Latest Headlines – Page 9
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Frasers urges to appoint its owner to run Boohoo
Frasers is urging Boohoo to appoint Mike Ashley as a director and CEO and name Mike Lennon, a restructuring specialist, as a board director. Ashley controls the UK sportswear retailer Frasers, which in turn is Boohoo’s largest shareholder with an about 27 percent stake. In an open letter sent to ...
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Decline in retail space in Austria accelerates, with footwear among the worst hit
Austria is losing retail space at an increasing pace, with a decline observed over the last decade accelerating in the past two years, and the footwear retail sector is among the worst hit, a survey from market researcher RegioData showed. Companies are less inclined to expand, some are downsizing ...
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Pajar Canada buys Cougar Shoes
The Canadian footwear group Pajar Canada bought its peer Cougar Shoes. No financial details were released, but Pajar described the acquisition as a “significant milestone.” Thanks to the takeover, Cougar shoes will be able to leverage the group’s “combined expertise to create unique products that resonate with both longstanding ...
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How an Italian 3D scanner manufacturer has stormed the footwear industry
The startup Covision Media decided to initially focus on the footwear industry to commercialize its 3D scanner developed in Bressanone, near the northern Italian town of Bolzano. The company, which was founded on Feb. 9, 2024, after having spun off from the technology group Covision Lab, currently has a slate ...
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Birkenstock starts direct sales in South Korea
On Oct. 23, Birkenstock launched a country-specific e-commerce website for South Korea as part of its strategy to bolster its presence in Asia. The website, www.birkenstock.com/kr, lays “the foundation for further expansion in the dynamically growing country, which is home to 52 million people,” explained the footwear brand. From ...
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Boohoo’s CEO steps down
Boohoo’s CEO, John Lyttle, is stepping down after five years with the British fast fashion online retailer. He will continue to work with the leadership team and the board over the coming months while a successor is found and to ensure a smooth transition, the company said. Boohoo added that ...
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C-Suite interview: Xero Shoes looks to US wholesale, Europe for growth
Xero Shoes is looking to bolster its domestic wholesale business and leverage strong growth rates in Europe to underpin a new phase of expansion for the US barefoot footwear specialist founded 15 years ago. Dan Dougherty, EU managing director and the head of wholesale activities at Xero Shoes globally, tells ...
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Ferragamo issues a profit warning
In the wake of third-quarter results, Salvatore Ferragamo warned that it expects its full-year operating result to be at the lowest end of analysts’ estimates due to persisting uncertainties over demand by luxury consumers. The brokerage Equita noted that the Italian luxury goods group now expects a full-year Ebit of ...
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German retailers voice concerns about increasing red tape
Faced with economic uncertainty, German retailers are calling for urgent reforms to alleviate the mounting bureaucratic hurdles that many say are crippling their businesses. According to a survey conducted by HDE, the German retail association, 89 percent of panelists reported being overwhelmed by excessive regulations, with a whopping 97 ...
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Zalando hikes its full-year guidance
Zalando has increased its 2024 forecast following a solid third-quarter performance. The Berlin-based fashion and lifestyle e-commerce giant, which has seen steady growth in its customer base and online demand, now expects higher full-year results for its gross merchandise volume (GMV), revenues and adjusted Ebit, marking a positive outlook for ...
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Spanish footwear exports up in the first seven months of 2024
Spain’s footwear exports amounted to €2,056.5 million in the first seven months of 2024, up by 6.4 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile the number of pairs shipped to foreign markets amounted to 105.8 million, rising by 8.6 percent year-on-year, according to data released by Fice, the ...
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Gabor appoints a new Head of Wholesale
The German footwear manufacturer Gabor Shoes has appointed Alexander Schlosser to the newly created role of Head of Wholesale for the DACH region, which comprises Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, effective Dec. 1, 2024. The 34-year-old footwear expert, who began his career at the former Gabor Footwear GmbH, will ...
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C-Suite interview - Trade shows have to speak the same language as exhibitors
On Sept. 9, 2024, Assocalzaturifici, the Italian association of shoemakers, announced the appointment of Giorgio Possagno as General Manager. The position had been vacant since the departure of Tommaso Cancellara on April 5, 2022. Aged 53, Possagno started his career with the tire maker Pirelli, where he worked at the ...
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Spartoo improves its cash flow despite lower sales
In the first half of 2024, Spartoo suffered a decline in revenues but continued to improve its cash flow thanks to a reduction in working capital as inventories decreased. The gross merchandise value (GMV) totaled €90.9 million, down by 10.5 percent compared to a year earlier. Revenues also dropped by ...
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German leather goods industry suffers steep sales drop
According to the German footwear and leather goods trade association, HDS/L, the German leather goods industry faces a challenging second half of 2024, with sales falling and both imports and exports declining, reflecting broader economic pressures. The leather and leather goods manufacturing sector, excluding footwear and clothing, saw a significant ...
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How a crowd funding platform is helping footwear companies raise money
The Italian footwear companies Fessura, DIS and Steve’s as well as dropout, a retailer of luxury apparel and sneakers, have in common that they are currently, or have been, raising funds through the Italian crowdfunding platform Mamacrowd, which is owned by the asset management company Azimut. Other companies working with ...
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Kizik enters distribution agreements in Japan and Canada
Kizik has entered distribution agreements in Japan and Canada as the US brand specializing in slip-on shoes continues to expand abroad. In Japan, it partnered with Marubeni Consumer Brands Inc. “We are grateful to be associated with one of the most important and exciting brands in my long-term experience ...
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German fashion sales seen subdued over the next four years
The German fashion market has been on a path to recovery since 2022, but growth remains hampered by inflation, changing consumer behaviors and the rise of ultra-fast fashion. Annual growth is set to remain below 2 percent over the next four years, according to a report by IFH KÖLN in ...
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First Italian shoemaker obtains VCS sustainability certification
Corrado Maretto is the first Italian company to have obtained an environmental, social and governance (ESG) certification under the VCS (Verified & Certified Steps) program launched by Assocalzaturifici, the Italian footwear association. The company engaged in a self-assessment of its ESG performance using a software package designed by Spin360, a ...
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Thorogood launches a women’s work boot collection
Thorogood, a US brand of work boots owned by Weinbrenner Shoe Company, has launched a women’s work boot collection. Meanwhile, the group has broken ground for a new manufacturing site. “Built on the same safety standards and superior quality that customers have come to expect from Thorogood boots over the ...