Very Group has launched the first multicategory campaign for its Haus of Flamingo concept, moving it beyond just womenswear. The travel-focused two-part TV-focused campaign, called ‘The Departure’, aims to inspire the desire for shopping spring looks with the digital retailer releasing the second phase later this spring.
The campaign also offers a timely introduction of new fashion categories as the Haus of Flamingo umbrella branches out from womenswear “to reflect customer shopping habits”.
In addition to women’s must-haves, the campaign showcases products from menswear and kidswear, as new data from the online retailer reveals “a significant 40% of its fashion customers are shopping cross-category”.
Telling a story of escaping the dull, grey winter “and flocking to the ever-fabulous Haus of Flamingo”, the new ad is set in a stylised airport environment, “making recognisable airport moments look chic”.
An overweight bag also provides an “opportune moment to elevate an outfit”, while the security gate “is the perfect time for Very’s signature flamingo pose”.
The Departure campaign features a hero 30-second TV advert, along with cut-down versions, including a Very Pay bespoke asset, mens and kids stand-alone assets and an extensive suite of social-first content.
The ad was produced by Kode and directed by Lu Xiao Wei and includes a selection of stills captured by photographer Aura Skulskytè.
It will run in the UK and Ireland, across TV, VOD, social media, press and online.
Very Group said: “Haus of Flamingo has had a flying start since launching in summer 2024, driving strong brand attribution and greater distinction. This has driven an impressive 10% uplift in brand consideration across the retailer’s womenswear category.”
Jessica Myers, chief customer officer at The Very Group, added: “We’re now rolling the [Very] platform out across our other fashion categories to really showcase our amazing multi-category offering which we know is important to our customers as it gives them the ease of buying for themselves and their family all in one place.”
She added: “Cutting through the sea of sameness in the women’s fashion space is hard, but Haus of Flamingo does exactly that, with data showing we’re on to a winner. The Departure encourages customers to free their inner flamingo, empowering them to express their confidence and unique sense of style.”
Kering shares tanked on Friday morning after the group led by François-Henri Pinault chose to bet on subversive in-house talent Demna to reinvigorate its Gucci label rather than hiring a big-ticket name from fashion’s overheating job market. Shares fell by around 10% in early Paris session trade, underperforming French luxury peers, which were trading flat following the news.
Kering shares fall 10% after Gucci names Demna creative director. – Reuters
Analysts at Jefferies said the appointment of the Georgian former Balenciaga designer came as a surprise, while J.P. Morgan analysts called the move a “controversial choice,” citing early feedback on social media and fashion blogs and a “question mark” now hanging over the brand’s creative future.
The appointment of Gucci’s next design chief was the fashion world’s most-awaited news in recent weeks after Gucci fired Italian designer Sabato De Sarno after less than two years in the role.
The house’s prolonged sales decline, including a revenue drop of 24% in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, has heavily weighed on Kering in the past months. Group shares are down around 40% year-on-year, while a European sector benchmark index is down close to 6% over the same period.
Seasalt, the successful Cornish lifestyle-fashion brand, is considering a number of redundancies and it’s blaming higher taxes following the Autumn Budget that increased employers’ National Insurance contributions.
Seasalt
The company said the redundancy move was “in order to meet the challenges presented by an ever-changing retail industry” and that customer sentiment has continued to decline, impacting the outlook for trading conditions in the year ahead.
“As a business here at Seasalt, we are not immune to these very real concerns,” it explained. “In order to meet the challenges… the majority of those beyond our control, Seasalt must remain agile so that we can protect our business for the long term.
“To continue investing in our growth plans, focusing predominantly on store and partners expansion, and large-scale projects to enhance our operations, we have thoroughly reviewed our cost base, to ensure our expenditure is not outpacing our sales and equally achieve the growth that is essential to the viability of our business.
“This analysis has included looking at efficiencies and overall productivity, a transformation of our head office structure and a review of our retail team operations, along with, where possible, reducing the expenditure necessary to realise our sales growth.”
It all means a number of roles will be placed at risk of redundancy across the business.
The company has 76 stores around the UK and said in January that it had seen a big jump in sales for the festive season, despite it having to deal with major pressures on costs. Total sales, including stores, online, and partners such as M&S, Next and Zalando, were up 10% year on year in the final five weeks of 2024.
Back in May it had also filed accounts for 2023 showing turnover rising but some profit measures falling as investment and one-costs hit the figures.
It opened its first US store last year and plans two more in the short term.
The news on redundancies comes just after reports that its chief information officer Mel Wilcox has stepped down after less than two years. Drapers said she’s left “to seek new challenges and opportunities”.
Fast-fashion giant Shein has finally said that yes, it is planning a stock exchange listing and while it didn’t specifically say it would be in London, it hasn’t ruled it out.
Bloomberg
Shein’s listing ambitions have long been talked about and its original focus was New York. However, the welcome for a Chinese-linked company there was unlikely to be an enthusiastic one and the rumours since then have said London was the next-most-likely option, helped by the fact that the UK is one of the business’s top five markets.
Donald Tang, executive chairman of the now-Singapore-headquartered-but-Chinese-founded company told The Times in an interview conducted in London that a listing will happen.
And while there has been some opposition from UK groups concerned about everything from its labour practices, to its fast-fashion profile and its secretive nature, Tang doesn’t appear to be afraid of the spotlight that a listing will shine on it.
He said Shein wants to list in order “to embrace the … accountability and transparency of being a public company”.
He added that the business is “democratising” global fashion, that it complies with laws in local markets and creates less waste than its rivals do because of the low inventory levels that it holds. He also cited research that shows its customers don’t view its products throwaway items to be worn just a few times.
Tang said he “admired” UK regulators for “a clear sense of separation between politics and regulation” and he also minimised concerns about Donald Trump’s plan to close the loophole whereby low-priced important into the US are tariff-free.
He said he himself has advocated reform to create a “level playing field” and insisted that Shein’s success is because “we have a superior business model. We are about customers. We’re not about customs policy”.
The now 13-year-old company is believed to have filed paperwork for a potential London listing last summer, although the executive chairman didn’t confirm this and hasn’t mentioned any timing for a likely listing, nor the monetary value it would have.
But the company is already a member of the CBI, the major UK business organisation. That membership came, he told The Times, because “we want to be a globalised company. In London, we want to be a British company. We want to be a British local company … we’re registered here, we’re paying taxes here, we want to be part of a community.”