Drapers
4 November 2011
View all stories from this issue.
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‘Mobile is the future’, says Shop Direct boss
Home shopping giant Shop Direct – which owns the Littlewoods and Very brands – expects half of all sales to come via mobile phones in the next four years following a mobile sales surge over Christmas. -
A bargain hunter’s weapon
Shoparazzi puts all retailers’ Sales onto one handy online map, promoting indies alongside high street chains. -
All Saints profits fall 9%
All Saints saw its profits dip 9% to £21.5m for the year end January 2011, according to figures filed at Companies House. -
Ann Summers overhauls its website
Lingerie and sex toy chain Ann Summers is overhauling its website to improve functionality. -
Anna Laub
Prism’s founder tells Graeme Moran how a glasses and swimwear label that was born out of frustration now counts Elton John as a fan -
Aquascutum to expand internationally with new licensing deal
Luxury British heritage brand Aquascutum is to step up its international expansion with a licensing deal for continental Europe, Russia and the Middle East. -
Asos half year profits soar 66%
Online giant ASOS half-year profits before tax and exceptionals soared 66% to £11.7m. -
Avery Dennison
Avery Dennison Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS) is pleased to partner with Drapers on this important report investigating the increasingly dynamic role that technology plays in the retail fashion industry today. -
Big names to speak at Drapers summit
Aurora Fashions boss Mike Shearwood, George at Asda director Fiona Lambert and former River Island chief executive Richard Bradbury will head an all-star cast of speakers at the 2011 Drapers Fashion Summit. -
Black White Denim opens pop-up shop
Womenswear indie Black White Denim opened a pop-up shop in Manchester city centre this week. -
Bonmarche stores to close as part of rescue deal
Up to half of Bonmarché stores are likely to closed or be offloaded as part of a rescue deal to salvage the heart of the business. -
Brazilian flair at Minas Trend Preview
One of Brazil’s biggest trade shows, Minas Trend Preview, took place from October 26-29 in Belo Horizonte. -
Camilla Sutton
Wholesale manager, Hentsch Man -
Coach, New Bond Street, London
The US accessories and bag brand has opened an impressive flagship in upscale surroundings, which pulls off the trick of being high-end but accessible. -
Concern for Peacocks grows as one bidder remains
Concern is growing for up to 9,000 Peacocks jobs following reports there is just one remaining bidder for the value retailer. -
Customer first
Drapers brought together a selection of retailers and experts to hear their thoughts on the growing role of technology in the fashion business. -
Daily Round up: BRC, PPR, Brora, Hugo Boss, Urban Outfitters
Stories from around the web and the nationals: -
Daily Round Up: Fur sales banned in California; Urban Outfitters; Ralph Lauren; the north-south economic divide
From around the web and the nationals -
Daily Round Up: Madonna; Vans; Yves Saint Laurent; Selfridges; Uniqlo and M&S
Stories from around the web and the nationals: -
Daily Round Up: Xtra-Factor's Caroline Flack; Debenhams; fashion's influencers and Vente-Privée
From around the web and the nationals -
Deckers MD departs amid reorganisation
Nick Vance, UK managing director at Deckers UK, parent company of footwear brands Ugg Australia and Teva, has been made redundant after just four months in the post. -
Drapers’ Daily Roundup: McQueen; Matalan; UK retail and a consumer pricing app
Stories from around the web and the nationals today: -
EBITDA soars at Kurt Geiger
Premium footwear retailer Kurt Geiger saw EBITDA rise 38.7% to £18.8m for the full-year to 29 January, 2011 while like-for-like sales rose 16% during the period. -
Emma Bunton to spice up Argos kidswear
Argos has teamed up with ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton to create a baby and kidswear range. -
End Clothing in Newcastle
Chosen by Gordon Lawrie, menswear account manager for heritage brand Barbour -
Etailer All Sole takes £500k in first month
Sales at footwear etailer All Sole, The Hut Group’s second specialist fashion site, have topped £500,000 since its launch last month, according to the group’s footwear buyer Jacqui Swede. -
Fashion ads under scrutiny
Adverts from H&M, Drop Dead Clothing and Marc Jacobs have been investigated after complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority that the ads were irresponsible. -
French lingerie brand Lejaby placed into receivership
French lingerie brand Lejaby has been placed into judicial receivership by a French court after cash flow difficulties caused the company to apply for a receivership procedure at the end of last month. -
General merchandise sales fall at M&S
Marks & Spencer has posted a drop in pre-tax profit for the 26 weeks to October 1, 2011 as sales of general merchandise, including clothing fell. -
H&M, Burberry and Macy's launch on Google+
H&M, Macy’s, Burberry are the first fashion brands to launch on Google social network business offering, Google Pages, launched last night. -
Hannah McHalick
Owner of kidswear indie Oh Baby in Shoreditch, east London. Brands include Own brand, Mini Melissa, Vans, Vivienne Westwood. -
Hark, the festive windows sing
The windows at Selfridges’ Oxford Street store have been turned into outsize Christmas music boxes, thanks to sound agency Condiment Junkie and a system that plays carols from the glass, using it as a loudspeaker. -
Heritage footwear brand Loake to open first store
Northamptonshire heritage footwear manufacturer Loake is to open its first bricks and mortar store later this month as it looks to strengthen its position in the UK market and support its stockists. -
High street to deliver cut-price Christmas
Big chains already offering reductions of up to 40% to kickstart spending -
Hobbs creates 300 jobs as profits soar
Hobbs’ pre-tax profits soared 137% in the year to January 29 as it recorded like-for-like sales growth of 10% and announced 300 new jobs. -
How to be a Sales manager at a menswear brand
Wayne Jenkins, Senior consultant, Hudson Walker International -
IMAGE GALLERY: New Balance celebrates 30 years of Schuh
Trainer brand New Balance has released two limited edition trainers in association with branded footwear retailer Schuh to mark the retailer’s 30th birthday celebrations. -
Indies bet on festive sales to rescue trade
Fashion indies remain optimistic about Christmas trading despite figures confirming that sales continue to be down on last year. -
Innovation on trend
Drapers has tracked the growing acceptance of technology and desire to innovate by fashion retail companies over the past decade. -
Jaeger designs new Kensington Palace uniform
Premium retailer Jaeger has created a uniform for the staff at Kensington Palace as part of a £12m renovation of the royal residence. -
Jo Davies
By sticking to a simple plan, womenswear indie Black White Denim has quickly made a bold impression. Its founder reveals the philosophy behind her store’s buy now, keep forever concept. -
Liberty hosts designer Pudseys
Designers including Erdem, Mulberry and Giles Deacon have designed bears for Liberty which in conjunction with BBC Children in Need has launched a Designer Pudsey Collection. -
Liquidation fear as Dig Deep vanishes
Men’s lifestyle retailer Dig Deep has shut its transactional website and three stores, weeks after opening at Westfield Stratford, amid mounting concern it has gone into liquidation. -
London Textile Forum
Mills focused on embellishment, heritage looks and luxe fabrics at The Music Room on October 19-20. -
Matalan asks banks to loosen covenants
Matalan has asked its banks to loosen its covenants on debt incurred in 2010. -
Max Studio to make UK debut in London
Upmarket US womenswear retail group Max Studio is to open its first UK standalone store on London’s Westbourne Grove after a year’s search for a suitable location. -
M-commerce sales to reach £2.5bn by 2016
Mobile retail is expected to grow by 42% per year for the next five years to be worth £2.5bn by 2016. -
Men's Mainstream Indicator, November 4 2011
Access Drapers’ unique source of sales information from men’s mainstream retailers, revealing the best-selling brands, the hottest products and the latest issues to affect men’s mainstream by clicking on the PDF -
N Brown like-for-likes up 2%
Home shopping group N Brown like-for-likes rose 2% in the 19 weeks to January 7. -
New look for The Dressing Room
Contemporary womenswear indie The Dressing Room in St Albans has completed a store revamp to keep it fresh and exciting for customers. -
Nü by Staff Woman
It may stick to the same palette each season, but this Danish brand still pulls off a distinctive look. -
Off the record, November 4 2011
Drapers gets the lowdown on the latest gossip and reports back from the hottest parties and events. -
Pearls of wisdom to boost your business
“As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.” This quote by Benjamin Disraeli is particularly appropriate in these days of information overkill, as there is a huge difference between information and the best information. -
Piccadilly improvements ease congestion for shoppers
The £14m overhaul of Piccadilly and its surrounding streets has been completed which will ease congestion for shoppers in the area. -
Primark's profits fall 8% as like-for-likes grow
Discount clothing retailer Primark’s profit dropped by 8% due to high cotton prices and the 20% VAT increase in January, it said in its year end results. -
Puma launches African football kit exhibition
German sportswear brand Puma has partnered with ten African national teams to produce technical football kits. -
Radley appoints brand director
Premium handbag and accessories brand Radley & Co has appointed former Warehouse marketing director Lorraine Pringle as its first brand director, as the brand looks to ramp up its UK and international standing. -
Retailers need a storming Christmas
That phrase ‘the perfect storm’ has started to crop up again in conversations I’m having with people across the fashion business. -
River Island to launch standalone shoes and accessories store
Fashion retailer River Island is to launch a new fascia selling only shoes and accessories in Nottingham this month. -
Rugby Ralph Lauren sponsors Tweed Run 2011
Rugby Ralph Lauren is the title sponsor for this month’s upcoming London The Tweed Run, a 12-mile bike ride through the capital’s street where participants dress in a signature tweed style. -
Saks Fifth Avenue launches own tartan strengthening ties with Scottish production
Saks Fifth Avenue has launched its own tartan, as part of strengthening ties with Scottish textile producers. -
Sales agent is half the price of rivals
New womenswear agent Nightingale plans to undercut other agencies by offering brands a 6% commission rate – less than half the standard fee.Nightingale, which is due to launch in January and will be based in London’s Berkeley Square, is the brainchild of agent John Pearce, who has previously acted for German mainstream labels Brax and Michèle. His fee represents a significant drop from the conventional sales agency commission structure of between 10% and 15%.Pearce said the redu -
Shop Direct product boss joins TM Lewin
Shop Direct group product director Matt Hudson is to leave his role at the home shopping company to join shirt retailer TM Lewin as merchandising director next year. -
Shop price inflation hits 16-month low in December, BRC finds
Shop price inflation reached its lowest level for 16 months in December, as retailers heavily discounted on goods including clothing and footwear in the run up to Christmas, the British Retail Consortium (BRC)- Nielsen Shop Price Index found. -
Stitch moves to Islington’s Business Design Centre
Menswear trade show Stitch is relocating from London’s Earls Court exhibition centre to the Business Design Centre, Islington. -
Store rents fall to £1 as landlords look to avoid paying business rates
Britain will see a new raft of “pound shops” as the depressed high street has led landlords to offer annual rents of only £1 -
SuperGroup Christmas sales jump
SuperGroup like-for-like sales jumped 5.8% over in the nine weeks to January 1. -
SuperGroup warehouse glitch slows sales growth
SuperGroup sales growth slowed in its three months to October 30 as its warehouse glitch takes its toll on sales. -
Switching on
Technology’s growing importance to the fashion retail industry is clear, judging by the results of Drapers’ latest survey. -
Ted Baker opens Tedbury Village Bluewater store, ahead of in-store Wi-FI rollout
(London, 9.00am) Premium brand and retailer Ted Baker has relocated its Bluewater store to a larger site around a fictional Kent village, Tedbury, opening today. -
The value of conversation
Can you measure the importance of what is said about your brand and products on social networks? -
Tillman extends British Fashion Council chairmanship
Harold Tillman is to extend his chairmanship of the British Fashion Council through 2012. -
Top Hong Kong buyers turn out to meet LFW designers on Show Rooms scheme
Eighty of Hong Kong’s top buyers – from department stores including Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford and Joyce – as well as indies turned out to meet the eight London Fashion Week designers brought to the country this week under the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) Show Rooms initiative. -
Torex
Fashion, as an industry, is continually evolving. The only certainty about it is the perpetual fascination that drives millions of shoppers to engage with attention grabbing brands and snap up the latest must-have item. -
Trend-led womenswear pays off for Store Twenty One
Store Twenty One is investing in more trend-led product for its womenswear collections after a focus on fashionability helped the value retailer move into the black. -
VIDEO: M&S screens new Christmas TV ad featuring X Factor contestants
Marks & Spencer unveiled its new Christmas TV advert last night (November 6), featuring the X Factor contestants. -
Women's Mainstream Indicator, November 4 2011
Access Drapers’ unique source of sales information from women’s mainstream retailers, revealing the best-selling brands, the hottest products and the latest issues to affect women’s mainstream by clicking on the PDF -
www.houseoffraser.co.uk
As much as House of Fraser is a very well-known retailer, I believe the customer value proposition could be made more obvious on its website. -
You don’t have to be a genius to sell jeans
I love jeans so much I’ve dedicated my working life to them. -
Zara makes airport debut with Heathrow womenswear store
Fast-fashion retailer Zara will open a womenswear store at Heathrow Terminal 3 next week – its first-ever airport outlet.
