Australian bootmaker RMWilliams has opened its first store in Scotland, “marking a significant milestone in the brand’s UK journey” with the Edinburgh store deemed as its first opening of 2026.
RM Williams
Situated in the heart of the city centre, the new George Street store “brings nearly a century of Australian craftsmanship to one of Scotland’s most established and prestigious retail addresses… sitting among architecture defined by endurance, precision and longevity, which are values long shared by RM Williams”.
Designed by Melbourne-based design studio ACRD, the space “balances restraint, craftsmanship and timeless design, with a focus on quality and subtle references to both Australian and Scottish traditions of making”.
The Edinburgh store “presents a considered expression of the RM Williams world”, offering a range of key services including boot fitting, ongoing repair and restoration processes, complimentary boot polishing, plus embossing or debossing to personalise purchases.
Conceived as a “craft space”, the store offers insight into RM Williams’ approach to “making, highlighting materials, construction and finishing details, and reinforcing the brand’s belief in physical retail as a place for craftsmanship, service and storytelling”.
Karl Wederell , general manager of UK & Europe, said: “Customers from Scotland, and Edinburgh in particular, have supported RM Williams for many years so strategically, it feels right to be opening our first Scottish store.”
The end of 2025 marks a phase of acceleration for Lacroix, which is strengthening its mountain presence with the opening of two owned boutiques in emblematic French resorts. On November 29, the brand opened its first store in Val d’Isère, followed on December 4 by a boutique in Courchevel 1850. These two strategic addresses, each spanning 140 square metres, underscore Lacroix’s determination to establish a lasting presence in the leading premium ski destinations.
DR
In Val d’Isère, the brand has set up a chalet-style boutique at Parc 1963, avenue Olympique, conceived as a warm, contemporary refuge. In Courchevel 1850, the Lacroix Igloo, located on rue des Verdons, offers a more minimalist, architectural aesthetic inspired by the purity of the high mountains. Coinciding with these openings is the launch of an exclusive Lacroix x Courchevel capsule, further reinforcing the brand’s visibility over the winter season.
Founded in 1966 by Léo Lacroix, an Olympic alpine skiing champion, the brand has established itself as a benchmark in high-end French skiing thanks to its exacting standards of technical expertise and performance. After a more challenging period marked by safeguard proceedings, Lacroix embarked on a new phase of development from 2022, following its takeover by Günther Doll and Damien Bodoy. This relaunch centres on a clear upmarket repositioning. Today, production is carried out mainly in Italy and Portugal, while the historic factory remains in Italy.
As part of this strategy, the brand is stepping up targeted collaborations to reach a younger clientele and refresh its image. The collaboration with Jacquemus follows a deliberately timed schedule: the capsule has been available since December 1, a few days before the opening of the Courchevel 1850 boutique and immediately after the opening in Val d’Isère.
With these two openings, Lacroix now operates two owned boutiques, alongside 45 wholesale points of sale in France and 20 internationally, notably in Korea, Canada, the US, and Austria. The brand anticipates 30% growth and plans to open around 10 new points of sale over the coming years. Revenue is estimated at 2.2 million euros in 2025, with a clear ambition to reach 10 million euros by 2028-2030. In this vein, Lacroix is already preparing its next collaboration with APM Monaco for the 2026/2027 season.
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On December 12, the Paris Economic Affairs Court announced its ruling in the case concerning the IKKS Group, which has been in administration since late summer. The proposal from Financière Saint James, led by Michaël Benabou in association with Santiago Cucci, was selected, involving the takeover of 92 directly operated stores and 27 Galeries Lafayette shop-in-shops, safeguarding 546 jobs across the brand’s directly operated network.
The Boulevard des Capucines flagship in Paris – Shutterstock
This ruling, in effect, left the liquidators to find a solution for more than half of the company-operated network in France. A2MJ and Asteren are handling the case, which concerns 96 outlets. Two sessions, each with a different store list, have been announced for the disposal of these sites held by IKKS Retail and IKKS Group. Each features prime addresses in key cities across France.
Prospective buyers must submit their proposals in person to Maître Van Kemmel, Commissaire de justice at the Paris Economic Affairs Court, by January 22 for the first session. This includes locations such as 8–10 rue Barbette in the Marais district of Paris, 65 rue du Président‑Herriot on the Presqu’île in Lyon, a unit in the Parly 2 shopping centre, another in the Les Terrasses du Port shopping centre in Marseille, as well as the Cap 3000 shopping centre in Saint‑Laurent‑du‑Var, and 5 rue de Toulouse in central Rennes. The offering also includes several stores in outlet centres across France.
Bids for outlets in the second session must be submitted by February 5. These include stores on rue Saint‑Aubin in Angers, avenue du Général de Gaulle in La Baule, and rue Saint‑Jean in Le Touquet. However, candidates are likely to move quickly for spaces on the highly fashionable rue Paradis in Marseille and for prime Paris addresses at 31 boulevard des Capucines, 5 rue de Sèvres, 13–15 rue Tronchet, and the three sites on the quintessentially Parisian rue des Ternes.
This presents a wealth of opportunities for retail players to secure prime pitches on flagship shopping streets in major cities.
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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid (MBFWMadrid), the showcase organised by Ifema with the support of Madrid City Council, will extend its next edition to five days, running from March 18 to 22, 2026, to accommodate the large number of designers.
MBFWMadrid will extend its March 2026 edition to five days and will feature 30 designers. – MBFWMadrid
The event will add an extra day of catwalk shows after receiving a record number of applications, allowing more proposals to be included in the official schedule, according to Ifema in a statement, which also confirms that 30 designers will present their autumn-winter collections.
The expanded schedule “reinforces the growth momentum” that MBFWMadrid is experiencing and “consolidates its position as the benchmark platform for Spanish design,” the organisation noted.
The decision was agreed by the MBFWMadrid Fashion Committee, a key body in the platform’s “transformation and strategic repositioning” process. This committee is made up of professionals from fashion, luxury, communications and business, together with the event’s management.
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