As part of the partnership, Champion becomes Kabayel’s exclusive sportswear and fashion partner. The brand will be featured prominently on his fight shorts and will design his walkout robe, fight-week looks and team apparel, as well as create a one-of-a-kind leather jacket for his arrival on fight night.
“I’m incredibly excited to partner with Champion and to have them by my side as I work towards cementing my position as the number one heavyweight in the world,” said Kabayel.
“This is a brand that I’ve loved since I was a child and the word ‘Champion’ represents what I work hard for every day. I’m particularly proud to represent a brand with such a strong legacy in sports and can’t wait to bring to life some of the projects we have planned.”
Kabayel enters the agreement with a perfect 26–0 professional record and as the reigning WBC Interim Heavyweight Champion. Born in Kurdistan and raised in Bochum, Germany, he has earned the nicknames “The Lumberjack” and “The Liver King,” underscoring his style built on breaking opponents down over time.
Kabayel joins Champion’s growing combat sports roster alongside athletes including Tom Aspinall, Katie Taylor and rising star Tiah May-Ayton. Additional athlete announcements are planned this year, further underscoring the brand’s long-term commitment to boxing and MMA across multiple markets.
“At Champion, we are building a carefully selected roster of athletes who genuinely reflect our values — family, resilience, and relentless hard work. Agit Kabayel embodies everything we stand for, both inside and outside the ring,” said Lorenzo Moretti, Champion EMEA President.
“His journey, mindset, and dedication to his craft make him a natural fit for us. This partnership is another important step in strengthening our presence in combat sports and reinforces our ambition to become the leading brand in this space, alongside athletes who truly represent what it means to be a Champion.”
The announcement comes ahead of Kabayel’s next fight on January 10 at the Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen. The event sold out its 12,000-plus capacity in just two days, making it one of the largest boxing events Germany has hosted in recent years.
The house of Dior has appointed Olivier Teboul to be its new president of Parfums Christian Dior North America. The nomination is effective this Friday, January 9.
Olivier Teboul – Parfums Christian Dior
Teboul moves to the United States after almost a decade in Asia, where he has been president and representative director of Dior in Japan since 2016.
“Teboul’s leadership has been a driving force behind the success of Parfums Christian Dior Japan over the last 10 years. He played a pivotal role in strengthening Parfums Christian Dior’s brand elevation to allow an undisputable brand leadership in the market,” Dior said in a release.
The Paris-based luxury marque also praised Teboull for having “successfully implemented innovative strategies, fostered strong relationships with key partners, and built a high-performing team. This move to the USA market recognizes his invaluable contributions and the outstanding work he has done in transforming our business model in Japan.”
Teboul graduated from the international business school HEC Paris in 1996 before beginning his career with international marketing positions in the luxury division at L’Oréal. He then moved on to international general management positions, including in Asia.
He joined Parfums Christian Dior in 2015 for an assignment at PCD North America in New York, before being appointed president and representative director in Japan in 2016, a position he held until December 2025.
Ambitious outdoor lifestyle brand Finisterre as appointed a new head of retail, with Joe Ward joining on 14 January from Superdry.
Finisterre
Ward brings nearly 18 years’ experience at the global fashion retailer where he was head of international retail and global retail support for two years until his departure.
Other roles there included store manager, area manager, VM operations manager before taking on those wider senior global leadership roles that took in overseeing operational strategy across the brand’s global retail estate.
Announcing the move to Finisterre on LinkedIn, Ward said: “Super excited about joining this incredible, purpose-led brand.”
Will Sheane, CEO of Finisterre, is also quoted as saying: “With his deep international retail experience and track record of building great teams, he’s perfectly placed to help us keep elevating how our community experiences Finisterre as we grow. Lots in store for 2026!”
And that teasing outlook for 2026 follows a “landmark year” for the Cornish born brand reflecting the brand’s “commitment to bringing functional and sustainable apparel to key outdoor and coastal communities across the UK”, that included Finisterre’s London flagship and openings in Brighton Holt, Norfolk, locations are in Cambridge, Cardiff and Poole and its first venture north to Leeds.
Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli, known for its $3,000 cashmere sweaters, bet big on department stores, a strategy now in the spotlight as iconic US High Street retailer Saks struggles to pay back debts.
A look by Brunello Cucinelli – Brunello Cucinelli
Saks Global, created after Saks Fifth Avenue parent Hudson’s Bay Company bought rival Neiman Marcus, saw its CEO depart this month, amid reports it was preparing for bankruptcy after missing an over $100 million interest payment. That’s put a harsh spotlight on the strategy of firms like Cucinelli that have bet heavily on high-end department stores, whose future is more uncertain in a weak global luxury market where many brands have shifted towards their own outlets.
The firm, however, is doubling down. Brunello Cucinelli, founder and chairman of his namesake firm, told Reuters that the company was sticking with its strategy, which gives a strong emphasis to the wholesale channel.
He said that so far it had only faced a one-month delay in payments from Saks Global, and at the operational level had not had any issues with the retailer. “We don’t foresee any economic risks, except for extremely limited ones,” Cucinelli told Reuters by phone. “And bear in mind, they would be the first (losses) in 45 years of business. Every year, we lose 0.1% from our multi-brands, which is practically nothing.”
Cucinelli is, however, more exposed than most. Co-CEO Luca Lisandroni in December lauded the cashmere king’s ties with Saks and heralded some of its “best results ever” in its stores around the US, “demonstrating the great centrality of this client in the global luxury landscape.” The Italian firm makes some 36% of its revenues from the wholesale channel and around 64% from its own retail outlets, relying more heavily on multi-brand distribution than some key luxury peers, according to data compiled by Reuters.
Over the past decade, luxury groups have shifted toward their own retail networks, giving them more control over pricing, inventory, and margins. Retail now accounts for some 90% of sales by Prada, 81% at Moncler, 87% at Zegna, and 75% at Gucci-owner Kering.
Cucinelli, which targets some of the highest-end wealthy customers, has proved to be among the most resilient brands in the industry hit by lower demand. Sales in both the wholesale and retail channel grew in the first nine months of 2025 and the brand raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 11–12% in December.
Morningstar analyst Svetlana Menshchikova said that a possible Saks bankruptcy or restructuring could lead to “delayed payments, limited bad-debt exposure and maybe some lost sales if the department stores would fail to replenish their stock.”
“The company has consistently highlighted the US wholesalers as key clients and an integral part of its brand image and business model,” she said. “Although we do not expect a severe impact on the company given Cucinelli’s global footprint and strong balance sheet.”
Saks Global’s financial troubles reflect wider challenges in the $417 billion global luxury market, which is battling to emerge from years of stalling sales. The US luxury retailer, which operates Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman, missed an interest payment due at the end of December and it is preparing to file for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. Founder Cucinelli credited department stores in part for that and said he had faith in Saks and the 400 multi-brand stores he said the brand worked with worldwide.
“We do 40% of our business with multi-brands and I’m absolutely delighted,” he said, calling department stores the “true custodians of the brand.”
“To make it even clearer how much we believe in multi-brand (stores), hypothetically speaking, I would buy Saks Global tomorrow if I were an interested investor.”
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