Fashionbi Newspaper

Burberry Financial Reports show Growth in Revenues

2013-05-22T00:45:59Z

British luxury brand, Burberry, recently posted negative growth in full profits by 3.4 percent at 253.4 million, in british pounds. This fall is said to be an effect of the discontinuation of its licensing contract with company Inter Parfums, reports Pambianco News.

According to Burberry’s financial reports, adjusted profit before taxes were at 427.8 million, a 13.7 percent growth. Turnover had also increased at 7.6 percent, to 1.99 billion, as an effect of a strong demand for accessories from China.

Angela Ahrendts, Chief Executive Officer, claims “during the 2012-2013 fiscal year, retail performance both online and offline was strong, and that the company had achieved record revenue and profit in the period. Looking ahead, although the macro environment remains uncertain, Burberry is well positioned with opportunity by channel, region and product. With the integration of beauty in April, we have added another exciting growth platform.”

According to the official website, Burberry has 192 boutiques, 208 department store concessions, and 44 outlets, not counting online retailing.

Armani sees double-digit Growth in Profits

2013-05-22T00:19:29Z

Giorgio Armani, Italian luxury group, posted good earnings for 2012 brought about by a whopping 39 percent growth in China, reports Pambianco News.

According to Armani himself, “the excellent results achieved in 2012 confirm the quality of leadership that we have here at Armani. [These are] the result of a strategy focused on the constant search for quality, an approach that over the years has built an extraordinary level of brand awareness and loyalty.”

According to their financial statements, as of December 31, 2012, profit had increased to a total of 339 million, from 2011’s 281.8 million, giving it a 20 percent growth. Moreover, Sales had also grown to 2.09 billion from the previous years 1.8 billion, bringing it to a 16 percent growth.

2012 was the third year that the group had announced significant growth in both their retail sector and their wholesale sector. Representatives for the group claim that all brands under their wing had helped achieve this successful growth, most especially Emporio and Giorgio Armani.

Brands under the Armani Group, are: Giorgio Armani, Giorgio Armani Privé, Emporio Armani, AJ Armani Jeans, A|X Armani Exchange, among others.

Saks Reported Higher than Expected Sales on First Quarter Financial Report

2013-05-21T19:02:39Z

The American high-end retailer Saks Inc, reported its financial highlighst for the first quarter ended on May 4, reporting higher than expected sales.

Last year the sales at stores rose 5.9 percent, therefore analysts were expecting a 2.6 percent of increase, the overall sales came to $793.2 million above the expected $776.80 million at Wall Street. In the same path the shares rise 2.2 percent to $12.55 in premarket trading, according to Reuters.

The retailer company reported a profit of $20 million, or 13 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 4, compared to earlier year of $32.1 million, or 18 cents per share.

Saks reported that they are investing $95 million to improve their computer systems and as a consequence improve their online sales, and catch with their closest competitors (Nordstrom) and (Macy's). The company already offers online shopping for all the products carried in the stores but they are planning to launch an e-commerce site in the fall of 2013, and it will cost them up to $6 million more.

Damiani Optimistic, despite Slowdown in Revenue

2013-05-21T01:27:06Z

Jewelry brand Damiani, announced a slowdown in revenue by 9 percent, at 107.5 million in euros, for the last 9 months which ended on the 31st of March, this year.

The Business of Luxury reports that, earnings before taxes were reported to be at negative 1 million.

The fiscal year officially ends by June, and the company will be able to disclose their annual financial status. Despite the slow turnover, they remain optimistic.

Damiani, based in Valenza, Italy, produces high quality, fine jewelry.

Slow Demand in Luxury in Hong Kong, Luxury Watches take a Hit

2013-05-21T01:07:34Z

The South China Morning Post reports a slowdown in luxury sales in Hong Kong. What used to be a city renowned for luxury shopping, today, Hong Kong is the destination for mainland Chinese shoppers who are searching for great bargains. Shops like Zara, Topshop, and other Outlet stores are being hoarded by shoppers, of which majority are still mostly from the Mainland.

But which aspect of the Hong Kong luxury industry has been hit the most? According to Pambianco News, “Hong Kong, one of the world’s most important markets for luxury watches, is feeling the effects of the slowdown in demand by Chinese travelers. Three major luxury watch retailers report stocks piling up and a direct hit on profits.

But the luxury sector all around, has not been having a great year so far. Even luxury magnate LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, has reported a slowdown in sales, claiming demand for the last 10 months was ‘flattish’. In response to this, some luxury firms have resorted to a ‘casino approach’, flying in their biggest customers to Hong Kong in order to gain as much sales as possible.

Despite this slowdown in demand for luxury goods, China’s market is only still growing, particularly the middle class. This shift in wealth has been changing the retail industry in both Mainland China and Hong Kong, and only time will tell in what direction this shift will be taking us. Will China return to becoming a luxury-hungry market, or does this mean a decline in interest altogether?

Can Fashion Survive in a Post-Communist Country?

2013-05-20T23:35:06Z

Romania- a country where basic freedoms and creativity were harshly suppressed until 1989 is now attempting to find its pace throughout capitalism. Here, the development of fashion is slow, yet promising, as the creative freedom and innovative spirit of Romanian designers are strongly materialized in their distinctive designs.

Latest fashion trends from Paris, Milano and New York influenced the Romanian fashion scene between 20’s and early 40’s as people had the freedom to travel and find inspiration in the international fashion. The major avenue in central Bucharest, Calea Victoriei, is a strong symbol of the early existence of fashion here, lined with fine houses, palaces, churches, hotels, up market shops and museums. Due to its elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite, Bucharest was known as the “Little Paris” during the two World Wars. However, the fashionable promenades that took place in Bucharest during the times when Romania was still a monarchy were almost nonexistent in the long and difficult communist period as the country functioned as a closed system; hence any connection with the world outside was severely punished. In Romania the democracy came into effect in 1989, a relatively late period, comparing with other countries from this part of Europe. As a result of this major change, the new market-oriented economy lead to fundamental changes in all aspects of economic life, mainly in domains such as marketing and fashion. On one hand, after the termination of the Ceausescu regime in 1989, in the Romanian fashion market was identified an increasing demand for western fashion merchandise, more specifically for famous brands, fact that led to a shopping revolution. On the other hand, in the immediate period of the fall of communism, consumers appreciated the products at their most basic level and the idea of brand and differentiation was a strange and new concept for them.

According to a study carried out by AT Kearney in 2009, Romania is seen as an attractive market for the investments of clothing merchandise, taking into consideration aspects such as market size or the popular enthusiasm to spend (FRD Center Market Entry Services Romania, 2011). Furthermore, Romanian women have had a continuous interest in fashion even before the fall of communism, for instance any international fashion magazine that secretly entered the country was highly required, as Romanian women expressed a high interest for fashion progress in the world. Interestingly, it was inevitable that Romanian women would attempt to reproduce Western fashion by using the German magazine Burda as a key inspirational element as it contained actual patterns with original Western designs.

Some examples of international retailers who successfully met the Romanian fashion market are Benetton Group (1999), Zara (2007), C&A (2009), Gap (2009), Moschino (2009) and H&M (2011).

The presence of these brands reveals the significant long-term potential of the Romanian clothing sector. Regardless of the fact that the economical crisis is affecting the Romanian luxury market, brands such as Gucci, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss, Burberry, Valentino, Alfred Dunhill, Louis Vuitton and Max Mara are still highly desired by the Romanian wealthy customers. Moreover, the notorious luxury brand Roberto Cavalli recently inaugurated its first store in Romania at JW Marriot Hotel, Bucharest, on 18^th of April 2013.

Romanian Fashion Designers

In 2013 the Romanian fashion scene presents real reasons for optimism, with promising designers such as Maria Lucia Hohan who gained great international recognition for her sheer muslin vaporous dresses worn by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Kimora Lee Simmons, Sofia Vergara, Jennier Morrison and Kelly Rowland, to name a few.

Moreover, it has become a tradition for some talented Romanian designers such as Stephan Pelger, Adelina Ivan, Andra Clitan, Irina Scrotter and Lucian Broscatean to display their collection at Berlin Fashion Week every year. Cristhelen B. by Musette, a company specialized in the production of leather shoes and accessories is another Romanian brand that already gained brand awareness in Europe, North America and Asia for the refinement and quality of the products it offers. However, there is still an immense need for development and recognition of authentic Romanian brands both internally and externally. A first step taken in this direction was the inauguration of the urban space Downtown Bucharest who took place at Eva Store – Romanian Design – a pop-up store meant to host the designs of some of the most popular Romanian designers: 109, Adelina Ivan, Carla Szabo, Carmen Secareanu, Ciprian Vrabie, Irina Schrotter, Kristina Dragomir, Lady Magpie, Murmur, Patzaikin and Venera Arapu.

The world outside is always open to explore old European capitals that provide a fresh and innovative approach to fashion. As it is, subtle and minimalist or eccentric and cutting-edge, Romanian fashion can easily gain ground in the international fashion world if firstly receives internal recognition, promotion and conservation. Maybe in this manner Bucharest could regain its old nickname – the “Little Paris”.

In UK online fashion buying is on acceleration

2013-05-20T20:05:02Z

According to PriceGrabber.co.uk's latest survey which was conducted from March 12 to April 22, of this year, almost half of the respondants admitted to buy the majority of their fashion shopping online.

The survey included response from almost 1,000 UK online shopping consumers, they were asked if their fashion online consumption had increased during the last 5 years, and to those who answered yes, were asked to explain the reason why of this increase in the activity divided into three main factors.

First one was the increase in the quantity of online retailers and as a consequence choice with 28 percent. On second place the factor was the ease of shopping from their computer and whislist out and about 24 percent. Finally the third factor seleceted was an increased level of online trust in the industry as a whole, 24 percent.

What is outstanding, is the rise on buying fashion through tablets or smartphones up to 32 percent, while the majority of fashion items that are being bought in a store is 53 percent, which represents not a big difference with the other 47 percent half that represents online buying.

Another impressive insight from this survey, is the fact that 41 percent of people indicated they like to get inspiration from the emails the fashion retailers sends to them, contrary with the assumption that all people hate this kind of publicity. In terms of merchandise returns, almost a third, 26 percent, said they were aware of their size and they know how clothes will fit, therefore they never return items.

Geox revenues in Q1 were lower than expected

2013-05-20T18:05:52Z

The Italian shoe company Geox published its figures for the first quarter of the year, with lower than expected results.

According to Chairman and founder of Geox, Mario Moretti Polegato: "The first quarter of 2013, due to difficult macroeconomic situation of Mediterranean countries and particularly in Italy and Spain. ended with a result affected in terms of sales, by these difficulties. So, as already mentioned, 2013 will be a transition year. However despite the uncertainty of the timing of the consumption recovery in Europe, we are condifent that our strategy focused on investments in new products and on the gradual shift of our commercial activities towards emergin markets such as Asia Pacific and Russia, where our expansion is in rapid and positive evolution, represents the base for future development of the Group and the relaunch of its growth".

The fisrt quarter's figures showed revenues coming down 20.4 percent year on year at 262 million euro, same fot the EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) declined 44 percent, reporting 40.5 million euros. Same effect was reflected on the operating profit which stood at 40.5 million versus 72.3 million in the first quarter of last year.

Asia vs Middle East: Fashion Market Analysis

2013-05-20T08:11:13Z

Decades have gone since Charles Frederick Worth put fashion on a high pedestal in our lives. He exhibited his work in Paris making the city an important part of the Global Fashion map. Years have gone, and France, Italy, UK and the US dominated the global fashion market till recently. Asia and the Middle East are now catching up with great momentum and are now making their mark as significant opportunities in terms of investment and trends.

The Asian Fashion Market

Studies and vigorous analysis has been conducted trying to understand this dynamic and fast growing market. The biggest players in the Asian Fashion scene were the Japanese and Koreans. This change has been witnessed in the past five years when the Asian market made its mark in the global fashion scene. Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have been found to have capabilities to take a lot of market share away from the west; China has always been the dark sheep from not only being the production lead, but being one of the greatest contributors to global fashion.

It is understood that Asian fashion market has also embraced the upcoming trends of online fashion. Dozens of good websites support and sell clothes online making more people around the world get awareness about the Asian fashion.

Japan, was a major fashion hub right from the very beginning. According to statistics, the Japanese fashion industry was worth US 1001 billion dollars in the year 2000. Hong Kong is another name slowly making its mark by organising highly acclaimed fashion shows and has one of the fastest growing retail industry as well.

Coming back to the new Chinese reign on the global market, it has been analysed that the Chinese fashion industry is set to become one of the world’s second largest fashion market by the year 2020. This means that it would account for nearly 30 percent of the global fashion market’s growth within the period of next five years. Throwing light on the online fashion scenario of China, reports predict the number of online shoppers to rise to 329 billion in 2015 from 145 million in 2010.

With the unscaled growth in awareness about fashion in the Asian market, many high fashion brands and retail brands are moving towards this growing continent for customers. Most designers from the west are now opening their flagships and collaborating with already existing high end buying houses in Asia to retail their lines. High fashion giants like Louis Vuitton , Dior , Hermes have already opened many independent stores and some American retail brands like Forever 21 have also entered the Asian market.

The Middle Eastern Fashion Market

Contrary to popular belief, the Middle Eastern market is one of the International fashion industry’s most vibrant markets. According to a study conducted by Bain and Company, global sales have increased upto 30% . Personal luxury goods shopping have been increasing without being deterred by the global economic crisis. Also, the a 41.7% sale increase was witnessed in the middle east by the world’s top 250 retailers in 2012.

The need for luxury and flamboyance of the wealthy, fashion loving states of the Arabian Gulf is visible in the mega-sized lavish shopping malls they construct. One can find nearly every popular and luxurious brand from the west retailing in these shopping giants.

Along with physical retailing, the Middle Eastern market seems to have also delved into the e-commerce segment with flair. Studies conducted by Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), London, predicted that the total E commerce sales in the Gulf will increase from 3.3 billion dollars in 2010 to 15 billion dollars in 2015.

The Analysis

The basic difference in the Asian Market and the Middle Eastern market is popularity of certain type of clothing keeping their cultures in mind. Political influences in the Middle East disallow women to bare hands and expose certain parts of their body which poses a restriction in terms of choosing the right ensemble.

High end labels like Roberto Cavalli are extremely famous and popular among the Middle Eastern customers for its scarves. Similarly Hermes has also found loyal customers for the similar product.

However, this doesn’t stop the Middle East customer to experiment. According to studies, women are more aware and are experimenting with designers from the west and choosing more dresses and gowns keeping their culture in mind.

On the Contrary, Asian network in fashion is slightly more liberal and easier for brands to experiment with in terms of choice of product and labels.

Market Research Made Easy: the New Fashionbi Profiles

2013-05-20T02:01:31Z

Like any other industry, the fashion industry is just as diverse and complicated as can be. On a regular scale, fashion headlines come out in the news in the form of the latest Spring Summer collection, or who-wore-what in this years Oscars.But forgetting about the glitz and the glamour, there are a lot of aspects about fashion that can also be dissected in order to get a wider grasp of the business behind it. Fashionbi Profiles can provide you with all the necessary information to help you understand a brands background historically, strategically, and even financially.

Now, lets start with the basics. A brand’s origin and history can say a lot about brand dynamics. Fashionbi Profiles provides you with information on each brands history, including origin, establishment, and founder, among others. It also provides you with contact information of their headquarters, access to their official websites, and a detailed list of their social media platforms. In this way, you can understand the brand’s design aesthetic, style and concept. And how much they have evolved since the beginning.

Strategically, Fashionbi Profiles provides you with a bird’s eye view of what the brand has to offer. It provides data that answers all the questions you may ask about a company’s strategic planning, including: What product categories does this brand have to offer? Which market segment does it compete in? Who is its target market? What is its core business? In this aspect you can get a better understanding of who its competitors are and what industry it competes in.

On social media analytics, Fashionbi Profiles also hands out information on your brands KPI standing on a yearly basis. This information includes web, Facebook, Twitter, and Weibo activities. This data is gathered from 12 months before the last month-ended, giving you an up-to-date and clearer idea of the brands positioning and standing as compared to its competitors. If you want a more up-to-date analysis on your social media KPI, you could also apply for Fashionbi Analytics, which allows you to measure your social media performance on your preferred time frame.

Finally, and most importantly, the Fashionbi Profiles also provides you with hard to find financial data, that spreads out to as much as four years, maximum. This feature has been new and improved to include more data regarding financial performance, to better suit the requirements of Fashionbi’s clients. Operations manager Matteo Zanuso claims, “we constantly improve this section starting from our clients’ needs. Even if it looks static, it keeps on changing and is dynamic. Our clients (and clients to-be) can get more accurate financial information from this improved version, with no doubt.”

The financial report index includes information such as: total revenue and operating margin. As opposed to the previous version, they have added a chart to include the cost of sales, as well as a company’s growth rate year-on-year, visible via the balance sheet and the income statement. This information can be incredibly crucial for brands, as it helps them dictate in which financial aspect they are improving or impairing. By being able to see year-on-year growth rate, companies will be able to quickly assess in one glance whether they are performing well or losing foot, and also allows them to quickly determine their profitability. Most importantly, this allows brands to do comparable research over their competitors and analyze who holds more market share, in order to more strategically plan the following year.

All of this useful information, including the actual annual reports, may be easily downloaded from Fashionbi Profiles, via the export button.

“Fashionbi Profiles reflects more and more what people interested in fashion brands search for. As for my favorite part, I have to be honest, the financial part is what makes me very proud!”, claims Matteo. Simply put, Fashionbi Profiles has made market research for fashion businesses as easy as just a few clicks on the key board! With this much success, it's exciting to see what Fashionbi has in store for us next!

Note: *Financials might be partial or not available according to company’s policy or National Commercial legislation.