Zara Store | Source: Gurus Blog
Fashion forward (The Economist)
“Flogging fashion is like selling fish, as Amancio Ortega, the founder of Inditex, likes to say. Fresh fish, like a freshly cut jacket in the latest colour, sells quickly and at a high price. Yesterday’s catch must be discounted and may not sell at all. This simple insight has made Inditex one of the world’s two biggest clothes makers. ”
Neiman Marcus to woo China shoppers via the web (Reuters)
“U.S. department store operator Neiman Marcus Group Inc said on Wednesday it would venture into China’s fast-growing luxury retail market for the first time, seeking to build a presence there via the web. Neiman will invest $28 million in fashion website Glamour Sales Holding which will help it establish an e-commerce website by the end of 2012.”
Only the Half of It (NY Times)
“Skirts’ very multiplicity, emblematic of a fashion landscape in which no single style or trend prevails, is acting as catnip to consumers, who are combining skirts, long and short, slim and wide, plain and patterned, with pieces varying from tank tops to mannish shirts, from turtlenecks to blazers.”
Lululemon’s Secret Sauce (WSJ)
“Lululemon Athletica Inc., the apparel chain with a tech start-up’s valuation, as expected told investors its sales grew strongly for the 12th consecutive quarter. The mystery is how the chain has managed to turn yoga gear into a miniempire, notching a market value of $10.4 billion with sales of just $712 million last year, and whether it can sustain the pace.”
Womenswear First Look | The Body Language of Designers (AnOther)
“The way in which a designer appears at the end of their show can often attract as much attention as the collection itself. Body language is a non-verbal way of communicating with the rest of the world – according to psychologists, human communication is 20% verbal and as much as 80% non-verbal.”