Fashion in Five

Episode

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  Beijing Calls UFLPA List Coercion, Chanel Names New CFO 04.08.2026 5mnt

  Beijing and a Chinese cotton industry group called Washington's expanded UFLPA entity list, which adds 43 companies, an act of economic coercion, WWD reports. Chanel has appointed Hélène de Tissot as chief financial officer effective October per Drapers, and eBay completed its acquisition of resale marketplace Depop on July 30. Also: The Business of Fashion reads LVMH and Kering first-half results as a fragile recovery, nss magazine puts Hermès second-quarter growth at 6.7 percent, and India will let foreign e-commerce firms buy from Indian sellers for export.
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  Luxury's Narrower Rebound 03.08.2026 5mnt

  FashionNetwork reports the luxury majors returned to first-half growth led by the United States and a steadier China, with LVMH up two percent like-for-like, Hermes up more than six percent excluding currency and Kering back in slight second-quarter growth, against Bain and Company figures showing the market lost twenty million customers between 2024 and 2025. Glossy's Luxury Briefing argues the recovery carries a value-for-money problem across price points, while WWD reports a K-shaped market in which the aspirational pool is shrinking and Bernstein's Luca Solca says growth must come from selling more to existing clients through a higher innovation tempo. Also moving: Prada Group's organic retail sales up three point three percent in the half, Bernard Arnault's open letter on X answering Le Monde's series, a record twenty-point divergence between Hermes and Kering shares per Bloomberg, and COS weighing United States and Mexico expansion.
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  Adidas Takes Its Worst Day, and Reformation Prices Low 31.07.2026 4mnt

  Adidas shares fell the most on record after World Cup marketing spend pushed quarterly profit below expectations, The Business of Fashion reports, even as Drapers has first-half operating profit up 11 percent to 1.28 billion euros and a raised outlook. Hermès posted 7 percent second-quarter sales growth on European tourist traffic and US demand with China still the drag, while Miu Miu grew 3 percent and nss magazine has Prada Group revenue up 11 percent in the first half. Reformation was valued at 886 million dollars in its NYSE debut after pricing at the bottom of its range, plus tariff sourcing pressure, Mango's 7.2 percent turnover rise, Shein's Hong Kong listing math, Frasers lifting its Hugo Boss stake, and a raised Steven Madden forecast.
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  Hermès Holds, Frasers Clears, Gucci Beats 30.07.2026 5mnt

  British Vogue reports Hermès grew second-quarter sales 6.7 percent at constant exchange rates to 4.1 billion euros, with leather goods up 10.2 percent and perfume and beauty down 9.5 percent, while the stock fell 7.5 percent in Wednesday morning trading. Drapers reports Frasers Group's Hugo Boss takeover offer has cleared European Commission merger control, making it unconditional, and Fashionista has Kering shares up 10 percent after Gucci's comparable sales fell just 2 percent against forecasts of roughly 3.3 percent. Also moving: Reuters Breakingviews on luxury's reliance on wealthier-feeling American consumers, The Business of Fashion on brands embedding ChatGPT-like tools in e-commerce and the British Fashion Council's Fashion Britain launch, and Drapers on Harvey Nichols bidders being told the turnaround needs up to 60 million pounds.
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  Luxury's First Read: LVMH, Kering, and a New Name on Burberry's Register 29.07.2026 4mnt

  European luxury shares rose after LVMH's results, Yahoo Finance reports, with Kering, Hermes and L'Oreal higher while LVMH itself slipped about one and a half percent on doubts the fashion and leather goods improvement marks a sustained recovery. The Business of Fashion reports Kering posted organic growth for the first time in three years, with Gucci's second-quarter sales still negative but down less than expected, and separately reports that Mike Ashley's Frasers Group disclosed an interest worth a potential 4.2 percent of Burberry's voting rights, with no offer or board approach stated. Also moving: Shein's Hong Kong listing documents disclose an FTC investigation, the National Retail Federation reports a strong back-to-school start, Primark is cutting prices by up to 29 percent ahead of its spin-off, Target and Pacsun sign a tween partnership, and Sweden plans a 2028 ban on forever chemicals in consumer products.
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  LVMH Stops Shrinking, Jewels Pull Ahead 28.07.2026 4mnt

  LVMH's fashion and leather goods division posted a one percent organic sales rise in the second quarter, its first positive quarter in eight after seven straight declines, per WWD, with The Business of Fashion putting group sales up three percent and Dior back in growth. Reuters argues category mix now separates the luxury groups, citing Richemont jewellery up twenty-four percent and Kering's new jewellery division up twenty-two percent, while a Capstone report via WWD counts seventy-five fashion deals so far in twenty twenty-six with brand-management companies taking the buyer role private equity once held. Two small businesses have sued over the forced-labour tariffs, arguing the policy exceeds the president's authority to tax imports, according to The Business of Fashion, with the duties standing while the case is unresolved.
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  Tariff Backlash and Luxury's Quality Test 27.07.2026 4mnt

  Trading partners have begun to retaliate after the Trump administration imposed new duties on some sixty economies over forced-labor enforcement, WWD and Drapers report, with sourcing teams facing added exposure across apparel supply chains. An etoro analysis carried by Al Bawaba notes Richemont, Burberry and Moncler all reported growing sales, yet Burberry and Moncler shares fell, with the argument that growth alone no longer moves these names. The Business of Fashion and Glossy report Moncler's second-quarter sales rose five percent with Stone Island outperforming the flagship, while Reformation is targeting an IPO valuation of up to one billion dollars, Kate Spade named Jonathan Saunders executive creative director, and Mulberry's quarterly sales jumped twenty-three percent.
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  The EU Stops the Burn Pile 24.07.2026 5mnt

  The European Union's ban on destroying unsold fashion stock is now in force, covering LVMH, Prada, Chanel and Inditex, with narrow exemptions and destruction disclosures due from February 2027, per the Financial Times and Retail Gazette. The Office of the United States Trade Representative is moving to impose double-digit tariffs on 60 economies over forced-labor import enforcement, WWD reports, and Frasers Group has crossed 30 percent of Hugo Boss, triggering a mandatory offer under German takeover law. Also: Kering names Romain Spitzer chief executive of Bottega Veneta, and Ermenegildo Zegna Group posts a 17 percent second-quarter sales increase.