News

​As racket sport padel continues to rapidly grow in the UK, sportswear brand Decathlon UK & Ireland has become official retail partner for the UK’s first premier tournament.

​Essential Parfums is to make its UK debut in early October with the Paris-based perfumery choosing London’s Soho to create its first standalone store outside of France

Handbag and accessories producer/retailer Islander has ventured outside Scotland, making its London Covent Garden debut. A second store is planned for Bloomsbury Street later this year.

Oliver Bonas is taking the retail parks route for the first time, as it extends its store expansion into Glasgow Fort in September and Teesside Park later this year.

Labeled as a “pervasive issue of pollution”, global textile manufacturing generates 92,000 tonnes of microfibre pollution every year with 63%, or over 58,000 tonnes, leaking into the environment.

London’s Metropolitan Police on Friday said it questioned two people suspected of aiding late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of employees.

Lectra, the French specialist in technology solutions for the fashion and apparel industries, has reported half-year results marked by an improvement in second-quarter margins.

Versace’s executive chairman has observed more positivity at the company since Pieter Mulier took the helm as creative director. Changes are planned for the brand’s retail network, including a further 10 store closures.

The brand, owned by the US-based G-III group, is opening its first café in the Dutch capital. It is also developing a new avenue for growth in the hospitality sector.

​Kalyan Jewellers has launched ‘Akshaya Thanga Maligai’ as its first regional jewellery brand for the Tamil Nadu market and signed Tamil film actor Sivakarthikeyan as brand ambassador.

“We will close non-strategic Prada stores in China over the next two to three years, particularly second and third locations,” says Prada Group’s CEO Andrea Guerra – “credibility and desirability are the two mantras.”

Sales at the luxury heavyweights rebounded in the first half of the year, buoyed particularly by the United States and a modest upturn in China, although they have yet to return to the post-Covid boom years.

Following an extensive refurbishment, Italian luxury brand Max Mara has reopened its Theatinerstraße boutique, which now spans three storeys and comprises 960 square metres of retail space.

The Ferretti family, Aeffe’s current owner, has put forward a binding offer in partnership with Invitalia, investment fund Oxy, and a manufacturing partner from China, to relaunch the company and save jobs.

Restructuring at German sportswear business Puma and weaker demand related to the conflict in the Middle East weighed on its second-quarter sales.

​The July BDO High Street Sales Tracker showed some interesting variations when it was released on Friday with overall like-for-like discretionary sales up 2.7% but big variations depending on timings and channels.

The European Commission said ⁠on Friday that it has charged Chinese online retailer Temu for ⁠not ‌cooperating properly during ⁠a raid on its European headquarters ​in ​Dublin in December as part of an investigation.

​There was big news from Sainsbury’s on Friday with the UK supermarkets giant finally drawing a line under its ownership of Argos via an agreement to sell it in a deal valued at around £120 million.

From flagship stores and concessions to immersive pop-ups, several international brands are bolstering their presence across the capital this summer.

​TikTok Shop is now one of the UK’s largest commerce platforms with over 300,000 Britain-based businesses selling on it and the Live Shopping format having grown 55% year on year.

The outdoor apparel and footwear firm posted net sales of $614.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, up 2% from $605.2 million a year earlier.

Crocs Inc. announced on Thursday a revenue increase of 2.6% in its second quarter, on the back of a jump in sales at its flagship brand. 

Steven Madden Ltd on Thursday reported a 19.1% surge in revenues to $665.9 million for the second quarter, thanks to double-digit growth across both direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels.

New Balance has opened a new flagship store at The Grove in Los Angeles, marking the brand’s first flagship location on the West Coast.

Amazon delivered its strongest cloud growth in more than four years and raised its annual capital spending forecast.

Brunello Cucinelli on Thursday said revenues rose 9.5% at current exchange rates to €749.4 million for the first half, prompting the Italian luxury house to raise its sales guidance for the year.

The fashion and accessories trade fair staged a new edition from July 23 to 25 in Hall 5 at IFEMA Madrid, characterised by earlier dates and enhanced sectorisation designed to boost business.

​The list of named — if not confirmed — potential bidders for Harvey Nichols is getting longer with US-based Gordon Brothers having lodged a bid.

​Hammerson is acquiring a 50% stake in Manchester Arndale from Palma Arndale BidCo Limited and is issuing new shares to help pay for its holding in the major UK mall.

Adidas on Thursday apologised for a surfeit of pink boots at the World Cup, saying that it was a coincidence that they were sported by a striking number of players.