Louis Vuitton valiantly battled pounding rain on an Italian island paradise while presenting its cruise collection Wednesday night, the weather sending celebrity guests underneath umbrellas and dampening a hairdo or two. But when you're the flagship brand within the powerhouse LVMH portfolio, with a guest list that includes Catherine Deneuve, Cate Blanchett and Emma Stone, what's a little rain?
British retailer Marks & Spencer will pass on lower costs to consumers as soon as commodity prices come down, chief executive Stuart Machin said on Wednesday. "As commodity prices come down, of course we will pass that on immediately," Machin told reporters.
Japanese brand Uniqlo has decided to leave Russia after suspending its operation there last year, paving the way for a sale of the business, the Izvestia newspaper cited Russia's deputy trade minister as saying. Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing suspended the clothing brand's operations in Russia in March, 2022, joining scores of international companies, after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in what it dubbed a "special military operation".
British luxury fashion brand Burberry (BRBY.L) reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales on Thursday, boosted by a rebound in its largest market China following three years of COVID-19 restrictions. In the quarter to April 1, comparable store sales rose 16%, accelerating from 1% in the third quarter and above a company compiled consensus of 14%. Sales in Mainland China rose 13%, Reuters reported.
ASOS, Britain's one-time poster child for the shift to online fashion retailing, swung to a first half loss, hurt by a squeeze on household budgets and elevated product returns but said it was confident of a return to profit in the second half. The group, which announced a major restructuring last October, said on Wednesday it made an adjusted loss before tax of 87.4 million pounds ($110.3 million) in the six months to Feb. 28, versus a profit of 14.8 million pounds in the same period last year. Revenue of 1.84 billion pounds was down 10% on a constant currency basis.