DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Top brands pull out of Russia, but their goods remain easy to find
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Brands' continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market. Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia. IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.

☆ Shein's ambitions are a bit of a stretch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shein’s top-line growth slowed from 57% in 2021 to 45% last year; the company expects that to continue, with its 2025 target implying average annual expansion of 37%. Meanwhile, Shein's projected 13% profit margin dwarfs that of web retailers like China's JD.com (9618.HK). The $118 billion PDD (PDD.O) recently rolled out its Temu shopping service; it is now the most downloaded app in the United States. Using the same 2.4 times forecast 2025 sales multiple the Inditex enterprise trades on, Shein's valuation could top $140 billion. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Zara owner Inditex agrees to 20% pay rise in Spain -union groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Zara owner Inditex reached an agreement to raise salaries in its Spanish stores by an average 20%, Spain's two largest unions, CCOO and UGT, said on Thursday night. The salary increases reached as much as 40% in the areas of Spain that were the least well paid, UGT said in a statement. Union groups said Inditex also agreed to continue increasing salaries in line with inflation over the next three years. In November, Inditex had agreed with UGT and CCOO to pay a one-off bonus of 1,000 euros in February for all full-time shop assistants employed across Spain, and now it has agreed to pay the same bonus next year. Inditex employs 165,000 people in 177 countries, with a third of all staff based in Spain, according to its annual report.

☆ Zara starts charging for clothing returns from home in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Fashion giant Zara has started charging shoppers in Spain for returns of online purchases, the company announced on Wednesday, though store returns remain free. However, items bought online can still be returned for free at physical stores, it added. Inditex, (ITX.MC) which owns Zara, will also introduce return charges in Spain for its other brands such as Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear. Early last year, Zara introduced charges for some online returns in Britain and other core markets, following similar measures from rivals such as Uniqlo or Next. Inditex expects online sales to exceed 30% of total sales by 2024.

☆ H&M highlights fast-fashion gloom as luxury takes hit in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Shares in H&M, the world's No. 2 fashion retailer, fell as much as 6% in early trade after quarterly operating profit sank to 821 million Swedish crowns ($79.7 million) from 6.26 billion a year earlier. Zara has outperformed rivals after selling higher-priced garments and enticing shoppers who might have otherwise spent money at luxury stores. Disappointment over the impact of the China disruptions on its margins caused a record-breaking run in LVMH shares to briefly halt on Friday. The luxury industry is nevertheless expected to be one of the biggest winners from the loosening of restrictions that kept shoppers out of stores in China for months.

☆ Fashion retailer H&M's profit tumbles as costs bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Operating profit in the period, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer's fiscal fourth quarter, was 821 million crowns ($79.7 million) against 6.26 billion a year earlier and a mean forecast of 3.67 billion in a Refinitiv poll of analysts. The hit from quitting Russia, higher raw material, freight and energy costs, currency translation effects and the restructuring charge totalled around 5 billion crowns, Chief Executive Helena Helmersson said. H&M in September launched a drive to cut costs by 2 billion crowns annually, with savings from layoffs and other measures expected to start showing from the second half of 2023. The group flagged in November it would cut around 1,500 jobs and book a roughly 800 million crown restructuring charge in the fourth quarter for the programme. Britain's Superdry (SDRY.L) on Friday cut its profit forecast for this year as its wholesale business underperformed.

☆ H&M’s fast-fashion parade is skating on thin ice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Jan 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - H&M’s (HMb.ST) outfit is once again failing to impress. That corresponds to a meagre operating margin of 1.3%, a far cry from the around 15% margin larger rival Inditex (ITX.MC) is expected to report in its fourth quarter. H&M’s operating margins were already lingering in the mid-single-digit area before inflation became a problem. Sales growth of just 5% in December and January suggests the Swedish retailer is struggling to recover to its pre-crisis levels. If a recession curbs even more consumer spending, H&M’s profit margin may disappear.

☆ LVMH names new Louis Vuitton CEO, puts Arnault daughter in charge of Dior
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Pietro Beccari, who has been the head of Dior since 2018, is moving to replace long-time Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke, 65. Delphine Arnault, 47, has worked at Louis Vuitton for the past decade alongside Burke and previously spent a dozen years at Dior. [1/2] Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, and Delphine Arnault, Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton, leave after the Spring/Summer 2020 collection show for fashion house Louis Vuitton during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, June 20, 2019. Alexandre Arnault, 30, is in charge of products and communication at Tiffany, while Frederic Arnault, 28, is CEO of another group brand, TAG Heuer. The youngest child, Jean Arnault, 24, heads marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton's watches division.

☆ Zara shopworkers call off strikes in company's hometown after 25% pay rise - union
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A union representing shop assistants at fashion retailer Zara has called off planned strikes in the company's hometown in northern Spain following an agreement on a 25% pay rise, a union leader said on Friday. "Our salaries as shop assistants will go up by 25% from January in A Coruña," Naveiro said. The deal also includes future pay increases of 20 euros in November 2023 and 40 euros in 2024, she added. Zara shop assistants' monthly salaries currently range between 1,058 euros and 1,400 euros in the city, the union leader said. CIG had pushed for a bigger pay rise after rejecting a hike of 200 euros in monthly salaries by 2024.

☆ Justin Bieber vs H&M: The Swedish fast-fashion giant says it has the rights to sell merch with Bieber's imagery, such as hoodies and t-shirts featuring the lyrics of the song 'Ghost'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Justin Bieber had lashed out at H&M on Instagram for selling "trash" merch featuring his image. The Swedish fast-fashion giant clarified Thursday it has the rights to sell merch featuring the singer's imagery. H&M said on Thursday it had obtained the rights to sell merchandise featuring Bieber's imagery, following the artist's harsh criticism that he "didn't approve" them. The clarification came after Bieber slammed the items on his Instagram stories on Monday, where he called the merch "trash" and urged his 270 million followers not to buy them. H&M has now said it removed the merch from its stores and website "out of respect" for Bieber.

☆ Zara shopworkers call off strikes in company's hometown after pay rise deal - union
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A union representing shop assistants at fashion retailer Zara has called off planned strikes in the company's hometown in northern Spain following an agreement on a pay rise, a union leader said on Friday. Around 1,000 workers at Zara shops and other Inditex (ITX.MC) fashion brands had announced they would strike on Dec. 23 and Jan. 7 to demand higher wage increases after rejecting the company's previous offer. CIG had pushed for a bigger pay rise after rejecting a hike of 200 euros in monthly salaries by 2024. The company will start to pay the newly agreed wages in January, Naveiro said. ($1 = 0.9432 euros)Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by David Latona and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] People visit a retail store during the holiday season in New York City, U.S., December 15, 2022. So far, shopper visits to many retail segments, including apparel and electronics, are down year-over-year, according to foot-traffic data from Placer.AI. Zara, the fast-fashion chain, aggressively raised prices this year without turning off shoppers, while dollar stores including Dollar General (DG.N) expanded their array of merchandise. Dollar stores have also shown momentum as more consumers traded down. Discount and dollar stores saw visits up 1.1% year-over-year, and up 7.8% compared to Super Saturday 2019, according to Placer.AI foot-traffic data.

☆ H&M agrees to pay a 500 euro bonus to 4,000 workers in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Swedish fashion retailer H&M (HMb.ST) agreed to pay a 500 euro ($530) bonus to some 4,000 shop workers in Spain in January, two unions said on Wednesday, after its arch-rival Inditex (ITX.MC) offered 1,000 euros to its home country shop assistants. The world's biggest fashion retailers are responding to demands from their workers for higher pay to offset soaring consumer prices. The Sweden-based fashion retailer will pay 500 euros to all its shop workers who have been employed in Spain at least since January 2022. The company will pay 250 euros to those who have worked at least six months. Soaring consumer prices have pushed unions in Spain to press sometimes reluctant employers for pay raises.

☆ Justin Bieber calls on fans to not to buy 'trash' merch featuring his image at H&M
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Canadian singer Justin Bieber on Monday hit out at H&M for selling "trash" merchandise featuring his image. The Swedish retailer has removed the items from sale at its stores. "The H&M merch they made of me is trash and I didn't approve it," Bieber posted on his Instagram stories on Monday. "We have followed all approval stages, but while we are still checking this with all concerned parties, items have been removed from selling," H&M told Reuters on Tuesday. The Swedish retailer did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ H&M shares drop as Sept-Nov sales fail to impress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Stine Jacobsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

H&M, which has struggled to keep up with bigger rival Zara, last month became the first big European retailer to lay off staff in response to the cost-of-living crisis as it tries to save 2 billion Swedish crowns ($196 million) a year. Net sales for September-November, H&M's fiscal fourth quarter, rose 10% to 62.5 billion Swedish crowns ($6.1 billion), up from 56.8 billion crowns a year ago. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast 62.17 billion crowns. H&M said it had wound up its operations in Russia and Belarus during the quarter with the last stores having closed on Nov. 30. "During the quarter around 25–50 stores in China were temporarily closed due to new COVID outbreaks," it said in a statement.

☆ Fashion retailer H&M's Sept-Nov sales beat forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Stine Jacobsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - H&M (HMb.ST), the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, reported on Thursday a 10% increase year-on-year in September-November net sales, slightly exceeding market expectations of a 9.5% rise. Net sales for September-November, H&M's fiscal fourth quarter, stood at 62.5 billion crowns ($6.13 billion), up from 56.8 billion crowns a year ago, while analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast 62.17 billion crowns. "During the quarter around 25–50 stores in China were temporarily closed due to new COVID outbreaks." Measured in local currencies, sales in the quarter were unchanged, it said. ($1 = 10.2119 Swedish crowns)Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; editing by Terje Solsvik and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zara founder buys Seattle skyscraper for $323 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega has bought a residential skyscraper in Seattle for $323 million, his private firm Pontegadea said on Thursday. Ortega, the main shareholder of fashion giant Inditex (ITX.MC) and one of the world's 30 wealthiest entrepreneurs, signed the deal yesterday through his family office, Pontegadea added. Kiara tower, located in Seattle's South Lake Union neighbourhood in the United States, has 461 luxury apartments and is 133 metres tall. The purchase follows a $500-million investment in a 64-floor skyscraper of luxury apartments in New York's Financial District. Just this year, Ortega's investment vehicle also bought Royal Bank Plaza, a landmark skyscraper in Toronto, and one of the largest single-office buildings in Scotland.

PARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Antoine Arnault, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault's eldest son, was on Friday named chief executive of family holding company Christian Dior SE, replacing veteran executive Sidney Toledano and stirring speculations of succession at the group. Christian Dior is a listed company that owns the bulk of the Arnault family's stake in LVMH (LVMH.PA) , the world's largest luxury group. At LVMH, Antoine Arnault, a business school graduate and a board member since 2006, oversees the group's communications and environmental issues, driving efforts to shore up its reputation. [1/4] Antoine Arnault, CEO of Berluti, attends the Fall/Winter 2019-2020 collection show for fashion house Berluti during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, January 18, 2019. Alexandre Arnault, 30, is an executive at Tiffany & Co. while Frederic Arnault, 27, is chief executive of TAG Heuer.

☆ Shein tells suppliers to end long working days at factories by end of the month
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In October, the UK’s Channel 4 broadcast a documentary that made allegations of labor exploitation against two of Shein’s factory suppliers in China. In its statement, Shein said audits carried out by independent experts had refuted most of the allegations. But the investigation showed that workers at two of its suppliers were working longer hours than allowed under local rules. Employees at one factory were working a maximum of 13.5 hours per day, with at least two to three days off per month, the statement claimed. At another factory, staff were found to be working 12.5 hours a day with no fixed schedule for days off.

☆ Analysis: Retailers turn to robots in cost inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

He estimates the retail industry is 40% automated, but sees that jumping to 60-65% over the next three to four years. The march of the robots can be seen in fashion stores and food shops globally as an industry that employs millions grapples with the cost of rising wages, energy and raw goods. While processes at online retailers are largely automated, vast parts of a traditional retailer's operations are still carried out manually, according to consultants at McKinsey. Looking at the fashion industry, McKinsey expects fashion companies to double investment in technology from 1.6% to 1.8% of their revenue in 2021 to between 3.0% and 3.5% by 2030. "Retailers are saying 'robots are the future,'" Michel Spruijt, Brain Corp's chief revenue officer, told Reuters, adding that the shift could "free up workers from tedious" tasks.

☆ Sweden's H&M to lay off 1,500 staff in drive to cut soaring costs and rescue profits
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Stine Jacobsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The cuts by H&M, which employs roughly 155,000 people, are part of a plan laid out in September to save 2 billion Swedish crowns per year. "Keeping the lights and heating on in vast stores is becoming increasingly unaffordable with energy prices so volatile," she added. In contrast to H&M, Inditex reported in September quarterly sales growth and said it planned to hike prices to offset soaring costs. British fashion retailer Primark has announced plans to add 1,800 jobs in Spain and Britain as it expands. H&M said its savings would start to kick in from the second half of next year, while it will take a restructuring charge of 800 million Swedish crowns in the fourth quarter.

☆ Zara workers in Spain start protests to demand higher pay
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Dozens of Zara shop assistants protested in Madrid on Thursday outside the global fashion giant's largest store to demand higher pay, and some workers in its home town in northwest Spain went on strike on the eve of its Black Friday sales campaign. In the town of A Coruna, where the first Zara store opened in 1975, Inditex now has 44 stores. Two of those, a Zara store and a Massimo Dutti shop were closed on Thursday, and some 1,000 shopworkers were preparing to go on a one-day strike the following day on Black Friday. Shop assistants' monthly wages at Inditex stores in Madrid and A Coruna are below 1,400 euros, according to the unions. "If we don't get better wages we will call for more protests in December and January," she said.

☆ Spanish shopworkers' unions to discuss wages with Zara bosses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Trade unions representing about 1,000 Zara shop assistants in the Spanish apparel maker's hometown of A Coruña will meet with the company on Thursday to negotiate a pay rise, a union leader said. Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC) has so far offered a rise of 183 euros per month, staggered over three years, on salaries that range between 1,058 euros and 1,400 euros a month, Naveiro said. Representatives of the company's two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, confirmed they will also attend the meeting. "We're placing our bets on negotiations because Inditex is sitting at the table," Lucia Trenor, a union leader at CCOO said. The shop assistants want to be paid the same as workers at the company's logistics centres, who earn about 2,000 euros a month.

☆ Retailers acclerate shift to forest friendly fibres at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Virginia Furness | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovLONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Retailers including H&M (HMb.ST), Kering <PRTP.PA and Inditex (ITX.MC) will purchase over half a million tonnes of low-carbon alternative fibres for clothing and packaging to help reduce global emissions, they said Monday. The announcement by 30 retailers coincides with COP27 climate talks taking place in Egypt until the end of this week to seek to step up ambition on curbing global warming. Retailers agreed to purchase 550,000 tonnes of alternative fibres - made from waste textiles and agricultural residues instead of forest fibres - which will prevent the release of around 2.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, NGO Canopy, which convened the group, said. Lower carbon fibres make up a tiny fraction of the 7.5 million tonnes of man-made fibres produced each year, which Rycroft said was in part because of the challenge of accessing finance to scale new technologies. The agreement will help to unlock finance for 10-20 low footprint pulp mills to produce these alternative fibres by securing offtake aggrements from retailers, Canopy said.

☆ Primark’s price freeze is risky inflation gambit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Primark is breaking with the pack to navigate soaring inflation. Its largest rival Inditex (ITX.MC), owner of Zara, is taking a different approach by hiking prices over the next year. AB Foods Chief Executive George Weston appears to be willing to sacrifice Primark’s near 10% operating margin to keep price-sensitive customers happy. Assume inflation shaves almost 3 percentage points off the retail unit’s operating margin next year, taking it down to 7%. The 4% bump in AB Foods’ share price on Tuesday suggests investors reckon the plan may work.

Search resuls for: "Inditex"

25 mentions found