Drapers
28 March 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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BFA supports insurance fight
Richard Kottler, chief executive of the British Footwear Association (BFA), has written to British Clothing Industry Association (BCIA) chairman Peter Lucas to pledge his support for Lucas’s Credit Insurance Campaign. -
‘Hold on,’ Kelvin urges stockists
Ted Baker chief executive Ray Kelvin has urged its stockists and smaller retailers to “hold on” through the recession, and pledged commitment to the business’s wholesale operation despite falling sales. -
1940’s
Autumn/Winter 09 -
1980’s
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Agent Provocateur vows to double its store count
Luxury lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur wants to double the size of its portfolio to more than 100 stores and concessions in the next three years, as it looks to boost its international presence and expand into new markets. -
Barcelona confirms details of rival Bread & Butter show
Barcelona City Council has outlined plans for its new show called The Brandery, which will go head to head with Bread & Butter Berlin in July. -
Ben Sherman swings to Q4 loss
Ben Sherman saw sales fall by almost 30% to $26.2 million (£18.2m) in the fourth quarter ended January 31 pushing the brand into the red. -
Berwin & Berwin expands Paul Costelloe range
Suit supplier Berwin & Berwin has extended its Paul Costelloe menswear line to include an extra collection for spring 2010, following the successful launch of its first Paul Costelloe menswear line for spring 08. -
Calvin Klein Underwear
Without compromising on comfort, the underwear label is introducing luxury lines for men and women -
Coats
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Consumer confidence on the rise
Consumer confidence is at its highest since last May, following interest rates cuts and lower household bills, according to the GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index. -
Contrast Panels
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Crocs granted reprieve by bank
Footwear brand Crocs has been granted an extension for its credit facility by the Union Bank of California. -
Debenhams shares fall as HSBC offloads stake
Shares in Debenhams have fallen after HSBC announced the sale of a 13% stake in the retailer on behalf of an undisclosed client, reported to be the collapsed Icelandic investment fund Baugur. -
Deborah Meaden
The TV Dragon leaves her stony-faced persona in the studio as she tells Khabi Mirza why she has invested in skate brand WeSC -
Deichmann plots assault on UK
German footwear chain Deichmann will take advantage of the weak property market and open up to 10 stores in the UK this year as part of wider plans to open up to 400 stores in the UK within the next 10 years. -
Demonstration planned outside Primark's Oxford Street store
Anti-slave labour campaigners are set to demonstrate outside Primark’s Oxford Street shop in London tomorrow. -
Drapers best dressed at the Oracle Retail Week Awards
Drapers’ Sara White and Lucy Walsh check out the best dressed at the recent Oracle Retail Week Awards -
Drapers Footwear Awards 2009 shortlist announced
The shortlist for the Drapers Footwear Awards 2009 has been announced. -
Drapers Footwear Awards student judging
Drapers’ Stephen Spear asks our high-profile footwear judges what they will be looking for in students’ designs -
Draping
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Easter footfall boost likely
Retailers should benefit from more people staying at home and more tourists visiting the UK over the Easter break according to the Synovate Retail Traffic Index. -
EXCLUSIVE: Topshop New York preview
The long-awaited Topshop in New York will open tomorrow. Drapers had a sneak preview of the store last night. -
Fashion sales dip in March
Fashion like-for-like sales fell 1.1% in March, despite the overall upward trend in retail sales for the month, but the good weather boosted demand for spring clothing and footwear. -
Fly53 targets retail growth
Fly53 plans to open standalone stores and concessions and grow its international wholesale business after venture capital firm Key Capital Partners (KCP) invested £3.6 million to buy a 35% stake in the streetwear brand. -
FREE cinema tickets
Drapersonline is giving away FREE cinema tickets to a special preview of the new film State of Play starring Oscar® winner Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck -
Gemma Metheringham
Karen Millen’s creative director still gets a buzz from seeing women wearing her designs on the UK’s streets, and thanks to the retailer’s global expansion she could soon be spotting her work around the world too -
Government delays 5% business rate rise
Businesses have been given more time to pay the 5% business rate rise, under a new scheme announced by the government today. -
H&M profits hit by currency turmoil + Matthew Williamson preview
H&M saw first quarter profits fall back 12% to SEK 3.5 billion (£298 million) after gross margin was hit by currency fluctuations. -
High street retailers to raise money for cancer charity
Marks & Spencer, River Island and Topshop are among retailers aiming to help raise £1 million for charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer next month by selling special fashion lines. -
Hobbs sales hit £100m as Nick Samuel departs chain
Hobbs saw sales creep over the £100 million mark but EBITDA fall back 11.7% to £18.8 million for the 53 weeks ended January 31. Separately Nick Samuel has stepped down from the board. -
Hot Tuna narrows losses
Surfwear brand Hot Tuna saw sales rise 31% and losses narrow by 59% to £679,000 for the six months ended December 31. -
J Shoes
Footwear brand J Shoes is celebrating its fifth birthday with a range fusing modern, street looks with Victoriana and utilitarian references. -
Jane Norman trading boss in shock exit
Sandy Goldsborough, the trading director at Jane Norman, has left the womenswear retailer after just six months in the role. -
JJB finance director steps down
JJB Sports finance director David Madeley has stepped down from the role and has left the business. -
John Lewis axes marketing director
John Lewis marketing director Gill Barr has been made redundant as part of a wider shake up of the department store’s management team. -
Later Easter skews footfall figures
Footfall fell by 1.7% in March according to Experian. -
Laura Ashley profits dive but fashion sales rise
Laura Ashley’s like-for-like fashion sales rose 3.6% for the 53 weeks to January 31, although group pre-tax profits dropped to £9.6 million from £15.8m the previous year. -
Letters to March 28, 2009
The latest letters from Drapers’ readers -
Li & Fung snaps up Shubiz
Global supply group Li & Fung has bought footwear supplier Shubiz for about £15 million to help offset the loss of its women’s footwear orders with Marks & Spencer, which it supplied via its Peter Black business. -
London City retailers prepare for protests
Fashion retailers in the city of London are on standby to close their doors if protests around the G20 summit this week turn violent. -
London mall is on target, says Westfield
Property developer Westfield has hit back at claims that its Westfield London shopping centre is underperforming, and says it is on track to hit 10 million visitors by the end of the month. -
Luxury’s five basic steps to recovery
I may not agree with a banker friend that “luxury is dead”, but I understand the sentiment. -
M&S sales fall but beat expectations
Marks & Spencer’s UK like-for-like sales dropped 4.2% for the 13 weeks to March 28, a smaller drop than expected. -
M&S shareholder calls for new chairman within 15 months
The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has filed a resolution calling for Marks & Spencer to appoint an independent chairman by July 2010, as Sir Stuart Rose comes under increasing pressure to relinquish his dual chief executive and executive chairman role. -
Melbourne serves up a commercial feast
Australian designer labels aimed to sell rather than shock at the 2009 Melbourne Fashion Festival, but the commercial direction was not at the expense of creativity, despite the financial gloom. -
Men's Footwear indicator, March 28, 2009
Access Drapers’ unique source of sales information from footwear retailers, revealing the best-selling brands, the hottest products and the latest issues to affect men’s footwear by clicking on the PDF. -
Mike Ashley linked to JJB Sports shares
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is understood to have bought 23% of JJB Sports’ shares, after the liquidator of Kaupthing, which had seized a key shareholding in the business from former chief executive Chris Ronnie, offloaded its stake. -
Moss Bros posts £5m loss
Moss Bros swung to a pre-tax loss of £5 million from a £200,000 profit for the 53 weeks ended January 31 and said like-for-like sales had slumped by 9.4% in the six weeks since the year end. -
Mothercare scores strong Q4
Mothercare saw UK like-for-like sales rise 3.7% for the 11 weeks ended March 28. -
My-Wardrobe appoints chairman
My-Wardrobe.com, which celebrates its 3rd anniversary this month, has appointed former banking boss Jean-Marc Bouhelier as chairman, -
Next warns of "double challenge" as profits fall 7%
Next saw like-for-like sales fall 6.5% and profits in its core business fall by 7% to £446.4 million for the year ended January 2009. -
Nicky Hill
Drapers probes leading independents to get their View from the Shop Floor. -
Non-profit Fashion Enter in business rate dispute
Croydon independent Enter, which sells product from 20 up-and-coming designers, is refusing to pay its full business rate charges on its shop after the local council refused to give it rate relief. -
Off the record, March 28, 2009
The inside track on the parties and gossip for the week. -
Paper Scissor Stone, Leeds
A previously disused building’s industrial feel has been retained in its transformation into a streetwear shop -
Paying the ultimate price on rent day
At the time of writing, retailers up and down the land are receiving their quarterly rent demands and, after a torrid trading quarter, many of them will be hard pushed to make the payment. -
Raise money for Soul of Africa
Soul of Africa, the ethical footwear brand, is calling for people working in the fashion and footwear industries to help raise £10,000 to support orphans with AIDS in South Africa. -
Retail Rehab website offers help for indies
Independent retailer Rachel Parkin has launched Retail Rehab, a website giving support and advice to indies on how to tackle the challenges they face in the recession. -
Retailers back website to support rate relief on empty shops
The British Property Federation (BPF) has launched a website empty rates.com to help gain support to reinstate business rate relief on empty commercial properties. -
Rock and roll
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Sci-Fi
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Selfridges makes redundancies
Selfridges has made 12 head office staff redundant after a consultation period with 31 employees. -
Sheers
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Shoe Studio reviewed by Dune
Daniel Rubin, owner and chairman of footwear chain Dune, is conducting a review of the Shoe Studio Group business he rescued from administration earlier this month. -
Shoulders
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Sixty UK rescued via CVA
Sixty UK, which trades the Miss Sixty and Energie stores and brands in the UK, has been rescued from administration via a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA). -
Skirts
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Staff switched on by video interviews
In Boudiche’s early days as a one-store indie, myself and my co-owner Fiona McLean did both the buying and the selling. After meeting the designers we had a better understanding of our brands and a greater passion for them, which came across in our dealings with our customers. -
Surface Texture
Autumn/Winter 09 -
Tailoring
Autumn/Winter 09 -
The Convenience Store pops up
Premium independent The Convenience Store is to temporarily leave its current location at the foot of a west London high-rise to open a pop-up shop in the city’s St Martins Lane Hotel, from March 19-April 19. -
The Waistline
Autumn/Winter 09 -
The weekend newspaper round up: March 28-29
The best of the fashion business headlines from the weekend’s newspapers… -
This week in history...
Women’s figures threatened the British Empire, men’s hat wholesalers struggled to meet demand, and the rise of kinky boots caused concern -
Toms expands distribution
Ethical footwear brand Toms has widened its UK distribution and is introducing new styles for autumn 09. -
Topman New York: first look inside
Topman’s New York store has opened its doors as part of the opening of its sister chain Topshop. -
Topshop New York: first look inside
Topshop New York will throw open its doors to shoppers at 11am US time, 4.30pm GMT, today. Take a look at the first pictures of the store interior ahead of its opening. -
Velvet
Autumn/Winter 09 -
What do you think of Umbro's new England football kit?
Umbro unveiled a retro-inspired new England football strip at the team’s match with Slovakia on Saturday and it seemed to prove lucky, helping the team to a 4-0 victory. -
Women's Footwear indicator, March 28, 2009
Access Drapers’ unique source of sales information from footwear retailers, revealing the best-selling brands, the hottest products and the latest issues to affect women’s footwear by clicking on the PDF. -
Woolies’ fall gives kids’ stores a lift
Kidswear retailers are reporting a major boost in sales following the collapse of Woolworths’ kidswear brand Ladybird and its value offer Worthit!, which are thought to have generated sales of about £250 million annually. -
Young tailors take prizes
Rory Duffy, a 25-year-old apprentice at Savile Row tailor Henry Poole, has won the annual Golden Shears competition for tailoring students and apprentices, sponsored by City of London Livery Company the Merchant Taylors’ Company.
