eased to +2.5 percent from +3.1 percent.

Fashion prices flipped from deflation to inflation. Clothing and footwear rose plus 0.7 percent year-on-year in April, up from minus 0.8 percent in March — a 1.5-percentage-point reversal and the first positive print since February. Even so, clothing and footwear is rising well below the headline rate, keeping apparel a relative bargain for cost-conscious shoppers.

Retail sector (April)

UK clothing retail weakened in April on the ONS Retail Sales Index. Clothing and footwear store volumes fell 2.4 percent over the month to their lowest level since June 2025, leaving the volume index flat year-on-year (98.3) even as the value index rose plus 1.5 percent — the value-volume gap confirms that what revenue exists comes from higher prices, not more items sold. The three-month-on-three-month volume trend was minus 1.0 percent, extending a loss of momentum after firmer March readings (volume plus 2.2 percent, value plus 2.7 percent year-on-year).

Online held its place in the fashion channel mix. The online share of clothing and footwear retail was 29.3 percent in April, down from 30.0 percent in March, with the internet clothing value index easing to 108.5 from 113.8. The month-on-month volume drop alongside positive value growth echoes the CPI signal — prices firming while units fall.

Monetary policy and currency

The Bank of England (BoE) held the Bank Rate at 3.75 percent through April, unchanged all year. The pound weakened slightly against the euro — GBP/EUR averaged 0.8693 in April versus 0.8663 in March, a 0.35 percent move — while the euro itself strengthened 1.28 percent against the US dollar. With sterling near 1.35 dollars, landed costs for UK fashion importers sourcing US dollar-invoiced Asia were broadly stable month-on-month.

What it means for fashion

The UK's April story is clean disinflation, with fashion prices turning up while fashion volumes stay soft. Headline CPI at 2.8 percent is the lowest since March 2025, easing the cost-of-living squeeze on real incomes, while clothing and footwear inflation flipped to plus 0.7 percent after months of deflation.

For Marks & Spencer, Next, Primark, John Lewis and the substantial UK networks of Inditex and H&M, the read is mixed. Disinflation supports consumer spending power, but clothing volumes fell 2.4 percent on the month to their lowest since June 2025 — with the three-month trend at minus 1.0 percent — so the revenue that exists is price-led rather than demand-led.

Headline inflation below 3 percent gives the Bank of England more policy headroom. The modest sterling-euro move and broadly steady cross-rates leave import costs roughly neutral.

Note: this article combines the most recent official data available at the time of writing. Reporting lags differ by indicator and country, so not all figures refer to the same month. Each data point is labelled with its reference period.

Ebay has named textile sorting technology company Trosort as the global winner of its 2026 Circular Fashion Fund, honouring the business for its AI-powered approach to improving secondhand clothing operations and textile recovery systems.

Selected from eight finalists across the UK, EU, US and Australia, Trosort was recognised for tackling scalable textile sorting infrastructure, a key circularity challenge for fashion. As part of the award, the company will have the opportunity to receive a 300,000 dollar investment from Ebay Ventures.

The Belgium-based startup develops semi-automated sorting systems designed to digitise textile processing and improve garment recirculation through reuse, repair, upcycling and recycling channels.

Now in its fourth year, Ebay's Circular Fashion Fund supports early-stage businesses focused on resale, repair, recycling, authentication and textile recovery technologies. Since launching in 2022, the initiative has supported more than 30 businesses globally, with total investment expected to reach 1.9 million dollars by the end of 2026.

“We’re honoured to receive this recognition from Ebay's Circular Fashion Fund,” said Achille Mathot, co-founder and chief executive of Trosort. “Textile sorting remains one of the fashion industry’s biggest infrastructure challenges, and we believe smarter, AI-powered systems can help unlock greater efficiency, transparency and garment recirculation at scale.”

Other finalists included Circular Sourcing, Ragpiq, Silhouet, Refabric, TRUSS, eComID and It Goes Forward.

Global media company Condé Nast settled an ongoing labor dispute, reaching a 400,000 US dollar settlement with three former employees, who were fired last year after a confrontation with the company’s head of human resources.

The three employees, including Jasper Lo, a New Yorker fact-checker, Alma Avalle, a Bon Appétit writer and producer, and Ben Dewey, a Condé Nast Entertainment videographer, were also reinstated at Condé Nast, but chose to resign rather than return to work, according to a statement from NewsGuild of New York, a union for news professionals. A fourth employee, Wired senior writer Jake Lahut, declined a lesser settlement offer and decided to continue his legal battle against Condé Nast.

The four unionized Condé Nast employees were fired last November, and another five were suspended, after taking part in a “march on the boss” movement the previous November. The employees reportedly wanted information regarding abrupt layoffs at several of Condé Nast’s brands, including Wired, and consolidation at Teen Vogue. The employees went to Condé Nast’s headquarters to speak to executives inside. 

The Wrap posted a video online of an interaction between the employees and Stan Duncan, chief people officer, which showed Duncan telling the employees that they could not gather outside his office and must return to work. 

Following the dismissal of the four employees and the suspension of the other five, the union immediately filed grievances, as well as Unfair Labor Practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). “We fought because we had to, because so much of an equitable future as workers and journalists depends on our combined efforts to resist inhumane treatment,” said Jasper Lo, formerly a senior fact checker at The New Yorker, in a statement from the NewsGuild. 

“There is no reason for us to feel disempowered by companies and work in the fear that they create. Not only can we stand up for what’s right, but we can also set the tone for what is acceptable in a workplace,” he added. In addition to the settlements, the five suspended workers have been awarded back pay for each day of their suspension and cleared of all wrongdoing on their disciplinary records, said the union. 

The union alleged that Condé Nast had acted unlawfully, contravened the “just cause” provisions outlined in employees' union contracts, and breached federal labour law in the process. “Our fight as a union is about more than a single contract; it is about ensuring workers’ rights to a just workplace,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, in a statement. 

“When employers attempt to undermine our rights, we will organize, fight back, and hold them accountable. This settlement sends a forceful message: workers united in solidarity have the power to push back against bully union-busting bosses and demand their workplaces be governed by respect rather than fear.”

London-based Goldfinch Agency is set to unveil the next phase of Von Dutch’s European expansion at Pitti Uomo this June, using the Florence trade show to introduce the brand’s new SS27 footwear collection alongside a preview of a developing women’s ready-to-wear line.

The launch marks a broader push to reposition Von Dutch beyond its trucker-cap heritage and into a more comprehensive lifestyle brand spanning footwear, apparel and accessories across the UK and Europe.

Goldfinch, which holds the men’s and women’s footwear licence for Von Dutch in the region, said the expansion builds on strong retail momentum in the UK. The brand’s retail footprint has reportedly grown from a five-store trial to around 300 stores in the past 12 months, while quarterly cap orders have increased from 400 units to 40,000.

Alongside the footwear launch, Goldfinch is also developing a women’s ready-to-wear collection with European apparel specialist Textiss, targeting selected European markets including Spain, Benelux, Scandinavia and Greece.

“Von Dutch has always had that rare thing - instant recognition and real attitude,” said Matthew Broughton, managing director of Goldfinch Agency. “The opportunity now is to take that energy and build the right product architecture for today’s market. Our success with Von Dutch in the UK has shown what is possible when product, retail and timing align.”

Broughton added that SS27 represents the next stage of turning Von Dutch into “a fuller lifestyle proposition” through footwear and women’s apparel partnerships.

Michelle Cameron, the founder of Indigenous Nations Apparel Company (INAC), claims that the ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein has copied 20 of her company’s designs, including the product imagery, to sell copycat products.

A member of the Peguis First Nation, Cameron founded her brand close to six years ago in Winnipeg, selling Indigenous streetwear at markets and conferences. According to media reports from CBC, WWD and Winnipeg CityNews, Cameron was first made aware of the copycat designs last week, when customers visiting the INAC store in Polo Park shopping center alerted her.

She immediately contacted Shein regarding the design breach, and reportedly received a response from the Chinese company a few days later, a link where she could file a complaint online. The INAC copycat designs have since been removed from Shein’s website, and the Chinese company has started its own investigation according to WWD. A Shein spokesperson said that “the products in question were being sold on Shein Marketplace by third-party sellers,” and added that sellers are required to “comply with company policy and certify that their products do not infringe third-party intellectual property.”

Cameron has yet to hear back from representatives from Shein and is reportedly looking into taking legal action, as she looks to spread awareness regarding Shein’s copying of her designs. As INAC is built around supporting Indigenous creators and community organisations, the most difficult aspect of the Shein situation for Cameron has been the price undercutting, with the fast-fashion platform selling their copycat designs at half of INAC's price.

The founder of INAC also alleged that Shein used their website imagery to sell its copycat designs, including a photograph of her own daughter modelling INAC products. One of the designs Shein is said to have copied was a shirt from INAC's Red Day Dress collection, which was designed to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit People. Red Dress Day is observed annually on 5 May. Another reportedly copied design features INAC's company name and the date it was founded. 

The dispute with Shein is not the first time that INAC has faced copycats, as the company recently discovered a seller on Amazon selling knockoffs of its designs. The online marketplace immediately removed the item in question for sale after receiving a cease-and-desist letter.

Shein has been frequently in the news these past few months for a myriad of reasons, from concerns about how it handles its EU customer data to accusations regarding the sale of contaminated products in the EU and US, selling childlike sex dolls, and a copyright trial with Temu in the UK over copyright infringement on an “industrial scale.”

FashionUnited had reached out to Shein for further commentary on the accusations.

This Thursday, the platforms Vestiaire Collective and Zalando announced a partnership that pushes the boundaries of the resale market. By partnering with a powerful e-commerce player, capable of selling pre-loved items in 14 European markets to millions of visitors, Vestiaire Collective is ushering second-hand fashion into a new era: that of the 'new new' and virtual mega-malls.

What is the 'new new'?

Coined by Maurane Nait Mazi, an expert in the second-hand fashion sector, the 'new new' is the perfect phrase to describe the shift of the second-hand clothing market into a commercial space very similar to that of new items.

This 'new new' market is being driven by partnerships between online resale specialists and powerful e-commerce platforms. Whether it is the collaboration between Vestiaire Collective and Zalando or the earlier one between Luxclusif and Farfetch, the result is the same. It leads to a commercial service and presentation of a pre-loved garment almost identical to that of a new piece. This means that thanks to these business-to-business (B2B) agreements, consumers can now switch from the product page of a new bag to that of a pre-loved one without even noticing the difference.

This consumer shift between new and second-hand did not wait for a polished presentation and a service modelled on new retail to happen. Recently, the platform Vinted indicated that by 2025, 88 percent of its members consult listings posted by individuals on Vinted before considering the purchase of a new item. These listings are often composed of amateur photos and brief descriptions. This behaviour sends a strong signal: new items seem to be becoming 'Plan B', while second-hand takes its place.

The unified ecosystem offered by Zalando or Farfetch is a response to this new consumption pattern. It erases the visual and logistical boundary so that customers can compare and buy new or pre-loved items interchangeably, without ever leaving the platform.

This dynamic is confirmed by industry players like Aurélie Baranes, co-founder of Jaiio, a company that already integrates its second-hand offering on platforms such as Place des Tendances and La Redoute. Contacted by email, the director states that Zalando's announcement is “not a revolution, but a very strong signal”. It proves that second-hand has moved out of its niche market to become a natural part of the overall shopping journey. “Customers no longer think in terms of new versus second-hand,” she explains. “They are primarily looking for the right piece, at the right price, with the right level of trust and service.” According to her, this collaboration is therefore excellent news for the sector. The more visibility and ease of access second-hand gains, the more it becomes a natural choice for a wider audience.

Virtual mega-malls

In 2026, the second-hand market remains fragmented, although it is dominated by Vinted in France. In a few years, however, the landscape could well be restructured around the super-platforms represented by Zalando or Amazon.

Regarding its partnership with Vestiaire Collective, Zalando writes on its website: “This partnership opens up the ‘Pre-owned’ category to Zalando's partner programme for the first time, marking Zalando's transition from a retailer to a retail enabler.” The company continues: “By offering a comprehensive e-commerce ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle across Europe, Zalando is opening up new opportunities for both its partners and customers, now also in the pre-owned space.”

Zalando, like some of its competitors, is now a technological and logistical infrastructure that other companies rely on to sell their own products. This evolution can be compared to that of Amazon, which has grown from a simple bookseller into the global infrastructure we know today. This is what the German company calls a retail enabler, and it is what makes it a kind of virtual mega-mall.

It is precisely this industrial power that solves the biggest nightmare of second-hand retail: the puzzle of the 'unique SKU' (Stock Keeping Unit). Unlike new items, where a single identification code refers to thousands of identical products, the pre-loved market requires managing millions of unique pieces, each with its own size, wear, and colour. Only the ultra-robotised supply chains and algorithms of these internet giants are capable of handling such complexity on a large scale. These online shopping centres therefore seem to be the inevitable launchpad the resale market will need to surpass the 393 billion dollars mark by 2030, according to ThredUp's forecasts.

UK fashion sales rebounded sharply in the latest week, with an early-season heatwave driving renewed demand across both physical and online channels, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker. Total fashion like-for-like (LFL) sales rose +4.59%, against a negative base of -1.14% for the same week last year.

Store fashion led the recovery in a notable reversal from the prior week's -4.90% decline. In-store fashion sales grew +6.00%, comfortably ahead of the -2.44% recorded in the comparable week last year. The performance also outpaced total fashion growth, indicating physical retail did the heavy lifting in the category. Non-store fashion continued its run of growth, rising +12.08%. The figure represents real channel momentum rather than a soft base effect: last year's comparable week was already positive at +3.42%, making this one of the more meaningful online fashion results of the recent run.

The wider retail picture was equally strong. Total LFL sales increased +5.19% from a -0.84% base, with all three retail categories — lifestyle, fashion, and homewares — in growth. Total store LFL sales rose +5.36% and total non-store LFL sales gained +11.54%, both off comparatively soft year-ago bases.

Footfall data tells a different story. Springboard reported overall footfall dipped -0.3%, with shopping centres down -1.2% and high streets down -0.6%, while retail parks rose +1.3%. The disconnect between flat-to-negative footfall and strongly positive store sales suggests fewer shoppers spent more per visit, a pattern often associated with sharp weather-driven demand spikes.

Temperatures shifted from cool spring conditions to an early-season heatwave during the week, with highs exceeding 34 degrees Celsius in parts of the UK — conditions well-suited to driving demand for spring/summer fashion ranges.

Danish fashion brand Ganni has published its 2025 Responsibility Report, which concludes its Gameplan 2.0 (2023–2025) sustainability strategy and introduces Gameplan 3.0, the new framework that will guide its environmental and social commitments until 2028.

The document outlines unmet goals, structural barriers yet to be resolved and a recalibration of targets in a context that the company itself describes as a widespread “silent retreat” from sustainability promises in the sector.

Emissions reduction, with Scope 3 as the main challenge

In 2025, Ganni reduced its absolute carbon emissions by 32 percent compared to 2021, the baseline year. The total was 25,065 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, down from the initial 37,036 tonnes. This consolidates a downward trend after the increase recorded the previous year.

The main challenge remains concentrated in Scope 3, which accounts for 98 percent of the total footprint. More than two-thirds of these emissions come directly from products, influenced by materials and manufacturing processes, while transport from suppliers adds an additional 13.5 percent.

The company attributes this reduction to a combination of several factors. These include a greater use of lower-impact materials; a slight decrease in production volumes compared to 2024; and the expansion of carbon insetting projects. This approach involves co-financing renewable energy facilities with suppliers within the supply chain itself.

The report, however, acknowledges a significant failure in this area. The goal of integrating seven suppliers into the programme was not met, with only four in Portugal and Italy participating. Ganni cites supply chain volatility, the geopolitical context and the structural demands of the model as reasons. The model requires production stability and supplier ownership of facilities.

Materials, the core of decarbonisation

The materials strategy continues to be the main lever for reduction within Scope 3. Through its internal Fabric Score system, Ganni classifies fabrics into three categories based on their environmental impact. The aim is to progressively shift its purchasing towards lower-footprint options.

In 2025, 85 percent of materials were already in the Preferred category. The mix is primarily composed of plant-based fibres (47 percent), followed by synthetics (26 percent) and animal-based fibres (20 percent). This reflects an advanced but still incomplete transition. Materials like cotton and polyester are still present, although increasingly in recycled or certified versions.

The company maintains its goal of reaching 100 percent Preferred materials by 2028. This commitment aligns with the goal validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, which sets a 50 percent reduction in absolute emissions by 2031 compared to 2021, following a methodological review that adjusted some intermediate milestones.

This progress coexists with a slower evolution of experimental materials. The so-called Fabrics of the Future, developed from waste or alternative processes such as olive oil residues, recycled leather or chemically recycled cotton, reached 4 percent of the total. This is up from 3 percent the previous year but still far from the 10 percent target for 2028. The report identifies their cost, limited industrial adoption and scaling difficulties as the main barriers.

The document also incorporates biodiversity as an emerging strategic line for the first time, although it is still in the definition phase. The company plans to complete its materiality analysis in 2027, at which point it will establish its impact priorities in this area.

Social dimension, focus on key suppliers and new partnerships

On the social front, Gameplan 3.0 reinforces the focus on female workers in the textile sector and continues the Living Wage Programme as a central part of its strategy. The initiative remains active with eight tier-one suppliers, although two have left the programme after their commercial relationship with the brand ended.

The goal of extending this standard to 100 percent of tier-one suppliers has not been met. In response, the company has refocused its strategy on core suppliers, who account for 80 percent of the business and where its influence is greater. Within this group, 46 percent already pay a living wage or receive supplements from the brand, with the goal of achieving full coverage by 2028.

This rethinking coexists with an expansion of social governance tools. A three-year partnership with UN Women stands out, focusing on mentoring, volunteering and financial support programmes. At the same time, Ganni is extending its social audits to Tier 2 suppliers, allowing for greater visibility beyond final assembly.

The company is also developing new direct listening mechanisms in the supply chain. These include a pilot in India with the &Wider platform, which incorporates anonymous worker surveys as a tool to assess working conditions and the impact of social programmes.

In parallel, it is advancing the development of the Digital Product Passport, a tool that, if successful, will integrate complete information for each garment from materials to end-of-life. This type of system is accelerating in the fashion industry in anticipation of the European Union's regulatory framework. The framework foresees its mandatory implementation in the coming years, which is leading companies to structure and digitise their product data in advance.

US specialty apparel company Gap Inc. has updated its full year guidance following its financial results for the first quarter ended May 2, 2026. The group reported a net sales increase of 1 percent to 3.50 billion dollars, while comparable sales rose 2 percent, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of positive growth.

Standout quarter for Gap brand

Performance across the portfolio was varied during the 13-week period. San Francisco-based Gap Inc. saw its namesake Gap brand deliver a 10 percent increase in both net sales and comparable sales, reaching 796 million dollars. The company noted this was one of the strongest performances for the brand in more than two decades, driven by culturally relevant storytelling in destination categories such as denim, fleece, and kidswear.

Old Navy, the largest brand in the portfolio by revenue, posted net sales of 2.00 billion dollars, up 1 percent compared to last year, with comparable sales also up 1 percent. Growth in denim, activewear, and kidswear was offset by weakness in women’s dresses. During an investor call, Gap Inc. president and chief executive officer Richard Dickson addressed the category challenges, noting that the group did not deliver the right fashion value equation for seasonal lines, with customer responses also weaker for swim and shorts.

Banana Republic net sales rose 1 percent to 431 million dollars, with comparable sales up 2 percent. Activewear brand Athleta continued its multi-quarter decline, with net sales dropping 12 percent to 270 million dollars and comparable sales down 11 percent. The brand is currently focused on rewriting its product assortment for the second half of the year.

Operating income and margin details

The company reported first-quarter operating income of 445 million dollars and an operating margin of 12.7 percent, while adjusted operating income stood at 182 million dollars, with an adjusted operating margin of 5.2 percent. Gross margin for the quarter was 40.5 percent, down 130 basis points compared to the prior year.

Store sales for the group increased 3 percent, while e-commerce sales decreased 2 percent, representing 38 percent of total net sales. Gap Inc. ended the period with 3,477 company-operated stores across approximately 35 countries.

Net income for the quarter reached 339 million dollars, or 0.90 dollars per diluted share. Adjusted net income was 145 million dollars, representing adjusted diluted earnings per share of 0.38 dollars.

Updated full year guidance

For fiscal year 2026, the company expects net sales to be up 1 percent to 2 percent year-over-year, compared to its prior outlook of flat to up slightly. The company raised its guidance for adjusted diluted earnings per share to a range of 2.30 dollars to 2.40 dollars, up from the previous forecast of 2.20 dollars to 2.35 dollars.

The full year outlook factors in a 50 basis point benefit to gross margin and operating margin from updated tariff assumptions under Section 122, translating to approximately 80 million dollars of net tariff relief.

For the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, the retailer expects net sales to be flat to down 1 percent year-over-year compared to 3.70 billion dollars in the prior year period. Gross margin is expected to be flat to down 50 basis points against last year's 41.2 percent.

Everlane founder Michael Preysman is preparing to launch a new fashion brand following the controversial sale of Everlane to Shein, according to Forbes.

The move comes after Shein acquired the US fashion retailer earlier this month in a deal that sparked backlash from customers and sustainability advocates, given Everlane’s long-standing positioning on sustainability.

Founded by Preysman in 2011, Everlane built its reputation on what it called “radical transparency”, publishing factory information alongside material, labour and transport costs for its products. However, the brand struggled to regain momentum following the pandemic, while mounting debt and declining sales reportedly pushed majority owner L Catterton to seek new investment or a sale.

The acquisition by Shein, a company frequently criticised over its environmental impact and ultra-fast fashion business model, was approved by the board of L Catterton, whose members include LVMH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault and his family.

In response, Preysman has launched a waitlist platform under the name 'Still Radical', outlining plans for a new venture built around similar sustainability principles, but without venture capital or private equity backing.

“The Everlane sale has driven questions and conversation around the viability of sustainable fashion in 2026,” a spokesperson for Preysman told Forbes. “Michael is betting that he can find a path forward informed by his learnings from the successes and shortcomings of the industry over the past decade.”

In a message to subscribers, Preysman added: “So we’re starting over. Same principles, but a new take. And this time: no venture capital, no private equity.”

The French brand Le Coq Sportif has signed a strategic agreement with Albion 1879 SL to drive its growth in the Iberian Peninsula. The focus will be on Spain and Portugal, aiming to accelerate its consolidation in the premium sport lifestyle segment.

The move follows the company's restructuring after its Spanish subsidiary entered insolvency proceedings. This process ended its direct operations in the country and led to a reorganisation of its local structure, including a redundancy plan for some of its staff. In this new phase, the brand is moving towards a more asset-light model, relying on strategic partners to maintain its international presence.

The agreement places Albion 1879 SL at the core of the brand's distribution, commercial development and expansion strategy in the region. With over three decades of experience in the sector, the company will manage a network of more than 400 active accounts and over 1,000 points of sale. It will articulate a multichannel model focused on selective retail and high-value spaces, alongside a curated multi-brand network.

Within this structure, El Corte Inglés remains a key pillar for visibility and volume. It is joined by other specialised operators who will help strengthen the brand's positioning in the Iberian market.

Both the French firm and its new partner agree that consumers in the region show a growing affinity for brands with identity, heritage and design. This is a space where Le Coq Sportif aims to consolidate its narrative in this new phase of growth.

A coalition of UK retailers and trade organisations is calling on the government to speed up the introduction of reforms to low-value imports (LVI), warning that delays are placing mounting pressure on domestic retail and fashion businesses.

In a letter addressed to prime minister Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves, signatories including Asos, Primark, Next, Marks & Spencer, River Island and the UK Fashion & Textile Association requested that meaningful customs reform be introduced before the 2026 peak trading season.

The debate centres on the UK’s “de minimis” threshold, which allows low-value parcels imported directly into the country to avoid customs duties. Retailers have argued that the system has become a competitive advantage for overseas marketplaces and sellers without a physical UK presence, like Shein and Temu, enabling them to undercut businesses that pay local taxes, duties and operating costs.

The government confirmed plans in its 2025 Budget to close the loophole, but implementation is currently scheduled for 2029. Industry groups say the timeline is too slow, particularly as low-value imports continue to surge.

According to the letter, LVI trade increased by more than 50 percent between 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, while parcel volumes have tripled since 2021. Retailers also pointed to moves by the US and EU to tighten similar rules, arguing that this has redirected more overseas sellers towards the UK market.

The group said reform would create a more level playing field, improve product safety standards and generate additional tax revenue. It is further estimated that a flat 2.60 pounds charge per parcel, mirroring an EU proposal, could raise 1.7 billion pounds annually.

If full reform cannot be delivered quickly, retailers are instead calling for an interim flat fee on low-value parcels to be introduced as soon as possible.

NGO Drip by Drip has launched a new programme designed to tackle menstrual health challenges facing women in Bangladesh’s garment sector, an issue it says remains largely overlooked across global fashion supply chains.

Announced on World Menstrual Hygiene Day, the initiative, dubbed ‘Menstrual Dignity in Fashion’, will run across 10 ready-made garment factories in Dhaka, Gazipur and Chittagong between September 2026 and December 2027.

The programme follows a pilot phase that unveiled widespread structural and social barriers for female garment workers. According to Drip by Drip, 90 percent of workers surveyed faced challenges managing menstruation safely and with dignity at work, while 96 percent said supervisors denied permission to use the bathroom, and 97 percent reported factory toilets lacked sanitary bins.

The NGO said the findings highlighted how factory environments are often not designed with women’s health needs in mind, contributing to discomfort, stigma and avoidable health risks.

Despite this, the pilot also demonstrated business benefits when menstrual health was treated as a workplace issue. In 90 percent of participating factories, health-related absenteeism fell and productivity improved, while more than 60 percent of factories continued supplying menstrual products after the pilot ended.

Developed alongside Bangladesh-based NGO Agroho Society and supported by brand partners including Vaude and Amer Sports, the programme combines worker and management training, sanitation upgrades and access to menstrual products.

It aims to train 9,000 workers, support 350 supervisors and provide 3,000 women with menstrual products over a 12-month period. An independent research component involving LMU Munich, INSEAD and the University of Groningen will also seek to generate data on effective workplace levers to improve menstrual health and dignity in factories.

In a statement, Amira Jehia, founding executive director of Drip by Drip, said: “If workers do not have privacy, safe sanitation, access to products, and the freedom to use the bathroom when they need to, this is not a marginal issue. It is a workplace failure built into the system.”

The European Commission has imposed a 200 million euro fine on the Chinese online marketplace Temu for illegal products. The Brussels authority announced that the company had failed to properly assess the risks and damages to consumers. This is a particularly serious breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Consumers in the EU were highly likely to encounter illegal items on Temu.

“Temu's risk assessment underestimates specific risks, is too vague, lacks solid evidence and is not comprehensive,” denounced the responsible vice president of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen. She stated it does not show “the actual extent of the potential harm” caused by illegal products sold via Temu. Temu now has 130 million customers in Europe, so illegal products reach many EU citizens, Virkkunen said.

Temu announced it would carefully review the decision and “weigh all available options”. The company will continue to cooperate constructively with the European Commission. Temu gives European consumers “access to a wide range of affordable products” and also helps European companies reach more customers.

Dangerous baby toys and chargers

The authority cited, among other things, test purchases from last year in which many products failed. A “very high percentage of the selected chargers” had “failed basic safety tests”. A “high percentage of the baby toys tested” exceeded chemical limits or posed a choking hazard due to detachable parts.

Temu is an online marketplace where numerous companies sell various goods. The Chinese company has been active in Germany since spring 2023 and repeatedly causes a stir with its rock-bottom prices and high discounts. Products are often delivered directly from the manufacturer to the customer.

The provider is controversial. Politicians, trade representatives and consumer advocates criticise, among other things, product quality, a lack of controls and unfair competitive conditions.

EU: Influencers could increase risk

The European Commission has now criticised Temu's risk assessment. Contrary to legal requirements, it was based on general information about risks across the e-commerce sector instead of on “concrete evidence relating to its own service”, including public reports and tests. It also failed to adequately assess the extent to which Temu's design could increase the risk of disseminating illegal products. The European Commission cited product advertising by influencers and recommendation systems as examples.

Temu must now pay the fine and rectify the problems, otherwise the authority could impose additional daily penalties. Separately, European Commission experts are also currently investigating whether Temu may have violated EU law by restricting researchers' access to data and whether it should be doing more to combat the sale of illegal products, Virkkunen said. Chinese competitors Aliexpress and Shein are also under scrutiny.

Strict rules for online giants

The Digital Services Act (DSA) has been in force since February 2024 and is intended to be a powerful tool against practices by tech giants that are considered dangerous. Due to the DSA, large online platforms must adhere to much stricter regulations. User complaints must be addressed more effectively, illegal content removed more quickly and children better protected.

Otherwise, online platforms face hefty fines: up to 6 percent of their global annual turnover is possible. According to the European Commission, the fine against Temu is far from this percentage, given a global annual turnover of 53 billion euros in 2025. Critics accuse the authority of making too little use of these sanctions. The fine against Temu is only the second based on the DSA.

In December, the European Commission sanctioned Elon Musk's online platform X. It had to pay 120 million euros due to a lack of transparency. This involved, among other things, the misleading authentication of user accounts via the white verification tick on a blue background.

More and more parcels with cheap goods from China

In its decision on Temu, the European Commission's experts also took into account data from customs authorities, among other things. This showed “high rates of infringements for products sold on Temu in the categories examined”, it was stated.

European customs are facing a growing flood of parcels from abroad, particularly from China. According to the European Commission, around twelve million parcels arrived in the EU every day in 2024, significantly more than in the previous two years.

To counter unwanted cheap imports, a levy of three euros will be due in the EU from July for every parcel with a value of up to 150 euros. This will apply temporarily until a new platform is launched, expected in 2028, after which all goods imported into the EU will be subject to customs duty from the first euro.

From November 1, a new handling fee is also to apply to every product ordered online and imported into the EU. This measure has not yet been finalised. In addition, the amount of the fee has yet to be determined by the European Commission.

In recent years, one statement has been repeated again and again:
“Wholesale is dying.”

Direct-to-consumer is rising.
Marketplaces are expanding.
Digital channels dominate the headlines.

But here is the reality:
Wholesale is not dead.
Bad wholesale is.

The brands that struggle are not suffering from the channel itself. They are suffering from outdated structures, fragmented systems and reactive execution.

Wholesale remains one of the most powerful growth engines in fashion.
If it is done right.

Experience how integrated wholesale drives growth: https://www.fire-digital.com/

Wholesale creates scalable reach

No other channel enables brands to scale geographic reach as efficiently as wholesale.

Through wholesale, brands gain:

• Immediate access to established retail networks
• Local market expertise
• Physical presence without own store investments
• Faster international expansion
• Lower fixed retail costs

Retail partners carry infrastructure, rent and local risk.
Brands focus on product, positioning and strategy.

That leverage is powerful.

Wholesale builds brand authority

Strong wholesale distribution builds:

• Visibility in premium retail environments
• Brand credibility
• Consumer trust
• Strategic retail partnerships
• Market relevance

Being present in the right stores strengthens brand perception.

Wholesale is not just transactional.
It is reputational.

Wholesale stabilises revenue

Unlike pure DTC models, wholesale provides:

• Seasonal preorder commitments
• Volume visibility months ahead
• Predictable production planning
• Cash flow planning stability
• Reduced inventory risk

Preorder is one of the strongest structural advantages in fashion.
It transforms demand into early commitment.
Bad wholesale wastes this advantage.
Structured wholesale monetises it.

Wholesale increases capital efficiency

Owning and operating retail stores requires:

• High fixed costs
• Staffing
• Logistics
• Rent
• Infrastructure investment

Wholesale shifts much of this burden to partners.

This improves:

• Capital allocation
• Risk distribution
• Operational efficiency

Well-structured wholesale can generate strong revenue without heavy balance sheet exposure.

Wholesale creates data leverage when structured properly

Modern wholesale is not just about orders.
It is about intelligence.

When structured correctly, wholesale generates:

• SKU-level performance insights
• Cross-market comparison
• Assortment optimisation
• Reorder activation signals
• Longitudinal customer behaviour data

The problem is not wholesale.
The problem is unstructured wholesale.

What kills wholesale

Wholesale becomes inefficient when:

• Preorder is not standardised
• Reorder is reactive
• B2B and sales processes are disconnected
• Pricing logic is inconsistent
• Excel replaces structure
• Visibility comes too late
• Sales teams spend more time coordinating than selling

That is bad wholesale.
And bad wholesale dies.

The difference is structure and integration

Modern wholesale does not reject digital tools.
It integrates them.

A digital showroom alone is not the problem.
A sales app alone is not the problem.
A B2B portal alone is not the problem.
The problem is when they operate in isolation.

Wholesale today requires:

• A premium digital showroom
• A high-performance sales app
• A structured sales table
• A fully integrated B2B portal
• Embedded preorder and reorder logic
• Real-time ERP-consistent pricing
• Unified customer intelligence
• Continuous data capture

All operating within one architecture.

FIRE makes the difference

FIRE includes:

• A modern digital showroom
• A powerful sales app
• A structured sales table
• A fully integrated B2B portal
• Global preorder workflows
• Systematic reorder activation

But unlike classic digital showroom vendors, these elements are not separate tools.
They operate inside one unified Wholesale Sales Control Platform.

This means:

• The showroom is directly linked to preorder structure
• The sales app synchronises fully with ERP pricing and customer conditions
• The B2B portal connects seamlessly to reorder intelligence
• The sales table reflects real-time data
• Every interaction feeds structured behavioural data

Presentation, execution and control are one system.
Not fragmented layers.

Wholesale becomes a structured operating model.

Practical perspective

Brands that implement structured wholesale execution typically experience:

• Higher revenue per sales rep
• Faster reorder activation
• Reduced coordination time
• Improved cross-market transparency
• Better margin steering
• Stronger assortment consistency

Wholesale becomes scalable again.

Not by abandoning the channel.
But by professionalising it.

Executive summary

Wholesale is not dying.
It remains:

• Capital-efficient
• Scalable
• Internationally powerful
• Reputation-building
• Structurally predictable

What disappears is inefficient wholesale.

Brands that continue with:

• Disconnected showrooms
• Standalone sales apps
• Separate B2B portals
• Spreadsheet logic
• Reactive reorder

Will struggle.

Brands that integrate these components into one structured Wholesale Sales Control Platform will scale.

The channel is not the problem.
Execution and integration are.

FAQ – The Future of Fashion Wholesale

Is wholesale really declining in the fashion industry?
No. Wholesale remains one of the most important distribution channels for fashion brands. While direct-to-consumer and marketplaces have grown in visibility, wholesale still offers global reach, strong retail partnerships and scalable distribution.

Why do some people believe wholesale is dying?
The perception often comes from inefficient wholesale structures. When brands operate with fragmented systems, manual workflows and limited data visibility, wholesale becomes difficult to manage and scale. The issue is usually operational structure rather than the channel itself.

What advantages does wholesale offer compared to pure DTC models?
Wholesale enables faster geographic expansion by leveraging established retail networks. Brands gain market presence without investing in their own physical stores, which reduces fixed costs and operational complexity.

Why is preorder such an important element of wholesale?
Preorder allows brands to secure demand months before the selling season begins. This early commitment provides visibility for production planning, cash flow forecasting and inventory management.

How does reorder contribute to wholesale revenue growth?
Reorder enables brands to capitalise on successful products during the season. By identifying strong-performing SKUs early, companies can replenish inventory and capture additional demand.

What are common problems in traditional wholesale structures?
Many companies operate with disconnected systems for digital showrooms, order management, ERP integration and B2B portals. This fragmentation leads to inconsistent data, manual coordination and slower decision-making.

Why is system integration critical for modern wholesale?
Integrated platforms connect product presentation, ordering and analytics within a single architecture. This improves data accuracy, increases operational efficiency and enables faster responses to market changes.

How does data improve wholesale decision-making?
Structured data provides insights into buyer behaviour, product performance and market demand. These insights allow brands to optimise assortments, improve forecasting and increase operational efficiency.

How is digital technology transforming wholesale?
Digital platforms allow brands to present collections globally, manage preorder workflows and analyse sales performance in real time. This makes wholesale operations more scalable and data-driven.

How does FIRE support modern wholesale operations?
FIRE integrates digital showroom presentation, preorder management, reorder activation and performance analytics within a single platform. This structured approach enables brands to scale wholesale operations efficiently while capturing valuable sales data.

About FIRE

FIRE is the leading Wholesale Sales Control Platform for fashion brands and seasonal B2B organisations.
It combines:

• Digital showroom
• Sales app
• Sales table
• B2B portal
• Structured preorder
• Systematic reorder
• Middleware-based ERP integration
• Real-time dashboards
• Data capture across the entire wholesale journey
• AI-ready longitudinal datasets
• Private cloud SaaS architecture
• Premium digital brand and product experience

Wholesale is not dead.
Bad wholesale is.

Experience how integrated wholesale drives growth: https://www.fire-digital.com/

Selfridges is due to shake up its head office team. The luxury department store has confirmed proposed plans to cut 2 percent of its headcount to align with “strategic and financial objectives”.

In a statement to Drapers, a spokesperson for the company said it had entered into a consultation process with employees. Those impacted are believed to be in IT support, business analysis, service improvement and digital operations. Selfridges currently employs around 3,100 people.

The statement read: “We are proposing changes to some of our head office teams in line with our strategic and financial objectives. We are working through the details and ways to mitigate a proposed 2 percent reduction in our overall headcount as part of a consultation process with our teams.”

Department store giant John Lewis has closed its Blakelands National Distribution Centre after more than 40 years in operation. The news was confirmed by John Lewis & Partners’ head of operations, Sarah Payne, who extended a "sincere thank you to the entire Blakelands team” in a post on LinkedIn.

Payne stated that the move marked the start of a new chapter for the company, adding: “The closure is part of a move for groundbreaking automation development, in Magna Park 3. This investment is key to future-proofing our operations and enhancing efficiency.”

She further reported that the majority of all Blakelands Partners have secured other roles within the John Lewis distribution network. “This successful transition is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of all involved, especially the impact partners,” Payne concluded.

British footwear brand Clarks is eyeing a major expansion with plans to open 150 stores this year, as outlined in a Modaes interview with the company’s president of the UK and Europe, Joe Ulloa.

According to the exec, 29 locations have already opened, 11 of which reside in Europe, where 15 to 20 new sites are expected in total. Its focus lies heavily on China, where 50 locations are planned, and the US, with 40 sites on the horizon.

Its increased attention on Europe and Asia-Pacific comes as management identified “greater opportunities for growth”, Ulloa said.

In approaching these markets, Clarks has established a system for directly managing each region. The setup has already been applied in Germany and France, and is now extending to Spain, which was deemed a “very important market” by Ulloa, who said the company expects to “double the business in one or two years”.

A Spanish team has been established alongside an office and Madrid-based showroom, with operations to be led by Marta González-Babé, who has been appointed as head of sales for Spain.

Clarks is also boosting its marketplace strategy, as seen in existing partnerships with Shein and Ebay. “We opened eight last year and we have 20 planned for 2026,” Ulloa explained.

This also includes its own marketplace platform, which has already launched in the UK and is expected to roll out to Europe and the US in 2027.

The plans come on the back of Clarks returning to profitability in 2025 for the first time in two years, despite a 3.3 percent drop in sales. The company has ensured “strong cost discipline” while reviewing its operations, allowing it to enter a position to “reinvest for growth”.

Ulloa added that the goal is to “achieve sustainable market share growth, while achieving healthy levels of profit for shareholders and the business”.

Vestiaire Collective is bringing second-hand luxury fashion to Zalando.

The Berlin-based online retailer and the French resale platform have entered into a partnership, the two companies announced on Thursday. A hand-checked selection of second-hand luxury items will now be available on Zalando.

The collaboration will be rolled out in 14 European markets. It will give Zalando customers access to luxury items from over 50 designer brands, some of which were previously unavailable on the platform. The range includes ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags and accessories. It is available immediately via a dedicated landing page on Zalando.

“We are delighted to introduce a range of authenticated luxury fashion with Vestiaire Collective as our first pre-owned partner,” said Alice Marshall, director of pre-owned at Zalando. “The demand for high-quality pre-owned fashion is constantly growing. By expanding the offering to include authenticated luxury items and combining this with the convenience of Zalando, we want to encourage even more customers to discover second-hand shopping for themselves.”

Verification meets right of return

The collaboration with Vestiaire Collective marks the first time the Berlin-based company has opened its existing pre-owned category to a partner. This move is driven in no small part by the current market trend. According to Zalando, in 2025 an average of 62 percent of the pre-owned range was sold within the first seven days of being listed. Additionally, 40 percent of orders included both new and used items in the same basket.

The partnership will combine Vestiaire Collective's expertise in authenticating luxury goods with Zalando's reach and platform structure. This aims to further enhance the second-hand shopping experience for customers. The integration of both systems is a key focus. While Vestiaire Collective contributes its established verification and quality processes, Zalando provides the technical infrastructure and access to a broad customer base across several European markets.

The integration is intended to further strengthen trust and transparency in the pre-owned segment. It will also make the purchasing process as smooth as possible for customers. In addition to Vestiaire Collective's multi-stage verification process, Zalando's 30-day return period will remain. This ensures the online retailer's existing service standards are maintained and integrated into the new offering.

“We want to make it easier for millions of people in Europe to access verified second-hand luxury,” explained Thomas Hezard, chief product officer at Vestiaire Collective. “Through the partnership with Zalando, we are reaching a new generation of customers where they already shop. Together, we are making circular luxury more visible and attractive to a broad, young target audience.”

Portuguese textile and apparel exports closed the first quarter of 2026 with moderate yet significant growth. This progress comes amid a challenging environment where a decline in several European markets was offset by growth in non-EU destinations.

Between January and March, the sector's international sales reached 1.44 billion euros (1.67 billion dollars), a 0.5 percent increase on the same period last year, according to Portugal's National Statistics Institute (INE).

Despite a decline during the period, Spain remains the primary customer for Portuguese textiles.

The start of the year also solidified the growing importance of higher value-added categories within Portugal's export mix. Knitwear again led international sales at 566.5 million euros, a growth of 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, non-knit apparel advanced by 5.6 percent to 274.7 million euros.

More technical segments also gained prominence. Impregnated fabrics and specialised textiles for industrial applications grew by 10.5 percent in the quarter, while carpets and floor coverings recorded one of the period's largest increases, rising by 15.7 percent.

Conversely, several raw materials and intermediate products were affected by the adjustment in international demand. Exports of synthetic and artificial fibres fell by 30 percent.

The European Union continued to account for the majority of Portuguese exports, although sales within the bloc decreased by 0.6 percent to 1.05 billion euros. Spain remained the leading trade destination, with purchases worth 321 million euros, despite a 5.6 percent drop. France gained ground with growth of nearly 4 percent, while Germany reduced its imports by 7.7 percent.

Outside of Europe, the US consolidated its position as the fourth largest market for Portugal after increasing its purchases by 6.6 percent. The Netherlands also stood out, with a growth of 14 percent.

Among the most dynamic destinations, Canada stands out. Portuguese exports there increased by 21 percent to reach 31 million euros, driven mainly by knitwear, apparel and home textiles. The growth in markets such as Poland, Vietnam and Singapore also reflects the geographical diversification strategy that the Portuguese sector has been accelerating in recent years to reduce its dependence on Western Europe.

French sustainability platform Carbonfact has acquired its German competitor Vaayu Tech GmbH. The companies made a joint announcement today. The purchase price has not yet been disclosed.

The acquisition brings the two largest decarbonisation tools for the fashion industry under one roof. Existing clients will migrate to Carbonfact. The combined portfolio now includes over 300 apparel and footwear brands, including On, Ganni, The North Face and Ace & Tate.

Both platforms operate in the carbon accounting sector. While Carbonfact focuses on automating data collection and conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), Vaayu concentrated on integrations with external systems and clearly presenting environmental impacts to the consumer.

A well-known practical example is the collaboration with French designer fashion platform Vestiaire Collective. Vaayu developed the “cost per wear” formula for this, allowing consumers to calculate the real cost of a purchase, meaning per wear. For Vinted, Vaayu's analysts calculated the environmental benefits of second-hand purchases compared to new ones.

Vaayu was founded in 2020, one year before Carbonfact, by founder Namrata Sandhu, former director of sustainability at Zalando. She successfully raised over 13 million dollars in growth capital for her startup from investors such as Flint Capital and The Garage.

The launch of both companies was a response to new European legislation on product transparency. At the time, an ambitious package of measures seemed imminent. Fashion and footwear brands needed to quickly gain insight into their suppliers and production processes and sought help in calculating their ecological footprint. Many of the plans on the Brussels agenda have since been suspended or postponed, partly due to the weakening of the so-called omnibus directive.

For major fashion brands, it remains crucial to have their data management in order, despite delays from Brussels. By 2030 at the latest, they must comply with strict European regulations under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which also includes the Digital Product Passport (DPP).

Madrid – The Spanish multinational OHLA, successor to the former OHL of the Villar Mir Group, will put the exclusive Galería Canalejas shopping complex up for sale at the end of the year. This was announced by its chairman of the board of directors and main shareholder, Luis Amodio. He has ruled out the possibility of the transaction being completed for less than 200 million euros (232 million dollars).

The global infrastructure group, as it likes to call itself, began the week by presenting its results for the first quarter of 2026. The board of directors then convened a General Shareholders' Meeting for the upcoming June 29. Following this, Luis Amodio, chairman of the board and, along with his brother Mauricio, one of OHLA's two main shareholders with nearly 22 percent of the voting rights, participated in the annual congress of the Consejo Empresarial Alianza por Iberoamérica (CEAPI) from Mexico City. The event was held in the Mexican capital from May 25 to 27. Keynote speakers and participants included figures such as Nadia Calviño, president of the European Investment Bank; José María Aznar, former president of the Government of Spain; and Carlos Slim, chairman of the multinational group Carso.

Taking advantage of the meeting, Amodio held a “tête-à-tête” with a group of Spanish journalists, including representatives from mainstream media such as El País and El Mundo. During this meeting, he announced the upcoming decision by OHLA's board of directors regarding Galería Canalejas. Since opening its shopping gallery doors in June 2022, the centre has solidified its position as the “grand mecca of luxury” in the heart of Madrid. OHLA had previously highlighted its intention to strengthen this positioning after finalising the dissolution of its partnership with the Emirati investment company Mohari Hospitality, owned by Israeli-Canadian billionaire Mark Scheinberg. The Spanish company reported on April 29 that the agreement had been finalised, which involved the distribution of the various assets comprising the Galería Canalejas Complex between the two parties. The complex as a single entity has since ceased to exist. Mohari and Scheinberg have taken ownership of the hotel, currently operated by the Four Seasons chain, including the retail space at its base occupied by Hermès, and the hotel's associated car park. OHLA has retained exclusive ownership of Galería Canalejas and the main car park of the complex, along with one-third of the property's outstanding debt.

Completing the details of the announcement, the Spanish group also reported that as part of the asset division process of the Canalejas Complex, a refinancing of the assets now under OHLA's ownership had been carried out through a “project finance” deal, totalling 63 million euros. It was specified that these funds were allocated to both cancel the previous financing and to open a line for future “capex” for the shopping gallery. This operation served to refinance the previous debt and provide the shopping complex with new investment funds. The aim was to boost and reinforce its “positioning as one of Madrid's leading luxury shopping destinations”. This purpose is now confirmed to be a preliminary step towards the approval of its sale by OHLA.

Sale before year-end for over 200 million euros

No official information has been transmitted to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), which is unusual for a listed group like OHLA. According to published reports, during his meeting with journalists in Mexico City, the chairman of the Spanish construction company stated that OHLA's current plans for Galería Canalejas are to accelerate facility improvements. These improvements are intended to first increase the value of the shopping gallery and second, to complete the occupancy of its retail units. Amodio considers this point to be almost decisive in reaching an agreement for the sale of the shopping complex.

The chairman of OHLA justified this strategy by explaining that the intention is to increase the gallery's sale price. He estimates the price would naturally be higher with all units occupied rather than with empty retail spaces. The forecasts remain that the sale of Galería Canalejas could be closed before the end of this year. Secondly, the transaction is not expected to fall below 200 million euros, a figure above which Amodio has set the book value of Galería Canalejas. He believes OHLA should divest from the complex as it is a mega-project that does not align with the strategy, priorities, or business model towards which OHLA is redirecting itself. For the group, “we are not interested in pharaonic mega-projects”, which “often take too long” to build, and “are too costly and not necessarily very profitable”. Amodio stated that the majority of the proceeds from the asset sale will be used to reduce the company's debt, which currently stands at around 300 million euros.

From an operational standpoint, over the last four years, Galería Canalejas has established itself as the main “meeting point” for luxury shopping in central Madrid. This consolidation has been supported by the city's rising value as a preferred destination for luxury tourism. This is the result of a feedback loop in which the “Four Seasons effect” has been undeniably decisive. This factor originated with the opening of the American chain's first establishment in Spain in Madrid at the end of 2020. This event marked the beginning of Madrid's ascent among the top international “luxury destinations”, and consequently, that of Galería Canalejas for luxury shopping.

Following the opening of the shopping gallery in June 2022, several prestigious firms and houses now operate from the Galería Canalejas complex. To be precise, Hermès operates from the ground floor of the Four Seasons. The line-up includes brands such as Cartier; Giorgio Armani; Jimmy Choo; Louis Vuitton; Marc Cain; Moncler; Omega; Rolex; Saint Laurent; Stefano Ricci; Tumi; Valentino and Zegna. Particularly noteworthy in this retail offering is the Dior boutique, which opened in April 2023 as the Parisian house's largest store in Spain. There is also an indefinite pop-up from the Madrid-based firm MR. AB, by Tomás Laso-Argos and Rafael Medina, which has recently welcomed fighter Ilia Topuria as an investment partner. Finally, the Tom Ford store is the American fashion house's only own-brand store in Spain.

Luxury group Kering is holding its annual general meeting on Thursday, a few weeks after unveiling its strategic plan, as the slowing luxury market seeks to reinvent itself.

Last September, the French giant's last annual general meeting saw the appointment of Luca de Meo as chief executive officer. François-Henri Pinault retained his position as chairman of the group. Kering owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Boucheron.

The former head of French car manufacturer Renault then stated his intention to reduce the group's debt. He also aimed to “rationalise, reorganise and reposition some of our brands.”

Kering's situation had become critical, with significant debt and cautious buyers. The group's sales fell by 13 percent in 2025 to 14.7 billion euros (17.07 billion dollars), while its net profit was divided by more than ten.

A little less than a year later, Luca de Meo has initiated a series of actions to turn the company around. At the end of 2025, Kering's debt stood at 8 billion euros, 2.5 billion euros less than at the end of 2024. To achieve this, Kering sold its beauty division to cosmetics giant L'Oréal in a deal worth four billion euros. The group has also postponed the acquisition of Valentino by two years.

The group also unveiled its medium-term strategic plan in Florence in mid-April, with a particular focus on its flagship brand, Gucci. The Italian house, which accounts for 40 percent of Kering's turnover, has fallen out of favour in recent years. Its sales dropped from 10.5 billion euros in 2022 to six billion euros in 2025.

During his presentation to investors, de Meo indicated that the solution would involve reducing the number of Gucci stores and focusing more on product quality. Since September, Gucci has also had a new CEO, Francesca Bellettini, who was previously Kering's deputy chief executive officer.

Another priority is China, which has long been a driver of the luxury market but has seen a slowdown in recent years. Kering intends to significantly increase its marketing and sales budgets in the region and close some points-of-sale.

Will this be enough to revitalise the company? While its share price has fallen by almost 20 percent since the beginning of the year, partly due to the war in the Middle East affecting luxury groups, it has gained approximately 38 percent over the past year.

Justin Thomas, VP Sales, EMEA North for Akeneo explains why merchandising is moving from intuitive decisions to attribute level performance analysis and why this matters in the new AI age.

We are moving away from a time when merchandising was driven by instinct, experience and intuition, which provided merchandisers with the ability to spot trends, predict demand and decide what customers might want before the data caught up.

This is because, in the age of AI commerce, merchandising has gone beyond selection to the need to understand which attributes, claims, specifications and product experiences actually drive conversion, discovery and loyalty. Merchandising is therefore becoming more about information science rather than gut instinct.

This is down to a profound change in how products are discovered and evaluated. In traditional commerce, merchants could rely on visual merchandising, brand equity or paid placement to influence purchasing decisions. But as commerce moves from search to discovery, and as AI increasingly controls the buying journey, product data itself becomes the product experience.

Whether a human or a machine is doing the browsing, products are now being parsed, filtered, summarised and recommended based on the quality and structure of the underlying data. In this environment, merchants are shaping the information architecture that determines whether products are surfaced, trusted and bought, and this has created a major shift in how merchandising decisions are made.

Historically, merchants generally relied on broad category performance, supplier relationships and market intuition, but AI-driven commerce introduces a much more granular level of visibility. Retailers can now analyse which specific product attributes increase conversion, which sustainability claims influence basket behaviour, which content reduces returns and which combinations of information drive high margin purchases.

Merchandisers still need to know which products sell but more importantly yhy do they sell. For example, does a product convert because of a technical specification, a sustainability certification, richer compatibility information, a delivery promise or a clearer explanation of use cases? Which product descriptions reduce returns? Which imagery increases confidence? Which attributes matter most to AI discovery engines? These are fundamentally different merchandising questions.

Merchandising therefore changes from being a static record of performance into continuous product intelligence. As a result, many retailers and brands run into organisational barriers as most product data environments were never designed to support this level of adaptability or feedback. Product information often remains fragmented across spreadsheets, disconnected systems and manually maintained workflows. Teams then spend enormous amounts of time correcting and redistributing data instead of learning from it. The result is that merchants frequently lack the visibility needed to understand how product information itself influences commercial performance.

This leads to a gap between product performance and product intelligence. Businesses may know what sold yesterday, but not which product attributes, content structures or enrichment strategies are driving tomorrow’s discoverability. This is why product data is rapidly evolving from a back-office operational function into the strategic engine of modern commerce.

At Akeneo, we increasingly see businesses shifting from static product catalogues toward adaptive product intelligence systems that continuously learn from market signals. This requires a connection between performance data, AI discovery trends, search behaviour and channel feedback, all fed directly back into the product record itself from where it can be continuously optimised.

That fundamentally changes the role of merchandising teams. Rather than manual catalogue management, merchants become strategic orchestrators, and instead of spending time fixing data inconsistencies or chasing suppliers for missing information, they can focus on interpreting patterns, identifying performance drivers and shaping richer product experiences.

They will have to understand which attributes improve AI discoverability, which claims influence conversion in different regions, or which product combinations reduce customer uncertainty and returns. Let’s call them product intelligence strategists.

Importantly, this does not eliminate the value of human judgment. Intuition, creativity and an understanding of consumer behaviour still matter. But instinct alone is no longer sufficient in a commerce environment shaped by AI-driven discovery and infinite buyer intent.

The imperative to make these changes are the changing economics of commerce. Rising acquisition costs, growing return rates and increasing competition mean that every product interaction matters more than ever. Poor product information directly impacts discoverability, conversion, trust and profitability.

Once this new approach is in place. merchandising can be measured in entirely new ways. Retailers can begin to quantify which product enrichments increase conversion, which data gaps cause abandonment and which inconsistencies create returns or distrust. Product data evolves from static content into a dynamic commercial asset that can be continuously tested, refined and improved.

The era of intuitive merchandising is being supplemented, and increasingly challenged, by a world where product performance can be analysed at the attribute level, where AI agents act as a gatekeeper to discovery and where the quality of product intelligence determines commercial visibility.

About Akeneo

Akeneo is the product experience (PX) company and global leader in Product Information Management (PIM); creating a world where every product interaction is an experience that guides consumers and professionals to the best purchase, anytime, anywhere. Akeneo empowers business leaders with software, education, and an engaged community all focused on the practice of product experience management.

Leading global brands, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, including Chico’s, TaylorMade Golf, Rail Europe, Kering, and more trust Akeneo to scale and customize their omnichannel commerce initiatives. Using Akeneo’s intelligent Product Cloud, companies can create elevated product experiences with user-friendly and AI-powered product data enrichment, management, syndication, and supplier data onboarding; as well as a comprehensive app marketplace and partner network to meet business and buyer needs. For more information: www.akeneo.com

Italian luxury label Golden Goose has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, delivering strong growth across all regions. The group reported net revenues of 173.22 million euros (201 million dollars), representing a 10 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2025. This performance was primarily powered by continued momentum in its direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel and the strength of its community-driven model.

The D2C channel remains the engine of growth for the group, with net revenues increasing 19 percent year-over-year (YoY). Retail was the key contributor to this performance, driven by double-digit like-for-like (LFL) performance and space effect, despite broader sector headwinds. The digital channel also performed strongly in the quarter, in line with retail. Consequently, D2C represented 81 percent of total revenues, up from 76 percent in the first quarter of 2025.

In contrast, total turnover in wholesale declined 16 percent due to a selective wholesale management strategy. This drop was driven by the time-shift of deliveries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), more complex market dynamics in the US wholesale channel and a strategic downsize of South Korean e-commerce retailers.

Regional performance led by Asia Pacific

Geographically, Golden Goose experienced strong growth across all regions. Asia Pacific (APAC) was the top-performing region during the quarter, growing 17 percent YoY. This growth was supported by a 20 percent increase in D2C revenues, double-digit LFL performance and space effect.

The Americas grew 14 percent YoY, supported by a 20 percent increase in D2C revenues, which was mainly driven by LFL performance. Meanwhile, the EMEA region recorded a 6 percent revenue growth. While D2C performance was strong in EMEA, sales in the Middle East were impacted by the conflict in Iran in March.

The global directly operated stores network of the group stood at 232 stores at the end of the first quarter of 2026. During the period, the brand expanded its retail experience through new openings, including the first Younique Caffé in Europe, located in Milan. It also launched the ‘Frutteria Golden’ takeover at Selfridges’ Corner Shop in London, opened a new flagship store in Athens featuring the same fruit-themed concept and re-opened the Beijing Taikoo Li South store, which is its biggest flagship store in APAC.

Balanced financial indicators and operational milestones

The group adjusted EBITDA reached 55.30 million euros, yielding a margin of 31.90 percent.

In terms of product development, the brand launched a new sneaker style globally, named the Marathon Speed, following an exclusive launch in China and South Korea in 2025. The company also expanded its brand ambassador community by appointing tennis players Gabriel Diallo and Dayana Yastremska for 2026.

Silvio Campara, chief executive officer of Golden Goose, commented: “It’s been a strong start to 2026 for Golden Goose, with clear momentum across the business. In the first quarter, we delivered ten % revenue growth, we achieved strong performance across every region through our Direct-to-Consumer channel, now representing 81% of total revenues and the engine of our success.”

Looking ahead, Campara added that the group remains focused on what makes the brand unique, highlighting co-creation, shared moments and personal authenticity. The company plans to strengthen its D2C model while continuing to expand its retail network and broaden experiential offerings.

US apparel group Abercrombie & Fitch Co. set a new sales record in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. However, its profit declined.

According to a statement released on Wednesday, sales in the 13 weeks to May 2 amounted to approximately 1.11 billion US dollars. This was a two percent increase on the same quarter last year and a new record high for the company. Adjusted for currency fluctuations, however, revenue fell by one percent.

The group attributed the slight increase to its Abercrombie division, where sales rose by three percent to 564.7 million US dollars. On a currency-neutral basis, sales remained almost unchanged compared to the same quarter last year. In the Hollister segment, revenue of 549.1 million US dollars was slightly below the previous year's level. On a currency-neutral basis, they decreased by two percent.

Impact of the Iran war slows sales growth

Group sales developed positively in the Americas. They rose by three percent (one percent on a currency-neutral basis) to 899.9 million US dollars. The Asia-Pacific region saw even more dynamic growth, with an increase of 24 percent (15 percent on a currency-neutral basis) to 46.5 million US dollars.

Conversely, sales declined in the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Sales there shrank by ten percent (11 percent on a currency-neutral basis) to 167.4 million US dollars. The group attributed the decline in part to the impact of the Iran war, which weighed on demand in the region. The Hollister division was particularly affected.

Annual forecasts remain unchanged

Higher operating expenses impacted the result. Operating profit fell by 12.5 percent to 88.8 million US dollars. Net profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 16.5 percent to 67.1 million US dollars, but still exceeded expectations.

The latest figures gave management no reason to change the annual forecasts. For 2026/27, the group therefore continues to expect sales growth of three to five percent, an operating margin in the range of 12.0 to 12.5 percent and diluted earnings per share of between 10.20 and 11.00 US dollars.

The federal government of Nigeria has launched a new initiative to revitalize its cotton, textile, and garment (CTG) industry as it aims to reposition the sector as a hub for employment, industrial growth, and export competitiveness.

Also known as the National Cotton, Textile and Garment Industrial Transformation Programme (NCTG-ITP), the programme is said to be a practical implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Policy, as the country possesses the production capacity, skilled workforce, and market potential needed to rebuild its textile industry and reduce its dependence on imports while stimulating inclusive economic growth.

The first stage of the programme included a six-month pilot, during which 10,000 t-shirts were made in Nigeria, using locally sourced cotton. The results of the pilot showcase the country’s capacity to produce high-quality garments at competitive costs compared to imports.  

“Our biggest challenge has not been finance or infrastructure alone, but coordination across the value chain,” said John Owan Enoh, Minister of State for Industry, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, during a working session regarding the programme earlier this month. He noted that the government is currently developing a stronger policy framework to support farmers, manufacturers, and investors through strategic partnerships with institutions, including the Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture.  

With the potential to generate more than 1.5 million jobs, especially for women, Nigeria’s CTG sector could also sharpen the country’s position within the African Continental Free Trade Area, according to  Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The new framework is designed to improve policy consistency, strengthen value chains, attract investment, and develop more opportunities for small and medium-scale enterprises through technology adoption, skills development, and market access.

Development partners and financial institutions also backed the sector's revival. Bank of Agriculture MD Ayo Shotirin reaffirmed the bank's support for farmers and businesses across the CTG value chain, while UNIDO's Philbert Johnson said Nigeria's industrial transformation is within reach through stronger collaboration, investment, and steady policy support.

US fashion group Capri Holdings Limited also suffered a decline in sales in the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. The company made significant progress in its earnings thanks to extensive reforms. Management is now also forecasting sales growth for the current year.

In the final quarter of the past financial year, which ended on March 28, the group's revenue from continuing operations amounted to 796 million dollars. This excludes contributions from the fashion house Versace, which has since been sold to the Prada Group. This represented a decrease of 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year. Adjusted for currency fluctuations, revenue shrank by 7.0 percent.

Revenue for the core brand Michael Kors fell by 5.5 percent (currency-adjusted -8.4 percent) to 656 million dollars. In contrast, revenue for the shoe label Jimmy Choo increased by 5.3 percent to 140 million euros. On a currency-adjusted basis, it remained roughly constant.

Group makes further progress on earnings

The gross margin, which was 59.9 percent in the prior-year quarter, increased to 64.8 percent, partly due to the expected refund of improper customs duties. This increase, along with cost savings, helped reduce the operating loss from continuing operations from 57 million to 27 million dollars.

The reported net loss attributable to shareholders was reduced to four million dollars, compared to 645 million dollars in the prior-year quarter. The continuing operations generated a profit of one million dollars, after suffering a net loss of 579 million dollars in the same period last year.

For the full 2025/26 financial year, the group's revenue from continuing operations fell by 4.1 percent (currency-adjusted -6.2 percent) to 3.47 billion dollars. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 137 million dollars, after the group recorded a corresponding loss of 1.18 billion dollars in the previous year.

Management forecasts growth in revenue and earnings for current financial year

Chairman and CEO John Idol highlighted the “encouraging progress” the group has made in implementing its strategic initiatives over the past year. Following the sale of Versace, the strategy focuses on strengthening the two remaining brands. According to Idol, “targeted measures” have been initiated to “strengthen product innovation, brand appeal and customer engagement”. He added that the group is now seeing “clear signs that these efforts are resonating with consumers”. Due to the improving trends at both brands, management has “confidence in a return to revenue and profit growth,” Idol emphasised.

Accordingly, for the current 2026/27 financial year, the group expects revenue to grow to approximately 3.25 billion dollars. Adjusted net profit per share is expected to increase by around 40 percent to approximately 2.15 dollars.

US sports retailer Dick's Sporting Goods today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended May 2, 2026, delivering strong comparable store sales growth and increasing the lower threshold of its annual sales guidance.

The consolidated results reflect the operation of the recently acquired Foot Locker business for the entire 13-week period, whereas the prior year quarter reflected Dick's Sporting Goods on a stand-alone basis. Net sales for the first quarter increased by 62.7 percent to 5.16 billion dollars, and the company delivered earnings per diluted share of 3.54 dollars, compared to 3.24 dollars in the first quarter of 2025. On a non-GAAP basis, earnings per diluted share were 2.90 dollars compared to 3.37 dollars in the prior year quarter, reflecting the dilutive impact of 9.6 million shares issued to complete the Foot Locker acquisition.

Elevated performance across banner segments

The core Dick's Sporting Goods segment, which management refers to as the Dick's Business, reported a 6 percent increase in comparable store sales, building upon a 4.5 percent increase in the same period last year. Growth was driven by gains in both average ticket values and transaction volumes, with broad-based demand across apparel, footwear, and hardlines.

The acquired Foot Locker Business, which encompasses the Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, WSS, and atmos banners, returned to proforma comparable sales growth of 0.6 percent during the quarter, compared to a decline of 2.9 percent in the prior year period.

"Sport is one of the hottest categories in the country today, and Dick's is leading from the front," said executive chairman Ed Stack. "With Foot Locker, our excitement and confidence continue to build as we execute our plan, and in the first quarter we saw encouraging proof points, returning the Foot Locker Business to positive comps and profitability."

Strategic store optimization and integration plans

Dick's Sporting Goods has scaled its Foot Locker Fast Break store remodel initiative to approximately 100 locations globally during the quarter, with plans to reach 250 stores by the back-to-school season. The company noted that this capital-light remodel program is generating double-digit comparable sales and merchandise margin improvements.

As part of an ongoing review of unproductive assets, the group is optimization inventory and closing underperforming retail locations. During the quarter, the Foot Locker Business closed 85 owned stores, including 62 units identified as unproductive. As of May 2, 2026, the consolidated company operated 3,115 store locations globally.

Updated annual consolidated guidance

Following the positive start to the year, Dick's Sporting Goods raised the lower limit of its full year 2026 proforma comparable store sales outlook. For the Dick's Business, full year comparable sale are now projected to increase between 2.5 percent and 4 percent, up from the previous forecast of 2 percent to 4 percent. The Foot Locker Business expectation was lifted to a range of 1.5 percent to 3 percent, compared to the 1 percent to 3 percent anticipated previously.

On a consolidated basis, full year net sales are projected to range from 22.10 billion dollars to 22.40 billion dollars. Full year non-GAAP operating income is now expected to sit between 1.71 billion dollars and 1.83 billion dollars, representing an increase from the previous guidance range of 1.68 billion dollars to 1.81 billion dollars. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share are forecasted to remain between 13.50 dollars and 14.50 dollars.

Lululemon Athletica inc. has entered into a cooperation agreement with founder Dennis J. “Chip” Wilson, who holds approximately 8.7 percent of the outstanding common stock of the Canada-based company.

As part of the agreement, Laura Gentile, former chief marketing officer of ESPN, and Marc Maurer, former co-chief executive officer of On, will join the board of directors following the 2026 annual meeting of shareholders. The board is also continuing refreshment efforts by committing to appoint an additional director with product and brand expertise in apparel by October 1, 2026.

The appointments come as the apparel company prepares to welcome its incoming chief executive officer, Heidi O'Neill.

Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon, stated that the agreement allows the company to focus on strengthening performance, reaccelerating growth, and delivering enhanced value for shareholders.

Strategic background of incoming directors

Gentile served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer of ESPN from January 2018 to October 2023, where she founded espnW, a platform dedicated to women in sports. Following her tenure at ESPN, she co-founded Storied Sports LLC, a content studio partnering with athletes and brands in women's sports.

Maurer served as co-chief executive officer of Switzerland-based brand On from January 2021 to May 2025, after joining the premium footwear company in 2013 as chief operating officer. During his tenure, On expanded internationally, diversified into apparel, and completed a successful public listing.

Wilson expressed confidence in the new board additions, noting that the strategic changes reflect progress toward restoring the product-first vision of Lululemon. Under the terms of the agreement, Wilson has agreed to customary standstill, non-disparagement, and voting provisions for approximately 18 months. Instead of expense reimbursement, Lululemon and Wilson have agreed to make a donation supporting athletics, art, and landscaping at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver, where the company was founded.

French group Damartex, based in Roubaix, has announced a change in its leadership with the appointment of Anne-Sylvie Hubert and Filiep Blontrock. The company is also undertaking a fundamental review of its operations.

Anne-Sylvie Hubert, formerly of Kiabi and KPMG and chief financial officer of the Damartex group since 2023, has been appointed president of the executive board.

Filiep Blontrock, managing director of Damart and with the group since 2013, becomes a member of the executive board and managing director of Damartex.

“I am taking on these new responsibilities with determination within a group I know well, which has a recognised history and expertise,” the new president stated in the press release. “Together with Filiep, in this demanding environment, we will diligently undertake this strategic review of our activities. We thank the supervisory board for its confidence and look forward to tackling this work with our teams.”

Anne-Sylvie Hubert replaces Nicolas Marchand, who left his position in mid-May 2026. In the press release, Jean-Guillaume Despature, chairman of the supervisory board, thanked Marchand and welcomed the appointment of the new executive board: “Anne-Sylvie and Filiep will be able to draw on their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the group and its markets to lead its development in the face of the challenges in our markets.”

Turnover down 1.9 percent to 279.3 million euros in first half of 2025-2026

Damartex has three business divisions: the Fashion division (Damart, Xandres); the Home & Lifestyle division (3 Pagen, Vitrine Magique, Coopers of Stortford); and the Healthcare division (Almadia, Santéol, MSanté).

The group recorded a net loss of 17.7 million euros for the 2024/2025 financial year, while its turnover continued to decline. It fell by 0.6 percent for the full 2024/2025 financial year, followed by a 1.9 percent drop in the first half of 2025-2026 and a 5 percent decrease in the third quarter of 2025-2026.

Certain divisions are facing greater difficulties, particularly the Home & Lifestyle division, where sales fell by 7.2 percent in the first half of 2025-2026. At the same time, the group's net debt still exceeded 100 million euros, standing at 102.8 million euros at the end of December 2025.

The stated objectives are to strengthen the portfolio's coherence, focus investments and support Damartex's development. This is intended to “streamline the balance sheet to achieve a more sustainable level of debt.”

The new executive board will conduct a thorough review of the Damartex portfolio. It will cover all of the group's activities in the coming months. The next steps will be detailed during the presentation of the annual results in September 2026.

The Düsseldorf-based e-commerce group The Platform Group SE & Co. KGaA has continued its growth trajectory in the first three months of the 2026 financial year. On Wednesday, the company announced significant increases in sales and operating profit, as expected. It also confirmed its annual forecasts.

In the first quarter, group sales reached 243.1 million euros, an increase of 51.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew by 23.0 percent to 438.4 million euros.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by only 28.1 percent to 25.1 million euros, partly due to a slightly lower gross margin. Adjusted for special effects, it rose by 37.1 percent to 21.8 million euros. The reported net profit, however, decreased slightly. It fell by 2.7 percent to 17.7 million euros.

The group meets its own expectations in the opening quarter

CEO Dominik Benner expressed satisfaction with the results while also highlighting new challenges. “The first quarter was positive, the results met our expectations, and we achieved high organic growth in our segments. At the same time, the operating result increased,” he explained in a statement. “There is, however, a fundamental difference: since the war in Iran, interest and logistics costs have changed significantly.”

Benner emphasised that the group will adapt its strategy to the more difficult conditions. “Specifically, we are planning to reduce our dependence on logistics costs and lower interest costs by actively reducing bank liabilities. The debt ratio is set to decrease significantly in the future,” said Benner. “We will also manage our portfolio more actively and reduce costs. We have reduced the number of planned acquisitions for the current financial year to five to six.”

Management confirms annual forecasts despite challenges from the war in Iran

Management nevertheless stuck to its annual forecasts. For 2026, a GMV of 1.7 billion euros and sales of one billion euros are still expected. The target range for EBITDA adjusted for special effects remains between 70 and 80 million euros.

The group will update its forecasts once the previously announced acquisitions are finalised. “Regarding the current status of the planned AEP acquisition, the closing conditions of the purchase agreement have not yet been fully met,” the company stated. “Progress is therefore expected in June 2026.”

Boston-based asset and brand investment firm Gordon Brothers have acquired British heritage brand Radley and all related intellectual property, for an undisclosed amount.

In a statement, Gordon Brothers said it will add Radley to its growing fashion and lifestyle portfolio and plans to pursue a growth strategy focused on expanding Radley’s global presence and operations through “strategic investments in people, products and marketing”.

Tobias Nanda, head of brands at Gordon Brothers, said: “We are thrilled to add another British icon to our global portfolio of brands. Our goal is to invest in Radley and support the company’s next phase of development, expanding the brand’s footprint in the US, UK, Australia and Asia so future generations can experience the best of British craftsmanship.”

Gordon Brothers intends to operate Radley under an "asset-light" licensing-led growth model, a strategy that it states will “unlock the full potential of the brand,” by focusing on strengthening relationships with key retail partners, as well as expanding the brand’s international presence and extending Radley’s product categories beyond handbags, watches, jewellery, eyewear and beauty gifting.

The acquisition only includes the Radley brand and related intellectual property, meaning that Radley’s retail operations, which include two standalone stores on Floral Street in Covent Garden, London, and in Glasgow, alongside 19 concessions and outlets, will close.

Radley acquired by Gordon Brothers and will shift into an “asset-light” model

Radley was founded as a stall in London’s Camden Market in 1998 and established itself as an accessible-luxury British handbag brand, known for combining vibrant colours with functional designs, as well as its distinct Scottie dog logo.

News began circulating in March that Radley’s parent company, private equity firm Freshstream, was exploring a sale of the handbag brand after a decade of ownership. The firm appointed FTI Consulting to oversee a review of strategic options for the business, due to the brand’s widening pre-tax losses.

According to a statement from FTI Consulting, Radley’s administration followed “a sustained period of challenging economic conditions for the retail environment, including declining customer demand and increasing operating costs".

Gordon Brothers has been actively investing in fashion and lifestyle brands since 2003, including Nicole Miller, Rachel Zoe, Chinese Laundry, Laura Ashley, Telefunken, Broyhill, and, most recently, British footwear brand LK Bennett in January 2026, which it also acquired with plans to run as an asset-light model. A strategy that it also implemented when it revitalised the Laura Ashley brand before it sold the heritage brand to New York-based Marquee Brands in 2025.

Carolyn D'Angelo, senior managing director and head of brand operations at Gordon Brothers, added: “We are honoured to be the brand stewards for this modern British brand and look forward to bringing Radley to a wider consumer audience, with new territories, product categories and retail distribution channels.”

The recent establishment of the Natural Textile Fiber Innovation Hub (NTFIH) in Benito Soliven, Isabela, represents a significant leap for the Philippine textile industry. By leveraging the region’s vast banana plantations, which cover approximately 1,200 hectares, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is transforming agricultural waste into high-value textile-grade fibres. This move directly addresses a long-standing inefficiency in the sector: the disposal of thousands of tonnes of banana stalks that, until now, offered little economic return to local farmers.

According to DOST-PTRI (Philippine Textile Research Institute) director Julius Leaño Jr., the project is expected to “strengthen Isabela’s emerging natural fibre industry and promote sustainable, science-driven enterprises in the countryside,” according to the department’s announcement.

From an industry perspective, the six million Philippine peso investment (almost 100,000 US dollars) in specialised machinery — including decorticating, softening and degumming equipment — is the catalyst required to turn raw by-products into spinnable materials. This facility bridges the gap between raw agricultural output and industrial manufacturing, allowing for the production of up to 40 kilograms of open or spinnable fibres per day. With a projected annual income of nine million Philippine pesos (around 146,000 US dollars), the hub demonstrates that circular economy principles can be both environmentally sustainable and commercially viable in a competitive market.

How does one turn banana stalks into textile-grade material?

The industrial conversion is a rigorous multi-stage process that begins with mechanical decortication to strip raw bast fibres from agricultural pulp. These raw fibres must then undergo a critical “cottonisation” phase involving alkaline degumming or enzymatic treatment to remove natural lignins and pectins, which significantly improves softness and spin-ability. Once refined, the material is dried, softened and precision-cut into specific staple lengths — typically 38 or 50 millimeters — allowing it to be carded and spun on standard industrial machinery. The resulting fibre boasts a high moisture regain of 12 percent and a tensile strength exceeding that of many cotton varieties, making it an exceptionally durable and breathable component for sustainable blended yarns.

The relevance of this project extends beyond simple waste management; it is a critical component of a burgeoning regional textile value chain. The Benito Soliven hub does not operate in isolation but complements existing infrastructure like the Regional Yarn Production and Innovation Center (RYPIC) and the Bamboo Textile Fiber Innovation Hub. By creating a synchronised network of fibre extraction and yarn spinning, Northern Luzon is positioning itself as a powerhouse for indigenous, eco-friendly textiles that meet the rising global demand for sustainable fashion.

From fibre to livelihood generation

Livelihood generation remains at the heart of this initiative, particularly for the Solivenian Agricultural Business Association (SABA). The hub is expected to support at least 30 community members, providing technical roles in machine operation and logistics. Crucially, the project empowers women, who comprise nearly two-thirds of the association’s workforce, shifting the demographic of a sector traditionally dominated by manual agricultural labour toward more skilled, technology-driven roles.

Ultimately, the launch of the NTFIH signals a strategic shift toward “Telang Pinoy” — proudly Filipino fabrics that are rooted in local heritage yet globally competitive. By integrating science and technology into rural agriculture, the DOST and its partners are not just reviving a nascent industry but are building a resilient ecosystem. This model of innovation-driven development provides a scalable blueprint for other regions to follow, ensuring that the future of textiles is as natural as it is profitable.

French children's ready-to-wear brand Okaïdi announced a reorganisation plan this Tuesday, May 26. The plan could lead to up to 290 job cuts in France and the closure of 60 stores. This marks a new stage in the restructuring undertaken by the IDKIDS group since it was placed in receivership last February.

According to RTL, citing AFP, the plan aims to refocus the brand's French network on its best-performing points-of-sale, with implementation expected in the second half of 2026. Okaïdi currently employs approximately 2,000 staff in France. The brand generates nearly 300 million euros in turnover in the French market, out of a global total of around 600 million euros, also according to RTL.

In a statement reported by several media outlets, management cited a “sustainably degraded environment” to justify this reorganisation project. This phrase reflects the reality that the entire children's market economy is under threat.

Market weakened by demographics and second-hand fashion

Okaïdi specifically mentions the declining birth rate and the persistent pressure on families' purchasing power. The brand also highlights the rise of second-hand fashion, which has become a particularly significant consumption channel in the world of childrenswear.

This segment is facing a more rapid transformation than the rest of the textile industry. Children's clothes are worn for short periods and easily re-enter circulation, naturally fuelling the pre-loved market which captures a growing share of purchases. Adding to this evolution is the competition from ultra fast-fashion, which continues to drive prices down.

For a brand historically positioned in the mid-range, the equation is becoming more complex. It must maintain a dense physical network, absorb high fixed costs and preserve margins in a contracting market.

Restructuring that goes beyond Okaïdi alone

The plan announced on May 26 is part of a broader framework. According to Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, the Lille Métropole commercial court placed several entities of the IDKIDS group into receivership in early February. These include Okaïdi, Obaïbi, Oxybul and the logistics platform IDLOG.

The procedure, which affects approximately 2,000 jobs in France, was intended to give the group an observation period to restructure its operations and adapt its business model to a more challenging environment.

Tuesday's announcement thus marks the transition from a judicial protection phase to a more operational one, with concrete decisions on the brand's commercial and social scope.

Mid-range textile crisis

The case of Okaïdi illustrates the broader difficulties faced by many French ready-to-wear brands positioned in the mid-range.

As La Gazette France pointed out when the group was placed in receivership, the market is experiencing a polarisation phenomenon. Premium players retain a more resilient customer base, while low-cost brands and ultra-digital platforms capture budget-conscious spending. In between, historical brands are seeing their position weaken.

In childrenswear, this pressure is further accentuated by a structural factor rarely mentioned in adult textiles: demographic contraction, which mechanically reduces the size of the market.

With approximately 335 stores in France, Okaïdi remains one of the main players in the sector. The announcement of this plan confirms that the difficulties in textile retail are no longer merely cyclical. They reflect a deeper shift in consumer habits, driven by budget-conscious choices, the rise of the pre-loved market and new forms of competition.

Chinese digital platform Alipay has introduced its full-stack artificial intelligence payment solution to partners across various industries, including traditional retailers and technology firms. The company debuted two new services this week, AI Wallet and Token Pay, to support the rapid growth of the agentic commerce ecosystem.

The launch extends the next-generation infrastructure of the platform, building on its consumer-facing product Alipay AI Pay and its business-facing payment processing product. Cyril Han, chief executive officer of Ant Group, the parent company of Alipay, stated in a press release that the emergence of AI agents is reshaping commerce. Han noted that the company is leveraging 22 years of technological expertise to build these services and accelerate ecosystem growth.

New services offer consumer control and business integration

The new AI Wallet allows individual users greater visibility and control over payments made through automated agents. Available within the application, the product enables consumers to manage tasks executed by agents before and during payment, as well as review and analyze subsequent spending.

To ensure trusted transactions, the Chinese platform launched the Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol alongside partners, establishing a collaborative framework between technology and service platforms. An intelligent security system was also introduced to provide foundational safeguards for every transaction driven by an agent.

For business operations, the company launched Token Pay. The platform provides model companies with a one-stop solution for global subscription payments, token top-up processes, and related transaction needs. At the Alipay AI Payment Ecosystem Conference on May 26, 2026, tech companies MiniMax and Stepfun announced new collaborations to adopt the solution for membership subscriptions and marketing campaigns.

Scale of transactions reaches 300 million

In February 2026, Alipay AI Pay became the first native AI payment product globally to exceed 100 million users. The infrastructure has recorded 300 million transactions to date, expanding across a range of use cases.

These applications include traditional retail mini-programs, smart glasses, consumer applications, and development platforms. Lin Zhu, general manager of Alipay AI payment business of Ant Group, emphasized that payments are no longer just the final step in commerce but are becoming embedded from the very beginning of the consumer journey.

The platform connects more than one billion consumers to over 80 million merchants across China. To further accelerate development, the company introduced a support program for individual developers, offering token incentives and zero payment processing fees.

Benetton's turnaround plan is starting to bear fruit. The company, led by CEO Claudio Sforza, will close 2025 with losses reduced by over 65 percent.

Appointed in June 2024, Sforza immediately initiated a plan to revitalise and streamline the company and its distribution network. Following the reorganisation, the sales network of the company, founded by Luciano Benetton in 1965, now comprises approximately 2,700 stores worldwide, with a presence in 80 countries.

Benetton Group closed 2025 with revenues of just under 800 million euros

A corporate governance restructuring was also finalised, becoming operational in January 2026. This aims to strengthen efficiency, increase management transparency, enhance assets and create the conditions for targeted industrial partnerships.

In terms of figures, Benetton Group has streamlined its direct and indirect distribution network. It closed 2025 with revenues of just under 800 million euros (932 million dollars), down from approximately 915 million the previous year.

The net financial position, including the effects of applying IFRS 16, improved by approximately 100 million, from 411 million euros in 2024 to 313 million euros in 2025. Losses, which amounted to 230 million in 2023, were more than halved in 2024 to just under 100 million euros. At the end of 2025, they were further reduced by over 65 percent, standing at approximately 33 million.

The first industrial partnership, announced in recent weeks, was with Poste Italiane, made possible by the institutional relationship with Edizione. The strategic agreement involves Poste Logistics, a Poste Italiane group company dedicated to integrated logistics, acquiring a stake in Benetton Logistics, a spin-off of Benetton Group.

This has resulted in a new joint venture called “Logistic 360” (51 percent Poste Italiane, 49 percent Benetton Group). The core aspects of the agreement are the enhancement and development of the Castrette di Villorba hub in the province of Treviso. The goal is to transform it into a national and international reference centre, also open to new product sectors. The partnership between Poste Italiane and Benetton Group aims to significantly increase the infrastructure's operational capacity. It can already handle 30 million items over a total area of approximately 400,000 square metres, of which 100,000 are equipped with the latest automated systems. The facility includes a distribution centre capable of processing up to 45,000 packages per day and a system with a fleet of robots to optimise storage and picking for e-commerce.

A plan to streamline production sites has been initiated within the supply chain

The operational model for product management and sourcing has been re-evaluated, aiming to reduce development and production times for collections.

This targeted intervention aims to make the company more responsive and competitive, allowing it to adapt quickly to market trends and consumer needs. Within the supply chain, a comprehensive plan has been launched to streamline direct production sites. The focus is on sourcing that can significantly impact costs by leveraging a network of high-quality, specialised suppliers.

Benetton's revival also involves a focus on the product. Specifically, the brand's evolution aims to strengthen its dialogue with new generations by enhancing its heritage with a contemporary perspective. In this regard, the company has launched a series of initial development initiatives. These include a collaboration with Netflix, which led to the development of collections inspired by the platform's iconic content and titles, such as the series Stranger Things. Another initiative is the relaunch of Jean’s West, a brand founded in 1974 linked to denim and western aesthetics, through a new collection.

Madrid – Madrid-based menswear brand MR. AB has just confirmed that fighter Ilia Topuria, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world champion in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, has joined as a new investing partner. This move sees him join the project led and co-founded by Tomás Laso-Argos and Rafael Medina.

First teased on social media just over a week ago, MR. AB's management has now officially confirmed the news in a statement. The statement highlighted that the fighter's investment and involvement with the brand stem from a mutual affinity developed over the past few years. While no financial details were disclosed, such as the percentage of share capital acquired by Topuria or the transaction amount, the company did provide details on how the fighter's involvement will contribute to its short, medium and long-term strategies. MR. AB is confident that this partnership with Topuria will accelerate its roadmap, strengthening its international profile and positioning, particularly in the key US market. This is particularly relevant as Topuria, following his much-discussed meeting with President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office earlier this month, is set to co-headline a historic event on June 14. He will face American Justin Gaethje in a UFC fight for the unification of the lightweight belt, which will take place in the gardens of the White House to mark the US president's 80th birthday.

“The relationship between the champion and the brand stems from a pre-existing and organic affinity, based on shared values and an understanding of luxury rooted in discretion, authenticity and personal standards,” stated the management of the Madrid-based fashion brand. “Moving away from the traditional codes of the sector, MR. AB has built its own identity based on aesthetic restraint and a constantly growing international community. With this addition,” the brand emphasised, “it further strengthens its international profile, especially in the United States, consolidating a phase of global expansion and positioning.”

“I am joining something that I already felt was mine,” said Ilia Topuria. “MR. AB truly represents how I see life outside of sport.” He added that it is a project he “saw born from the very beginning,” and “most importantly,” one that “I wear.” “I have always believed that there is a way of doing things that is not taught, but that is recognised in how someone pushes themselves, in how they behave when no one is looking. It is about doing things quietly, pursuing the best version of myself, and constantly working to build something that does not depend on the approval of others.” This life philosophy aligns with the quiet luxury that MR. AB champions as its distinguishing value. “I don't believe in making noise to be seen,” he explained. “I believe in doing things so well that you don't need to explain them.” The fighter concluded, “When you know who you are, you don't need to prove it.”

Absolute Bespoke's prêt-à-porter line and heir to Scalpers' “original spirit”

Founded in Madrid in 2021, MR. AB is the brainchild of Tomás Laso-Argos. He is an entrepreneur with ties to men's fashion and tailoring through ventures like Absolute Bespoke, a made-to-measure suit workshop that creates suits for clients such as Marcos Llorente, Radamel Falcao and, of course, Ilia Topuria himself. His partner is Rafael Medina Abascal, Duke of Feria and son of Naty Abascal, a former muse of Valentino. Medina Abascal has an extensive background in the fashion industry. He was a founding partner of the Seville-based fashion brand Scalpers; a director at Massimo Dutti; and head of curator at Wow, the once-promising retail project launched by Dimas Gimeno, former executive chairman of El Corte Inglés.

Almost exactly a year after joining Wow, Medina and Laso-Argos combined their efforts and expertise to found MR. AB in Madrid. The project is broadly presented as the prêt-à-porter line of the bespoke tailoring venture, Absolute Bespoke. It also continues the spirit with which Medina founded Scalpers in 2007. At that time, the Seville-based brand was launched with a much more elevated market position than it currently holds and a stronger focus on tailoring. This combination of drives and intentions is reflected in the brand's name, MR. AB. The initials are often attributed to Abascal (A) and Bespoke (B), but could also stand for Absolute Bespoke (AB), which the brand represents in the prêt-à-porter scene.

With retail prices ranging from 260 euros for a polo shirt or Bermuda shorts to 320 euros for trousers and 720 euros for a linen blazer, according to the latest available data, MR. AB closed 2023 with a turnover of nearly one million euros. The management reports that sales have continued to climb, with the brand recording organic growth of over 1,000 percent in “recent years.” The exact timeframe and the figures supporting this growth indicator were not specified. However, during this period, the menswear brand has consistently strengthened its market presence and positioning. MR. AB currently operates online and through its physical stores and points-of-sale in Marbella, where it opened a space inside El Corte Inglés in Puerto Banús on March 28. In Madrid, it has had a flagship store at 23 Calle de Lagasca in the heart of the Salamanca district since May 2025, and another in the Galería Canalejas shopping gallery. The latter, the brand's first space, opened as a pop-up in June 2024 and has remained open ever since. The company now hopes to scale these commercial structures with the financial and brand support of Ilia Topuria, focusing particularly on the US.

Interview

French luxury brand Longchamp has attracted attention in recent months with some unconventional sustainability initiatives, such as its collaboration with the French shipping company Neoline, which has built a state-of-the-art sailing cargo ship. In an interview, Adrien Cassegrain, director of transformation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a member of the fourth generation of the family company that owns Longchamp, explains what this is all about.

Luxury brands often talk about craftsmanship and tradition, but much less frequently about sustainability. Longchamp was founded in 1948 as a manufacturer of leather goods and now offers ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories in addition to bags. It is one of the few houses in the industry that is now proactively addressing the topic. The French family-owned company has drawn attention to itself in an innovative way with its B Corp certification in 2026, the logistical integration of wind-powered cargo ships last autumn and other measures.

Cassegrain explains why sustainability was hardly communicated at Longchamp for a long time, even though topics such as repairs have been practised for decades. He also explains why the circular economy in the luxury segment is often more complex than it seems.

Longchamp is one of the few luxury companies to address sustainability in its communication. Why is the topic so underrepresented in the luxury segment?

I cannot speak for all luxury brands, of course, but I can speak for Longchamp. As a company, we place great value on the sincerity and modesty of our communication. When we communicate about something, we want to be absolutely certain that our statements are correct. This applies to the quality and craftsmanship of our products as well as to sustainability and CSR topics. We therefore want to ensure these practices are firmly established and well-documented before we talk about them.

There is another point: sustainability is part of our DNA. We may not have considered that it could be of interest to our customers because for us, it is simply a given. This could be a reason why we have not spoken about it so much.

Can you be more specific?

Our repair service is a good example. We have been operating our own workshop since the 1950s and offer repairs. We did not actively communicate this for a long time because it is a matter of course for us. Anyone who produces durable products and strives for a long-term customer relationship must also be able to repair them.

We have only recently realised that this is by no means common in the industry. We are therefore talking more about it today to be transparent about our standards for quality and customer relationships.

Do your customers ask about these topics?

Not all, but a growing number of our customers are interested. For many, sustainability is closely linked to quality. Often, it is essentially the same thing, just viewed from a different perspective.

When customers talk about quality, they mean not only the longevity of a product but also how it is made and under what conditions. Ultimately, this is exactly what falls under CSR.

You have been certified as a B Corporation. Why was that important for you?

Longevity has always been part of our DNA. However, we realised that longevity alone is no longer enough today. CSR means systematically recording and documenting measures and creating clear responsibilities.

Our goal was therefore to better structure our existing practices and, in some cases, develop them further. We also felt that we had more to say to our customers about this, but it had to be on a solid basis.

We examined various certifications and chose B Corp because it takes a holistic approach. The entire company is certified across all countries, locations and functions; from production and supply chain to sales and communication. It was crucial for us to have a framework that maps and evaluates all aspects of our actions in the environmental and social areas. This allows us to ensure our statements are well-founded and that we do not make unsubstantiated environmental claims.

Can you give examples of changes the certification has initiated?

The biggest changes are in the organisation. Our main goal was to better structure and document our way of working, something that was not always a given in a family business of our size.

We have therefore established a governance model that directly involves top management. Part of the board meets monthly on CSR topics, organised by our CSR team, with the participation of our CEO and the artistic director. In parallel, we have established a global network of employees who act as contacts within the teams. They provide feedback from the markets, support data collection and help to make the implementation of guidelines traceable.

It was also important for us to strengthen the exchange in both directions: not only requirements from the head office but also feedback from the countries. We define goals together, evaluate progress and deliberately look not only at what needs to be improved but also at what is already working well.

This has significantly changed our organisation, moving towards a closer integration of global management and operational implementation. We have also developed guidelines for responsible procurement and created a comprehensive environmental policy with CO2 footprint targets.

How did collaboration with shipping company Neoline come about?

I cannot tell you exactly when this project began. It developed long before the production of the first ship. Our commitment to ship some of our products with the freighter helped them secure the financing to build the ship. So it was quite a long time ago. Neoline is a French company whose ports are very close to our main warehouse in France. The ships also go to Philadelphia, which happens to be near our main warehouse in the US. This is very practical as it also minimises lorry traffic.

What share of logistics does this ship account for?

Today, this is still quite small. Currently, there is only one ship at Neoline that sails exclusively from France to the US, so it only covers part of our activities. All our subsidiaries and boutiques in Asia are not covered by this partnership.

The journey from France to the US takes around 15 days and then another 15 days back. We can therefore only use one ship per month. If the ship is successful, Neoline wants to build a second ship. This would mean one would sail every two weeks, and then we could double the freight volume to the US.

Can this type of transport compete economically with conventional methods?

I cannot tell you that exactly at the moment. Transport is not the main factor in the price of our products. The main factor is primarily the manufacturing and the quality of the materials. Logistics is also more about time than cost. If we have to deliver products to the US because we might have bottlenecks or need to deliver the new collection to our boutiques, a few extra days can sometimes be very costly. I think the investment Longchamp is making in this practice is more focused on transport time than on the price of this transport.

Is this ship faster or slower?

It is slower because it has to travel further north than a normal cargo ship to take advantage of favourable winds.

What measures are you taking in circular economy? You have already mentioned repairs. Do you also offer second-hand fashion or recycling solutions?

Today we offer about 95 percent of our repairs free of charge. We introduced this last year in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and now also in Germany, and we want to expand this gradually in Europe. Repairs are important to us because we want to build meaningful, trust-based relationships with our customers that develop over time. We are therefore prepared to invest in our repairs. It is also easy for us because we have the craftsmanship to do it.

On the subject of second-hand fashion, we launched a second-hand shop with a partner in France just a few months ago, which is integrated into our website. Here, our customers can buy and sell products, and we have the opportunity to certify the condition of the products and refurbish them slightly. Once we have gained more experience, the project will also be established outside of France.

How do you deal with recycling?

Currently, there is no practicable solution to completely recycle our products at the end of their life cycle. Recyclability is complex, which is why we are only approaching the topic step by step. We are initially concentrating on offcuts from production and looking for sensible ways to use them.

Leather in particular presents a special challenge. It has been optimised for durability over thousands of years, so reversing this process is difficult. We are already working with partners in France who can recycle some of our leather waste, but not yet on the scale we would like. Similar challenges exist with synthetic fibres, although we are already using some recycled materials and are working on further solutions.

Is there a market for leather offcuts?

No. One of the main uses for leather offcuts is currently carpets. At the moment, however, we are still looking for the magic solution. We also try to generate as little waste as possible.

As a heritage brand, do you have much scope for new, innovative materials? Do you experiment with materials?

Yes, of course we experiment. We do this continuously and have our own team that develops new materials and uses for residual materials. Two central conditions apply. Firstly, the quality of the end product must be right; for example, many “vegan” leathers do not yet reach our standard. Secondly, it is about scalability. We first test innovations in small series and with partners. It is important, however, that these solutions can also be integrated on a larger scale in the long term and make up a relevant part of our range. Our aim is not to launch individual, communicatively charged niche products that ultimately have little effect.

Do you have an example?

Our Pliage line is a good example. First, we tested recycled materials in small, independent collections, such as with “Le Pliage Green”. After we were able to ensure that the quality matched the original and our suppliers could deliver the necessary quantities, we gradually extended the concept to the entire line. Today, recycled nylon is used throughout.

We follow three clear criteria: consistent quality; sufficient scalability; and a demonstrable reduction in environmental impact. Only when all three are met does an innovation have a long-term future for us.

What other topics are you currently working on in CSR?

We are working specifically on reducing the use of fossil fuels and shortening transport routes. To do this, we are building up our supply chains more regionally, with a dual procurement system and an additional warehouse structure, for example in Asia, to bring production and sales markets closer together. This is a large, operational project that is hardly visible to customers but is crucial for us to reduce emissions.

In parallel, we are investing in our locations. Our workshops in France are being energetically modernised, including through better insulation and the switch from gas heating to heat pumps. We are also relying on our own energy generation, for example through solar panels, to cover part of our electricity needs ourselves.

Where exactly do you produce?

We produce in our own workshops in France, Tunisia and Mauritius, some for several decades, and also work with long-standing partner companies in Europe, Africa and Asia. The type of production is more decisive for us than the location. All raw materials are purchased centrally and controlled by us; we also provide clear specifications for processing. Our own production allows us to closely monitor standards, while at the same time we deliberately focus on long-term partnerships. For example, we have been working with our workshop in Mauritius for 40 years, always with the aim of sharing knowledge, learning together and continuously improving quality. It is also about building relationships with the companies and the craftspeople there in order to share our common experiences. This established, internationally distributed structure is central to us and should continue to exist in the future.

Final question about your role: most CSR managers come into the company from outside. You belong to the Longchamp family. Is that an advantage?

I am often asked this question in one form or another, and I would say it is different. It is different in a way that I feel comfortable with, and that facilitates long-term thinking. Anyone who knows the company well can focus more on what is important, not just on what seems urgent in the short term. This creates more room to drive sustainable developments and to position the company for long-term stability, especially in comparison to listed companies. At the same time, this closeness can make an outside perspective more difficult; a certain subjectivity remains. Nevertheless, this long-term perspective is deeply anchored in Longchamp's DNA. Building lasting relationships with customers, partners and employees shapes the corporate culture. Many employees stay with the company for decades, which is also an expression of our commitment to continuity and stability.

Market share indicates who is winning today, but not necessarily what is fundamentally changing. The key figure from Vinted's latest impact report stands out as one of these major signals. In 2025, 88 percent of the platform's members reported checking Vinted before considering the purchase of a new item.

This finding calls for a complete reassessment of the market. The issue is no longer simply the growth of second-hand fashion or the increase in the volume of pre-loved products. The main takeaway from this indicator is that the purchasing journey in the fashion industry is undergoing a structural change.

The recommerce platform is no longer just a digital car boot sale. It has transformed into a product discovery engine; a real-time value comparator; and a primary entry point into the world of brands. For a growing number of consumers, it is their first contact with a brand.

Meanwhile, a large majority of fashion brands continue to view the secondary market exclusively through the lens of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), relegating it to a peripheral or even defensive issue. This interpretation is incorrect. Since the secondary market directly influences price perception, brand desirability, new customer acquisition, client loyalty, and the residual value of products, it becomes a strategic layer of a brand's business model. Brands that neglect to manage their secondary market are gradually losing control of their own value.

When perceived value is built outside traditional channels

Consumer behaviour towards their wardrobes reflects this shift from a linear model to a circular one. Clothes are no longer seen as pure sunk costs but as assets capable of retaining a resale value.

• Resale anticipation: 41 percent of users consider the resale potential of a garment even before buying a new item in a traditional retail setting.

• Item care: 56 percent of members state they take better care of their personal belongings to keep them in good condition for future buyers.

• Financial gains: This focus on durability translates into significant financial flows, as 10.8 billion euros were returned directly to sellers via the platform in 2025.

This reinvested financial capital directly influences national consumption choices. Secondary pricing is now establishing itself as a macroeconomic factor in its own right. Approximately half of sellers choose to reinvest their sales revenue into new second-hand purchases on the platform, thereby keeping products in circulation within an internal circular economy. In this context, digital marketplaces are dictating new rules regarding price authority. A brand's perceived value is no longer built solely within its original distribution network. It is now negotiated daily on second-hand platforms, which validate or invalidate a label's long-term desirability.

A lever for purchasing power amid economic pressures

Beyond style considerations, second-hand fashion is emerging as a concrete response to household budgetary pressures. The platform's report suggests that users saved a total of 21.6 billion euros on their adult fashion purchases compared to what they would have spent on new items at original prices. This performance is equivalent to paying on average 72 percent less than the initial price.

Even with a cautious approach that includes sales and promotions from traditional retail, the real savings for members would still amount to 11.6 billion euros. These financial decisions cater to various budgetary situations, as detailed by members in the platform's surveys.

For households facing restrictions, these savings move from the realm of non-essentials to funding daily necessities. Indeed, 31 percent of buyers use the money saved through second-hand shopping to cover routine household expenses, such as food or energy bills. This figure rises to 43 percent among members who report experiencing significant financial difficulties. Furthermore, 60 percent of users believe this consumption model helps them manage the daily effects of inflation on their budget more effectively.

Measuring carbon avoidance at the heart of the transition

The environmental argument for circular consumption is based on the principle of replacing a new purchase with an existing product, thereby limiting the demand on industrial resources. The central element of this demonstration is the platform's replacement rate, which stands at 76 percent. This figure indicates that more than three-quarters of transactions on the app effectively cancelled out the purchase of a new garment.

In terms of carbon accounting, the platform reports having avoided net emissions of 1,607 kilotonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2025. To put this impact into perspective, the report states that this volume is theoretically equivalent to 164,000 car journeys around the Earth, a distance of 6,589,823,090 kilometres.

To structure this modelling, the analysis uses an assessment methodology compliant with the principles of the ISO 14067 standard, developed in collaboration with industry expert Impact Institute. The calculations include emissions avoided at the industrial production level but systematically deduct the negative impacts generated by the platform's own activities.

Each transaction generates an average of 1.22 kg of CO₂ equivalent, which includes packaging manufacturing, data centre energy consumption, and carrier logistics. Delivery flows account for the largest share of this technical footprint, amounting to 94 percent of the total emissions generated by the activity in 2025.

From a niche sector to the new consumption norm

The evolution of behaviour now extends beyond the historical scope of clothing. Interest in circular consumption is spreading to new product categories, from home goods to technological items. Operational data indicates that 36 percent of members who purchased fashion items in the previous financial year expanded their purchases to other product types in 2025. For 17 percent of them, this was their first transaction outside the fashion sector.

This transition is occurring in a tense industry context, as the global textile industry remains responsible for 2 to 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and faces major challenges in managing production waste. Easier access to resale platforms is helping to change consumer perception, transforming items once considered disposable into goods with lasting economic value.

The most underestimated risk for traditional brands lies in this change of habit. The user no longer seeks a second-hand alternative after looking at new items. They now start their search on the secondary market and only turn to traditional retail if the product cannot be found second-hand. Shaken by these new behaviours, the retail sector must integrate circularity not as an eco-responsible option, but as an essential condition for its future profitability.

Barometer of a cultural shift

The evolution of behaviour now extends beyond the historical scope of clothing. Interest in circular consumption is spreading to new product categories, from home goods to technological items. Operational data indicates that 36 percent of members who purchased fashion items in the previous financial year expanded their transactions to other product types in 2025.

Ultimately, this data stands out as the true daily barometer of the transformation in our consumption patterns. The fact that 88 percent of consumers check Vinted before even considering buying a new product shows that second-hand is no longer just a backup economic alternative or a conscious choice. It has become the sole entry point and the first instinct in the purchasing process. For traditional brands, this figure serves as a clear warning, as those who refuse to manage their secondary market on these platforms will inevitably lose control of their own value and price authority.

Egypt has announced the development of a fully carbon-neutral industrial textile city in the Port Said governorate, in partnership with Chinese developer Cloud Chain. According to the Egyptian State Information Service, the project is the first of its kind in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and aims to position the country as a regional hub for sustainable textiles.

Beyond its purely industrial dimension, this project illustrates the global reconfiguration of fashion value chains. It sits at the intersection of nearshoring, environmental transition, and the rising influence of Asian players in logistics infrastructure.

Export hub for the European market

The Port Said project is based on a now well-established strategy in the global textile industry. This strategy relies on creating integrated industrial zones that combine production, logistics, and export activities in close proximity to major maritime corridors.

The chosen location is particularly advantageous as the site is at the entrance to the Suez Canal. This provides direct access to trade flows to Europe, which remains the main market for the region's textile exporters.

Through this project, the Egyptian government is pursuing a dual objective. The country aims to capture a portion of industrial relocations from Asia while meeting new environmental requirements imposed by European clients, particularly regarding carbon traceability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.

Cloud Chain, operator of Chinese industrial expansion

The Cloud Chain group is a Chinese developer specialising in the creation of integrated industrial zones and international logistics platforms, often in partnership with local governments.

The company manages turnkey projects that combine factory infrastructure, logistics real estate, and the optimisation of export supply chains. It focuses particularly on manufacturing sectors geared towards Europe and the Middle East.

Its model is part of a broader trend of Chinese operators expanding abroad. These entities support the partial relocation of manufacturing capacity to cost-competitive zones, while maintaining direct connections and control over Western markets.

Reconfiguration of routes between Asia, Africa and Europe

This Egyptian hub is taking shape as the global map of textile sourcing undergoes a major redrawing. For several years, Chinese industrialists in the sector and logistics have been seeking to diversify their production bases, particularly towards South Asia, North Africa, and certain Eastern European countries like Poland or Romania.

This strategy is a response to several factors. These include rising wage costs in China; recurring customs tensions with the US and the European Union; and stricter environmental standards. North Africa thus emerges as an ideal balance point, combining geographical proximity to Europe, competitive production costs, and trade agreements that facilitate access to the common market.

Chinese presence in African infrastructure

Beyond textiles, the Chinese presence in Africa is already firmly established in key infrastructure. Several analyses by international organisations, including the World Bank and the IMF, have extensively documented the increase in Chinese financing for ports, logistics networks, and energy projects on the African continent since the 2000s.

In some cases, these investments have been structured through sovereign loans, sometimes backed by long-term concessions on port or logistics infrastructure. This model is described as “port diplomacy” in economic literature. This trend also extends to natural resources, with massive investments in the mining and industrial sectors of several African countries, following a logic of vertical integration of global supply chains.

Textiles, sustainability and competitiveness: an increasingly political equation

For the fashion industry, this new wave of investment comes at a time when the compatibility between price competitiveness and environmental requirements is becoming a central issue. The European Union is progressively strengthening its obligations regarding due diligence, supply chain traceability, and environmental reporting.

These regulations are gradually changing the organisation of supply chains and logistics flows into the European market. They are leading some players to adapt their production models by combining geographical diversification, logistics cost optimisation, and adjustments to new compliance requirements.

This evolution is helping to shift some industrial capacity to areas close to Europe or integrated into its trade agreements. In these regions, regulatory frameworks can be more easily integrated into existing production models.

In this context, textile logistics chains are also being reshaped operationally. Adjustments to shipping routes and distribution methods are regularly observed, particularly in cross-border trade, where traceability and compliance requirements are gradually tightening under the influence of new European rules.

Integrated textile industrial zones, such as the one planned for Port Said, are part of this movement. They combine production and logistics within the same area to streamline exports while progressively integrating international standards for sustainability and traceability.

Industrial transition still under construction

While the Egyptian project remains an official announcement at this stage, it illustrates the rise of specialised industrial hubs outside of traditional Asia. These hubs are capable of navigating logistical, environmental, and geopolitical challenges. Today, real power in the textile industry no longer lies with the workshop that sews the garment. It now belongs to those who master logistics, dictate standards, and control the gateways to consumer markets.

Irisphera, the fashion-tech company transforming how consumers experience fashion online, has officially announced a strategic partnership with Oracle. The collaboration marks a significant milestone in the company’s development and positions Irisphera as a leading enterprise-ready AI infrastructure provider shaping the future of global fashion commerce.

As the retail industry continues to face rising return rates, increasing operational costs, sustainability pressures and intense competition between brands, Irisphera addresses what it identifies as a core structural inefficiency in online fashion: uncertainty at the moment of purchase.

Its AI-powered Virtual Try-On technology enables consumers to visualize garments on their own image within seconds with hyper-realistic accuracy. This transforms online shopping from passive browsing into confident, informed decision-making.

According to Oracle: “If you are looking for the latest AI tool to help customers with their fashion purchases then you should certainly visit Irisphera. It really helps with purchasing clothing online”

The impact of the technology extends beyond customer experience. By eliminating uncertainty before checkout and enabling more confident purchase decisions, Irisphera states that brands can reduce returns by up to 30 percent, achieve conversion rates up to three times higher, minimize waste from reverse logistics, and improve profitability at scale.

From consumer feature to enterprise-grade retail infrastructure

Rather than positioning itself as a standard e-commerce feature, Irisphera defines its solution as enterprise-grade fit intelligence infrastructure: a scalable AI layer designed for the next generation of digital retail.

Through its partnership with Oracle, Irisphera gains access to enterprise-level retail environments and global infrastructure capabilities. This accelerates its international expansion and reinforces its position within the growing landscape of AI-driven infrastructure providers in fashion commerce.

The company is currently active across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America, including markets such as the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia and Colombia.

A Middle East partner added: “We highly recommend Irisphera to any brand looking to elevate their digital shopping experience with cutting-edge solutions”

To date, and supported by ecosystems including NVIDIA Inception and Oracle, Irisphera has processed more than 50,000 SKUs across multiple retail ecosystems. The platform integrates seamlessly within approximately 10 seconds into systems such as Shopify and WooCommerce, while the company is also in active discussions with enterprise-level fashion groups and global retail operators.

Built with a privacy-first architecture, the platform allows users to explore fit and styling without uploading personal imagery, while still delivering realistic silhouette and proportion visualization.

Real-world adoption and growing user engagement

Recent activations in the United States further demonstrated the growing demand for immersive AI-driven retail experiences. By combining Virtual Try-On technology with in-store activations and AI-powered experiences, Irisphera generated more than 500 interactions in just two days, with users repeatedly returning throughout the mall experience to test new looks and combinations.

At the same time, the number of active Irisphera users across its ecosystem became four times higher compared to the previous month, reinforcing a broader shift already taking place within fashion retail.

As Antonia Dumitriu, Co-founder and CEO of Irisphera, stated: “The future of commerce is no longer static, but intelligent, interactive, and personalized.”

Dumitriu, one of the emerging voices in fashion-tech, studied at Istituto Marangoni Milano and approaches the problem from a fashion-first perspective rather than an engineering-only lens. According to her, the industry has long excelled at creating online inspiration but has struggled to provide certainty at the moment of purchase. She believes fashion is now entering a new era in which fit intelligence becomes core retail infrastructure rather than an optional enhancement.

The core problem: uncertainty in fashion retail

“The biggest problem in fashion today is not demand, it’s uncertainty,” said Antonia Dumitriu.

Industry statistics indicate that 53 percent of shoppers return products due to sizing and fitting issues.

“Customers don’t return products because they don’t want them. They return them because the product doesn’t look or feel the way they expected,” she added. “Irisphera exists to eliminate that uncertainty before the purchase even happens.”

She continued: “Through our partnership with Oracle, we are scaling Irisphera as enterprise-ready AI infrastructure for the future of fashion retail.”

“The brands that will lead the next generation of commerce are the ones capable of delivering certainty, personalization, and precision at scale.”

Industry shift: from static commerce to intelligent retail

The partnership was officially introduced during an Oracle ecosystem event focused on AI, cloud infrastructure, modernization and enterprise innovation, where Irisphera presented its technology alongside global ecosystem partners.

As fashion continues to operate across both digital and physical environments, customer expectations are shifting rapidly. Shoppers now expect the confidence of in-store shopping without friction.

For brands aiming to lead in this environment, Virtual Try-On is no longer a futuristic extra. It is increasingly becoming a conversion tool, a return-reduction mechanism and a competitive advantage accessible not only to global giants, but also to mid-market and independent brands.

As brands expand their online presence, they require scalable systems capable of improving precision, reducing inefficiencies and supporting profitability at enterprise scale.

Within this transformation, Irisphera positions itself not as an add-on, but as infrastructure for the future of fashion commerce.

About Irisphera

Irisphera is a fashion-tech company redefining how customers experience fashion online. Through advanced Virtual Try-On technology, the platform enables users to visualize garments directly on their own image, transforming the way they understand size, fit, silhouette, proportion and styling before making a purchase.

The company’s proprietary technology differentiates Irisphera from many solutions entering the market. Built over the past four years, the platform aims to bring more precision, confidence and efficiency to online fashion retail.

Rather than functioning as a simple e-commerce add-on, Irisphera is designed as scalable retail infrastructure combining AI styling, hyper-realistic and ultra-fast Virtual Try-On, and immersive shopping experiences across both digital and physical retail environments. It supports the entire consumer decision-making journey, from discovery to confident purchase.

By introducing a new layer of clarity into the digital shopping journey, Irisphera shifts the experience from passive browsing into informed decision-making. The result is greater confidence, faster purchase decisions and more personalized interactions with fashion online. For brands, this translates into higher conversion rates, reduced returns and a more efficient, performance-driven e-commerce environment.

At its core, Irisphera bridges the gap between visual inspiration and personal certainty, redefining digital fashion not just as a space for discovery, but as a space for decisive, confident choice.

Book here your free demo with the CEO and discover how leading brands are using AI to improve margins.

• Antonia Dumitriu CEO & Co-founder: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniadumitriu/

• Follow Irisphera on LinkedIn for the Latest Updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/irisphera/

• https://irisphera.com/

The American brand Alo, positioned in the premium sportswear and “wellness lifestyle” segment, is accelerating its European expansion. It is opening its first boutiques in France and launching a series of immersive experiences on the Côte d'Azur.

This strategy illustrates the growing convergence between retail, hospitality and brand experiences in contemporary luxury.

The brand

Founded in Los Angeles in 2007, Alo – an acronym for Air, Land, Ocean – has established itself as one of the most prominent brands in the premium athleisure segment. It is driven by a positioning that combines technical apparel, a minimalist aesthetic and a wellness culture. The brand, rooted in the well-being of body and mind, is now rolling out its international strategy through its retail “sanctuaries” and high-end event activations.

A targeted expansion on the Riviera

France is becoming a new area for expansion with two strategic openings this May 2026. The first boutique opened in Saint-Tropez on May seven at 45 rue Gambetta, and a second in Cannes on May 11 at 62 La Croisette.

In these two stores, which have high exposure to international tourism, Alo is showcasing its comprehensive offering. This includes its menswear and womenswear collections, accessories, and its signature “Alo Bag Collection” leather goods line. This expansion aligns with the growing trend of lifestyle retail in seasonal destinations with a high density of international customers, agilely combining direct sales with physical experiences.

Hospitality and yachting as retail extensions

Beyond its boutiques, Alo is increasing its large-scale experiential initiatives. In Cannes, the brand has taken over the jetty of the prestigious Hôtel Martinez, transforming it into an exclusive seaside wellness destination until June 14, 2026. The installation features around 40 custom-made sun loungers in Mediterranean colours. It also offers a programme dedicated to movement and recovery, complemented by a fresh juice menu.

This type of takeover illustrates a structural shift in the industry. Fashion brands no longer just want to occupy traditional retail spaces; they aim to invest in hospitality venues such as hotels, private beaches and yachts to extend the product experience.

In parallel, Alo is taking to the sea from May 17 with the launch of the “Alo Voyage: Wellness Club at Sea”, a 72-metre private yacht sailing along the Riviera. This mobile, invitation-only platform offers private sessions of EMS training, Pilates, IV therapy and chiropractic treatments during the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix.

An ultra-selective international expansion

While Alo is accelerating its European expansion, the brand is prioritising controlled, identity-driven growth. Its openings are exclusively focused on highly attractive global hubs: Los Angeles, New York, London, Seoul, and now the Côte d'Azur.

“The Côte d'Azur has a special energy in the summer — in the way people travel, connect and take care of themselves — that deeply resonates with the brand's DNA,” explains Benedetta Petruzzo, international CEO of Alo.

To nurture its community aspect, the brand is rolling out specific local activations. These include in-store sound healing sessions and ear seeding rituals, as well as an “Alo Run Club” on the Croisette and intimate yoga classes at the Hôtel La Ponche in Saint-Tropez.

Direct competition with 'soft' luxury players

Alo's arrival on the Côte d'Azur comes at a time when the boundaries between sport, fashion and luxury are becoming increasingly blurred. Groups like LVMH and Kering have already ventured into the lifestyle experience sector through their hotels, restaurants and events.

Simultaneously, brands like Lululemon and On Running have demonstrated the ability of premium sportswear to attract a high-value international clientele. Alo positions itself precisely in this niche: a non-status-driven luxury focused on the body, performance and well-being, rather than ostentation. This is a strategy focused on image over volume.

No official consolidated data on Alo's global turnover is published in detail, as the brand remains private. The analyst consensus, however, points to a development model focused on image and community, rather than a race for volume or mass retail expansion. Its model relies on a strong digital presence, an influencer strategy and a proliferation of high-visibility physical experiences, particularly in international tourist hubs.

An expansion indicative of a broader movement

Beyond the case of Alo, this expansion on the Côte d'Azur illustrates the transformation of premium retail into an experience economy. In this model, the boutique serves as an entry point to an ecosystem of services, events and content.

The Côte d'Azur, with its seasonal international flow and concentration of luxury hotels, thus becomes a prime testing ground for these hybrid formats.

A market driven by the global wellness economy

The sector is indeed performing well. This acceleration on the Riviera is supported by the robust health of the “wellness economy”. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the “wellness economy” now represents nearly 6,800 billion dollars globally (2024 data). It is a rapidly expanding market driven by premium fitness, nutrition, wellness tourism and preventive health services.

Alo fits into this dynamic by combining three pillars: premium retail with its studio-to-street collections; physical experiences through its activations; and wellness services such as yoga, recovery and coaching. This hybrid model aligns the brand with strategies focused on providing comprehensive consumer support.

Chinese e-commerce company JD.com is evaluating a potential 2 billion pound, or 2.70 billion dollars, acquisition of the British online retail platform The Very Group, according to a report by Sky News on May 22, 2026. The move marks the latest initiative by the Beijing-based firm to expand its footprint within the UK digital commerce sector.

The potential offer follows a series of previous strategic efforts by JD.com to establish a firmer foothold in the UK market. The company recently executed a failed takeover bid for electricals retail group Currys, and last year walked away from discussions regarding a potential acquisition of Argos from J Sainsbury.

Chinese digital players accelerate European expansion plans

The Very Group, an online department store and flexible payment provider based in the UK, generates annual revenues of approximately 2.10 billion pounds. The business was acquired last year by global private equity firm Carlyle, ending the long-standing involvement of the Barclay family. Carlyle was reported in January to be preparing an auction process for the multi-brand digital retailer, valuing the platform between 2 billion pounds and 2.50 billion pounds.

Strategic expansion into Western European retail markets has accelerated among major Chinese digital operators. JD.com recently launched its upgraded e-commerce business, Joybuy, across six European countries, including Germany and the UK, with a focus on rapid fulfilment.

An acquisition of an established British digital entity like The Very Group would grant JD.com immediate local brand recognition, logistical infrastructure, and a substantial consumer base accustomed to consumer credit options. The retail platform includes distinct digital storefronts, such as Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, which feature an extensive selection of apparel, sportswear, and home goods.

Review of The Very Group 2025 performance

The financial services division of The Very Group remains an integral component of its business model, offering revolving credit facility options like buy now, pay later (BNPL) to shoppers. In the 2025 financial year, the retail group recorded an increase in its gross margin to 36.60 percent, driven primarily by integrated financial provisions and category shifts, whilst EBITDA rose 8.40 percent to 267 million pounds.

However, performance across specific consumer sectors diverged, with home goods expanding by 9.90 percent while fashion and sportswear declined by 3.70 percent amidst a domestic retail landscape shaped by aggressive discounting. The broader organisation also reported a widened pre-tax loss of 505.40 million pounds for the period, heavily impacted by financing costs and accounting revaluations.

Representatives for JD.com and The Very Group have declined to comment to Reuters, on market speculation surrounding the potential acquisition.

Speculation over Shein's reported acquisition of a majority stake in American clothing brand Everlane has seemingly been confirmed. According to an internal email seen by Vogue Business from Everlane to its employees, it appears the deal is going ahead, corroborating reports of the acquisition that began circulating earlier this month.

Shein is buying the stake from LVMH-backed venture capitalist L Catterton for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is still pending regulatory approval.

The sale follows an intensive period of due diligence behind the scenes. American investment firm L Catterton had been searching for an investor since March to clear a debt burden of approximately 90 million dollars that Everlane had accumulated. This debt included a 25 million dollar loan from investment firm Gordon Brothers and a 65 million dollar asset-backed revolving credit facility.

Independent course and operational shifts

Everlane employees were officially informed of the acquisition on Friday morning, according to Vogue Business. In a message to staff, Everlane chief executive officer Alfred Chang addressed the moral conflict that the change in ownership might cause among employees. Chang emphasised that the company will maintain its own identity and values under Shein's ownership.

“I want to be clear: Everlane will remain Everlane. I will continue as CEO, our management team will stay in place, and we will continue to operate independently, maintaining our design standards, brand philosophy, and values,” said Chang.

According to Chang, the partnership with Shein provides necessary stability and resources in a rapidly changing retail landscape. It will enable the American brand to invest in product innovation and reach a larger international audience without compromising on quality.

Radar, an AI-powered retail intelligence platform, has raised 170 million US dollars in Series B Funding, bringing the company’s total valuation to 1 billion US dollars. The funding round was co-led by Gideon Strategic Partners and Nimble Partners, with participation from Align Ventures. 

Radar aims to use this round of funding to accelerate the deployment of its real-time inventory intelligence platform to its clients, retailers, and advance its next-generation proprietary sensor hardware, and expand its AI analytics capabilities. The funding will also be used to accelerate the development of Radar’s autonomous checkout development and the company’s overall growth across Canada, EMEA, and Latin America.

“In 2026, operating without real-time intelligence in physical retail means choosing to leave billions of dollars on the table. Radar is changing that,” said Spencer Hewett, founder and CEO of Radar, in a statement. “Today, we’re empowering retailers to run stores with the same precision as e-commerce. This round signals market conviction in the scale of the opportunity and accelerates our ability to extend that advantage across retail and beyond.”

Radar provides real-time inventory tracking for physical retail, delivering 99 percent item-level accuracy across the sales floor, stockroom, and fitting rooms. The AI-driven platform combines three components into a single end-to-end system: proprietary overhead sensors, software, and an analytics layer. 

Ceiling-mounted sensors in stores continuously read every tagged item, capturing precise location and movement throughout the store. That data feeds into Radar's software, which translates location signals into operational outputs: automated replenishment alerts, omnichannel fulfillment routing, loss prevention triggers, and merchandising intelligence. These outputs integrate directly with the systems retailers already use.

The AI-powered platform processes more than 100 billion item-level events per day, generating a dataset of how customers interact with products in physical stores. Retailers use this data to forecast demand, optimize assortments, restock shelves before they run empty, fulfill online orders more accurately, and free store teams to focus on customers.

Radar is currently being used across more than 1,400 stores from leading US retailers, including American Eagle Outfitters and Old Navy. “As the first retailer to implement Radar technology fleet-wide, American Eagle has unlocked greater inventory visibility, empowered our associates and sharpened our insights,” said Jay Schottenstein, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, American Eagle Outfitters, in a statement. 

“With inventory digitized in real-time, we have enabled our creative, operations, and technology teams to place their focus on creating seamless, customer-first experiences that define the American Eagle brand.”

Radar also announced the appointment of Abi Viswanathan as Chief Financial Officer. Viswanathan was previously CFO of autonomous vehicle company Nuro, where he helped scale to an 8.6 billion US dollar valuation, and an early member of Uber's Strategic Finance team, where he supported global expansion across multiple business lines.

UK retail's four-week growth streak ended in the latest week, with weak in-store fashion sales identified as the primary drag, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker. Total like-for-like (LFL) sales slipped -0.10%, against a -1.43% base for the same week last year.

Fashion was the worst-performing category. Total fashion LFLs fell -3.27%, from an already negative -1.16% base last year, with the entire decline driven by physical retail. Store fashion sales dropped -4.90%, more than four times the -1.01% fall recorded in the same week of 2025.

The online channel offered a partial counterweight. Non-store fashion sales rose +5.10%, extending the run to a sixth consecutive week of growth, although the pace has slowed sharply from +13.39% the previous week. The comparable period last year saw online fashion contract -2.11%.

The wider retail picture mirrored fashion's split. Total non-store LFLs grew +6.73% from a -3.95% base, while total store LFLs fell -0.59%, marginally better than the -0.97% decline a year earlier. The split underscores how much of the recent retail recovery has been carried by online channels rather than physical stores. Springboard footfall data points to a clear weather effect. Overall footfall fell -3.4%, dragged down by a -6.3% drop on the high street and a -1.4% decline at shopping centres, while retail parks edged up +0.7%.

The UK experienced cool, unsettled conditions with thundery showers and temperatures below seasonal norms — conditions unlikely to encourage browsing of spring/summer collections in physical stores, at a time when fashion retailers depend on warm weather to lift demand for new-season ranges.

Vêtir has secured 5.5 million dollars in a first close of its Series A funding round, giving the business a valuation of 150 million dollars as it expands its AI-powered wardrobe and styling platform. The round was backed by investors including Laidlaw & Company, alongside luxury-focused family offices and strategic partners.

Former Mytheresa executive Jemma Plaue has joined as SVP, global styling and strategy as Vêtir expands its luxury clienteling operations. The company also confirmed new advisory appointments including Stephanie Horton, senior director of global commerce at Google, and Nina Garcia, editor-in-chief of Elle and Project Runway judge.

Vêtir describes its platform as an AI-powered “wardrobe operating system” designed for luxury consumers, combining wardrobe management, personalised styling and commerce into one platform. The company said its technology acts as a persistent digital stylist, learning from users’ wardrobes, travel, purchasing habits and preferences.

The business reported 200 percent month-on-month organic user growth, more than 3,500 percent growth in B2B clients and ninefold year-on-year revenue growth, while average order values further exceed 2,500 dollars.

The new funding intends to aid in the accelerated development of Vêtir's personalisation engine, while also contributing to the expansion of its global presence and the further integration of enterprise partners from luxury fashion.

The platform's founder and CEO, Kate Davidson Hudson, said: "As Vêtir grows, we've been very deliberate in how we've built both the product and the company. The focus is on building intelligence around the wardrobe itself—well beyond a traditional shopping interface.

"With our lead investors now in place, we've kept a small portion of the round open for a few strategic partners who can add real value as we continue to scale globally."

Madrid – The market's response to the announcement of the unsuccessful end to negotiations between Puig and The Estée Lauder Companies regarding a potential merger of their businesses has been swift. It has come in the form of a severe penalty for the Spanish company. The group's shares opened Friday's trading session, May 22, 2026, by plummeting as much as -15 percent.

While it remains to be seen how today's trading day will ultimately unfold, it seems clear for now that what fuels the market, it eventually takes back. This is the main takeaway from the stark outcome of the negotiations between Puig and The Estée Lauder. The shares of the Spanish fashion and beauty multinational are on track for what could be their biggest drop to date since its initial public offering on May 3, 2024. On its debut, Puig's shares opened on the stock market at 24.50 euros (28.43 dollars) per share. This initial price has been consistently questioned since then, given the rapid depreciation of its shares.

Until today, one significant date stood out in Puig's trading calendar: September 6, 2024. On that day, following the release of its results for the first half of 2024, the first the company presented after its stock market launch, its shares plummeted. They fell from 24.55 euros at the previous day's close to 21.20 euros by the end of that difficult session. This represented a -13.64 percent drop, which until now was the largest single-day decline recorded for Puig's shares.

This record, clearly a negative one from the perspective of its performance as a listed company, could be surpassed by today's session, Friday, May 22. If the day concludes as it began, Puig's shares will have dropped from Thursday's closing price of 17.64 euros to the 15.25 euros at which they opened this morning. From there, they hit an intraday low of 14.99 euros at around 9:40 am. This value represents a -15 percent plunge from yesterday's closing price. The fall was triggered by the announcement of the unsuccessful end to merger talks with The Estée Lauder. The decline has since “softened” slightly to -13.83 percent, with Puig's shares currently trading at 15.20 euros.

After a two-month stock market climb

From an objective market perspective on the end of negotiations between Puig and Estée Lauder, today's plunge in the Spanish company's shares is seen as a “correction exercise”. This follows a nearly two-month stock market climb for its shares. The revaluation is attributed by markets and investors to the interest shown by the US giant, rather than Puig's latest results. At the end of last April, Puig reported a first quarter of 2026 with sales of 1,215.3 million euros (+0.78 percent).

To quantify this recent stock performance, Puig's shares opened on Monday, March 23, at 14.80 euros per share. Within just 24 hours, following the confirmation of the start of negotiations between Puig and The Estée Lauder at the close of the Spanish stock market that same day, they soared by +18.92 percent. They opened the next day, March 24, at 17.60 euros. The shares climbed further to a peak of 18.89 euros on April 21. While negotiations continued, they stabilised around the 17 euro mark, closing at 17.64 euros this past Thursday, May 21.

In contrast to this climb, today's events represent a sharp market correction for Puig's shares. In any case, based on today's opening price of 15.25 euros, the shares have accumulated a depreciation of -37.75 percent from the 24.50 euro price set for Puig's IPO.

Alphalyr, an AI platform for supply, retail and e-commerce data analysis, is the winner of the ANDAM Innovation Award 2026. The company will receive a grant of 100,000 euros. Pili, which develops bio-based dyes intended to replace petrochemical alternatives, has received the special jury prize.

This 2026 edition shows that fashion innovation is structured around two major themes: artificial intelligence and more sustainable materials and processes.

The Committee of Experts met on May 20, 2026, at IFM Paris to review the applications and select the winners. Created in 2017, the award aims to support technological innovations related to the transformation of the creative and fashion industry.

AI at the heart of ANDAM 2026's innovation

“With Alphalyr, the 2026 edition marks the arrival of an AI applied to retail, the supply chain and sales management. In a complicated context for brands, especially younger ones, the challenge is also to help companies better anticipate demand and adjust their flows,” Nathalie Dufour, founder and general director of ANDAM, told FashionUnited.

The 2026 winner, Alphalyr, chaired and managed by Bertrand Fredenucci and Nicolas Fellous respectively, develops an artificial intelligence platform for fashion brands and distributors to analyse and manage their supply chain, retail and e-commerce data. The company aims to transform commercial and operational data into actionable insights to improve the overall performance of fashion businesses.

Their technology is involved in sales analysis; inventory management; supply chain management; retail performance tracking; e-commerce optimisation; demand forecasting; and AI-assisted decision-making.

By awarding the first prize to Alphalyr, ANDAM is recognising operational AI solutions capable of directly impacting the economic and environmental efficiency of the fashion value chain.

“We have also seen the very concrete and operational improvement brought by AI to the value chain. This applies to both operational efficiency and the co-development of the creative approach,” stated Yann Gozlan in the press release. Gozlan is the founder of Creative Valley, a French incubator and accelerator for innovative start-ups, and a member of the executive committee.

Innovations focused on materials and sustainability

“However, ANDAM maintains its interest in material innovations, as shown by the special prize awarded to Pili and its alternatives to petrochemical dyes,” explained Nathalie Dufour.

Pili, led by Guillaume Boissonnat-Wu and Jérémie Blache, is part of the biotech ecosystem applied to materials and sustainable fashion. This French company offers an alternative to petrochemical dyes.

Pili combines microbial fermentation and green chemistry to produce bio-based dyes and pigments. It notably produces a bio-based indigo from renewable resources.

“We have discovered a real maturity and diversity in the new materials on offer, with an increasingly sophisticated consideration of ecological issues, particularly water and carbon consumption,” added Yann Gozlan.

The two finalists will benefit from mentoring by Yann Gozlan and access to the ANDAM network and ecosystem. In addition, the Committee of Experts has also invited the ten finalists to present their technology at Inno-Tech at Première Vision Paris, from September 1 to 3, 2026.

ANDAM notes that the nine previous winners have raised over 200 million euros and have established partnerships with key players in the luxury and fashion sectors.

H&M's founding family is continuing to purchase shares in the Swedish group. Its holding company, Ramsbury Invest, has acquired almost 39 million euros worth of additional shares. This is part of a series of regular transactions over several months, as the stock has underperformed since the start of the year.

This methodical signal is being closely analysed by the markets. H&M's founding family has once again increased its stake in the group this week. Its family holding company, Ramsbury Invest, acquired over 2.75 million shares for approximately 444 million Swedish kronor (47.46 million dollars), according to a declaration submitted to the Swedish financial regulator and reported by Zonebourse.

The transactions were carried out over three consecutive sessions on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, involving significant volumes relative to the stock's daily liquidity. Given H&M's chronic underperformance against its benchmark index, investors are monitoring these purchases as a key indicator of the controlling shareholder's position.

Purchases spread over three sessions

According to data from the Swedish market authority compiled by Zonebourse, Ramsbury Invest intervened progressively. On May 18, the holding company acquired 650,261 class B shares at an average price of 160.98 Swedish kronor. The following day, 600,000 shares were purchased at 164.82 kronor, followed by a final large tranche of 1.5 million shares at 160.77 kronor.

In total, the transaction represents exactly 2,750,261 shares. It consolidates an already significant majority position. Ramsbury Invest holds approximately 65.7 percent of the capital, according to the latest annual report. While these purchases do not alter the balance of control or the governance structure, they do safeguard the core shareholding.

Stock in decline since the start of the year

This new wave of purchases comes as the stock's market trajectory remains under pressure. Since January, H&M's stock has fallen by more than 13.5 percent, while the OMX Stockholm index has risen over the same period. This divergence partly explains the attractive valuation at which the recent transactions are taking place. It offers the founding family a technical entry point to lower its average cost price.

Industrial and long-term perspective on the matter

Beyond simple market opportunism, these regular interventions reflect an insider's perspective. The majority family has direct insight into the group's industrial strategy, its logistical decisions and its transformation projects. This proximity to internal governance gives these transactions a classic wealth management dimension. It allows for smoothing entry points and closely supporting the group's trajectory.

H&M is continuing the profound transformation of its model, with an emphasis on algorithmic stock management. This is a critical lever for preserving margins in the face of rising ultra-low-cost competition. The Persson family's increased stake thus confirms the stability of the core shareholding in a more volatile market. It substitutes short-term stock market volatility with a pure, long-term industrial conviction.

Brands and retailers that are currently preparing for the EU’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulation can start by sourcing verified, compliance-ready textiles directly from a structured, supplier-level data library, which went live on 21st May.

The library is the brainchild of World Collective who connects brands with next-generation materials and suppliers. It is built and maintained by the global sourcing infrastructure in partnership with Kinset, a digital product passport infrastructure company providing the DPP technology for the pilot.

“The regulation is still being defined. The industry has been waiting to find out what the rules will say before acting. What's live today is what stops being optional. Brands sourcing here will not be scrambling when the deadline lands, the compliance work has already been done at the supplier level. That changes what brands can do in the next twelve months,” comments Jeanine Ballone, co-founder and CEO of World Collective, in a statement.

What information is provided?

The starting size of nine verified materials from three suppliers — Climatex Industrial Co., Ltd. (Bangladesh), Maritaş (Turkey) and SKD Fine Décor (India) — is intentional as organic growth is envisioned: “The architecture is built to scale; the library is growing into it: material by material, supplier by supplier,” emphasises the statement. Each material is third-party tested, certified and structured to DPP standards. Additional suppliers are currently being verified, and new materials will be added on a rolling basis.

On each fabric information page, one finds details such as composition and construction, finish and performance, compliance and testing and handling and recommendations, including level of completion for each item. The traceability section has information from Tier 4 (raw material origin) to Tier 2 (production level) via Tier 3 (yarn production). Information about the environmental footprint about each fabric is also provided. Helpful would be more information about each supplier, but that may be added at a later stage.

What is novel about the approach?

Brands and retailers that are in the process of complying with DDP regulations usually move backwards, tracing their way back from the finished product. This is tedious and relies on supplier cooperation. By choosing a fabric from the textile library, brands and retailers are assured that it is pre-verified. In addition, data is structured in the format the DPP is converging on. “The compliance burden moves out of the brand's back office and into the supply chain itself, where the data actually originates,” states World Collective.

Another advantage is that the same supplier-level data that powers the DPP also feeds every other major piece of incoming regulation: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD, the Green Claims Directive. “A textile that is DPP-ready is, by definition, ready for the regulatory architecture that follows it. What the library demonstrates, beyond the catalog itself, is that the compliance future of fashion is being built at the supplier layer. The agents that recognise it now will lead the market shift,” sums up the organisation.

The library has been built to adapt to specific requirements quickly, keeping in mind that the DPP regulation is still being finalised. Thus, data fields can be extended, formats can be aligned, and new attributes can be layered on top of an architecture that already holds the foundational truth about each material.

The DPP-Ready Textile Library is live and open to brands at world-collective.com/collections/dpp-ready.

Vinted's 2025 impact report aims to demonstrate that second-hand fashion has become a lever for consumer purchasing power, a tool for economic circularity and a means of reducing fashion's environmental impact.

According to Vinted, one of Europe's leading second-hand fashion platforms, users saved 21.6 billion euros (25.07 billion dollars) on what they would have theoretically spent if they had bought these clothes new. This means they paid an average of 72 percent less than the original price of the items.

To calculate these savings, Vinted compares the estimated price of an equivalent new item with the amount actually paid on the platform. However, it does not specify the extent to which the actual depreciation of the clothes is taken into account.

“The results of the Impact Report in France show that members use Vinted to regain control of their budget, while contributing to a wider cause,” said Marianne Gybels, senior director of sustainability at Vinted, in the press release.

A portion of savings is reused for essential expenses

75 percent of French members state that Vinted helps them better manage their household expenses. This figure is twelve percentage points higher than the European average of 63 percent.

33 percent use the money saved for groceries or bills. This proportion rises to 42 percent for those in financial difficulty.

53 percent of French members say they feel less pressure to cut back on other expenses since using the platform.

62 percent report having reduced their overall fashion budget thanks to Vinted.

“Second-hand becomes the obvious choice when it represents a simple and more affordable option. Behaviours evolve naturally when they meet concrete, everyday needs,” the director noted.

Vinted users capitalise on their second-hand purchases

The report explains that clothes are no longer seen solely as an expense, but also as products likely to retain a resale value.

Thus, 41 percent of users report considering the resale potential before buying a new item, while 56 percent say they take better care of their belongings because they know they can resell them later.

As proof, in 2025, 10.8 billion euros were returned directly to sellers via the platform.

These earnings influence consumer choices. Approximately half of sellers reinvest the money earned on the platform into new purchases on Vinted, helping to keep products in circulation.

In this context, second-hand is no longer a parallel market but an integrated step in the purchasing journey. 89 percent of French buyers state they check Vinted first before considering a new purchase.

Beyond the benefits, second-hand purchases reportedly reduce environmental impact

The report is based on the idea that when a consumer buys a second-hand product, it prevents a new one from being produced. The central element of this argument is the figure that 76 percent of purchases made on Vinted reportedly replaced the purchase of a new item.

Vinted estimates that 1,607 kilotonnes of CO₂e were avoided in 2025. This is equivalent to approximately 164,000 car trips around the Earth, according to the press release. To support its calculation, Vinted states that it relies on a life cycle analysis compliant with the ISO 14067 standard.

This figure is based on the assumption that the purchase of a second-hand item replaces that of a new one. It does not account for additional or impulse purchases, or for products that would not have been bought otherwise.

Administrators for Quiz have confirmed further details of a phased closure plan for the company’s retail network, with all stores now expected to shutter by the end of June 2026.

Locations in Castlecourt, Leeds and Romford have already closed, while the remaining 37 sites remain in operation.

Interpath, who was appointed to oversee the process in February, said the phased programme will continue over the coming weeks, with specific timings yet to be confirmed.

In the update, Alistair McAlinden, head of Interpath in Scotland, said: “As we head into the May Bank Holiday weekend, we would encourage shoppers to visit their local store as we commence our final closing down sale.”

Interpath’s managing director, Geoff Jacobs, added that the team was grateful to Quiz staff “who have shown such dedication and professionalism under difficult circumstances”.

McAlinden and Jacobs were initially appointed joint administrators to Orion Retail Limited, Tarak International Limited and Zandra Systems Limited, collectively trading as Quiz Clothing, in February 2026 when the company fell into administration.

Management had cited several headwings that made for challenging trade conditions, despite stronger than anticipated sales towards the end of last year. Quiz’s stores had remained in operation until now, alongside seven concessions, which are not part of the administration process.

Compagnie Financière Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, delivered a solid performance for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, navigating fast-evolving geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions.

Group sales reached 22.42 billion euros (26.04 billion dollars), representing an increase of 11 percent at constant exchange rates and 5 percent at actual rates. This performance was underpinned by strong local demand and the benefits of a diversified regional footprint, with momentum continuing into the fourth quarter where sales rose by 13 percent at constant rates.

Operating profit for the year grew by 1 percent to 4.5 billion euros,while the operating margin stood at 20 percent, down by 90 basis points from 20.9 percent in the prior year. Profit for the year increased by 27 percent to 3.5 billion euros, supported by robust operating profit and the non-recurrence of a 1 billion euro Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) write-down in discontinued operations during the prior year.

In his commentary, Richemont chairman Johann Rupert stated that uncertainty is likely to persist in the global market, particularly regarding developments in the Middle East. Rupert noted that the group will continue to rely on its long-term orientation, distinct brand identities, and disciplined operating approach to maintain the desirability of its brands and deliver sustainable value.

Americas and Middle East lead regional performance

All geographical regions contributed to the group's growth during the year. Performance in the Americas was particularly strong, with sales increasing by 8 percent at actual rates and 17 percent at constant exchange rates to 5.7 billion euros, led by sustained domestic demand throughout the year and double-digit growth across its Jewellery Maisons and Specialist Watchmakers.

Sales in the Middle East & Africa region rose by 6 percent at actual rates and 13 percent at constant rates to 2 billion euros. Double-digit growth in the first three quarters in the Middle East & Africa was disrupted in March by regional conflict, causing a 3 percent decline in fourth quarter sales at constant exchange rates.

In Europe, sales increased by 7 percent at actual rates and 9 percent at constant rates to 5.3 billion euros, driven by double-digit local demand and positive tourist spend, notably in Italy, Germany, and the UK. Asia Pacific returned to growth with sales up 1 percent at actual rates and 8 percent at constant rates to 7.2 billion euros, supported by strong performance in South Korea, Australia, and Singapore. Within Asia Pacific, combined sales in China, Hong Kong, and Macau grew by low single digits at constant rates. Japan posted a 2 percent sales increase at actual rates and 9 percent at constant rates to 2.2 billion euros, accelerating to a 28 percent increase in the fourth quarter due to robust local demand.

Retail channel expands direct-to-consumer reach

Sales grew across all distribution channels during the financial year. Retail sales from directly operated stores grew by 5 percent at actual rates and 12 percent at constant rates to 15.8 billion euros. Richemont expanded its retail footprint to 1,393 directly operated boutiques, which now account for 71 percent. Online retail sales grew by 2 percent at actual rates and 8 percent at constant exchange rates to 1.4 billion euros.

In total, direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales accounted for 77 percent of overall group sales, representing a slight increase over the previous year. Wholesale sales, which include franchise partners, multi-brand retail partners, agents, and royalty income, increased by 4 percent at actual rates and 9 percent at constant rates to 5.2 billion euros, representing 23 percent of total sales.

Jewellery Maisons drive profitability while watchmakers stabilize

The group's Jewellery Maisons, which include Buccellati, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Vhernier, delivered an 8 percent increase in sales at actual rates and 14 percent at constant rates to 16.5 billion euros, with fourth-quarter sales accelerating by 16 percent at constant exchange rates.

The Specialist Watchmakers segment, comprising brands such as A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, and Vacheron Constantin, recorded a 4 percent decline in sales at actual rates to 3.1 billion euros. At constant exchange rates, watchmaker sales rose by 1 percent, indicating stabilization after a challenging 24-month period for the global watch market. Performance improved in the second half of the year, particularly for A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Vacheron Constantin.

Richemont also announced a private transaction on January 22, 2026, to divest full ownership of the specialist watchmaker Baume & Mercier to the Italian luxury group Damiani Group. The transaction is expected to close in the summer of 2026.

The group's Other business area, which includes Fashion & Accessories Maisons and the pre-loved watch platform Watchfinder & Co., reported a 2 percent decline in sales at actual rates to 2.7 billion euros, but an increase of 3 percent at constant rates. Performance was supported by strong momentum at Peter Millar and Alaïa, alongside encouraging sequential improvement at Montblanc.

The board of directors has proposed an ordinary dividend of 3.30 Swiss francs per 'A' share and ten 'B' shares, representing a 10% increase over the prior year. The board has also proposed an additional special dividend of 1.00 Swiss franc per 'A' share and ten 'B' shares, subject to shareholder approval at the annual general meeting scheduled for September 9, 2026.

Madrid – After nearly two months of intense negotiations, there will be no merger, acquisition, absorption, or any similar operation leading to the integration of the Spanish fashion and beauty multinational Puig group and the American company The Estée Lauder Companies into a single entity. Both companies have now announced through separate statements that they have concluded negotiations for their potential integration without reaching an agreement. These talks had been officially ongoing since March 23.

Separate but similar statements in substance and structure were issued simultaneously from Barcelona and New York at 10:05pm CEST on Thursday, May 21. This corresponded to 4:05pm Eastern Time, coinciding with the close of the New York Stock Exchange. Puig, the owner of fashion houses such as Carolina Herrera, Jean Paul Gaultier and Paco Rabanne, confirmed that negotiations with The Estée Lauder for a merger have ended without an agreement. The company recalled that on March 23, when the talks with the American beauty multinational were first announced, it was stated that without a formal agreement, “an operation and its terms cannot be guaranteed”. Following this, in a statement attributed to its chief executive officer, Jose Manuel Albesa, the Spanish company highlighted the “enriching” nature of the process. It defended the strength of its business model and stated that the group will continue to focus on executing its strategies to generate shareholder value. The evaluation of new merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities is not being ruled out.

“We value the enriching conversations held with The Estée Lauder Companies,” stated Jose Manuel Albesa, CEO of Puig, in the statement sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) announcing the end of negotiations with the American group. “Puig has a solid track record of growth, outperforming the premium beauty market,” he continued. “We remain fully focused on executing our strategy and driving profitable growth, always looking after the interests of all our stakeholders.” The CEO of Puig added that, from this commitment, “this decision does not change our strategic roadmap.” He explained, “we continue to build on our strengths in premium beauty, with a management focused on brands, creativity, agility and disciplined growth.”

“Throughout the company's 112-year history, and supported by our latest results for the 2025 financial year and the first quarter of 2026, we have demonstrated a distinctive culture that has allowed us to meet all our commitments since our IPO, achieving growth targets, improving margins and strengthening our balance sheet,” Albesa defended. Looking to the future, “our solid capital structure gives us the flexibility to undertake a wide range of strategic alternatives aligned with our long-term priorities.” He added, “we will continue to apply a highly selective and value-creation-oriented approach to M&A to further complement our portfolio.” Therefore, despite this conclusion without an agreement for a potential merger with The Estée Lauder, “today we reaffirm our confidence in our ‘Love Brands’ and our exceptional teams, as well as in our strength as an independent company to generate long-term value.”

The Estée Lauder considers asset sales

The statement issued in parallel by The Estée Lauder Companies mirrored Puig's communication almost to the letter, in structure, substance and even phrasing. The note included statements from Stéphane de La Faverie, president and chief executive officer of the American beauty giant. Similar to Albesa, he addressed his company's shareholders, highlighting the constructive nature of the negotiations. De La Faverie also emphasised the strength and distinctive value of their business model, which operates internally under the ‘One ELC’ operating model. He confirmed they will continue to focus on executing their growth strategies, particularly those within their latest strategic plan, ‘Beauty Reimagined’. Significantly, this includes not ruling out divestments and asset sales.

“We are grateful for the discussions we have had with Puig,” and after concluding them without an agreement, “today we are reiterating our confidence in the power of our incredible brands, our talented teams and our strength as an independent company.” “We are more optimistic than ever about our ability to unlock significant long-term value through ‘Beauty Reimagined’, and we remain focused on accelerating that progress.” He continued, “we have one of the most powerful portfolios of luxury beauty brands in the world, backed by exceptional equity across all categories, geographies and consumer segments.” Stéphane de La Faverie, president and chief executive officer of The Estée Lauder Companies, defended, “we believe we are uniquely positioned to drive sustainable long-term growth globally.”

“Through ‘Beauty Reimagined’ and the implementation of our ‘One ELC’ operating model, we are building a faster, more agile and consumer-focused organisation that is accelerating innovation, strengthening execution, scaling winning ideas globally and investing behind the biggest growth opportunities across our portfolio,” he elaborated. While the company maintains this strategy, “at the same time, we will continue to evaluate and evolve our portfolio to ensure we have the right assets to drive the most attractive growth opportunities, including potential acquisitions and divestitures,” a comment that signals the company is considering selling parts of its portfolio. In any case, La Faverie added, “we remain relentlessly focused on driving sustainable sales growth, expanding profitability and delivering a strong double-digit adjusted operating margin over time, all while creating long-term value for shareholders.”

US footwear group Deckers Brands has announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, delivering record revenue driven by the ongoing momentum of Hoka and Ugg.

For the full fiscal year 2026, net sales increased 9.8 percent to 5.47 billion dollars compared to 4.99 billion dollars in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, net sales experienced a 9 percent increase. Net income also rose, with diluted earnings per share increasing to 7.02 dollars compared to 6.33 dollars in fiscal year 2025.

“Fiscal 2026 was another record year for Deckers, with revenue and earnings growth powered by the continued momentum of HOKA and the enduring strength of UGG,” said Stefano Caroti, president and chief executive officer in a statement.

Brand performance led by Hoka and Ugg

Brand division results highlighted a strong year for key labels. Net sales for the Hoka brand increased 15.9 percent to 2.59 billion dollars compared to 2.23 billion dollars in the prior fiscal year. Ugg net sales grew 8.2 percent to 2.74 billion dollars against 2.53 billion dollars previously. Meanwhile, other brands within the portfolio saw net sales decrease 33.9 percent to 146.20 million dollars compared to 221.20 million dollars, primarily driven by the phase-out of Koolaburra standalone operations and the sale of Sanuk.

In terms of distribution channels, wholesale net sales increased 12.3 percent to 3.21 billion dollars compared to 2.86 billion dollars. Direct-to-consumer net sales rose 6.3 percent to 2.26 billion dollars from 2.13 billion dollars, while D2C comparable net sales increased 4.6 percent.

Geographically, domestic net sales in the US remained flat with a 0.2 percent increase to 3.19 billion dollars. Conversely, international net sales grew significantly by 26.8 percent to 2.28 billion dollars compared to 1.80 billion dollars in the previous fiscal year. Gross margin for the full year stood at 57.7 percent compared to 57.9 percent, while operating income reached 1.26 billion dollars, up from 1.18 billion dollars.

"Our financial fortitude and strong operating model continue to fuel our category leading brands, driving high-quality growth and supporting focused investments in our long-term opportunities," US group chief financial officer Steve Fasching stated in a press release.

Fourth quarter net sales rise nearly 10 percent

During the fourth fiscal quarter, net sales increased 9.6 percent to 1.12 billion dollars compared to 1.02 billion dollars for the same period last year. On a constant currency basis, net sales grew 7.7 percent.

Hoka net sales for the quarter increased 14.5 percent to 671.20 million dollars, and Ugg net sales grew 9.2 percent to 408.60 million dollars. Other brands decreased 35.6 percent to 39.50 million dollars. Wholesalers drove revenue up 7.1 percent to 654.90 million dollars, while D2C channels advanced 13.2 percent to 464.40 million dollars, with D2C comparable net sales up 8.2 percent.

International regions remained the growth driver in the fourth quarter, climbing 25.5 percent to 469.50 million dollars, whereas US domestic sales edged up 0.3 percent to 649.80 million dollars. Fourth quarter operating income was 156.70 million dollars compared to 173.90 million dollars, and diluted earnings per share decreased slightly to 0.96 dollars compared to one dollar in the prior year period.

Outlook for fiscal year 2027 and multi-year framework

For the 12 month period ending March 31, 2027, consolidated net sales are projected to be in the range of 5.86 billion dollars to 5.91 billion dollars. Hoka net sales are expected to increase by a low-double-digit percentage, while Ugg is anticipated to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage. Gross margin is forecasted at approximately 56.5 percent, with operating margin expected at around 21.5 percent. Diluted earnings per share is projected between 7.30 dollars and 7.45 dollars.

Looking further ahead, the group outlined a multi-year financial framework for the fiscal years ending March 31, 2028 through March 31, 2030. The company expects consolidated net sales to increase by high-single-digit percentages annually, supported by low-double-digit growth at Hoka and mid-single-digit growth at Ugg. Operating margin is expected to be maintained in the low 20 percent range, with a continued share repurchase program driving low-double-digit diluted earnings per share growth.

As fashion continues to search for lower-impact material alternatives, scaling innovations beyond niche applications remains a significant challenge. For UK startup Ponda, the answer lies not only in developing a new insulation material, but in rethinking the agricultural systems behind them.

Founded around the concept of paludiculture, Ponda uses restored wetlands to grow fibre-rich crops for fashion while exploring how regenerative supply chains can operate at commercial scale. As co-founder Julian Ellis-Brown put it: “We have to face the facts: currently only around 0.1 percent of the global market is made up of next-gen materials. It’s growing, but we’re clearly not yet at massive market adoption.”

Ellis-Brown, whose background is in mechanical engineering, co-founded the company alongside Finlay Duncan, Neloufar Taheri, and Antonia Jara, all graduates of postgraduate design and innovation programmes at Imperial College and the Royal College of Art. The team was driven by the central question of whether a material supply chain could be created that is inherently restorative to the planet.

“That’s the question we posed right at the start of our journey, and it’s remained central to us throughout. It’s what we come back to as our values and our mission,” Ellis-Brown explained to FashionUnited.

Their initial research led them to wetlands, typically seen as ecosystems that are both underutilised and ecologically powerful. The founders began physically examining plants within these environments for fibrous potential before processing them in the lab. “That was the real genesis moment of connecting these environments to potential materials which might come from them as well,” Ellis-Brown said. “Eventually, that brought us to paludiculture and Ponda as it is today.”

So, what is paludiculture?

Paludiculture–a term coined by researchers at Germany’s University of Greifswald in 1998–refers to wet farming, the process of re-wetting land while continuing to cultivate crops on it. Though still niche in the UK, the practice is gaining attention as industries seek more ecologically responsible production systems.

The approach is closely tied to the preservation of peatlands, a type of wetland that “holds more carbon than all of the trees combined within a tenth of the area”, despite covering less than 3 percent of the Earth’s surface. “They’re our best land-based store of carbon,” Ellis-Brown said.

Draining these environments causes subsidence–the sinking of the Earth’s surface–leading to soil degradation and the release of around 1.9 gigatonnes of CO2 annually. According to Ellis-Brown, this is around twice fashion’s total emissions, “turning these amazing carbon sinks and biodiversity hubs into massive carbon emitters”. Rewetting wetlands halts this process while rebuilding soil carbon and improving resilience against flooding and drought by restoring natural water retention.

“The importance of wetland regeneration is about reversing the effects of climate change, reintroducing biodiversity–especially in the UK, which is one of the most biodiversity-damaged environments–but also building resilience into our farming systems,” he added.

“The other thing is resilience against climate change. As the UK faces wetter winters and hotter summers, we need ways to regulate water levels in agricultural environments. At the moment, on drained land, you get a huge amount of flooding because the ground can’t hold more water.”

BioPuff: An innovative insulation material from wetland farming

Ponda harvests bulrush–or Typha–from peatlands, a grass-like plant with brown flowering heads that bloom between April and August. The plant is used to create BioPuff, the company’s insulation material designed as an alternative to fossil-based synthetic fills and conventional down.

The material has undergone six years of testing and development, with industry partners assessing its commercial viability across various applications. One partner, Ellis-Brown said, tested BioPuff against 22 other non-wovens and found it “had the best thermal resistance and insulation”.

“One challenge plant-based insulations have struggled with historically is washability,” Ellis-Brown noted. “That’s something we now feel really confident in. We’ve gotten BioPuff to a level where it can be washed conventionally, which is a really big milestone. Product quality and longevity are critical if we want to build sustainable products for the future.”

Brands including Ahluwalia, Berghaus, Sheep Inc., and Stella McCartney, the latter of which embedded BioPuff in its AW24 Falabella bag, have all incorporated the material in varying ways. The final version of the product is also now being integrated into the systems of an increasing number of factories as Ponda moves from pilot production and early brand engagement towards commercial scalability.

Early interest in the material had initially come from material innovation or sustainability teams, and occasionally those in procurement. This is now shifting towards the general design process as sustainability becomes adopted more generally, instead of as a separate initiative.

Addressing misconceptions and tackling hesitant adoption

Like many material innovations, Ponda has faced challenges in the journey to commercialising a relatively unfamiliar system in the UK. One recurring misconception, Ellis-Brown said, is that the company was harvesting from healthy natural wetlands in a damaging way, which isn’t the case, he reaffirmed.

“What we’re trying to do is take a very damaging extractive supply chain and transform it into one that’s regenerative,” he explained. “We believe in a mosaic approach to farming and supply chains. We’re not campaigning for tens of thousands of hectares of pure wetlands growing one crop. It’s about balance; how wetlands work alongside other farming systems, products, and supply chains to create the best overall benefit for nature and for products.”

Farmers were initially hesitant to adopt a system proposed by founders outside the agriculture sector. Early acceptance ultimately came from those looking for creative solutions to flood-prone or difficult land areas. Word-of-mouth then accelerated the rollout, with farms across the UK, including in Cumbria and Lancashire, now onboarded as partners.

“What we found is that farmer networks are viral in themselves,” Ellis-Brown said. “Farmers talk to farmers and learn from each other. If you can offer something genuinely economically feasible and interesting, the adoption process starts to work on its own.”

Fashion’s fragmented supply chains have created additional barriers for new materials entering the market. In response, Ponda has begun moving further into product development, overseeing not only material production but also garment development in an effort to reduce friction to market. Under this merchandising model, a range of BioPuff hats and gilets are currently in the works, while Ponda is further seeking wholesale partnerships with mission-aligned apparel brands.

Measurable data in an industry increasingly defined by traceability

Despite the hurdles, Ellis-Brown said Ponda “100 percent” sees the potential for long-term scaling and broader adoption across the industry. Alongside biodiversity and carbon benefits, the company continues to invest in technologies designed to strengthen BioPuff’s value proposition.

One recent development is a technology that converts seeds into drone-sewable pellets, enabling wetlands to be restored more efficiently and affordably. “What we’re really trying to build is more of a wetland materials platform, rather than just a BioPuff or insulation company,” Ellis-Brown noted, pointing to a more wide-scoping mission.

As sustainability regulations and transparency requirements heighten across fashion, Ponda has focused heavily on data collection and traceability infrastructure. The company has built benchmarks and tracing infrastructure into its entire process, monitoring variables like water table levels, carbon absorption and emissions across its systems.

Ponda works with organisations including Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Liverpool John Moores University to measure environmental impact using tools such as carbon flux towers, eDNA samples measuring biodiversity impact, and dip wells to understand water table levels.

“We have these really rich data sources from our pilot sites, which feed into our own life cycle analysis,” Ellis-Brown said. “What’s really exciting is that there are so many potential benefits from these ecosystems and supply chains. Different companies may care most about biodiversity, water, or carbon, and there are many different narratives brands can build around products made from these systems.”

Global collaboration: Ponda's expansion in Europe

As Ponda approaches its next stage of growth, the venture capital-backed company is seeking further investment to support scaling and technology development through a newly launched crowdfunding campaign with Republic Europe.

The company has previously received recognition from organisations such as Parley for the Oceans and the H&M Foundation, which awarded Ponda the Global Change Award in 2022. A 2.4 million dollar funding round completed in November brought total funding to 6.6 million dollars.

Now, however, in a mission to move towards broader commercial supply, the new funding campaign will be open to potential participants across the UK and EU. Its initial private launch earlier this week will be followed by a public rollout at a later date, allowing the general public to back the regenerative production method if interested.

Engaging with mainland Europe reflects Ponda’s growing collaboration with industry players in the region. The company operates within two 10 million euro Horizon Europe projects surrounding paludiculture–PaluWise and PaluSDemos–both focused on scaling the method across Europe.

Germany and the Netherlands are emerging as key markets, with peatland preservation practices already more established. In the Netherlands, Ponda has supplied two tonnes of seed pellets and plans to participate in this year’s annual harvest while trialling its own custom-built low-ground-pressure harvester.

“You can’t drive a tractor onto wetlands, so we created a tracked machine with less ground pressure than a human foot,” Ellis-Brown explained. “The Netherlands is becoming really important in this space, there’s a real community forming around wetlands that connects fashion, conservation, research, and science.”

For Ellis-Brown, the long-term objective is creating a wetland-based supply chain that is both scalable and economically viable for farmers. “Success is about making this replicable, scalable, and easy to use, while ensuring the people most affected by it, the stewards of the land, benefit from it,” Ellis-Brown said. “Farming is not an easy or generally profitable job. One key measure of success for us is building systems that help farmers create more reliable and resilient incomes.”

New York - American retail giant Walmart published a higher-than-expected turnover on Thursday for its first quarter, which runs from February to April. Its executives warned that American consumers were being constrained by the return of inflation.

Turnover reached 177.8 billion dollars, an increase of 7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a statement. This result surpassed the company's forecast, which anticipated a range between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent.

Walmart has long had an online presence. It made this a strategic priority in 2016 with the acquisition of start-up Jet.com, one of the most dynamic players in the sector.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based group has capitalised on its network of stores and warehouses to ensure fast and cost-effective deliveries for online orders, helping it to close the gap with Amazon.

In the first quarter, online sales grew by 26 percent year-over-year. They now account for 23 percent of the company's total turnover.

This digital focus has also enabled Walmart to develop a significant online advertising business. The group also created Walmart Marketplace, a platform open to third-party companies, similar to Amazon's model.

Just under a year ago, it also launched an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant named Sparky to help customers with their shopping.

Pressure on consumers

In contrast to the group's growth, its margins have been affected by the rise in fuel prices.

The geopolitical context and accelerating inflation are also affecting customers.

“In the US, consumers are under pressure and they are turning to Walmart for good deals,” said CEO John Furner, during his first quarter at the helm of the global retail leader.

Chief financial officer, John David Rainey, indicated that the average amount of petrol purchased at the group's service stations had fallen to its lowest level since 2022. “This is an indicator of stress” for customers, who are moderating their consumption, Rainey explained.

If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and oil prices remain high, “this could lead to price increases” at Walmart, warned Rainey, particularly in the food category.

Net profit reached 5.49 billion dollars, an increase of 18 percent. Earnings per share, excluding exceptional items, stood at 66 cents. This key figure for investors was in line with analysts' projections.

Despite the first quarter's growth of 7 percent, Walmart confirmed its annual forecast and its growth range of 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent. This indicates an expected slowdown in the coming quarters.

This outlook disappointed investors. In pre-market trading, the stock dropped by nearly 4 percent.

“Some investors found these forecasts a little disappointing,” commented Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData.

The analyst, however, sees the glass as half full. He praised Walmart's ability to maintain its targets “despite a serious deterioration in consumers' financial situation due to petrol and inflation”.

Achieving the annual growth expected by the group would constitute “a solid expansion” and allow it to gain market share, the analyst argued.

Geographically, the retail giant was driven by its international business, with sales 18 percent higher than in the same period of 2025.

This momentum offsets the slower growth of the Walmart brand in the US (+4.5 percent) and its discount store subsidiary Sam's Club (+6.1 percent).

Nevertheless, revenue growth in the US was the highest in a year and a half, Furner stressed.

Ralph Lauren Corporation, the US-based luxury lifestyle group, has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2026, delivering performance that exceeded market expectations. The company crossed a significant financial milestone as annual revenues surpassed 8 billion dollars for the first time in its history.

For the full fiscal year 2026, net revenues rose 14.6 percent on a reported basis to 8.11 billion dollars. In constant currency, full year revenue increased 11.8 percent. Net income for the fiscal year reached 941.10 million dollars on a reported basis, up from 742.90 million dollars in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share for the full year stood at 15.11 dollars on a reported basis and 16.59 dollars on an adjusted basis.

Fourth quarter performance accelerated by Asian expansion

During the fourth quarter, net revenues increased 16.6 percent on a reported basis to 1.98 billion dollars. Growth stood at 12.1 percent in constant currency, with foreign currency translation providing a positive impact of approximately 450 basis points.

Fourth quarter net income increased to 151.60 million dollars, or 2.45 dollars per diluted share on a reported basis. Adjusted earnings per diluted share rose to 2.80 dollars, compared to 2.27 dollars in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.

The fourth quarter performance was led by strong momentum in Asia, where net revenues climbed 30.6 percent on a reported basis to 563.60 million dollars. Constant currency growth in the region was 27.6 percent, driven by exceptional retail sales in China during the Lunar New Year period. Europe also recorded solid results, with fourth quarter revenue up 17.9 percent on a reported basis to 619.60 million dollars, or 6.2 percent in constant currency.

In North America, net revenues increased 8.2 percent to 762.70 million dollars. The expansion was driven by direct-to-consumer (D2C) comparable store sales, which grew 16 percent during the quarter. This performance helped offset flat wholesale revenues in the region, which were impacted by planned distribution reductions in lower-tier wholesale channels.

Direct channels and digital growth

Global D2C comparable store sales increased 17 percent in the fourth quarter and 13 percent for the full year, showing positive retail performance across all geographical channels.

The reported gross profit margin for the fourth quarter reached 69.7 percent, while adjusted gross margin expanded 110 basis points over the prior year to 69.7 percent. Operating income for the quarter came in at 188.60 million dollars on a reported basis, representing an operating margin of 9.5 percent. On an adjusted basis, operating income reached 218.30 million dollars, with the operating margin expanding 70 basis points to 11 percent.

A breakdown of sales channels during the fourth quarter highlights the strength of the group's retail operations, which generated 1.29 billion dollars globally compared to wholesale revenues of 656 million dollars. Licensing operations contributed 32.80 million dollars during the three-month period. E-commerce outpaced physical store networks across all major international markets during the fourth quarter. In North America, digital commerce comparable sales grew 21 percent, while brick and mortar stores grew 14 percent. In Europe, digital commerce increased 14 percent, compared to a 2 percent increase in brick and mortar locations. Asia recorded a 31 percent increase in digital commerce alongside a 25 percent increase in physical retail operations.

At the end of fiscal 2026, the company expanded its global corporate retail footprint to 594 directly operated stores and 644 concessions. The global store network includes 287 Ralph Lauren flagship locations and 307 outlet stores.

Mid-single digit revenue growth projected for fiscal 2027

"Our teams around the world executed with excellence and agility to deliver a strong first year of our Next Great Chapter: Drive strategic plan," stated Patrice Louvet, the president and chief executive officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation. Louvet expressed confidence in the company's multi-engine growth strategy, operational discipline, and adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.

The company introduced its preliminary outlook for fiscal 2027, anticipating constant currency revenues to increase mid-single digits, centered around 4 percent to 5 percent on a 52-week comparable basis. The operating margin is projected to expand by 40 to 60 basis points in constant currency, driven by modest gross margin gains and operating expense leverage.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, constant currency revenues are forecast to grow mid to high-single digits, with the operating margin expanding 80 to 120 basis points, aided by a lower prevailing tariff rate of 10 percent. Based on current exchange rates, foreign currency is expected to have a neutral impact on full year results.

US denim specialist Lee Jeans is set to change hands. Parent company Kontoor Brands has confirmed it has signed an agreement with Authentic Brands Group to sell the business for up to one billion dollars.

The definitive deal, which has been approved by Kontoor’s board of directors, includes an initial transaction value of 750 million dollars and a 250 million dollar earnout based on Lee’s future performance under Authentic. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026 and remains subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

In a statement, Kontoor’s president, CEO and chairman, Scott Baxter, described the divestment as a "deliberate step to sharpen our brand portfolio and unlock investment capacity to fuel accelerated growth”.

Kontoor had already confirmed plans to separate from the Lee brand in its financial report for 2026, in which Lee had already been classified as a discontinued operation. At the time, Baxter had said the move looked to align the group’s portfolio “towards a higher growth profile”.

Kontoor repositions towards ‘higher growth profile’

Rumours about potential bidders then began circulating, with Authentic reported as a frontrunner in the takeover race. By adding Lee to its portfolio, the US multibrand giant is extending its long-term streak of snapping up notable labels, placing the brand alongside the likes of Guess, Dockers, and Boardriders.

Authentic itself has seen significant growth, with sales outpacing a prior five-year goal of achieving 100 billion dollars in sales and whispers of an IPO filing beginning to spread.

At Kontoor, meanwhile, the team is pivoting its attention towards Wrangler and Helly Hanson, two brands Baxter said have “significant white space opportunities”. As a result of the deal, the company will now be “better positioned to fuel a higher growth profile” in segments like denim, outdoor and workwear.

Alongside a newly streamlined brand portfolio, Kontoor is also aiming to enhance its profitability profile, strengthen its balance sheet, enable disciplined reinvestment and enhance its commitment to long-term value for shareholders.

Baxter added: “I want to reinforce our commitment to support Lee through the sale process and to personally thank the Lee team for getting us to where we are today. We believe this is a great outcome for Kontoor, the Lee business and Authentic.”

Chinese e-commerce giant Shein has opened a new e-commerce logistics warehouse in the English Midlands as the company continues to expand its UK distribution operations.

The new 35,000 square metre facility in Cannock has created 450 jobs, bringing the total number of logistics roles supported by Shein in the UK to around 1,000, a press release revealed. The site is the company’s third warehouse on the Cannock campus, where it has now doubled its footprint to more than 60,000 square metres.

The warehouse includes automated sorting lines and robotic order picking systems aimed at improving operational efficiency and speeding up deliveries for customers and marketplace partners.

In a statement, Martin Reidy, the director of corporate affairs for Shein's European arm, said: “This investment reinforces our commitment to providing better service to our customers and marketplace partners in the UK.

“This facility enhances our ability to deliver faster and more reliable service, while also supporting local economic development by creating jobs and collaborating with businesses in the region.”

The expansion follows a series of UK investments from Shein, including offices in London and Manchester, and comes as the retailer continues to grow its marketplace business for third-party sellers.

Launched in the UK in 2024, Shein Marketplace currently supports around 3,000 UK sellers. The company recently partnered with THG Fulfil to offer integrated logistics and fulfilment services for marketplace partners, including next-day delivery capabilities and streamlined returns management.

Major fashion retailers including Primark, H&M Group and Zalando are calling on governments to introduce tax reforms aimed at making resale and repair more commercially available.

The move comes as nearly 70 fashion and textile organisations signed a joint statement coordinated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, warning that current tax systems continue to favour the production of new clothing over circular business models.

Other signatories include Bestseller, Selfridges, Global Fashion Agenda, Arc’teryx, Decathlon, Vinted, Lacoste, Vestiaire Collective, ThredUp and Etsy.

The group is urging policymakers in the EU, US and Canada to reduce VAT on resale and repair services, lower labour taxes linked to circular business models and expand Extended Producer Responsibility schemes to fund textile collection and sorting infrastructure.

The proposals have particularly drawn backing from retailers expanding resale, repair and re-commerce operations as pressure grows around sustainability targets, textile waste and shifting consumer spending habits.

According to the foundation’s new report, ‘The New Bottom Line: Policy levers to scale resale and repair for fashion’, targeted policy reforms could increase gross profit margins to as much as 55 percent for resale businesses and around 41 percent for repair services. The circular fashion market is projected to reach 393 billion dollars by 2030, growing at twice the rate of the wider fashion industry.

‘Today, [the resale model] is economically penalised…’

In a statement, H&M Group’s chief sustainability officer, Leyla Ertur, said: “Resale keeps products in use while meeting customer demand for more affordable and sustainable choices. But today, this business model is still economically penalised.

“If governments are serious about circularity, they need to act by removing double taxation, reducing labour costs, and removing other barriers that hold resale back.”

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s fashion and textiles lead Mark Buckley added: “Fashion’s potential to become more circular is significant, but the economics are stacked against resale and repair. Businesses are incentivised to use new resources rather than invest in keeping clothes in use for longer.”

The initiative forms part of the foundation’s Fashion ReModel project, which supports brands and retailers developing revenue streams through resale, repair, rental and remaking services. Participating businesses reported circular revenues growing four times faster than broader company sales, yet the segment still represents a relatively small share of total turnover.

Resale and repair businesses are still often burdened by high labour costs and typically face taxes on items at every transaction, rather than solely the original point of sale.

Vinted’s senior director of sustainability, Marianne Gybels, said to make circular businesses the first choice, they must deliver on what matters most to consumers, such as reliability and affordability.

“To unlock its full potential, policy should support business models that make circular choices more accessible. This helps second-hand to scale further and provides consumers high-quality, affordable alternatives that are significantly better for climate impact than buying new,” Gybels concluded.

Key account managers are responsible for revenue.

They build strategic relationships.
Negotiate pricing.
Present collections.
Secure preorder commitments.
Activate reorder.
Develop long-term accounts.

Yet in many wholesale organisations, they spend more time administrating than selling.

They reconcile spreadsheets.
Verify pricing manually.
Switch between showroom, ERP and B2B systems.
Correct orders.
Prepare manual performance reports.

That is not strategic selling.
That is structural inefficiency.

If key account managers are expected to close more deals, they need less administration and a system that supports execution.

https://www.fire-digital.com/en/use-cases/department/sales-manager

The structural productivity problem in wholesale sales

In fragmented environments, key account managers deal with:

• Separate digital showroom and B2B portal
• Sales apps that are not fully ERP-synchronised
• Manual pricing validation
• Customer conditions stored across systems
• Reorder analysis outside the sales workflow
• Delayed performance visibility

Every additional system creates friction.
Instead of driving growth, KAMs spend time coordinating systems.

The result:

• Lower deal velocity
• Missed reorder potential
• Reduced revenue per sales rep
• Increased internal complexity

The problem is not the salesperson.
The problem is the system architecture.

What high-performing key account managers actually need

To operate effectively, KAMs require:

• One unified customer view
• Real-time ERP-consistent pricing
• Structured collection logic
• Integrated preorder and reorder workflows
• Immediate performance visibility
• Seamless system synchronisation
• A user experience that accelerates conversations

They do not need more tools.
They need one integrated execution system.

FIRE: the integrated system for key account managers

FIRE combines:

• Digital showroom
• Sales app
• Sales table
• Fully integrated B2B portal
• Structured preorder workflows
• Systematic reorder activation
• Middleware-based ERP integration
• Real-time dashboards

Within one unified Wholesale Sales Control Platform.
This eliminates fragmentation.

Presentation, execution and control operate in one architecture.

1. Unified data instead of system switching

With FIRE:

• Customer conditions are visible instantly
• Pricing is ERP-consistent
• Order history is centralised
• Performance data is updated in real time
• Duplicate entries disappear

Key account managers stop switching between systems.
They work from a single source of truth.

2. Structured preorder instead of manual correction

Preorder in FIRE follows a clear structure:

• Clean collection architecture
• Transparent SKU logic
• Documented assortment decisions
• Integrated pricing rules
• Automated order processing

Administrative follow-ups decrease dramatically.
Closing speed increases.

3. Reorder becomes proactive growth

Reorder is often underexploited.

With FIRE:

• Top sellers are visible immediately
• Customer-specific reorder signals are structured
• Cross-market comparisons support argumentation
• Follow-up becomes systematic

Reorder transforms from reactive to strategic revenue.

4. Real-time performance empowers negotiation

Key account managers gain:

• Margin visibility
• SKU-level performance
• Regional comparison
• Order status transparency
• Dashboard-based preparation

Fact-based selling replaces guesswork.

AI starts with structured sales data

Everyone talks about AI in sales.
But AI does not work without data.
And most wholesale organisations today lose critical sales intelligence because it is not structured or captured.

In many environments:

• SKU selections are not stored in context
• Rejected styles are not documented
• Assortment adjustments disappear after meetings
• Reorder triggers are not tracked systematically
• Account evolution across seasons is fragmented

That means years of valuable sales behaviour data are lost.
Without structured data, there is no AI leverage.

FIRE captures what others lose

Because FIRE integrates showroom, sales app, preorder and B2B within one system, it captures structured data across the entire wholesale journey:

• What was presented
• What was selected
• What was rejected
• What quantities were adjusted
• What triggered reorder
• How accounts developed over multiple seasons

This creates:

• Longitudinal customer profiles
• SKU decision history
• Market-level pattern recognition
• Assortment optimisation insights
• AI-ready datasets

Every season strengthens the data foundation.
The system compounds in intelligence.

Why this matters for key account managers

Future AI-driven wholesale will support:

• Better assortment proposals
• Predictive reorder timing
• Margin optimisation
• Risk detection
• Account growth recommendations
• Forecast accuracy

But only if the data exists.

If KAMs operate in fragmented systems today, that intelligence is lost.
If they operate in FIRE, that intelligence accumulates.

Less administration today.
More intelligence tomorrow.

Business impact

When administration decreases and structure increases, brands typically experience:

• Higher revenue per key account manager
• Faster deal cycles
• Increased reorder rates
• Reduced internal coordination
• Improved forecast accuracy
• Stronger strategic account development

Productivity improves.
Revenue scales.
Data compounds.

Executive summary

Key account managers should focus on:

• Winning deals
• Strengthening partnerships
• Driving reorder
• Expanding accounts

Not on:

• Reconciling systems
• Manually verifying prices
• Exporting spreadsheets
• Coordinating disconnected tools

FIRE reduces administrative burden by integrating digital showroom, sales app, sales table and B2B portal into one structured Wholesale Sales Control Platform.

It increases deal velocity today.
And builds AI-ready sales intelligence for tomorrow.

Less administration.
More deals.
Smarter wholesale.

FAQ – Key Account Management and Wholesale Sales Productivity

Why do key account managers spend so much time on administration?
In many wholesale organisations, sales teams use multiple disconnected systems such as digital showrooms, ERP platforms, B2B portals and spreadsheets. Switching between systems and reconciling data manually consumes time that could otherwise be spent on selling.

How does administrative workload affect wholesale sales performance?
When key account managers spend a large portion of their time on administrative tasks, less time remains for customer engagement and strategic account development. This often leads to slower sales cycles and missed revenue opportunities.

What systems do key account managers typically use in wholesale sales?
Key account managers usually work with CRM platforms for relationship management, ERP systems for pricing and orders, digital showrooms for product presentation and B2B portals for reorders. Without integration, these systems create operational friction.

Why is an integrated wholesale sales platform important for KAM productivity?
An integrated platform connects product presentation, order management and performance insights in one environment. This reduces manual coordination and allows sales teams to focus on building customer relationships and closing deals.

How can technology increase revenue per key account manager?
By automating administrative tasks and structuring sales workflows, software platforms can significantly increase productivity. Sales teams spend less time managing data and more time on high-value activities such as account development and sales conversations.

Why is preorder management central to wholesale sales?
Preorder processes determine production volumes and revenue potential for the season. Structured preorder workflows help sales teams present collections efficiently and reduce the need for manual follow-up work.

How does reorder activation support wholesale growth?
Reorder activation enables companies to capture additional revenue during the season. When high-performing products are identified quickly, sales teams can proactively approach customers with reorder opportunities.

Why is structured sales data important for future AI applications?
Artificial intelligence requires structured datasets to identify patterns in buyer behaviour and product demand. Capturing sales interactions and assortment decisions creates the foundation for AI-driven forecasting and recommendation systems.

How does FIRE improve key account management in wholesale?
FIRE integrates digital showroom presentation, preorder workflows, reorder activation and performance dashboards into a single platform. This reduces administrative complexity and allows key account managers to focus on sales and account development.

How does FIRE support AI-ready sales processes?
By capturing behavioural sales data across the entire wholesale journey, FIRE builds structured datasets that can support predictive analytics, demand forecasting and intelligent sales recommendations.

About FIRE

FIRE is the leading Wholesale Sales Control Platform for fashion brands and seasonal B2B organisations.
It integrates:

• Digital showroom
• Sales app
• Sales table
• B2B portal
• Structured preorder and reorder workflows
• Middleware-based ERP synchronisation
• Real-time dashboards
• Data capture across the entire wholesale journey
• AI-ready longitudinal datasets
• Private cloud SaaS architecture
• Premium digital brand and product experience

Experience how key account managers can sell more and administrate less:
https://www.fire-digital.com/en/

The bankruptcy filing of US boating retailer West Marine, which recently sought Chapter 11 protection, has implicated several apparel companies. Rocky Brands, Kent Water Sports LLC, and Luxottica of America are listed among the retailer's top 30 unsecured creditors. Other brands sold by West Marine, such as Sperry, are reported to be less affected by the proceedings.

West Marine filed its Chapter 11 petition with Delaware's US Bankruptcy Court, listing both estimated assets and estimated liabilities in the range of 500 million dollars to one billion dollars. The company has entered into a restructuring agreement with backing from key financial stakeholders to pursue a transaction that intends to enable the delivery of its capital structure “while maximising value and ensuring continued service to the boating community”.

The total number of creditors listed surpassed 100,000, with Rocky Brands US LLC, which sells its Xtratuf boots through West Marine, emerging in the upper portion of impacted unsecured creditors. According to the filing, the group is owed 1.1 million dollars, while Kent Water Sports, the parent company of footwear brand Ho Sports, is owed nearly 1.17 million dollars and sunglasses brand Luxottica is owed over 900,000 dollars.

Mounting annual lease obligations exceeding 50 million dollars were cited by West Marine CEO Paulee Day as the primary reason for the bankruptcy filing. “Many of the debtors’ stores are burdened by undesirable locations, onerous lease terms negotiated during more favourable economic conditions, and limited flexibility for early termination, leaving the debits with little ability to right-size their portfolio outside of a court-supervised process,” Day said.

She continued: “The fixed costs associated with maintaining this excess retail presence—including rent, utilities, and allocated overhead—have consistently consumed a disproportionate share of the debtors’ operating cash flow, eroding margins and preventing the business from investing in the operational improvements necessary to restore long-term profitability.”

West Marine, which operates 200 retail locations, has appointed Hilco Real Estate to advise on potential lease saving areas, and oversee the wind down of stores that do not align with the company’s go-forward footprint. Day said the actions taken “will allow us to optimise our operations and rationalise our footprint, so that we can focus on continuing to serve our customers and community well into the future”.

French company Losanje, which specialises in textile upcycling, has secured a capital injection of 6.7 million euros (7.79 million dollars). Upcycling involves reusing existing materials to create a new product, such as making a bag from a pair of jeans. This process increases the value of the residual product, turning textile waste into a business.

The Varennes-Vauzelles-based company last raised funds in 2023. That 2.7 million euro round was used to develop an automated cutting system. Losanje then demonstrated the scalability of this method with a successful patchwork clothing line for the fashion brand Faguo.

Existing investors UI Investissement and Crédit Agricole are participating again. New backers include the platform Lita and family office Evolem. Public sector contributors include the French agency for ecological transition (ADEME), state bank Bpifrance, and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

The goals for the coming years include increasing production capacity, purchasing advanced industrial machinery, and hiring engineers. Additionally, the company will soon relocate to a new 2,500 square metre facility in the nearby city of Nevers.

In his LinkedIn post, co-founder Simon Peyronnaud outlines a new fashion universe where his company plays a revolutionary role on par with Vinted.

Peyronnaud started the company six years ago in 2020 with partner Mathieu Khouri. In the post, he confirms that last year, 50 clients were supplied with 150,000 upcycled textile products. He aims to increase that number to six million items of clothing and accessories by 2030.

The capital injection into Losanje is another significant French push towards circular textiles. For example, last year the company Reju announced the construction of a polyester (PET) recycling factory in Sittard, funded by the Dutch government. Meanwhile, the American poly-cotton recycler Circ is building a 450 million euro facility in the northeastern French city of Saint-Avold.

Luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter is facing a strike from 100 workers at its distribution centre in London. Deliveries are expected to be “savaged” due to the industrial action. The warehouse currently remains in operation, the company confirmed.

The walk out, which was expected to take place between May 20 and 21, comes in response to the company’s alleged failure to pay the London Living Wage to its lowest-paid staff, GMB Union said. According to the organisation, members claimed to have been made to feel under pressure for participating in the run up.

In a statement, Craig Prickett, GMB regional organiser, said such action is “always a last resort”, adding: “Our members want a fair resolution, and we would welcome the company coming back to the table with an offer we can present to the workforce, one that meets the expectations set by Net-a-Porter’s own previous commitments.”

Prickett continued: “This dispute can still be resolved without any disruption to distribution if the company chooses to act now before the action takes place. Our members were given assurances about the London Living Wage, so all they are asking for is what was promised to them.”

In a statement to FashionUnited, LuxExperience, Net-a-Porter's parent company, said: “LuxExperience acknowledges and fully respects our employees' right to take industrial action.

"Our priority remains that we recognise the vital contribution of our employees and remain open to engaging in constructive dialogue with union representatives as we navigate the next steps in this process, whilst ensuring we protect the long-term sustainability of our business.”

The strike comes as Net-a-Porter’s financial positioning continues to improve under the turnaround strategy of LuxExperience. Earlier this week, the Germany multibrand group reported the stabilisation of revenues during the Q3 of 2026, with the luxury segment, including Net-a-Porter, anticipated to show further improvements.

In a statement, LuxExperience CEO Michael Kliger said: “Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, as well as Yoox, showed further sequential improvements, which are fully in line with our ongoing transformation plan for both segments. We are fully on track to achieve our forecasted results for the full 2026 financial year.”

This article was updated May 21, 12pm CEST to include a statement from LuxExperience and an update on the status of the warehouse's operations.

Delphine Arnault, chief executive officer of Dior, has announced a reassessment of the house's pricing policy for certain products, reports the Financial Times. The announcement was made at the Business of Luxury conference, organised by the British newspaper and held on Monday in Puglia. The head of the LVMH group's second-largest brand by turnover stressed the desire to win back a clientele put off by the sharp price increases of recent years.

“We are working hard on our leather goods offering and we are being very cautious about pricing,” Arnault said during her speech. She also added: “You cannot increase the price of a product without enhancing the perception of its quality. This is an essential point.” For reference, the management specified that the price of the Lady Dior bag, one of its bestsellers, has not seen any increase since 2023, except for adjustments strictly related to the devaluation of two currencies.

Creative renewal as a recovery lever

This pricing caution is part of a broad period of strategic renewal. Last year, the house appointed Jonathan Anderson (former creative director of Loewe) as artistic director to revitalise the brand's image and curb the decline in sales observed amid a general slowdown in the sector. Last week, the designer also presented his sixth collection for the brand and his first Cruise show in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Anderson's first creations for the house went on sale in boutiques on January 2. According to information reported by the Financial Times, this initial delivery deliberately included several items at more affordable prices, with the aim of concretely illustrating the brand's new aesthetic and evolving commercial strategy.

Hyper-luxury has its limits

Dior's initiative highlights the limits of hyper-luxury and the price increases implemented in recent years by many brands in the sector, such as Louis Vuitton or Chanel. This increase has had the effect of alienating affluent consumers: the aspirational customer; the fashion enthusiast with a good salary; and the occasional visitor to a brand they admired. As a result, several major houses have reported a slowdown in demand. The comments made by Dior's chief executive officer, as well as press reports about a price review within the Kering group's brands, demonstrate that things are about to change.

The ongoing price reduction and the introduction of more accessible pieces show that the industry is considering rebalancing its offering. The market is moving away from ostentatious pricing towards authentic perceived value. Prices, however, remain high but are justified by production realities, with luxury companies increasingly emphasising their artisanal focus.

Marquee Brands has announced a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Roberto Cavalli, through a strategic partnership with the Dubai-based Damac Group.

Closing of the transaction is expected in the second quarter of 2026

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, after which Damac Group will “remain a significant shareholder,” a statement read. Founded in Florence in 1970, Roberto Cavalli joins Marquee Brands' portfolio of global brands, which includes Martha Stewart; Laura Ashley; Sur La Table; Bcbgmaxazria; and Stance. “The addition of Roberto Cavalli further strengthens Marquee Brands' position as a leader in the luxury and lifestyle sectors, bringing total retail sales for the entire portfolio to approximately five billion US dollars,” the statement continued.

“Roberto Cavalli stands as one of Italy's defining luxury fashion houses, with a bold creative identity and an enduring brand identity,” said Heath Golden, CEO of Marquee Brands. “We see extraordinary potential to build on this foundation through careful brand management and strategic expansion. In partnership with Damac, a leader in luxury real estate, we will continue to elevate the Roberto Cavalli experience worldwide.”

Marquee Brands announces The Level group as primary operating partner

“Roberto Cavalli is one of the most distinctive luxury brands in the world. After several years dedicated to consolidating the brand's foundations, we sought a strategic partner with the necessary expertise to take the brand to the next level. We are confident that Marquee Brands is the right partner to do so. Given our love for the brand and our significant ongoing shareholding, we look forward to supporting Marquee Brands' efforts. This includes continuing to expand the Roberto Cavalli lifestyle through branded residences and hospitality projects in key global destinations, an area that remains wholly owned and managed by Damac. This collaboration marks a new and exciting era for the brand. We look forward to its significant future expansion,” added Hussain Sajwani, founder of Damac Group.

Marquee Brands will accelerate Roberto Cavalli's growth by introducing new categories, services and experiential touchpoints. The press release specifies that this expansion will occur in Europe; the UK; the US; the Middle East; Asia-Pacific; and Latin America.

Damac will continue to develop the brand's presence through Roberto Cavalli-branded residences and hospitality projects in key global markets, strengthening the brand's luxury positioning and appeal. “The partnership creates a powerful platform that combines Marquee Brands' expertise in global brand development with Damac's leadership in luxury real estate and hospitality, unlocking significant new opportunities for the future of Roberto Cavalli.”

As part of the transaction, Marquee Brands has announced that Milan-based The Level Group (TLG) will be its primary operating partner. The Level Group will lead the development, production and distribution of the brand's womenswear and menswear collections, ensuring a unified and elevated product vision in key markets. In addition, Tlg will assume responsibility for retail and e-commerce operations and wholesale distribution in Europe and the US, strengthening Roberto Cavalli's direct-to-consumer presence and global retail strategy.

US lifestyle products and services company Urban Outfitters, Inc. has announced that the total company net sales for the period increased 11.4 percent to 1.48 billion dollars. Net income reached a record 115.7 million dollars, with earnings per diluted share standing at 1.30 dollars.

Total retail segment net sales increased 8 percent, with comparable retail segment net sales increasing 5.6 percent. The growth in retail segment comparable net sales was driven by high single-digit positive growth in digital channel sales and mid single-digit positive growth in brick and mortar store sales.

Positive growth across brands and channels

Comparable retail segment net sales increased 9.8 percent at FP Group, 9.3 percent at Urban Outfitters and 1.9 percent at Anthropologie. Subscription segment net sales increased 34.5 percent, driven by a 33.3 percent increase in average active subscribers, while wholesale segment net sales increased 24.8 percent, driven by a 26.2 percent increase in FP Group wholesale sales due to an increase in sales to specialty customers.

“We are pleased to report record first quarter sales and earnings driven by positive retail segment ‘comps’ at all brands and impressive double-digit growth in both our Wholesale and Subscription segments,” said chief executive officer Richard A. Hayne. “Our customers remain engaged and are responding to compelling fashion trends, giving us confidence in URBN's continued success.”

Gross profit dollars increased 10.9 percent to 542.6 million dollars from 489.1 million dollars. However, the gross profit rate decreased by 16 basis points compared to the three months ended April 30, 2025. This decrease was due to a non-recurring gain of 4.8 million dollars, or 36 basis points, recorded in the prior year quarter that was not repeated in the current year quarter.

Off-price apparel and home fashions retailer the TJX Companies (TJX), which is based in the US, has announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 ended May 2, 2026, delivering growth that exceeded internal plans. The corporate group reported a 9 percent increase in net sales to 14.32 billion dollars in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.

Consolidated like-for-like (LFL) sales, increased 6 percent during the period, driven by growth across all divisions and higher customer transactions. On a constant currency basis, net sales growth for the quarter was 8 percent, with foreign currency exchange rates providing a one percentage point positive impact.

Net income reached 1.33 billion dollars, up from 1.04 billion dollars in the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) grew 29 percent to 1.19 dollars, compared to 0.92 dollars in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

Division performance and sales metrics

The Marmaxx division, which includes TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Sierra stores alongside their e-commerce platforms in the US, recorded net sales of 8.65 billion dollars, representing a 7 percent reported growth rate. LFL sales for Marmaxx grew by 6 percent during the first quarter.

The US HomeGoods division, which operates HomeGoods and Homesense locations, achieved net sales of 2.51 billion dollars, an 11 percent increase on a reported basis, with LFL sales rising 9 percent.

International operations also expanded during the quarter. TJX Canada, encompassing Winners, HomeSense, and Marshalls stores in Canada, recorded net sales of 1.29 billion dollars, up 12 percent on a reported basis and 9 percent on a constant currency basis, with LFL sales up 7 percent. TJX International, which covers TK Maxx and Homesense stores plus European e-commerce sites across Europe and Australia, reported net sales of 1.88 billion dollars, an increase of 13 percent on a reported basis and 7 percent on a constant currency basis, accompanied by a 4 percent increase in LFL sales.

Capital allocation and updated financial outlook

TJX generated 1.12 billion dollars in operating cash flow and concluded the first quarter with 5.58 billion dollars in cash and cash equivalents. The retailer returned 1.08 billion dollars to shareholders through the repurchase of 3.80 million shares of common stock for 604 million dollars and the distribution of 471 million dollars in shareholder dividends.

The corporate board previously approved a new stock repurchase program authorizing up to an additional 3.00 billion dollars of stock buybacks, leaving approximately 3.50 billion dollars available under all active programs as of May 2, 2026.

TJX ups outlook

Following the first quarter performance, chief executive officer and president Ernie Herrman stated that the spring/summer 2026 season was off to a positive start, prompting an upward revision for full year projections. Herrman remarked, “Availability of quality, branded merchandise is outstanding, and we are well-positioned to take advantage of the plentiful buying opportunities we are seeing in the marketplace”.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2027, TJX plans consolidated LFL sales growth of 2 percent to 3 percent, a pretax profit margin between 11.4 percent and 11.5 percent, and diluted EPS in the range of 1.15 dollars to 1.17 dollars.

For the full year fiscal 2027, the group raised its consolidated LFL sales growth outlook to a range of 3 percent to 4 percent. The expected full year pretax profit margin has been increased to a range of 11.9 percent to 12 percent, and full year diluted EPS expectations have been upgraded to between 5.08 dollars and 5.15 dollars.

Pepco Group N.V., a Dutch-registered, London-based holding company, has reported its unaudited interim results for the six-month period ended March 31, 2026, revealing substantial profit growth and an expansion of its retail footprint.

The pan-European variety discount retailer delivered revenue of 2.47 billion euros (2.87 billion dollars), representing a reported increase of 5 percent. Underlying profit after tax, or PAT, jumped by 52.3 percent to 198 million euros.

Commenting on the results, chief executive officer Stephan Borchert stated: “Beyond the revenue performance, our profitability has stepped up significantly. Strong gross margin expansion of 250 basis points, and the improved operational leverage of our Pepco business, have driven underlying EBITDA growth of 17.5 percent.”

Strategic pivot to core apparel and general merchandise lines

The positive results reflect the ongoing implementation of a transformation plan introduced at the capital markets day in March 2025. A key pillar of this strategy involved simplifying the group structure by exiting the FMCG segment to focus resources on higher-margin clothing and general merchandise categories.

Excluding the impact of the FMCG exit, group like-for-like revenue growth was plus 3.6 percent for the half year. The flagship Pepco brand recorded an apparel-driven LFL revenue growth of 4.6 percent when excluding FMCG, marking six consecutive quarters of positive LFL performance for the banner.

Accelerated expansion plans for brick and mortar network in Western Europe

Improved store economics in Western Europe, particularly across Iberia and Italy, have prompted management to significantly upgrade its regional expansion target. The group now plans to open at least 600 new brick and mortar stores in its existing Western European markets between financial year 2027 and financial year 2030, which will effectively double its regional presence.

During the first half, the group opened 61 net new stores across its portfolio, bringing the total European network to 4,420 locations. While expansion continues rapidly in southern Central and Eastern Europe, the group is also planning a carefully managed trial of new stores in select areas of Ukraine by the end of the 2026 calendar year, leveraging existing brand awareness among repatriated citizens.

Enhanced capital return framework and structural changes

The group reconfirmed its full year financial year 2026 guidance, expecting revenue growth of 6 percent to 8 percent and net underlying earnings growth of at least 50 percent. Supported by a robust balance sheet and pre-IFRS 16 net debt of 139 million euros, Pepco Group announced a refreshed capital allocation framework to upgrade shareholder distributions.

The retailer intends to complete a special one-time capital return of up to 400 million euros in financial year 2026 via a pro-rata tender buyback. From financial year 2027 onwards, the group will return all excess prior-year levered free cash to shareholders through a mix of buybacks and dividends, with a target to progressively increase the regular dividend payout ratio to 40 percent over time.

Divergent performances across portfolio brands and senior personnel appointments

The group performance was driven entirely by the core Pepco banner, which generated 2.30 billion euros in revenue and an underlying EBITDA of 505 million euros. Trading at the Dealz Poland banner remained challenging, with revenues declining by 6.6 percent to 170 million euros and LFL revenues falling by 8.3 percent. The group remains committed to separating the Dealz business by the end of financial year 2026.

To reinforce this strategic direction, the group completed several appointments during the period. Sabine Zantis-Moeller, who previously held senior marketing leadership positions at Deichmann, joined as chief customer director in March 2026. Additionally, Robert Pernak was appointed as head of pricing and Sławomir Nitek was appointed as country manager for Poland.

Europe is currently experiencing a significant and enduring surge in running, fueled by factors like the post-pandemic focus on health, the emergence of Gen Z, and the increasing popularity of social run clubs. This robust trend offers an opportunity for brands with a heritage rooted in running. However, to harness this resurgence in a sustainable manner, they must first recalibrate their approach.

Saucony is one of those names outpacing the broader market. The business is continuing to transform under the scope of a considered and deliberate strategic rollout. Its turnaround in Europe is being guided by Cameron Black, vice president and general manager of Saucony Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), who was appointed to the role with the task of leveraging and capitalising on the brand’s heritage and reviving it for a younger, fashion-focused consumer.

Prior to Saucony, Black had been general manager of Hoka under Deckers Brands, and had served as a key player in the footwear label during a period of acceleration. Upon Black’s initial appointment, Hoka had been bringing in around 140 million dollars globally, and by the time he left it was approaching the two and a half billion dollar mark. Black saw a similar opportunity for growth and revival at Saucony, a heritage label founded in 1898 that had been in decline under its parent group, Wolverine Worldwide.

Since Black’s appointment nearly three years ago, however, there has already been a significant change. In the American footwear giant’s most recent financial report for the fiscal year 2025, Saucony was credited with driving group performance, with sales amounting to 533.1 million euros, a 31.14 percent uptick on the year prior.

“The momentum behind Saucony right now, particularly in Europe, is pretty unrivalled,” Black said. “We’ve managed to turn around a brand that a retailer had once called ‘dusty’ into a one it now describes as ‘radical’. That’s really been my journey to now with Saucony, and it’s a really exciting time to be a part of the brand.”

The Move Makers and an activation marketing format

Black’s first steps at Saucony centred around the implementation of a brand-building model, while also shifting focus towards a specific consumer group in the 25 to 35 year old range. Internally dubbed the ‘Move Makers’, the audience is trend-conscious and fashion-leading, marking a departure from an inherently sports-centric positioning and moving Saucony closer to its mission of blending performance and lifestyle.

In targeting this group, a change in perception was needed and ultimately achieved by moving marketing spend away from sales activation, trade marketing and lower-funnel conversion, which had accounted for 97 percent of the budget, primarily towards brand activation, which now makes up 65 percent of the budget.

“That singular focus has allowed us to over-invest in that consumer group, and in doing so, transformed the perception of the brand,” Black said. “Saucony has become younger, cooler, and more trend-driven, and that consumer group is now creating a halo effect across broader demographics as well. Whether the group were buying lifestyle or performance products, we treated them as one unified customer. We see Saucony at the intersection of running culture, lifestyle and performance, so we didn’t want to separate audiences for each category.”

London as the blueprint for wider expansion

This approach extended into European rollout, for which London became the first and primary focus for Saucony in 2024. The challenge, Black said, was growing what was a relatively small brand within a setting dominated by companies boasting enormous budgets and resources. Around 70 percent of the brand’s European marketing spend therefore went towards London alone, with community marketing in particular taking centre stage.

“Our teams are deeply connected to those communities, they’re part of them, and in many ways, they are the target consumer themselves,” Black explained. “We restructured the organisation around that idea.”

Two significant initiatives took shape in London, which eventually formed a blueprint for how the brand is planning and expanding into new markets. The Saucony 10K is a core pillar. The event’s London edition launched in 2024, and this year sold out with over 20,000 runners taking part. Participants were firmly rooted in Saucony’s target group and also participated in smaller activations like the Shoreditch Run Club, creating a community from people in need of a physical space.

Covent Garden was then selected as the site for the brand’s debut UK flagship, chosen for its strong footfall and central location. The two storey space is described as a “cultural hub” for this running community, where the brand’s heritage is emphasised across a multifunctional setting. “The store is doing exactly what we hoped it would do; it has become a genuine community hub for the brand in London,” Black said.

The location built on Saucony’s small presence in the UK, where it already operated an outlet store in Cannock. Akin to the post-pandemic strategies of other retailers, this site responded to the need to deal with excess inventory in a clean, effective way, but is not central to how Saucony is growing in the present day. “We obviously want those outlets to perform well, but from a broader retail perspective our focus is on ensuring that the Paris and London flagship spaces are doing their job in building the brand,” Black said.

Nearly a year on from its regional store debut, Saucony has found a solid base in the UK. “Next year, we’re on track to grow the UK market to five times what it was in 2024,” Black reported. “That acceleration has come from over-investing in year one and then continuing that investment over time, with the store playing a central role in driving awareness and hosting weekly activations.”

The Parisian Pioneer Hub

Saucony has since been translating the London blueprint for Paris, where the company held its first 10K event in December and is currently preparing for the opening of its ‘Pioneer Hub’ flagship. Due to launch in August, the five-floor building combines retail, showrooms, event spaces, and offices, creating a multifaceted hub where teams working on the Parisian market will also be based, “creating a much deeper connection between the brand and the community”, Black noted.

Activations will then extend into Paris Men’s Fashion Week, with the hub to play host to an inaugural event during the January 2027 edition. Involvement in the fashion week is imperative to Saucony’s mission of repositioning as a “true run-lifestyle brand”. ”We’re fortunate because Saucony has such a rich archive of products,” Black added. “We can draw from different eras and trends, from the 70 right through to today. At this point, we genuinely see ourselves as equally a lifestyle and performance running brand.”

Even before the hub’s opening, Saucony’s popularity in France had already soared. To test the market, the brand opened various Parisian pop-ups, introducing its running-focused concept to the local consumer base. As a result, Saucony saw interest in its running category rise 487 percent in France, largely driven by Paris-based consumers, making the city one of Saucony’s key global cities, alongside London, New York and Tokyo.

This has also been reflected in the response to the product. The “running-inspired” Omni 9 shoe, for example, has become the brand’s top selling silhouette, welcoming a 1,400 increase in clicks-to-page in the UK over the past year. The lifestyle category, meanwhile, is also up 4,500 percent in impressions, an ode to the team’s ability to craft products for their consumer base, with attention to colour, aesthetic, and shape, while maintaining a global perspective.

How these products are then rolled out onto the shop floor is integral. In Covent Garden, where the consumer demographic is largely defined by tourism traffic, Saucony has found that shoppers lean towards comfort and cushioning, rather than racier, speed-oriented running styles. Black suspects Paris may differ.

“It’s a far more fashion-oriented district, and other brands in the area also lean heavily into lifestyle positioning. We expect the Paris consumer to align even more closely with our Move Maker profile – a fashion-oriented but still active consumer.”

A market-by-market approach

This thought-out rollout is prevalent in many of Saucony’s decisions, including in which markets it is looking to move into next. “What’s important for us is that when we enter a city, we do it properly. We don’t want to stretch our budgets so thin that we can’t execute at the level we want to,” Black said.

Berlin has been identified as a secondary priority market, as reflected in plans to host the city’s inaugural Saucony 10K, due to take place June 20. The event was described by Black as the “first major step in over-investing into Germany with a sustained long-term strategy”, which can now be made without sacrificing investment elsewhere. “In fact, we’ve continued increasing investment in both London and Paris,” Black noted.

Next year, Saucony will then begin introducing similar activations in Milan. Akin to the UK, Saucony already operates a number of outlets in Italy, yet by applying its staple blueprint for market rollout, further plans for the region are likely underway. “Retail is definitely part of that blueprint, but we’re taking it one step at a time,” Black said.

This mindset is notable in a global market that has been relatively hesitant to fully embrace retail. However, as Black underlines, physical spaces are imperative to Saucony, particularly as it looks to cater to consumers seeking real-life experiences. “A major part of our strategy is becoming part of the communities we serve,” Black said. “To do that effectively, you need a physical location where consumers can gather and engage with the brand. That’s why Paris, London and future stores in key cities are such an integral part of the strategy.”

The scale of this retail footprint isn’t important, Black notes before reaffirming there isn’t a massive rollout plan on the horizon. “What matters is having a presence in the right key cities, and being very intentional about where and how we show up,” he concluded.