Jacobs & Turner, the company that owns the Trespass outdoor brand, has filed its accounts for the year to last June and on a purely financial level, they don’t make happy reading. The company’s profit plummeted during the year despite revenue dipping by only a tiny amount.
Trespass
The firm designs, wholesale and retails its outdoor clothing and related goods and said that the financial year was a challenging one for the retail sector. It’s operating costs continued to rise and in the tough marketplace, sales were relatively flat. The US dollar also maintained a strong position for most of the year, impacting the cost of goods and freight.
That said further growth for the business was achieved in strategic locations across Europe.
So let’s look at the numbers. Group turnover edged down marginally to £127.3 million from £127.4 million a year earlier. But retail sales stayed “strong across the year with some favourable weather conditions for the range”. E-commerce continued to grow too and the firm expanded the range of marketplaces “to help facilitate future growth opportunities”.
Also good news was the fact that the gross margin increased to 36.9% from 30.9%. But pre-tax profit, as mentioned, dived. It went down to £1.3 million from £9.7 million. Net profit for the year was just over £300,000, a sharp comedown from the £7.6 million of the previous 12-month period.
The company, which was founded in 1983 and launched Trespass in 1984, is headquartered in Glasgow. It’s owned by the Khushi family and their dividends dropped to £400,000 for the year from £8.4 million in the prior year.
Digital payments giant Visa has team up with the London College of Fashion to launch ‘Recycle the Runway’, an initiative designed to support the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs to reach their full potential.
A new initiative from its global Visa Young Creators series, the companyis inviting those who are “early in their careers and committed to circular practices” to apply.
Six successful finalists, including one grand prize winner, will receive individual grants from a total prize pool of £20,000, access to mentoring from industry experts during the competition, as well as the opportunity to be recognised by The London College of Fashion, UAL. Visa said its “ambition is to encourage creators to reimagine how they design, produce, and sell fashion, making recommerce – the regenerative way to buy, re-use and share goods and services – desirable and habitual to accelerate economic growth”. Artist and social media celebrity Sophie Tea has teamed up with Visa to encourage designers to get involved, saying: “Creativity has always been my thing: taking ideas and turning them into something real and meaningful, I love a story. The Visa Creators Recycle the Runway initiative [is] an amazing chance for creators to bring their talent to life while celebrating those who make reusing and repurposing a priority.”
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and based in the UK and be able to demonstrate “how their design-led business embraces circular business models to align with at least one of the ‘R’s of circular fashion—repair, resale, return, redistribution, rental or refill”. They must also have an early-stage start-up business with a minimum of one year in operation. The initiative will culminate in a high-profile runway show taking place in Central London on 22 May, where finalists will present their designs to a panel of judges including Tea as well as representatives from Visa.
Katherine Brown, VP, Head of Social Impact & Sustainability, Visa Europe added: “Through our Recycle the Runway initiative, we’re excited to celebrate fashion creators who are embracing this change and to help provide the tools they need to grow through circular business models. By making circular fashion more accessible, and rewarding, we can help these small businesses thrive.”
Full line up of judges to be announced on Earth Day, 22 April and the closing date is 8 May.
U.S. President Donald Trump‘s sudden about-face on sweeping import tariffs did little to soothe companies’ worries about the fallout from his trade war and its chaotic implementation: soaring costs, falling orders and snarled supply chains.
President Donald Trump – White House
In a stunning reversal, the president said on Wednesday he would temporarily lower the hefty tariffs he had just imposed on dozens of countries, though he also hiked duties for China and kept 25% tariffs levied on aluminium, steel and autos in place. The news sent global stocks soaring on Wednesday after an intense bout of volatility that wiped trillions of dollars off equity markets.
Investors hope there will now be time for negotiations to avert a full-blown global trade war. The European Union said on Thursday it would pause its first countermeasures on about 21 billion euros ($23 billion) of U.S. imports.
Stocks, however, reversed course on Thursday, posting sharp declines. The latest reversal in Trump’s tariff agenda has only added to company executives’ confusion about its objective.
Companies with complex and diverse supply chains spanning multiple countries from China to Germany were already scrambling to work out how they would be affected by duties and grappling with possible price hikes to mitigate tariff risks.
“The developments related to tariffs, whether from the USA or countermeasures by the EU and other countries, are currently extremely dynamic and volatile. We are analyzing the situation internally with great precision and high priority – particularly regarding potential impacts on our procurement and pricing,” German retailer Hugo Boss said in a statement.
Hugo Boss and other companies are questioning what happens after the 90-day pause, especially as the average effective U.S. tariff rate would now be roughly 23% before U.S. firms adjust their imports, Yale economist Ernie Tedeschi said in a post on X. Those tricky calculations are being made at a time when consumer confidence is waning and worries are growing about a global recession.
“Global trade flows are complex and the (…) conditions for cross-border trade are currently changing rapidly,” German chemicals company BASF said on Thursday. BASF said the direct impact of U.S. tariffs would be limited due to its high proportion of local production, but added it was difficult to estimate the effects of a trade war on demand for its products and its customers.
Tech giant Apple has chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the U.S. from India. Analysts have warned that U.S. prices of iPhones could surge, given Apple’s high reliance on imports from China, the main manufacturing hub of the devices, which is now subject to Trump’s highest tariff rate – an eye-watering 125%.
“A 90-day pause on tariffs, while framed as a temporary relief, creates considerable uncertainty for businesses,” said Anita Wright, a chartered financial planner at Bolton James. Trump says he wants to bring back manufacturing to the U.S., but the constantly changing policy makes it risky to invest for the long term, particularly in sectors like green energy.
“The Trump tariffs are putting the brakes on green investment just like they are anything else, but the effects may be particularly acute in this category,” said Matthew Nordan, general partner at Azolla Ventures, an independent venture capital company.
“The reason is that we’re talking about physical stuff – industrial infrastructure, things made out of steel, projects with long lead times – where the tariffs present more friction than for services or software companies.”
Some companies, including General Motors, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, have built up inventory in the U.S. to get ahead of tariffs. But the uncertainty is dimming the outlook for later this year, trade executives said. Weaker U.S. consumer confidence is already hurting spending on items like sneakers.
According to a weekly sales survey by industry association Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, in the eleven weeks since Trump’s inauguration, shoe sales in stores are down 9.5% from the same period last year. The association’s members include Nike, Adidas, Skechers, and Walmart .
A spokesperson for Inter IKEA, which makes IKEA products and supplies them to franchisees around the world, said tariffs make it more difficult to keep prices of home furnishings affordable.
“It’s too early to say what level the tariffs will affect the prices of our products, but we are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to evaluate how it evolves,” they said. The outlook for earnings season, which kicks off in earnest next week with reports from LVMH, ASML and L’Oreal, is increasingly gloomy. Volkswagen warned late on Wednesday that first-quarter profits were much weaker than expected and included a charge for the cars it’s sending to the U.S.
Trump’s temporary cuts offer little relief to auto, steel and aluminium companies still incurring 25% U.S. tariffs.
Serbia’s Testeral, which makes aluminium and PVC products for the construction industry, may have to lay off staff if tariffs remain in place, CEO Sanja Stanimirovic told Reuters.
The company cannot easily raise prices to cover the additional cost because it is locked into long-term contracts, she said. The company employs about 120 full-time staff and 80 seasonal or part-time workers.
“This (the tariffs) poses a significant risk to our company at present,” she said.
Capri Holdings may have to let go of its image as a luxury fashion house and bank on mid-tier pricing as well as a partnership with Amazon.com for its Michael Kors brand following its $1.4 billion sale of Versace to Prada.
After Italy’s Prada struck a deal to buy smaller rival Versace on Thursday, Capri CEO John Idol said that the company could make “accelerated strategic investments” in Michael Kors, the clothing and accessories brand it still holds in addition to footwear brand Jimmy Choo.
Capri had been exploring alternatives for both Versace and Jimmy Choo after the $8.5 billion sale of Capri to peer and Coach-owner Tapestry fell apart in November. Sources viewed a deal for Jimmy Choo as more tricky given consumers have been favouring sneakers and more casual shoes over high heels.
Meanwhile, in a rare move for a luxury brand and a signal that Capri is putting less emphasis on an upscale image for Michael Kors, Capri in March launched its first official Amazon storefront for the brand, allowing shoppers to buy handbags, clothing and accessories.
“Michael Kors’ availability on Amazon marks a significant shift – and not necessarily in the direction of luxury,” said Angeli Gianchandani, adjunct instructor at New York University’s School of Professional Studies. “While it may help drive volume and reach a broader audience, it also risks further diluting the brand’s prestige.”
Michael Kors handbags at its retail outlet and website are priced from under $50 to more than $3,000 while on Amazon its purses and bags are sold for anywhere between $59 and $400.
“(Amazon’s) a great outlet for these companies to get rid of excess inventory, especially from the higher end markdowns,” said Jamie Meyers, Securities Analyst at Laffer Tengler Investments. “So, it’s certainly a move that makes perfect sense.”
Capri has also said it is reviewing pricing across categories to try to boost full-price sales. The attempt to revive growth could, however, take a hit from U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariffs as nearly all Michael Kors products are made in Asia, according to Capri’s annual report last May, although it did not specify individual countries.
Jimmy Choo products are produced by specialists in Italy, supported by factories across Europe, with a small portion produced in Asia, according to the report.
During a post-earnings call in February, Idol said that Capri had attempted to elevate Michael Kors’ price points too quickly and going forward it would refocus on the heritage of the brand and align pricing architecture with historical levels.
Michael Kors bought Versace for $2.2 billion in 2018 and named the group Capri, in a bid to take on larger European rivals such as Louis Vuitton-owner LVMH and Kering and widen its customer base. It acquired Jimmy Choo, whose shoes retail for as much as $5,000, the previous year.
Capri has posted nearly ten quarters of revenue declines and lost out to local competition from Coach as it struggled to convince shoppers higher prices were worth paying.
“The bottom line is Prada is a luxury company and Capri is not, in a sense, because Michael Kors is not really a luxury brand,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz said. “It was not a great fit because Michael Kors is a primarily American mid-tier handbag maker.”
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