British fashion chain River Island is headed for Australian shores after entering into a "partnership" with Australian company Retail Apparel Group. The fashion chain is following overseas retailers such as UK-based TopShop and Spanish chain Zara into the Australian market. The deal to bring River Island to Australia involves a partnership with RAG, which owns... Continue Reading →

According to The Register, the company had started a 90-day consultation process for making staff redundant. It noted in its report that 90-day consultation processes are required in situations where companies plan to cut more than 100 staff. A John Lewis spokesman told Computerworld UK that “part of the purpose of the consultation is to... Continue Reading →

Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has opened its first UK airport store at Heathrow Terminal 5. The 1,076sq ft store offers passengers a wide range of men's and women's accessories, including bags, shoes, small leathergoods, foulards and sunglasses. Heathrow Retail Concessions Director Muriel Zingraff said: "We are really pleased to be able to... Continue Reading →

A FORMER director of La Senza, the lingerie chain that collapsed into administration earlier this year, is to tackle the turnaround of struggling retailer JJB Sports. Beverley Williams, who takes on the chief executive’s role vacated by Keith Jones last Friday, will work alongside US retail recovery specialist and chairman-designate Bob Corliss as they look... Continue Reading →

EDCON and House of Busby have been granted the South African franchise rights for Topshop and Topman, the UK-based fashion retail chains. The first branches will be standalone stores, with a flagship, 950m² Topshop and Topman store to open in Sandton City by the end of November. A second store has been confirmed to open... Continue Reading →

Mr Price online offering goes live Mr Price on Monday went live with its online retail offering, which, according to CEO Stuart Bird, would enable the company to further strengthen relationships with its target customers. According to Mr Price’s research, e-commerce sales in SA made up less than 0.5% of total retail sales, far behind... Continue Reading →

Chinese brands coming to the British high street "Made in China" is usually what it says on clothing labels, but ambitious Chinese retailers are now looking to make their own brands household names in the UK. The high street is the latest target of the deep-pocketed Chinese, who are on a buying spree in Britain... Continue Reading →

The Qatari owners of Harrods, the world-famous London department store, have paid themselves a whopping £100m dividend in their first full year of ownership after the retailer posted record annual profits. The sterling performance reflects the significant capital expenditure made by the new owners of the Knightsbridge emporium in its operations, as well as the... Continue Reading →

African Fashion International, the company that hosts Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Johannesburg and Cape Town, has teamed up with the Foschini group to facilitate a new route into the industry. YOUNG TALENT: The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is an annual event that exposes South Africa's designers to the fashion world " Each One, Hire One is... Continue Reading →

Next Plc (NXT) is planning a Chinese- language website to bolster its rising online sales of clothing and household goods, the Independent on Sunday reported, without saying where it got the information. Next, which delivers to 57 countries and has websites in Russian and German, is forecast to report a decline of 3 percent in... Continue Reading →

Jigsaw, the fashion chain that once employed Kate Middleton, will close its younger Kew label by the end of the summer after racking up a £10m loss last year. Accounts for Jigsaw’s parent company show Kew, which was launched in 2003, made a loss of £6.8m last year as it failed to inspire cash-strapped young... Continue Reading →

Shop numbers in the UK have dropped for the first time in at least three years, according to new figures. The number of retail outlets fell by 0.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 compared with the same period last year, the first fall since the British Retail Consortium-Bond Pearce Retail Employment Monitor... Continue Reading →

LONDON — Juicy Couture is looking at Regent Street in a new light — a pink one — as it opens the bronze doors of its new unit near Oxford Circus. Earlier this week, the brand opened a new London unit with a shop fit that’s all about gloriously clashing cultures coming together in a... Continue Reading →

EBay has signed a sponsorship deal with the British Fashion Council, which organizes the twice-yearly London Fashion Week event, one of the largest fashion shows in the world. EBay says the multi-season sponsorship deal will cover the BFC’s Fashion Forward show—which supports emerging designers in the U.K.—and will be managed by eBay’s fashion arm. “Partnering... Continue Reading →

As retail rents boom in Hong Kong, mass-market fashion retailer H&M says it is closing its flagship location downtown after throwing open its doors just five years ago to considerable fanfare. When the Swedish company opened its first store in China, in Hong Kong’s Central district in 2007, the mood was one of heady anticipation.... Continue Reading →

A new campaign aiming to bring luxury British retail brands to the Middle East has started talks with big names, its UK-based CEO has said. The Anglo Arab Alliance (AAA) plans to provide "easy and efficient access" into the lucrative Middle Eastern market for the UK's top-end names. The launch comes as a report by... Continue Reading →

Download the full PDF Report here....... Extract....... KEY FINDINGS Our annual global examination of retailer presence and expansion surveys 326 major international retailers across 73 countries and records the evolution of the global retail market. The survey identifies the most active international retailers and their top target markets at country and city level in 2011.... Continue Reading →

Dubai International's new purpose-built A380 facility, Concourse 3, will boast a total of 16 food and beverage concepts when it opens next year, its operator said on Wednesday. Dubai Airports said the offerings will range from Giraffe, the international family restaurant which will open its first outlet in the Middle East at Dubai International to... Continue Reading →

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, (MC) the world’s largest maker of luxury goods, reported a 20 percent increase in first-half earnings and said it approaches the second half of the year with confidence. Profit from recurring operations climbed to 2.66 billion euros ($3.27 billion), the Paris-based company said today in a statement. The median... Continue Reading →

Luxury department store Harvey Nichols has announced plans for a one-stop beauty destination that they hope will become "a global beacon of beauty". 'Beauty Bazaar, Harvey Nichols', will provide the ultimate luxury beauty experience by offering wealth of products, brands and services housed within a cutting-edge, luxurious and opulent environment. Utilising an impressive 22,000 sq... Continue Reading →

Apple made a net profit of $8.8bn (£5.7bn) in the three months ending in June, up 21% from a year earlier but lower than forecasts. Strong iPad sales failed to offset disappointing sales of iPhones in the three months to 30th June. The consumer gadget and computer maker reported $35bn in sales, up from $28.6bn... Continue Reading →

Crocs Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street expectations helped by higher gross margins and growth in Asia, and the shoe maker forecast strong full-year earnings. Crocs, which sells its footwear in more than 90 countries, said it expects a full-year profit of $1.50 to $1.54 per share. Analysts on average are expecting... Continue Reading →

YET another British High Street chain is set for Australian shores. River Island has formed an alliance with Australian local, Retail Apparel Group, who own brands including Tarocash and YD, and are actively seeking real estate sites in Melbourne and Sydney. River Island is a fast fashion retailer with high turn over and low price... Continue Reading →

The chief executive of JJB Sports is poised to step down after a string of profit warnings and emergency fundraisings left shareholders in the company facing a bleak future. I have learned that Keith Jones, who has run JJB only since March 2010, is expected to leave within days. Directors of the company are understood... Continue Reading →

Abu Dhabi, UAE, July 25 2012: As part of its commitment to create an exceptional shopping hub in Bani Yas City, Baniyas Investment and Development Company (BIDC) - the investment arm of the Bani Yas Sports Club - has signed an agreement with Azadea Group, one of the region's leading retail groups, to open eight... Continue Reading →

JCPenney has started to transform its department stores into the shop-in-shop format that CEO Ron Johnson envisioned. The first shops were recently unveiled at its location in New York City's Manhattan Mall. But there's much more going on behind the scenes down in JCPenney's home state of Texas. The retailer has a prototype store at... Continue Reading →

Booming demand for mid-priced watches in China is more than offsetting a slight cooling at the top end of that market, world No. 1 watchmaker Swatch Group said on Tuesday as it stuck to a forecast for record annual sales. Famous for its colorful plastic watches and also behind luxury brands including Omega - featured... Continue Reading →

Dutch fashion label SuperTrash is set to make its UK debut later this year after acquiring its first store on South Molton Street, marking the beginning of the company’s long-term strategy to significantly increase its store presence in the UK. The South Molton Street store, formerly occupied by footwear brand Office, is due to open... Continue Reading →

US apparel retailer Express has announced it will open its flagship stores in New York and San Francisco next year. The 30,000 sq ft store in Times Square, New York will open next summer, while the 16,000 sq ft flagship store in Union Square, San Francisco is expected to open in autumn 2013. Michael Weiss,... Continue Reading →

The government has announced a second wave of towns that have been accepted into the Portas Pilots scheme aimed at reviving the UK's high streets. A further 15 town centres have been selected to participate in the scheme which will see them share £1.5 million in funding to help improve their town centres. This takes... Continue Reading →

LOS ANGELES, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- American Apparel, the vertically integrated clothing manufacturer based in downtown Los Angeles, has announced the launch of three new merchant stores on Amazon Marketplace in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. The three new stores follow the success of American Apparel's US deal with Amazon, which launched in... Continue Reading →

Community pharmacy & healthcare retailer Lloydspharmacy has today confirmed up to 200 job losses at its head office by early next month. The planned restructure at its head office in Coventry will affect those working in the IT, finance and human resources departments. It follows a 90 day consultation held in conjunction with sister business... Continue Reading →

A dramatic fall in shoppers from the south is costing the Northern Ireland economy up to £270m a year. This is the size of the slump since the border rush three years ago in 2009. The news comes after the euro – one of the main drivers of south-north shopping – fell to a four-year... Continue Reading →

FASHION retailer Mr Price ’s online store will be live on Monday July 30, CEO Stuart Bird confirmed on Tuesday. The retailer aims to use its venture into e-commerce to help it gain market share from rivals Foschini , Woolworths and Truworths. Competition in the clothing space has also been boosted with the arrival in... Continue Reading →

By Caroline Barnes 11:51AM - Tue 24th July 2012 High street retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) has launched a new store in Kazakhstan, it has been announced. Guests attending the opening were treated to a fashion show featuring the latest collections at the retailer followed by entertainment and cocktails. British Ambassador to Kazakhstan David Moran... Continue Reading →

Erin Heatherton, a current Victoria's Secret Angel, wears the brand's 'Showstopper' set. Photo: Victoria's Secret The first of the two planned Victoria's Secret London stores opens this morning in east London's Stratford, the home of the London 2012 Olympics. There'll be no great fanfare, just a low-key opening and usual retail hours. Instead, the bells-and-whistles... Continue Reading →

Billionaire retailer Philip Green wants to turn his fashion empire Arcadia into a global operation within three years, putting a team into China three months ago and considering opportunities in India. The owner of the Topshop chain has signed a deal with German retail group Karstadt to open his first outlets in Germany.

VF Corp posted a higher quarterly profit on Thursday as the company benefited from easing costs of cotton, helping its jeanswear business. For the second quarter, the owner of the North Face, 7 For All Mankind and Lee brands earned $155.3 million, or $1.40 a share, compared with $129.4 million, or $1.17 a share last... Continue Reading →

German sportswear maker Puma expects a sharp drop in profit this year, as weak consumer spending in Europe holds back the sales boost its expects from this summer's high-profile sporting events. Its profit warning on Wednesday follows those of French food group Danone, German heavy engines maker Deutz, and steelmaker Salzgitter, who all blamed slowing... Continue Reading →

Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA), the women’s apparel chain, fired Chief Executive Officer Susan McGalla amid declining sales. McGalla’s departure is effective immediately, the Foothill Ranch, California-based company said in a statement. While the board searches for a replacement, Chief Operating Officer Ken Seipel and Chief Financial Officer Steve Benrubi will serve as co-principal executive officers.... Continue Reading →

Department store chain John Lewis has marked four days to go until the start of the Olympic Games by wrapping four of its shops around the country in giant banners. John Lewis’s flagship shop on Oxford Street has been wrapped in a giant London 2012 inspired Union flag while John Lewis shops in Stratford, Cardiff... Continue Reading →

Opening Ceremony, the US fashion retailer and private label collection, has opened its first UK store. The 3,000 sq ft pop-up shop in King Street in London’s Covent Garden will sell a range of 2012 Olympic-themed ready-to-wear and accessories from designers such as as Proenza Schouler, Delfina Delettrez as well exclusive OC collections from Top... Continue Reading →

Harrods has launched its new Toy Kingdom, following a two-year multimillion-pound overhaul and featuring an intergalactic science lab and an "enchanted" forest. The luxury department store said the 26,000-square-foot "destination" was one of its most extensive refurbishment projects and promised six individual "multi-sensory worlds". A spokesman said the store focused on themes rather than gender,... Continue Reading →

Hammerson Plc (HMSO), the U.K. and France retail property specialist, announced a plan to develop a shopping mall at the Whitgift center in south London, a site that Australia’s Westfield Group (WDC) also plans to build on. Hammerson is proposing a 1.4 million square-foot (130,000 square-meter) project for the Croydon site that would cost as... Continue Reading →

Major UK symbol group operator SPAR has announced it has appointed Ian Taylor as its new Head of Retail, to help drive forward recruitment

Retail Week understands up to 200 staff could be made redundant early next month following a 90 day consultation on 1000 jobs.

Global luxury goods sales are defying initial concerns over Eurozone turmoil and fears of a cool down in emerging markets, and will exceed €200 billion in 2012. This is according to global consultancy firm Bain & Company's just unveiled Spring 2012 Update to its industry bellwether "Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study." Bain further revealed that... Continue Reading →

Sainsbury’s has announced that it’s working with key partners E.ON and Geothermal International to roll out the first phase of an energy solution to up to 100 stores, tapping renewable energy from deep underground to provide energy efficient heating, hot water and cooling. Both new-build and existing stores have been identified as part of separate... Continue Reading →

(MENAFN - Arab News) The Savola Group announced its interim consolidated financial results for the six-month period ended June 30. According to the Tadawul website, Savola achieved net income of SR 341.3 million for Q2 ended June 30, 2012, an increase of 48 percent compared to the same quarter last year of SR 230.7 million... Continue Reading →

Coach Inc. scored a $44 million judgment against a U.S.-based mother-and-daughter duo operating Web sites advertising and selling counterfeit Coach handbags. The case, which was filed in Manhattan federal court, stands out from similar Internet counterfeiting suits because the defendants, Linda and Courtney Allen, reside in Syosset, N.Y. Typically, these cases involve foreign-based Web operators... Continue Reading →