Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
The global luxury superbrands have been exposed. A recent investigation in Italy has uncovered underpaid and overworked factory staff creating bags for the likes of Dior and Armani. There has been controversy too around just how much these brands cost to make and the price at which they are eventually sold. The margins are gargantuan. Dior’s defence seems to be that its practices and pricing are in line with the market, but that market feels like it’s starting to grate on consumers.
Whether you can afford these products or not, you don’t want to feel ripped off. And it’s not a nice feeling to think that your precious new purchase was produced in less-than-satisfactory circumstances. With the controversy still being played out across social media and other platforms, now is the time for 100% maker brands to stand up and present themselves as the new ‘honest’ luxury, argues our columnist Marcus Jaye.
The UK has a number of amazing brands, which are all made here in good conditions by skilled workers. Names such as Johnston’s of Elgin, Ettinger, John Smedley, Private White V.C and more should present their maker credentials, superior quality and honest prices to a market that is no longer prepared to be ripped off. It’s a great read…
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
Strengthening its commitment to circularity, John Lewis this week launched its first pre-loved range of designer handbags online with brands including Chanel, Celine, Dior, Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Loewe. Customers are now able to shop over 150 options of second-hand items and order directly to their door.
The range has been sourced and supplied by Sign of the Times, which has over 45 years of experience in buying and selling pre-owned luxury products. It is also an expert in authentication and valuation. With demand for pre-loved luxury items increasing and searches for ‘pre-loved handbags’ up 24% year-on-year, it seems a smart move from John Lewis as it looks to drive sales.
It marks yet another initiative launched by John Lewis as part of its circular economy strategy, following the recent launch of the retailer’s repairs trial and 20-piece circular collection.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
JD Sports certainly seems on a major mission to grow its business in the US. It today announced it has become the first global retail partner of Nike’s Connected Membership scheme after extending the rewards programme, which launched in the UK in 2022, to the US.
The Nike Connected Membership programme will now give JD’s US customers access to select Nike member-only footwear and apparel when they opt to link their JD Status and Nike Membership accounts through the JD mobile app or web. By linking accounts, JD and Nike customers “unlock an instant reward bonus”, gaining early access to select Nike member products, as well as exclusive experiences and services.
The announcement follows last week’s news that JD has now completed the acquisition of long-standing US sports retailer, Hibbett, which has 1,169 stores in 35 states across the US. It also follows the success of JD’s Status loyalty programme in the US, which allows customers to earn points to use on a variety of benefits including ‘Status Cash’ towards future purchases, access to the hottest drops before they launch with Status exclusive access, unique experiences and more.
The JD loyalty programme now has 5.1 million active members in the US, with loyalty members shopping twice as regularly with JD as non-loyalty customers. Régis Schultz, Chief Executive Officer at JD Sports Fashion, calls the US “the largest sportswear market in the world”, and it seems the retailer is cutting itself a very nice slice of the pie.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
One of the things that most struck me as I was compiling our In Review, July 2024 feature was just how many interesting new retail stores we reported on in the month of July. We’ve had new openings from a diverse range of retailers, from M&S to Mango, taking in Axel Arigato, Pangaia, Castore and Hobbs along the way. This swathe of openings in the middle of summer is an encouraging sign. Let’s hope we are reporting more of these in August and September too. Our high street needs an injection of excitement.
As well as new stores, there has been a raft of changes at the head of some of our biggest businesses, with the CEOs of Selfridges, Fenwick and, of course, Burberry heading up the exit ramp last month. And Frasers appears not to have considered slowing down the M&A activity during the summer holiday season and snapped up yet another independent and, so it’s rumoured, ran the rule over Yoox Net-A-Porter.
You can catch up with all of this news and more in this new-format feature. We hope you enjoy it!
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
