Americans still love buying things in person, but over the next few years, more shopping is projected to shift online. In China, such purchases now make up more than 25% of overall retail sales, according to some estimates.
This is ahead for retail, from the metaverse and AI to Gen A’s spending power and an increased focus on sustainability and fighting fraud.
2023 April, 5th update
Footwear companies have invested more than €185 million in advertising in 2022 in Germany. Shoe manufacturers accounting for the lion’s share, according to the Werbemarktanalyse Schuhe 2023 – AdVision survey. Almost one third of total expenditure was attributable to retailers, according to the report. Among the sub-markets, the sneakers, lace-ups and low-cut shoes segment accounted for 31% of total advertising expenditure, the highest percentage and up significantly from the previous year, followed by work and safety shoes. (Read more)
2023 March, 23rd update
The bankruptcy of the Russian retailer Paolo Conte due to debts and competition from counterfeit brands. Paolo Conte operated 81 stores and was among the largest retailers of medium-priced footwear in Russia. The bankruptcy laid bare the problems of footwear retailers with revenues of up to 4 billion rubles (50 million euros), which are currently suffering due to rising costs and declining customers. They are also at a disadvantage compared to manufacturers of counterfeit shoe brands which account for 30% of Russian imports, reaching 60% in the children’s footwear segment. (Read more)
2023 March, 9th update
Changes shaping the footwear retail in 2023. Drapers speaks to UK and international footwear retailers about the most significant changes shaping the sector in 2023, from supply chain struggles to bestselling styles. [Sole survivors: how the footwear market is stepping up to new … – Drapers]. (Read more)
2023 March, 3rd update
Why are running shoe prices exploding? Una NIKE ALPHAFLY a 310€ o una ASICS GEL-NIMBUS a 200€, le scarpe da running non sono mai state così care. Ma perché i prezzi di queste scarpe stanno esplodendo? L’inflazione contribuisce ai rincari. I marchi di calzature running attutiscono l’aumento dei prezzi? No, tutto ricade sugli sportivi utilizzatori di scarpe da corsa. [Pourquoi les prix des chaussures de running explosent ? – Dans la Tête d’un Coureur]. (Read more)
2023 February, 24th update
Fees Amazon collects from third-party sellers have risen for six years in a row, squeezing their margins. Amazon is taking more than 50% of each sale from its merchants for the first time, as the e-commerce giant battles slowing sales and rising costs. [Amazon Takes a 50% Cut of Seller’s Revenue – Marketplace Pulse]. (Read more)
2023 February, 10th update
Brands restructure marketing on digital platforms. With an uncertain economic outlook, digital brands are forced to make tough calls on whether to cut back on marketing at the expense of growth or continue to spend and accept lower profits. [What Happens When Digital Brands Have to Cut Back on …– BoF]. (Read more)
Zenden would like to increase his shoe shops in Russia, but finds himself in trouble with the tax authorities. Russia’s leading shoe retailer Zenden planned to expand its retail network in Russia in 2023, taking advantage of the gap in the market left by the withdrawal of Western brands. However, now the company will have to pay 1.1 billion rubles in lost taxes and fines. [Обувной ритейлер Zenden проиграл спор с налоговой в … – Ведомости]. (Read more)
2023 January, 31st update
6 Trends Retail Needs to Know to Beat Disruption in 2023.
- Financial polarization will define price tiers and assortment
- Global and long-distance supply chains will undergo major transformation
- Sustainability shifts from promise to proof
- The geography of spending in the U.S. is shifting
- The digital and physical retail world will become one
- Gen Z is transforming the future of shopping. (Source: Sourcing Journal)
2023 January, 26th update
US National Retail Federation (NRF): “Balance Between Inflation And Interest Rates Key To Avoiding Recession”. It’s too soon to say whether the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce inflation will lead to a recession; however, continuing interest rate hikes increase the likeliness, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz in the January Issue of the NRF’s Monthly Economic Review. [NRF Economist Sees Balance Between Inflation And Interest Rates Key To Avoiding Recession – FDRA]. (Read more)
2023 January, 19th update
Online sales of shoes: inflation leads to an increase in the value of footwear. According to data published by the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), in the second quarter of 2022 electronic sales of footwear and leather goods recorded a turnover of €137.8 million in Spain, +10.8% compared to Q2 of 2021. Compared to the same period in 2020, with stores closed for Covid-19, we see that the value of sales is only 0.2% lower. On the other hand, volume decreased by 13.4% compared to the second quarter of 2020. [La inflación dispara el valor de las ventas de calzado en internet – revistadelcalzado.com]. (Read more)
2023 January, 10th update
Physical store or online shopping? Americans still love buying things in person, but over the next few years, more shopping is projected to shift online. In China, such purchases now make up more than 25% of overall retail sales, according to some estimates. (Read more)
Turkish-Russian trade may experience the period when it grows the most in Türkiye’s history. Türkiye has the ability and human resources to manage all the rings of the retail management chain from the design of products to their production, from procurement to storage, from display in the store to services provided to the customer. If the conditions are met, the Russians can evaluate and transfer this trained human resource for the management of their own affairs, just as the Turks did with the Europeans about 15 or 20 years ago. [Russian market offers strategic opportunities for Turkish retailers – dailysabah.com]. (Read more)
2023 January, 5th update
Türkiye first, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia, lead sales of Halal clothing and footwear. Türkiye, along with Indonesia and Malaysia, are among the only three member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that rank among the world’s top 20 exporters of the halal economy. A report shows that OIC members exported $275B and imported $338B worth of Halal products. Apparel & Footwear $101.94 billion. [Türkiye among top 20 halal economy exporters – Daily Sabah]. (Read more)
2022 December, 12th update
Retailers fight inflation with robotics. The sector is accelerating in automation, seen as a bulwark against a narrow and expensive labor market. At a vast warehouse in the southern Dutch city of Roosendaal, automated cranes and driverless vehicles silently stack clothes for the French and Italian stores of retailer Primark, reducing the need for hard-to-come-by labor. [Analysis: Retailers turn to robots in cost inflation fight – Reuters]. (Read more)
2022 December, 2nd update
New Resale Site SneakerCycle Offers More Than 33,000 Pairs of Used Shoes. As the resale market continues to gain customers, a new e-commerce site is helping sneakers lovers find a bargain. SneakerCycle.com, which launched last month, stocks gently used and refurbished performance and lifestyle kicks for men, women and children. It has more than 33,000 pairs in its inventory from dozens of brands, including sneaker giants Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance and others. [New Resale Site SneakerCycle Offers More Than 33,000 Pairs of Shoes for Bargain Hunters –finance.yahoo.com]. (Read more)
2022 November, 26th update
Running a fashion rental service. Running a fashion rental service isn’t easy, explains Business of Fashion. These companies have all the usual challenges of a retailer — stocking the right inventory at the right price point, marketing and customer service. But they’re also in the business of reverse logistics, the industry term for when a customer sends an item back to the seller. Most retailers try to minimise returns, which are complicated to process and restock; success for a rental service means accepting, cleaning and shipping back out as many items as their warehouses can handle. (Read more)
2022 November, 3rd update
Retail crisis. Supply problems have plagued the retail sector this year, forcing Walmart and Target with full warehouses to cut orders, for example. Adidas cuts its forecast for the year in a sign of growing uncertainty. The US will enter recession this year. Ukraine, Russia and the United Kingdom already are. The IMF confirms that global growth will slow to 2.7% next year, down from 3.2% this year and 6% in 2021. [‘Worst Is Yet to Come’ for Retailers Facing Recession – SJ]. (Read more)
2022 October, 28th update
Empty shopping malls, how do Russian shops withstand the consequences of partial mobilization? The Russian Council of Shopping Centres RCSC – Российский Совет Торговых Центров (РСТЦ) calls for immediate assistance from regional governors as the average number of visitors decreased by 20% in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year. The association asks for tax breaks until September 2024. In September, footwear and clothing sales in Russia plummeted by 40% [Российский совет торговых центров разработал меры … – Retail.ru]. (Read more)
2022 October, 21st update
Retailer crisis impacts workers. This article of @voguebusiness explains that retailers are busy right-sizing their inventory. That doesn’t bode well for garment workers, who may be even more vulnerable amid rising prices and stagnant wages than they were early in the pandemic. [Retailers, facing an inventory crisis, are cancelling orders again – Vogue]. (Read more)
2022 October, 3rd update
CLIA launches the online retail list of leather industry on its website. Nowadays, online sales have been continued to grow, and its value increase year by year. For timely and accurately knowing the online sales of development and the changes of online market for footwear, luggage and bags, leather goods, leather and fur clothing, China Leather Industry Association and Beijing O&O Consulting jointly launched a monthly list of online retail of leather products on its website. [皮革行业线上零售榜平台重磅上线 – CLIA]. (Read more)
2022 September, 23th update
Retailers want nearshoring to bring production closer to customers. Purchasing officers now prefere Turkey [for European markes], and China [in its home market]. Preferences for Ethiopia, and Vietnam fall significantly. Data shows it’s part of a larger nearshoring and reshoring pivot in fashion to bring their supply chains closer to home. [Why now and for how long? – Vogue]. (Read more)
2022 September, 13th update
Alibaba’s unit Lazada plans to enter the European market and take on its online rivals such as Amazon and Zalando. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Lazada’s CEO, James Dong, highlighted that Europe is a “very big market” and that ”for most of the European brands, their largest retail partner is Alibaba Group because of their sales in China and in other markets.” Dong took over the helm in June after heading Lazada’s Thailand and Vietnam operations. “We go where the brands want us to go,” he added. [Alibaba’s Lazada Plans Europe Push to Challenge Amazon and Zalando – Bloomberg]. (Read more)
2022 September, 5th update
74% of all footwear spend occurs online. PowerReviews’ survey shows a continuation of multiple trends that emerged early on in the COVID-19 pandemic: More online spending and a shift toward casual styles. [Survey: Nearly three-fourths of footwear spend occurs online– RetailDive]. (Read more)
We’ve moved into the post-omnichannel reality of the market. Online sales growth is returning to its slower, pre-pandemic trajectory. As shoppers head back into stores, new expectations around service are setting the stage for the next chapter of retail. [What Happens When the E-Commerce Boom Ends – BoF]. (Read more)
2022 August, 16th update
Iran Retail Show: local fashion stores fill the vacuum left by international labels. Over the past decade, international sanctions against Iran have impacted Iran in many ways on Iran’s fashion and retail businesses. According to @BoF, despite sanctions and other challenges such as rising costs, the number of Iranian clothing retail branches across the country has risen sharply over the last decade, filling the gap left by international labels. [Iranian Fashion Retailers Pursue Growth Amid Sanctions – BoF]. (Read more)
For Western footwear retailers, the Russian market was worth €911 million until 2021. @PublicationsEdm’s Shoe Intelligence news outlet estimates that the withdrawal of Western brands has generated huge opportunities for Russian companies to insert their own products or reintroduce Western labels through parallel imports. [How the exodus out of Russia is creating opportunities for locals]. (Read more)
2022 July, 27th update
Nike’s new Concept Store in London. Following the success of Nike Rise in China and Korea, the sportswear giant is bringing the concept to London in a bid to get closer to the customer with a community focus and sports insights. Nike’s vice president of direct for EMEA exclusively speaks with @VogueBusiness about the plans. [Inside Nike Rise: The new London store concept – Vogue Business]. (Read more)
2022 July, 7th update
Zalando profit warning shows online retailers on shaky ground. Zalando expects zero growth for this year due to high inflation and declining consumer’ sentiment. This is reported by the German marketing magazine OneToOne. The profit warning of Zalando, an e-commerce platform for clothing and accessories, reads the Morning Star, is indicative of the difficult scenario that online retailers are facing while consumers reduce discretionary spending. This situation, explains the Italian ilSole24ore, drives to some reflections on how consumption and distribution change, with the revenge of the physical retail shopping. (Read more)
2022 June, 29th update
US footwear: there are too many stocks in retail and this means an increase in discounted promotional sales. Athletic footwear sales declined to start the year, and promotions could define the back half of 2022. For the first three months of 2022, athletic footwear sales totaled $6.09 billion, according to The NPD Group retail tracking service, down $546 million from the $6.65 billion mark the year prior. [Athletic Footwear Sales Have Declined — and the Market Is About to Get Promotional- FN]. (Read more)
2022 June, 23rd update
Amazon: now you can try on shoes in virtual reality before to buy. Usually “try before you buy” has only really applied to shopping in physical shops, but you can now virtually try on digital versions of shoes before you buy them on Amazon. [Amazon is using augmented reality to let you try on shoes … –Euronews]. (Read more)
2022 April, 4th update
The current recession on retail. How to maneuver in the recession driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis: perspectives of the retail evolution’s great acceleration in the example of the UK, where booming clothes shops buck retail decline in February. (Read more)
2022 March, 29th update
Consumer goods prices skyrocket in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s inflation rate exceeds its annual target in two weeks. Prices have risen at their fastest rate in more than two decades since Moscow invaded Ukraine. [Russia’s Inflation Rate Surpasses Annual Target in Two Weeks – The Moscow Times]. Gap stops deliveries to Russia. (Read more)
2022 March, 21st update
FDRA calls for elimination of tariffs on shoes in the US. The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, FDRA, sent a letter to President Biden asking him to eliminate shoe tariffs until the fall to directly reduce the price increase that is affecting working-class families. (Read more)
2022 February, 28th update
Shoe prices rose 6% in January as inflation soars to a 40-year high, FN writes. Consumer prices rose by 7.5% in January compared to a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly report. This number was up from the 7% growth in December and represented the highest inflation rate since the 12-month period ending in February 1982. (Read more)
2022 February, 9th update
Retail sales in Germany declined at the end of 2021, falling sharply due to the increase in coronavirus cases and the reintroduction of restrictions, german statistical office Destatis said. (Germany Retail Sales Tumbled in December Amid Renewed Restrictions – MarketWatch). Sales fell 5.5% from December, after a 0.6% increase in November. (Read more)
2022 February, 2nd update
Nearly 8.8 million people fell ill earlier this month, exacerbating labor shortages. FN reports it. That’s the highest recorded number of workers getting sick since the peak of 6.6 million recorded last January, according to the Wall Street Journal. FN reports that Lululemon, Nike, Starbucks and Macy’s are adopting new reduced hours in some locations, as retailers struggle to retain store staff during the pandemic. (Read more)
