Latest Articles in Business

Benetton Group plans to close 500 stores

Benetton Group CEO Claudio Sforza is finalising the company's reorganisation plan, which he has been working on since this summer, when he took over the Venetian company. The strategy should reduce losses from 230 million to 110 million euros within a year. The break-even point is forecast for 2026. To achieve this goal, 500 store closures are...

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What to know when using your name for your brand

When creating a new business or brand, one of the many issues to be considered is what to call it. For a designer, the most obvious naming choice is to use their own name, or a variant of their own name. It is common practice within the fashion and cosmetics industries for a designer or founder to name the brand after themself, and there can be...

Business|Opinion Featured

Is ‘Black Friday’ still relevant?

Black Friday has finally arrived, but I’ve already had enough. Since last week, I've been inundated with newsletters full of offers, and while clearing out my inbox, I've wondered whether in a time of climate crisis, with the EU aiming for a circular economy by 2050 and enacting new laws to further enforce sustainability, a bargain fest that...

Business

Oxfam calls on Australian brands to pay living wages to garment workers

An analysis by Oxfam Australia has claimed that a number of notable Australian brands are underpaying their garment workers despite raking in over one billion dollars in revenue last year. According to the nonprofit organisation, Kmart Group, Big W, Cotton On, Rip Curl, Kathmandu owner KMD, Myder and Bonds’ parent company Hanes “still don’t pay...

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Uniqlo boss says brand does not use Xinjiang cotton

Fast Retailing’s chief executive, Tadashi Yanai, has claimed that the company’s core brand, Uniqlo, does not use cotton sourced from China’s Xinjiang region in its products. Yanai addressed the concern to the BBC, to which he confirmed that the company was not utilising cotton from this district, before stating: “It gets too political if I say...

Business

On Running opens office in London

Swiss sportswear retailer On Running opened its first European flagship store in London in early 2023. This was followed a few months later by a second store in the bustling Spitalfields district. Now, the brand is cementing its presence in the UK with the opening of an office in the English capital. The premises, at 12 Fleur De Lis Street, is...

Business

After scandal in Italy: Dior strengthens its own production capacities

Following a scandal involving suppliers in Italy, the French luxury house Dior wants to take over a larger part of its own production chain. According to a report from industry magazine WWD, the company has announced the creation of a new industrial department, which will aim to strengthen production capacities in the long term and ensure the...

Business

Gucci Logistica increases stake in Colonna Group tannery to 100 percent

Kering subsidiary Gucci Logistica is increasing its stake in Colonna Group to strengthen its investment in the leather industry. Gucci Logistica, which is active in the design, development, engineering, production, purchasing, sales, import and export of Gucci branded products, already held a 51 percent stake in the tannery since 2019, but is...

Business

Pierre Cardin and Ahlers AG fined 5.7 million euros

French fashion house Pierre Cardin and its largest licensee Ahlers AG are to be fined 5.7 million euros by the European Commission for anti-competitive agreements. Pierre Cardin must pay an amount of 2.23 million and Ahlers AG 3.5 million euros. The European Commission reported that between 2008 and 2021, the two concluded several...

Business

Birkenstock loses lawsuit against Aldi over sandal design

Shoe manufacturer Birkenstock has lost an appeal in its dispute with Aldi over the design of a sandal from the supermarket chain's range. The Bavarian Supreme Court in Munich today confirmed the lower court's earlier verdict, a spokesman said. The case involved a sandal with a large buckle, for which Birkenstock's complaint was dismissed. The...

Business

United Nomads Group acquires experiential brand Caravana

Resort retailer United Nomads Group (UNG) has announced its acquisition of Tulum-based, experiential fashion brand Caravana. The move hopes to help the label move into a new era, while further emphasising the group’s mission to “redefine resort retail”. Caravana joins Delos as part of UNG’s brand portfolio, through which it said it has reshaped...

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Movopack secures funding to launch circular e-commerce packaging in the UK

Movopack, the Italian-based company providing e-commerce platforms with circular and sustainable packaging, has raised a 2-million-pound seed funding round to support its official launch in the UK. The funding round was led by early-stage investor 360 Capital, with participation from Greiner Innoventures and Techstars, and will be used to “...