Retail news and archive

Will you still have a store to open tomorrow?

It doesn’t take much observation to notice that a radical change is raging through our current retail landscape. A change that is not only affecting retail, but the consumer industry as a whole. The hospitality business, the food and service industry, travel, financial services, energy, entertainment, fashion, the leisure industry and any other...

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Management

Retail’s returns nightmare to get worse following the holidays

New York - Over 1.5 million packages would be returned on December, 19 alone in the U.S., a day dubbed “National Returns Day.” The early spike will be led by consumers who got a jump on online shopping in the days before Black Friday — a move that is kicking off the earliest holiday returns season ever. ‘UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper’ study,...

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Management|ANALYSIS

Why Asos’ profit warning has set the fashion industry trembling

New York – Last Monday’s warning from Asos Plc., unanimously seen by both the industry and the market as better placed than most fashion peers to weather shopper fatigue, has raised a number of concerns about weakening consumer strength globally. On December 17, Asos issued an unexpected profit warning after a poor November. The fashion company...

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Three ways blockchain is improving retail commerce

Blockchain has undoubtedly become one of this year’s most popular technology. From financial services to supply chains, the blockchain has changed the way we do business. A recent study identifies three ways this emerging technology is transforming retail worldwide. Quantzig, a global analytics and advisory firm, recently published a paper...

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Fashion

Wake up call: Millennials are not the only consumer

It’s a message arriving from sources as varied as Stylus, whose recent Decoded Futures summit in New York questioned our obsession with that most cash-poor demographic, to the United Nations which released a report this year stating that the population of all countries is expected to rise over the coming two decades. But still it’s a message...

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German retailers complain about lack of apprentices

German retailers are particularly proud of the role they play when it comes to training the next generation. And they have all reason to be, offering a good 50,000 apprentice positions each year according to the German trade association (HDE). About 30,000 of those are for prospective businessmen and -women; another 20,000 for sales staff. All...

Retail

Black Friday: What to expect?

The annual shopping bonanza is just around the corner, what can we expect? Here are some graphs that helps to answer a few basic questions: where, when, and how much are they going to shop? In Store vs. Online: a zero-sum game? Savvy shoppers are now utilising both online and offline channels to hunt for the best deal: 64.6 million consumers...

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McGill University opens new school of retail management backed by footwear mogul

Montreal’s McGill University has officially opened the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, named after Aldo Bensadoun, founder of footwear company Aldo Group. The school aims to act as a hub for students, researchers and practitioners to address the challenges retailers face, according to the university’s website. Mr. Bensadoun donated 25...

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Retail

Brick and mortar still has a future, according to retailers

The first Decoded: Future summit held by Stylus in New York shed light on the evolution of the fashion and retail industries in the age of technology. Despite the fact thatnew, innovative technologies are happening all around us, a panel of retail industry figures sat down early in the summit to discuss the importance of brick and mortar stores...

Retail

Alibaba announces Q3 2018 results: extending luxury brands engagements

Alibaba Group announced financial results for the third quarter of 2018. The group delivered robust revenue growth of 54 percent in the quarter, with core marketplace business continuing to show strong profit and cash flow growth. Annual active consumers on the China retail marketplace reached 601 million, an increase of 25 million compared with...

Retail

Amazon’s private labels: is anyone winning?

Amazon has been pouring money into developing its own private labels, a report by data-research firm Jungle Scout seems to suggest. Its massive distribution and shipping channels has serviced third-party brands well for years, now Amazon is also starting to utilise that capability to sell their own products. Already making headway in the sale of...

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Management

Brexit timeline: How the UK referendum result has affected the fashion industry

It’s hard to believe that the Brexit referendum, which took place way back on 23 June, 2016, has been a staple topic for rowdy pub chats and friendship-ending Facebook statuses for over two years already. As 29 March quickly approaches - and the whole of the UK twiddles their thumbs in shared anticipation - FashionUnited asks the question: how...