Eco adventure travel and outdoor clothing brand Craghoppers has moved on to less familiar terrain for its new collection. The retailer has taken to the more manicured surroundings of golf, unveiling its ‘NosiLife’ range for Spring 2025, marking its entry into the sport.
Teaming up with All4golf as its exclusive European retail partner, a key feature for the high-performance golf range for both men and women is its advanced insect repellent technology (presumably for all those who spend time hunting for a wayward ball in the undergrowth where biting insects thrive).
The range aligns with the brand’s expertise in technical fabrics targeting the specificneeds of golfers, saying it “instantly knew itsNosiLife insectrepellenttechnologywould betheperfectsolutionfor the active golfer”.
As well as enabling golfers “to play uninterrupted” Craghoppers said it hasaddressedother key areas for the golf market. These include lightweight, stretch fabricsto give flexibility to move freely and comfortably on the green; tops designed to offer ahigh reach to achieve that perfect swing; protection against strong UVAs (minimum 30UPF); odour elimination that is“unique to the NosiLife technology”; and use of quick-drying, breathablefabrics.
An additional assurance is Craghoppers’ “guarantee for life…a sign of confidence in the quality ofthe range”.
Thenew collection comes witha slim silhouette in classic colourways, with pieces designedto be layered, dependenton the weather.
Itcomprises two lightweight jackets, one fleece, one stretch jersey, a long–sleevedzip neck top, one long-sleeved polo, two short-sleeved polos, a long-sleeved base layerwith a high neck plus trousers for men and women.
Charlotte Jackson, head of Marketing at Craghoppers , said: “We are excited to embark on this journey into theworld of golf.Weidentified that our USPNosiLife insect repellent clothingis perfect for the active golfer who needs protection when biting insects are rife on the course.
“This new collection hasalsobeen designed to exploit Craghoppers’ reputation for durability and a moresustainable approach to clothing production, to offer this new audience functional golf apparel, using recycledmaterials.”
Johannes Jurecka, MD for retail partner All4golf added: “I was already familiar withCraghoppers and their insectrepellent technology… from the outdoors sector, so to work with the Craghoppersteam to bring this amazinginnovation into the golf space has been very rewarding.
“This capsule collection will help stop players being distracted by biting insects like mosquitoes and instead allow them focus on the game in hand.”
The range will be available at all4golf.comfromMarch with broader availability on graghoppers’ website soon after.
Another day, another shopping centre delivering a “record-breaking” performance in 2024. This time it’s Gloucester Quays “capping off another year of considerable growth”, for the owner/operator Peel Retail & Leisure.
That included record Christmas trading at the key Gloucester mall, which helped overall sales for the year finish 6.7% ahead of the national average. Across November and December, retail sales grew 3.6% compared with 2023.
Looking at 2024 in total, an overall 7.4% year-on-year sales increase across its tenants was split between 6.1% for retail, and 8.5% for F&B.
But there was also double-digit growth from leading fashion, homewares, and outerwear brands including Next, Skechers, All Saints, Mountain Warehouse, Puma, Crew Clothing and Suit Direct.
It said sustained growth was seen across all categories “points to the increasing relevance of the Gloucester Quays experience”.
Paul Carter, asset director at Peel Retail & Leisure, added: “There have been various headlines this month about how challenged retail was around Christmas, so to have Gloucester Quays performing so well is a real credit to our team and our brands.
“These results also serve as a reminder of how relevant and in demand this outlet is. We have experienced consistent growth for several years, and that success can be put down to the quality of our offer and waterside environment. There is no doubt our catchment is responding to how we have evolved Gloucester Quays, as an urban outlet that combines a compelling shopping environment with dining and leisure to fit all tastes and needs, benefitting from a heritage waterside setting that few regionally can match.”
Italy’s Give Back Beauty, which makes perfumes for luxury brands such as Chopard and Zegna, on Friday said it had agreed to buy domestic rival AB Parfums to grow its distribution operations and add licensing deals.
Fragrances have been outperforming the broader beauty sector and Give Back Beauty founder and Chairman Corrado Brondi told Reuters his company did not rule a possible bourse listing in the future, adding it had no financial need for it at present.
Brondi said AB Parfumes had sales of around €100 million, which would add to Give Back Beauty’s net revenues that totalled around €300 million in 2024.
Give Back Beauty, which was founded in 2019 and has a distribution deal with Dolce & Gabbana and a beauty license with Tommy Hilfiger, has a core profit margin currently a little over 15%, it said.
AB Parfums is being sold by Italy’s Angelini Industries, a family-owned group that is mostly active in the pharmaceutical sector.
Give Back Beauty’s business is currently focused on fragrances, which represent roughly 70% of its revenues, but it aims to grow its skincare, make-up and haircare product lines, Brondi said.
German retail sales rose in 2024, but growth should be more modest this year due to the high level of uncertainty, according to retail association HDE.
Last year, retail sales rose 1.1% compared to the previous year in inflation-adjusted terms, official data showed on Friday. The HDE forecasts 0.5% growth in real terms this year.
“Consumption and the retail sector in Germany will not really gain momentum in 2025 either,” said HDE managing director Stefan Genth. “There is simply too much uncertainty,” he said. “Wars, high energy costs and overall economic stagnation are a toxic cocktail for consumption.”
In nominal terms, retail sales rose by 2.5% in 2024 and are expected to grow by 2.0% in 2025, according to HDE’s forecast.
The latest HDE survey with 700 retailers shows that 22% of respondents expect sales to increase this year, while almost half of them expect results to be below the previous year’s level.
In December, retail sales fell by 1.6% compared with the previous month, official data showed. Analysts had predicted a 0.2% increase.