DTC & E-Commerce
-
ArticleEU introduces €3 duty on parcels worth less than €150
The member states of the European Union have agreed to introduce a temporary €3 customs duty per item on e-commerce parcels valued below €150, starting on July 1, 2026. If a parcel has several items of the same product the tax will only apply once. But if it contains different ...
-
ArticleHow a Tuscan startup is helping upcycle leather deadstocks
Zerow is a Tuscan-based marketplace established for the upcycling of fabric and leather leftovers. As the company’s name indicates, the “w” standing for waste, its purpose is to eliminate discarded materials and deadstock by transforming them into a resource. The company was founded by Alessio Troisi and Gabriele Rorandelli, who ...
-
ArticleGerman online fashion retail moves away from free shipping and free returns
Free shipping and free returns are becoming increasingly rare in the German online fashion retail sector as post-purchase support shifts toward greater cost transparency, a new survey showed. At the same time, the post-purchase experience remains only partially tapped as a source of differentiation, leaving opportunities to build customer loyalty ...
-
ArticleHow an Italian startup is proving to be the perfect fit for leading fashion brands
Measmerize, a startup established to offer sizing solutions for fashion brands, has built up a portfolio of about 40 clients, including high-profile fashion houses, thanks to customized AI algorithms proposing size and fit recommendations to end-users. The startup, which currently has a staff of 12 people, rapidly gained traction thanks ...
-
ArticleGlobal footwear market seen rising an annual average of 5.9% to 2032
The global footwear market was estimated at $409.5 billion in 2022, and is anticipated to hit $725.1 billion by 2032, registering a compound annual growth rate of (CAGR) of 5.9 percent from 2023 to 2032, according to Allied Market Research. In a report titled “Footwear Market by Type (Athletic and ...
-
ArticleEuropean Parliament proposes 16-year age limit to access social media
A committee of the European Parliament is proposing a 16-year old age limit to access social media in order to protect minors’ safety online On Oct. 16, the members of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report, by 32 votes in favour, ...
-
ArticleGerman online retail rebound continues, footwear sales accelerate
Online sales in Germany continued to pick up through the first half of 2025 after a steady rise in the first quarter. Footwear sales, in particular, continued to outperform, according to a survey released by the federal association of e-commerce and mail order trade, BEVH. Total online sales ...
-
ArticleZalando’s Q2 revenues grow by over 7%, earnings remain stable
In the second quarter of 2025, Zalando’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) increased by 5.0 percent year-over-year to €4.1 billion, while revenues grew by 7.3 percent to €2.8 billion euros. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes reached €186 million, up from €172 million a year earlier, resulting in a stable margin ...
-
ArticleC-Suite interview: Blusun enters second year looking to ramp up sales, expand outside of Europe
When Dirk Pfeffer and Silvia Brindlmayer set up their barefoot footwear brand Blusun last year, they knew what they wanted and what they did not. At the heart of their vision were shoes featuring high quality materials, reasonable prices and a sustainable and socially responsible supply chain. Pfeffer and Brindlmayer ...
-
ArticleC-Suite interview: Velasca aims to double its store network by end 2028
In less than a year, Velasca, a Milan-based footwear and apparel retailer, has opened 10 shops, bringing the number of locations to 30 worldwide. By the end of 2028, the goal is to double that number to 60. After opening a third store in Paris and a second one in ...
-
ArticleAsos narrows its losses as the turnaround plan takes hold
Asos reported lower sales in the first half of its fiscal year as it continued to clear excess inventory, but said its new business model was showing signs of progress and left it better placed to deal with the impact of US trade tariffs. The company narrowed pre-tax losses to ...
-
ArticleC-Suite interview: Rohde expects to continue growing in 2025
After increasing revenues by 4.5 percent in 2024 to €24.2 million, Rohde expects to continue growing this year as it expands its fledgling US and online businesses. “In 2025, we should go up by another 10-11 percent to €27 million in turnover,’ says the Chief Executive Officer, Renato Lo Presti, ...
-
ArticleSpartoo’s sales drop but its cash flow improves
In 2024, Spartoo suffered a 7.7 percent decline in gross merchandise value (GMV) to €184.7 million, resulting in an 8.7 percent drop in revenues to €130.5 million. The French omnichannel fashion retailer generated €114.9 million of its GMV in France, down 6.9 percent year-over-year, and €69.8 million abroad, down by ...
-
ArticleForever 21’s US operating company files for bankruptcy
Forever 21’s US operating company filed for bankruptcy about five years after exiting its last Chapter 11 proceedings due to fierce competition from other fast-fashion retailers such as Shein and Temu. F21 OpCo, the operator of Forever 21 stores and licensee of the brand in the US, entered into a ...
-
ArticleAustria loses 13% of its shoe stores as footwear retail crisis deepens
A steady wave of store closures continues to hit the Austrian footwear retail sector as brick-and-mortar sales further drop and the shoe industry gradually shifts toward online retail, with a recovery still not in sight, a survey from the market research company RegioData showed. The sector has been struggling for ...
-
ArticleHow a dropshipper enables foreign footwear companies to enter the US market
“The US is a big retail machine that will continue expanding thanks to population growth. It’s possible for a fresh brand from Europe to enter the US,” explains Joseph (Joe) Trybulec, the owner of Trybulec Enterprises, which enables brands to work with leading e-commerce platforms in the US. “The US ...
-
ArticleZalando sees GMV, revenues up 4-9% in 2025
Zalando expects gross merchandise volume (GMV) and revenues to grow by between 4 percent and 9 percent this year, driven by the successful execution of its ecosystem strategy across both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) growth vectors. In 2024, the German online fashion retailer posted a GMV of €15.296 billion, ...
-
ArticleAsos to mothball US distribution center at cost of £190m
Asos is mothballing its Atlanta distribution center at a cost of £190 million (€226m). The British online fashion retailer said that the bulk of US orders will now be managed by its UK fulfillment center in Barnsley from the second half of the 2025 fiscal year, supported by a “smaller, ...
-
ArticleSurveys paint a bleak picture of Germany’s holiday season sales
The shopping period leading up to the holiday season has brought more disappointment than cheer for both Germany’s online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores. The grim picture was painted by two surveys: the report of the German retail association, HDE, on brick-and-mortar sales in the week leading up to Dec. 15, ...
-
ArticleSwiss online retail sales set to hit a new record high
Online retail in Switzerland is set to hit a record high this year, with significant changes in consumer behavior, while Chinese e-commerce players are steadily on the rise. Footwear is following the same trend, according to a survey conducted by the University of St. Gallen among 1,334 people in the ...
