Skechers announced on Thursday the opening of a new concept store on Milan’s Corso Buenos Aires, expanding its presence in the European market.
Skechers expands European presence with new concept store in Milan. – Skechers
Spanning 294 square meters, the store is a re-imagination of mid-century design. Featuring LED lighting constructed from sustainable EU-manufactured biopolymer materials, the store houses Skechers’ extensive lifestyle footwear collections alongside dedicated sections for Skechers performance, apparel, and accessories. The store offers styles for every occasion, from fashion and sport to casual, work, and children’s collections.
“As the comfort technology company, Skechers has been a strategic retail player—establishing brick-and-mortar locations across a network of cities where we can interact with consumers around the world and convert millions into enthusiasts,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers.
“Italy has played a key role in our growth across Europe. We look forward to further building our business in this important market with this high-profile destination, one whose fashion trends, signature collections and innovative hands-free designs can connect with the tourists and locals who appreciate Milan’s reputation for style.”
The brand boasts over 40 retail locations in the country, including three additional stores in Milan. It is also supported by brand ambassadors such as football legend Fabio Cannavaro and celebrity chef Benedetta Parodi, strengthening its foothold in the country.
“Milan has long been known as one of Italy’s top destinations for tourism, fashion and culture—and our new store places us among the world’s most prominent brands in this vibrant city—right in the heart of Corso Buenos Aires, one of Europe’s longest shopping streets,” added Sergio Esposito, country manager of Skechers Italia. “Our close proximity to Milan Centrale and Lima metro stations will make our retail location a heavily-trafficked conduit for the tens of thousands who come to shop daily.”
Retailers and brads have been ramping up repair and resale services in recent periods and it seems to be having an impact with a new report from environmental charity WRAP claiming that “repair is ‘displacing’ new clothing items”.
Photo: Pixabay
In collaboration with repair and resale businesses and brands, its Displacement Rates Untangled report has found that “for every five times people repair items of clothing, four new items are displaced”.
Having worked closely with Depop, eBay, Finisterre and more, it calculated that the average displacement rate for repair is high at 82.2% and 64.6% for resale. Despite this, the UK was found to be the fourth-highest consumer of clothing after the US, China and India.
But it’s not just about repairing what we’ve got as resale is also a key part of the displacement process. Any secondhand purchases that are made instead of buying a new item are considered displacement.
The report calculates the environmental benefits of choosing to repair or buy secondhand and, for example, says that buying used jeans instead of new ones cutes carbon dioxide emissions by 30kg+ (CO2e). For a single cotton T-shirt, the saving is around 7.5 CO2e.
It has case studies to back this up with one covering Vestiare Collective, eBay, and Depop looking at peer-to-peer internet resale. Based on 7,000+ survey responses in the last four months of 2024 to validate the aforementioned 64.6% displacement rate.
Another case study using info from Sojo, the Seam, and Finisterre looked at 700+ survey responses to validate 82.2% repair displacement rate.
WRAP CEO Harriet Lamb said: “Our research shows that buying preloved both satisfies our desire for clothes, for something new-to-us, and means we don’t buy so many brand-new items. What’s more, we can now clearly and consistently measure the environmental case for a range of circular business models including repair – for the first time. I encourage companies to adopt this new technique – customers are looking to them for new services like repair and renting.”
So it’s calling on companies to adopt the new standardised way to measure resale and repair, suggesting that the same method used in the report could be applied to redistribution and rental, both in and outside of the UK.
The signs so far are that February has been a disappointing month for UK retail. The CBI report suggested as much earlier this week and on Friday, BDO’s regular monthly High Street Sales Tracker showed fairly anaemic behaviour, especially in-store.
Photo: Pixabay
And while fashion didn’t see a repeat of the big falls this time last year, sales were flat year on year, which means they didn’t recover the ground lost by those earlier falls.
So let’s look at the numbers. Total like-for-like sales in discretionary categories by value were up 2.3% in February, BDO said, having been down 1.3% during February 2024. That meant a slight recovery from last year’s drop but not by a very big margin and it tracked below the rate of inflation.
And in-store, discretionary sales grew only 1.2%, failing to make up for the 2% drop in the same month of the previous year.
Overall revenue growth was driven by online sales seeing a more healthy 5% uplift this time.
As mentioned, fashion had it tough. In-store fashion retailers registered no growth at all (+0.0%) in February, from a very poor base of -8.2% last year. In-store sales in the crucial category were obviously below inflation, meaning that sales volumes actually shrank in February compared to the same month last year.
This persistent poor performance not only reflects the fact that consumers continue to hold back on non-essential spending in light of persistently high household and food costs, but “points to the longer-term decline of the UK high street,” BDO said.
Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, said: “Retailers are struggling to justify investment in their store estates as consumers continue to move more online and spend less on discretionary items. Retailers have already been clear that they are planning to reduce capital investment in the next 12 months, exacerbating the fundamental challenges facing bricks-and-mortar retail – a sector that remains vital to local economies throughout the country.
“The fashion sector — traditionally a cornerstone of UK high streets — appears particularly vulnerable as consumers understandably prioritise spending on essential items. Heavy discounting is required to drive sales in this category, which is a tough call for retailers that are already operating on razor-thin margins.
“Looking ahead, the coming months will be challenging for retailers. We are edging closer to the introduction of National Insurance changes and increases to the National Living Wage, higher business rates and the Plastic Packaging Tax. These all come at once and put huge pressure on an industry that is already heavily challenged under the weight of its operating costs.
“We know the Government is firmly focused on growth. Retailers urgently need support to navigate these mounting cost pressures or many may fail to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging market.”
The Virgil Abloh Foundation (VAF) announced on Thursday the appointment of Chicago-based leader Dana Loatman as its first executive director.
Dana Loatman – Courtesy
Established by Shannon Abloh and family to continue the legacy of her late husband, multi-hyphenate, Virgil Abloh, the VAF exists to break down barriers and creating equitable opportunities for underrepresented youth in creative fields. In her new role, Loatman will oversee the foundation’s operations, strategic planning, and program development. “Virgil was a visionary who believed deeply in not only opening doors – but keeping them open – for young creatives of color who would come after him,” said Loatman. “I am deeply honored to lead The Virgil Abloh Foundation and carry forward the incredible legacy that he envisioned. Together, with Shannon, partners and collaborators, I will work endlessly to create limitless pathways and build a more equitable and inclusive industry for the next generation of creatives.”
With more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, creative and social impact sectors, Loatman most recently served as chief of staff of external affairs for the Obama Foundation. In this role, Loatman oversaw the strategy and operations for the Obama Foundation’s community engagement, talent relations, marketing and communications work. Prior to that, Loatman served as an advisor to Obama Foundation CEO, Valerie Jarrett, building the corporate & foundations partnerships team from the ground up. Here, she secured over $100 million from major brands and developed partner collaborations with organizations such as Apple, Nike, NBA, TNT, Google, ESPN/Disney, BET, Pepsi, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Loatman has also held international leadership positions at World Vision International, Yunus & Youth, the Institute for Nonprofit Practice and the Philanthropic Initiative at the Boston Foundation, among others.
”Virgil and I first began investing in communities and youth more than two decades ago, so finding the person to take on the immense responsibility of leading the Foundation was something I took very seriously,” said Shannon Abloh, the Virgil Abloh Foundation founder and board president.
“We embarked on a thoughtful search to find a leader who embodies Virgil’s approach of reimagining what’s possible. I know he would be energized to see someone with Dana’s character, creativity and drive at the helm. Dana’s ability to rethink traditional ideas of philanthropy while crafting forward-thinking approaches ensures we continue to honor Virgil’s legacy in a way that stays true to his spirit.”
Loatman will be supported by VAF’s inaugural board of directors, which includes leaders from across fashion, nonprofit, philanthropic, and creative industries including Shannon Abloh, founder and president, Virgil Abloh Foundation; Marc Eckō, founding director, Complex Ntwrk; Howard Feller, president H Feller Enterprises; Naecia Dixon, Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholar and Color Designer, Men’s footwear, Nike; Monica Haslip, executive director, Little Black Pearl; and Corey Smith, VP and head of diversity, Equity and Inclusion at LVMH North America.