Vince CEO Jack Schwefel steps down

Vince corner at Neiman Marcus, Dallas Credits: Vince via Facebook



Vince Holding chief executive officer Jack Schwefel has resigned from the company.


The company’s board of directors has appointed David (Dave) Stefko, current director and former chief financial officer as interim CEO, effective immediately.


“The Board thanks Jack for his work in positioning Vince for its next chapter of growth and wishes him the best as he pursues other opportunities,” said Michael Mardy, chairman of the company’s board of directors.


“Having previously served as interim CEO during a time of prior transition and amidst the volatility of the Covid-19 pandemic, the board is confident in Dave’s ability to lead the organisation during this period,” added Mardy.


Stefko, the company said in a release, has over 30 years of senior finance and executive management experience, and has been a member of the board since June 2023 after retiring from his role as the company’s CFO, which he held from 2015 to 2023. Stefko also served as the company’s interim CEO from August 2020 to March 2021.


The company added that Vince remains on track with its profitability objectives for the full year 2023 and expects to report fourth quarter and full year financial results by late April 2024.


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The collections of Accademia Costume & Moda’s ACM Talents 2024

In Pictures


Beatrice Bartolocci final BA fashion collection. Credits: Image courtesy of Accademia Costume & Moda



Last weekend, the bachelor students of Accademia Costume & Moda’s (ACM) ’costume and fashion: fashion, accessories and costume design’ programme presented their final fashion projects in Rome.


The ‘Personal Capsule Collection’ is a collaborative collection that unites the individual looks created by the Italian academy’s 20 graduating students.


The collections of three of this year’s undergraduate students were recognised with an award, out of which two designers, Alessio Mussati and Mattia Pozzo, with the fashion design award, and student Sabrina Raus with the accessory design award.


View the looks of Accademia Costume & Moda’s 2023/2024 top fashion students below:


Alessio Mussati final BA fashion collection. Credits: Accademia Costume & Moda



Beatrice Bartolocci final BA fashion collection. Credits: Courtesy of Accademia Costume & Moda



Mattia Pozzo final BA fashion collection. Credits: Accademia Costume & Moda



Michael Di Giovanni final BA fashion collection. Credits: Courtesy of Accademia Costume & Moda


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Haus Labs by Lady Gaga expands in Europe

Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Lip Glaze Credits: Haus Labs by Lady Gaga



Beauty


Science-driven, clean make-up brand Haus Labs by Lady Gaga is expanding across 12 new countries in Europe with Sephora.


The beauty brand will arrive in Sephora stores and online from March 26 in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. It will also be online only in Switzerland, Greece, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic.


The move comes after a successful launch in the UK with Sephora, as Lady Gaga’s brand is already sold exclusively at Sephora in the US and Canada.


Haus Labs by Lady Gaga foundation Credits: Haus Labs by Lady Gaga



Haus Labs by Lady Gaga has become known for its science-forward products utilising patent-pending proprietary ingredients, including fermented arnica, which is 860 percent more potent than traditional arnica that visibly reduces redness, inflammation, and environmental stress on the skin.


The European expansion will feature the full assortment from the beauty brand, 125 products across nine key categories in colour and complexion, including foundation, concealer, highlighter, lip, and blush products.


Ben Jones, chief executive of Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, said in a statement: “Europe is a critical milestone for Haus Labs by Lady Gaga. We are honoured to be exclusive with the global retail powerhouse, Sephora. With the launch of Sephora App previews across Europe, we begin the march toward taking our brand to the world on March 26.


“We will enable new consumers to see, touch and feel our products at Sephora, showing them that Haus Labs by Lady Gaga is a leader at the forefront of art, science, beauty and technology.”


Haus Labs by Lady Gaga blush Credits: Haus Labs by Lady Gaga



Sylvie Moreau, president of Sephora Europe and the Middle East, added: “After the successful launch in Sephora UK, we are very excited to launch Haus Labs by Lady Gaga in our European market.


“At Sephora, we are constantly looking for innovative brands to bring to our customers. We are confident they will be thrilled to discover the creative and inspiring world of Haus Labs by Lady Gaga and thrilled to experience the brand’s game-changing formulas.”


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Rhone adds two new board members, to debut women's collection in May

Rhone store Credits: Rhone/Facebook



Rhone, the performance lifestyle brand dedicated to championing mental fitness, has appointed Tess Roering, who previously held executive leadership roles at CorePower Yoga and Athleta, and Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN chairman, to its board of directors.


The company said in a release that Roering and Pitaro will be part of the company’s board consisting of Nate Checketts, CEO & co-founder of Rhone; Dave Checketts, managing partner of Checketts Partners Investment Fund; Jon Owsley, managing partner at L Catterton; Simon Hill-Norton, investor & co-founder of Sweaty Betty; and Carras Holmstead, investment partner at Palistar Capital & co-founder of Rhone.


"As we prepare to launch our women's collection, Tess brings incredible expertise in brand and marketing from her time at Athleta and CorePower Yoga and Jimmy is a top industry thought leader that brings unmatched experience in sports and consumer products industries. The addition of Tess and Jimmy will help bring us to new heights in 2024 and beyond,” said Checketts.


Roering, the company added, has over two decades of experience in leading brand and marketing efforts at top companies. Most recently, Roering served as chief commercial officer at CorePower Yoga where she doubled the brand's studio count and drove 2.5x revenue growth over five years, played a key role in the sale from L Catterton to TSG Partners and oversaw the real estate, construction, design, facilities, customer experience, and chief marketing officer responsibilities.


Before her role at CorePower Yoga, Roering served as first ever head of marketing at Athleta. In her role Roering grew revenues, opened the brand's first 100 retail stores, drove multi-channel growth by creating Athleta's first marketing & creative platform, "Power to the She," and propelled the brand from a catalogue and web business to a true omni-channel business.


The company further said that Pitaro is an industry leader at the intersection of media and technology, bringing decades of experience. He currently serves as chairman of ESPN, where he has full global responsibility for the ESPN business. This includes the management and supervision of the company's full portfolio of sports content, products and experiences across all of Disney's platforms worldwide.


Before ESPN, Pitaro worked in various leadership positions across The Walt Disney Company, including as chairman of Disney consumer products and interactive media. Prior to his Disney, he worked at Yahoo, where he rose to head of media.


The appointment of Roering and Pitaro to Rhone's board comes in the lead up to the launch of Rhone's first women's collection, debuting in May.


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Zara owner Inditex workers protest after record profits

Workers at Inditex's Zara and other big name
stores protested outside the company shops across Spain on Friday to demand
better benefits after the world's biggest fashion retailer reported record
profits and raised shareholder payouts.


Blowing whistles and waving union flags, around 100 people demonstrated
outside the flagship Bershka store on Madrid's main avenue, the Gran Via,
according to an AFP reporter at the scene.


"It seems very unfair to us because Inditex has had a huge profit. So we
want it to redistribute that," said Juan Becerra, a 44-year-old worker at an
Oysho store in the Spanish capital.


Similar protests were held outside Inditex stores in seven other cities,
including Barcelona, Seville and Valencia.


The protests were organised by Spain's two largest unions, UGT and CCOO,
which want a bonus for Inditex workers with more than four years service and
other benefits.


The unions say just over half of Inditex's 27,000 employees in Spain have
signed a petition demanding that "the group's profits be returned in a fair
and equitable manner to those who make them possible: all the group's workers".
Monica Donoro, a CCOO representative, said negotiations with Inditex
managers had stalled.


"We are not making any progress. They are not listening to us," she said.
Inditex, which has seen a strong performance on Spain's stock market over
the past year, posted net profits of 5.4 billion euros (5.9 billion dollars) in 2023,
up 30 percent from 4.1 billion euros, the previous record, in 2022.


The company, whose eight brands include Pull and Bear and upmarket label
Massimo Dutti, said it would pay shareholders a dividend of 1.54 euros, a 28
percent increase from 2022, and the highest in the group's history.


"We, the staff, have the impression that we are not taken into account,
that our work is not recognised even though we contribute to generating the
profits, which are so high, through our work," Beatriz Aliaga, a 44-year-old
Zara employee, told AFP at the Madrid demonstration.(AFP)


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US retailers embrace transformative potential of AI

Sojo Selfridges AI generated campaign Credits: Sojo



The US retail landscape is witnessing a surge of interest in artificial intelligence (AI), with industry giants such as Lowe’s, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, and Rent the Runway significantly increasing their investments in AI technologies, as reported by Barron’s.


While AI has been a fixture in retail operations for some time, the emergence of generative AI signifies a frontier of innovation, harnessing advanced machine learning to closely emulate human intelligence and generate diverse content.


McKinsey's estimates underscore the potential economic gains from widespread adoption of generative AI, particularly within the retail and consumer-goods sector, promising to revolutionise various operational facets from customer service to supply-chain optimization.


A recent survey by Techstrong.ai published in January revealed that 41 percent of retail business executives are already leveraging AI in various forms, with over half of them identifying six or more use cases. Additionally, findings from NVIDIA's survey indicate that 35 percent of respondents have initiated pilot AI projects.


The optimistic projections align with McKinsey's research last July, suggesting that generative AI could generate 2.6 trillion to 4.4 trillion dollars in global corporate profits annually.


Barron’s data anticipates enhancements in retailer's bottom line and labour costs due to AI integration, albeit urging caution in near-term expectations as retailers refine their strategies. Nonetheless, industry experts foresee a promising trajectory for AI's transformative impact on retail over the next decade.


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Nike faces backlash for England’s controversial Euro 2024 kit

Nike's Euro 2024 kit for England. Credits: England Football.



Sportswear giant Nike has responded to backlash over its controversial England kit for the upcoming Euro 2024, which had garnered wide-spread criticism from football players and politicians alike.


The kit in question features an alteration on England’s St George’s flag, which has been changed from the standard red and white colourway to appear as a red, purple, black and purple cross.


Responding to the controversial change, British prime minister Rishi Sunak told The Sun: “When it comes to our national flags, we shouldn’t mess with them because they’re a source of pride, identity, who we are and they’re perfect as they are.”


Sunak’s political rival, leader of the UK’s Labour Party and avid football fan Keir Starmer, agreed, adding that the flag is “a unifier” and “doesn’t need to be changed” while calling on Nike to “reconsider this and change it back”.


Similar demands were also heard from football players themselves. Former goalkeeper Peter Shilton said the “woke” change was “wrong on every level”.


Kit designed to honour 1966 World Cup win




Responding to the criticism, the Football Association (FA) backed the flag change, noting that the kit exhibited a “number of design elements which were meant as a tribute to the 1966 World Cup-winning team”, including a colour trim on the cuffs inspired by training gear worn that year.


The organisation further stated that it had not been the first time that “different coloured St. George’s Cross-inspired designs have been used on England shirts”.


Nike reiterated this point, adding that the colours were indeed changed to honour England’s prior win. The sportswear giant continued: “We have been a proud partner of the FA since 2012 and understand the significance and importance of the St. George’s Cross and it was never our intention to offend, given what it means to England fans.”


Both Nike and the FA have said there are no plans to adjust the kit ahead of Euro 2024.


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Marimekko's sales increase by 5 percent in 2023

Marimekko store Credits: Marimekko



The Marimekko Group’s net sales in 2023 grew by 5 percent to 174,105 thousand euros boosted by the growth of international wholesale sales and good development in Finnish retail sales.


In total, international sales grew by 10 percent and net sales in Finland by 1 percent to 98,914 thousand euros.


“Marimekko’s profitable growth continued in 2023. During the latter part of 2023, Marimekko expanded into three new markets: Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. We will decisively continue to build Marimekko’s future by challenging the fashion and design industry with empowering optimism, the art of printmaking and timeless design,” said Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, president and chief executive of Marimekko.


Review of Marimekko’s full year results




Marimekko’s omnichannel retail sales grew globally by 3 percent with nearly all market areas contributing to growth. Wholesale sales increased in the Asia-Pacific region, North America and Scandinavia and, in total, the Group’s wholesale sales grew globally by 6 percent.


The company said in a statement that despite the challenging macro-economic environment, retail sales increased by 3 percent, while changes in the Finnish store network affected the comparable retail sales, which decreased by 1 percent. In spite of a strong third quarter, the cumulative wholesale sales in Finland were 4 percent lower than in the comparable year as a result of weakened general consumer demand.


Net sales in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 17 percent to 35,415 thousand euros driven by increased wholesale sales, the opening of new markets and increased licensing income. Wholesale sales increased by 15 percent in Asia-Pacific and 5 percent in Japan. Retail sales in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 2 percent.


Marimekko’s comparable operating profit grew by 5 percent and totaled 32 euros due to increased net sales.


Marimekko’s aims to expand global footprint




The company plans annual growth in net sales of 15 percent, comparable operating profit margin of 20 percent and percentage of earnings per share allocated to provide dividends of at least 50 percent.


During the strategy period 2023–2027, the company added that the focus would be on scaling the Marimekko business and growth especially in international markets.


“The growth of international net sales, three new markets, 19 new stores and new digital sales channels as well as interesting collaborations are concrete proof of the progress of our strategy in 2023,” the company said.


The company’s board of directors has proposed a dividend of 0.37 euros per share will be paid for 2023.


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