The world’s largest footwear and apparel companies are facing a shock to their supply chains after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Vietnam and other critical production hubs.
Nike
The US imposed a 46% reciprocal tariff rate on Vietnamese goods on Wednesday as part of Trump’s growing trade war with countries around the world. Other new tariffs include 49% on Cambodia, 34% on China and 32% on Indonesia.
Nike Inc. and Adidas AG made big bets on Vietnam over the last decade. Today, about half of all Nike shoes and 39% of Adidas shoes are made in the country, according to regulatory filings. Vietnam is the largest supplier of footwear for both companies, and shoes produced in the country account for more than $20 billion in combined annual revenue.
Nike shares fell 6.4% in extended trading at 5:06 p.m. New York time. Lululemon Athletica Inc., which makes 40% of its products in Vietnam and 17% in Cambodia, tumbled almost 9.6% in late trading. Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., which gets 35% of its merchandise from Vietnam and 22% from Cambodia, fell 7.7%. Gap Inc., which buys about 27% of its goods from Vietnamese factories and 19% from Indonesia, slid 11%.
“More tariffs equal more anxiety and uncertainty for American businesses and consumers,” National Retail Federation Executive Vice President of Government Relations David French said on Wednesday. “Tariffs are a tax paid by the U.S. importer that will be passed along to the end consumer.”
Tariffs add to the trade turbulence that shoe sellers are trying to navigate. Nike already said it expects its gross margin to decline sharply this quarter, in part due to US tariffs on products from China and Mexico.
“Shifting supply chains is not an option given performance footwear requires a very specific skill set and factories,” said Poonam Goyal, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “I can’t see how prices to consumers don’t go up.”
Nike and Adidas didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Major fashion retailers such as Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co. and Hennes & Mauritz AB also count Vietnam as one of their biggest suppliers. The country exported $44 billion in textiles last year, with the US as its largest market, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association.
The footwear and apparel industries boosted production in Vietnam during Trump’s first term in the White House as the trade war with China escalated. Vietnam has low labor costs, a skilled workforce already adept at manufacturing shoes and clothes, transportation infrastructure, and was seen as less of a threat to be involved in geopolitical clashes. It also boasted trade agreements with the US and the European Union.
Hints that Vietnam could get entangled in Trump’s trade wars began in 2019, when Trump said that Vietnam took advantage of the US “even worse than China.” Retail lobbyists feared that Trump was near enacting tariffs on Vietnam in the last month of his first term, according to people familiar with the matter.
Vietnam emerged a big winner as brands reduced their exposure to China. Footwear and textiles are now among Vietnam’s most vital exports, and the industry flourished as brands like Nike and Adidas linked with dozens of sneaker factories. Neither company produces more than 20% of its footwear in China anymore.
Vietnam has been among Asia’s fastest growing economies. Its gross domestic product grew 7.1% last year, surpassing both government projections and estimates from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Just days after Trump re-entered the White House in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio encouraged senior officials in Vietnam to address trade imbalances. Vietnam’s trade surplus with the US was more than $123 billion last year, according to US Census Bureau data, and officials have said they’ve been urging increased purchases of US products.
Only China and Mexico have larger trade surpluses with the US.
Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in January that he’d be willing to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago to “golf all day long” if it helps resolve trade quarrels. Since then, the government has been trying to appease the Trump administration by cutting its own tariffs on US cars, ethanol and liquefied natural gas.
Beauty subscription service Ipsy unveiled on Tuesday its May Icon Box curator selecting the founders of clothing brand Favorite Daughter Erin and Sara Foster.
Ipsy taps Erin and Sara Foster for May Icon Box. – Ipsy
The May Icon Box is a quarterly drop packed with eight beauty essentials. The sister duo curated the box with busy schedules and beauty minimalists in mind, and includes a lineup of skincare and makeup from brands like Kosas, Drunk Elephant, First Aid Beauty, and Dermalogica.
“We’re all about keeping beauty simple, effective, and actually enjoyable,” said Erin. “This Icon Box takes the guesswork out of your routine so you can look great without having to spend hours searching for the right product.”
Sara added, “We wanted this collection to feel like your beauty shortcut with products that deliver results without the extra effort. Whether you’re rushing out the door or just want to keep things effortless, this Icon Box has you covered.”
In addition to the beauty drop, the sisters are also launching the Favorite Daughter Grecian Night and Italian Summers Fragrance Duo, priced at just $35 exclusively on Ipsy Shop for a limited time.
“Fragrance can be a very personal choice,” said Erin. “It has the power to bring back memories, set a mood, or just make you feel like the best version of yourself, but that can also vary from day to day. Grecian Night has notes of jasmine and tuberose, which is my favorite fragrance, while Italian Summers, which is formulated with freesia and vanilla, is typically Sara’s go-to – but there will be days we’ll wanna swap.”
Kristy Westrup, chief merchandising officer at Ipsy, said she wanted to collaborate with the duo for their authentic approach to beauty: “Erin and Sara have a refreshingly authentic approach to beauty, which we wanted to bring to our Icon Box for May. This Icon Box is a true reflection of that philosophy, featuring a lineup of premium products that simplify beauty without sacrificing performance. We know our members will love the lineup in this box, and we’re thrilled to bring this collaboration to life.”
Driven by 9% revenue growth in fiscal 2024 to €23.5 million, Italian footwear and ready-to-wear label Velasca, founded in 2013 by Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio, is stepping up the pace of its retail expansion. Velasca’s plan is to open 37 new stores by 2028, in Europe and beyond.
Jacopo Sebastio (left) and Enrico Casati
The label already operates stores in Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Brescia, Naples, Palermo, Verona, Padua, as well as in Paris and London. A few weeks ago, it opened its first bottega (artisanal shop) in Copenhagen, and another in New York, on Madison Avenue.
By April, Velasca will grow its monobrand fleet to 30 addresses, by opening two more stores in Paris, and by entering the German market with a first store in Munich. Outside Italy, Velasca is mulling a second opening in London, while the opening of a store in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, is scheduled in two weeks.
The Velasca ‘bottega’ in Verona
“International expansion and the consolidation of our presence in Italy are key elements in our overall growth strategy, which is based on an omni-channel model featuring a careful balance between physical and digital retail. Thanks to the rapid growth of our online channels, we’re able to identify high-potential markets very early on, so that we can make quick decisions in terms of new retail openings,” said Sebastio and Casati. “Our goal is to stay close to our community by offering a quality experience tailored to their needs, immersing them in Velasca’s world and values,” they added.
Thanks to these new projects, Velasca is targeting revenue of €27.5 million for fiscal 2025.
Kering Beauty has appointed former Estée Lauder executive Nathalie Berger-Duquene to the post of CEO of Creed, the Franco-English fragrance brand acquired by the French luxury group in 2023. Berger-Duquene will take office on May 6, succeeding Sarah Rotheram, who left Kering in October 2024.
Nathalie Berger-Duquene – Kering Beauté
Berger-Duquene has been active in the beauty industry for more than 25 years, developing a number of perfume brands. After starting her career at LVMH-owned Guerlain, she joined the L’Oréal group in 2005, where she held various senior positions, including head of international make-up marketing at Lancôme, and managing director for the Armani and designer brands division.
In 2019, she joined US cosmetics group Estée Lauder as managing director EMEA for Tom Ford Beauty and Kilian Paris. She was then appointed senior vice-president of Tom Ford Beauty, overseeing marketing, communication and the online business worldwide. In 2022, Berger-Duquene was named global general manager of Balmain Beauty, still part of Estée Lauder.
At Kering Beauty, the luxury giant’s division created in early 2023 to accelerate the cosmetics market growth of the Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Pomellato labels, Berger-Duquene will report to Raffaella Cornaggia, who oversees the division. She has also joined Kering Beauty’s executive committee, and will be based in London.
The Creed brand was founded in 1760 by James Henry Creed. In 2023, it recorded revenue of approximately €250 million, and is sold via some 40 monobrand stores and 1,400 multibrand retailers.
At the end of June 2023, Kering signed an agreement to buy a 100% stake in Creed. The value of the operation was not disclosed, but in July the Financial Times mentioned the sum of €3.5 billion.
In 2024, Kering generated revenue of €17.19 billion. The Kering Eyewear & Corporate division, which now includes Kering Beauty, reported revenue of €1.9 billion, up 24%.