Fashion group Bestseller has scaled up its drive towards integrating textile-to-textile recycled polyester within its supply chain.
The latest focus sees key brand Only transforming its jersey-programme of basic tops to recycled polyester made from textile waste, with the first styles now available in-store.
The project has been a collaborative effort between Only, materials textile-to-textile recycling company RE&UP, and Turkish garment supplier Deniz.
Recognising that “material selection carries significant environmental weight” the group said the new initiative “underscores [its] strategic focus on reducing the need for virgin materials, including polyester.
Only brand sourcing process manager Pernille Tøttrup said: “This enables us to create garments made from worn-out clothing and factory textile waste, while offering the same performance and durability as if it were made from virgin polyester”.
In the initial production run, 11 styles have been converted from conventional polyester to RE&UP next-gen recycled polyester, equating to more than 100,000 T-shirts, with the capacity currently being scaled up to hopefully process a million tonnes of textile waste by 2030.
Only now joins several of the group’s other brands in actively integrating recycled materials into existing collections, including Never Out Of Stock (NOOS) range and, earlier this year, its menswear brand Jack & Jones also converted a NOOS bumper jacket to recycled polyester made from textile waste.
Bestseller’s head of Sustainability, Dorte Rye Olsen, added: “We are actively reshaping our approach to materials, prioritising a shift from conventional to organic cotton and from virgin to recycled polyester.
“In an ideal world, all textiles would become part of a circular production system once they are worn out. Here, we see examples of how this can be achieved. At the same time, we are aware that there is still a long way to go. Therefore, alongside exploring and investing in textile-to-textile solutions, we’re currently also expanding our use of recycled materials from other waste feedstocks.”
Boucheron is poised to open its first flagship boutique in China, in Shanghai’s Xintiandi district, following its iconic addresses at 26 Place Vendôme in Paris and in Ginza, Tokyo. This third flagship worldwide marks a major step in the maison’s international expansion and forms part of the growth strategy in Asia led by Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, Boucheron’s CEO since 2015.
Boucheron boutique in Shanghai – DR
Founded in 1858 by Frédéric Boucheron, the maison grew through four generations of his direct descendants and has established itself as a leading name in jewellery, high jewellery, and watchmaking. The first jewellery house to open a boutique on Place Vendôme, Boucheron is now part of the Kering luxury group and operates over 90 boutiques worldwide.
The new Shanghai address occupies a historic 19th-century shikumen building in the heart of the Xintiandi district. The 278 square-metre interior is organised around distinct worlds: a winter garden inspired by 19th-century European greenhouses, a Chinese forest installed in the central display cases by artist Xiaojing Yan, and a bridal suite inspired by Yu Garden, a famous Shanghai landmark.
A staircase connects the interior spaces to the VIP lounges, blending the symbolic colours of the maison and of China, and showcasing works by Jonathan Bréchignac. The VIP lounges retain the original shikumen architecture with exposed beams and brickwork, and present works by Peng Yong alongside de Gournay wallpaper motifs inspired by historic Chinese landscapes.
The boutique also features a space dedicated to Asian expertise and archival pieces, offering clients an insight into the history of Boucheron’s ties with China. The flow within the boutique is designed according to Feng Shui principles to optimise the client journey and experience, integrating wood panelling, marble, and French-style furnishings, in keeping with the maison’s DNA.
This opening forms part of Boucheron’s strategy to strengthen its presence in China, where the maison already has 17 boutiques on the mainland, and to marry French heritage with local cultural elements to offer Asian clients a comprehensive retail and heritage experience.
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According to the CGT Champagne inter-union, employees in LVMH‘s Champagne division in France are mobilising against the scrapping of a profit-sharing bonus “which has existed since 1967.”
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“The mobilisation is due to the withdrawal this year of profit-sharing at Moët & Chandon. It has been in place since 1967, and this is a first. Employees have also been informed of the cancellation of the value-sharing bonus, on the grounds that the group generated slightly lower profits,” said José Blanco, general secretary of the CGT Champagne inter-union, to AFP on Friday.
Following strikes on December 5 and 8, a rally was held on Thursday outside Moët & Chandon’s head office.
“This strike took place on Thursday in Épernay, outside Moët & Chandon’s head office, with all the group’s Champagne houses: Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Moët & Chandon… and support from other Champagne houses. Around 600 people were present,” said Blanco.
“Originally, it wasn’t supposed to be a demonstration, but an information meeting organised within Moët & Chandon. In the end, the employees gathered on Avenue de Champagne and blocked it,” explained Mr Blanco.
Further actions are being considered, but no date has yet been set. Contacted by AFP, LVMH did not comment.
LVMH’s Wines & Spirits division, which includes Champagnes (Moët & Chandon, Krug, Ruinart…) as well as wines (Château Cheval Blanc, Château d’Yquem, Château d’Esclans…), and Hennessy cognac and Glenmorangie whisky, saw a sharp decline in 2024, with revenue down 11% year-on-year to €5.9 billion.
Over the first nine months of 2025, the division’s revenue fell a further 7%, notably due to customs duties. However, the group estimated that sales returned to growth (at constant exchange rates) in the third quarter, “with an improvement in Champagne, good growth in rosé wines and still weak demand in cognac.”
According to HSBC analysts, Champagne and wine sales accounted for 4% of LVMH’s €84.7 billion revenue in 2024, and cognac and spirits sales for 3%. The bank forecasts an 11% drop in Champagne and wine sales in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The division, which announced in the spring plans to reduce its workforce, has been headed since February by the group’s former chief financial officer, Jean-Jacques Guiony, assisted by Alexandre Arnault, son of billionaire and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.
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On Thursday December 12, the Paris commercial court decided on the future of French premium ready-to-wear retailer IKKS. At the end of a receivership procedure involving several purchasing bids for IKKS, the court has approved the offer by Santiago Cucci, who was named president of the group’s holding company HoldIKKS last year, and Michaël Benabou, co-founder of event sales site Veepee.
Inside an IKKS store – IKKS
The court’s decision has put an end to months of uncertainty for IKKS’s employees. According to figures drawn up by the receivers at the end of August, the group’s staff numbered 1,287 worldwide, 1,094 of them in France. At the time, the group had 473 stores between France and 11 other countries, plus headquarters in the town of Saint-Macaire-en-Mauges and offices in Paris.
IKKS gave a design make-over to its collections in summer, and in September it applied for receivership, after the group’s main shareholders, US investment funds Avenue Capital, CarVal Investors and Marathon Asset Management, expressed their wish to sell the company.
The IKKS group, which operates the eponymous brand as well as One Step and ICode, is still a leading international ready-to-wear retailer in the premium segment, operating several hundred retail outlets (between directly owned and franchised stores, and concessions) in nine countries. The path to new ownership has been complex, since the group was split in several entities, and none of the purchasing bids referred to the group as a whole.
The winning bid’s details
Cucci and Benabou have convinced the court after recently revising their bid upwards. Initially, the bid related to 141 stores, 88 of them directly owned, and 391 company employees.
The deal was clinched after the bid was extended to include 219 stores in France: 92 of them directly owned, 100 franchised, plus 27 Galeries Lafayette concessions. The employees associated to the directly owned stores are 546.
Benabou and Cucci, a former senior executive at Levi’s and a strategic advisor to G-Star, have taken over the IKKS business and are planning to operate a more streamlined store fleet. They will focus on womenswear and menswear, while childrenswear has been put on hold.
The dossiers given to prospective buyers indicated that the IKKS brand accounted for 80% of the group’s revenue, that 64% of its revenue was generated by womenswear, 21% by childrenswear, and 15% by menswear. When the company applied for receivership, direct retail accounted for 77% of revenue, e-commerce (both B2B and B2C) for 20%, and the remaining 3% was generated through the wholesale channel.
Rejected bids
The bid by sustainable fashion brand Faguo, which had been revised to include 15 stores and 30 jobs, was rejected. French group Beaumanoir (which owns womenswear brands Morgan and Caroll) had teamed up with Faguo, offering €1 million to buy the IKKS brand name and some of the stores.
Another rejected bid was put forward by Salih Halassi’s company Amoniss, a shareholder in Pimkie which recently acquired Christine Laure and Chevignon. It initially bid for a minimum of 168 stores and 393 employees.
BCRI Holding, which recently bought Café Coton, initially offered to buy 67 stores with a total of 426 employees. While AA Investments (owner of Smallable, L’Exception and Bonne Gueule) was interested in IKKS’s intangible assets. Verdoso, new owner of The Kooples, withdrew its bid before the November 28 hearing.
Since none of the bids related to the Icode and One Step brands, and to IKKS childrenswear, some of the latter’s stores in France have now closed. The new owners are therefore concentrating on the IKKS brand, out of a group fleet that had 550 stores as of the end of 2024, though streamlining measures started in H1 this year.
The brand’s employees are now hoping IKKS will be able to regain momentum as a recognised name in the premium ready-to-wear segment.
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