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Virgil Abloh Foundation names inaugural executive director

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February 28, 2025

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.
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“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.

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Itim Group results look strong but long-term chairman exits

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February 28, 2025

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February 28, 2025

Itim Group is making strong  progress and trading ahead of expectations, the SaaS-based technology firm said Friday. Unaudited gains were made across the year to end December, but the same can’t be said for its boardroom: its chairman Michael Jackson is stepping down with immediate effect.

Itim Group

The business, which enables store-based retailers to optimise their ops to improve financial performance, saw revenues rise to £17.9 million from £16.1 million as a result of new contract wins and extensions.

The best bit was that core earnings (EBITDA) for the year are expected to leap 260%, “significantly ahead of expectations”,  to £2.5 million from £0.7 million in fiscal 2023. Pre-tax profit of £175,000 was also ahead of market expectations, reversing a loss in 2023 of £1.1 million.

The group ended the year with a doubled cash balance of £3.8 million,  againsignificantly ahead of market expectations.

Meranwhile, Jackson has stepped down from the board after 10 years as chairman. No reason was given for his departure, but CEO Ali Athar said he had taken Itim through its IPO, and had built “the foundations for the next stage of growth.”
 
Athar added: “We are proud to report numbers that are significantly ahead of market expectations. This achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team, as well as the value we continue to deliver to our customers. 

“The cost efficiencies we offer in the retail industry have driven increased demand for our products, reinforcing our position as a trusted partner in the sector. While we remain mindful of the broader market backdrop and potential challenges ahead, we are confident in our strategy, our momentum, and the long-term prospects of the business.”

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Eco habits displace sales of new clothes

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February 28, 2025

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February 28, 2025

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.

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February UK retail sales look weak, especially fashion, says BDO

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February 28, 2025

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February 28, 2025

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.”

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