RBC hosted a very interesting and insightful call last week with Retail Expert Miya Knights, to discuss Amazon and the growth of omnichannel retailing. Miya is co-author of the books “Amazon: How the World’s Most Relentless Retailer will Continue to Revolutionize Commerce” and “Omnichannel Retail: How to Build Winning Stores in a Digital World.” RBC: … More “Amazon and the growth of omnichannel retailing” with RBC x Miya Knights
According to RBC Capital Markets Insights, European General Retail Apparel space reductions easing. We perceive early signs of space reductions in the sector easing off, as rentals reduce and stores remain an integral part of retailers’ omnichannel offers. RBC thinks this could be helpful for valuation multiples in the sector. Retailers continue to improve the … More Inditex Retail Space Turnaround: adapting to omnichannel
Total Retail announced the 2019 top 100 Omnichannel Retailers ranking that reveals the list of publicly traded retailers and brands at the forefront of delivering the seamless cross-channel shopping experiences that consumers have come to expect. The top performers according to the report were Department Stores, with an average score of 7.35 for the brands within … More 2019 Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers by Total Retail
If you think about what retailers are “reinventing” the fashion retail business and also leading the omnichannel era, you will probably mention Zara, Nike, H&M… and a few niche players like Everlane, Bonobos, Goop or Rent the Runway. Some might mention Amazon, but Amazon Fashion has room for improvement yet… Those companies are going beyond … More Fashion Connect: Bonprix Omnichannel concept
Deep analysis of Amazon Fashion Business: performance insights and challenges to compete in the apparel industry When Amazon started selling high-end brands in 2012, Jeff Bezos said “company’s new effort is not about selling clothes at deep discounts but at prices that ensure that the designer brands are happy”. Nowadays, the online giant is selling … More Amazon Fashion: The Omnichannel Fashion Retail Revolution is on
My collaboration with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) started a few years ago and this is an interesting interview about trends in retail. Ethan Chernofsky is the VP of Marketing at Placer.ai and is giving fresh insights around consumer behavior, omnichannel, retail formats or loyalty. Placer.ai collects geolocation and proximity data from devices that are … More Retail Trends, by Placer.ai
This article is the continuation of Planning in Fashion, where design meets operations, described in Fashion Goes Tech. According to Gartner, a supply chain is a group of functions and processes focused on optimizing the flow of products, services and related information from sources of supply to customers or points of demand. It stretches across multiple tiers … More Fashion Goes Tech: Supply Chain
It seems Covid-19 pandemic is ending but uncertainty is the new norm and adapting to it is essential. Fashion, like other industries, is adapting to digital transformation by redefining customer engagement and optimizing operations across new business models with a new approach to product development where sustainability and traceability are mandatory. This article is the … More Fashion Goes Tech: Digital Transformation in Fashion (4) – part 2/2
Following with Fashion business strategy and operations insights from Fashion Goes Tech, my latest book on how technology is empowering retail businesses. Today, we move forward across the value chain phases within the business of fashion: Planning. Charles Higgins Kepner said that successful merchandising incorporates the 5Bs: “the right product, in the right place, at … More Fashion Goes Tech: Digital Transformation in Fashion (4) – part 1/2
I’m very excited to announce my latest collaboration with Drapers magazine, a leading authority on fashion retailing that has been covering this sector since 1887! The article “What area the essential ingredients for successful store retail?” by Emma Sheppard, explores the five key elements that make a store a success today: This is a brief … More Physical Stores are back: key elements for success
The Fashion Retailer has not accepted promotional or guest post since it was created in 2017. If it mentions fashion retailers, startups, or tech solutions, the main reason is describing best practices based on research and also more than 15 years of experience working for leading apparel brands. Today, I’m excited to introduce a collaboration … More Why nobody speaks about Inditex growth levers? (part 1)
This is the second part of my latest call with Richard Chamberlain, Head of Consumer Discretionary research at RBC Capital Markets Europe. The live session was exclusive to RBC clients, but these are the notes from the meeting. You can read the first part here RBC: How have supply chain bottlenecks changed the way fashion … More Fashion Retail Outlook: Expert Call with Alfonso Segura x RBC Capital Markets (part 2)
I’m excited to have participated again to an expert call with Richard Chamberlain, Head of Consumer Discretionary research at RBC Capital Markets Europe. Richard covers the General Retail sector and oversee the Luxury Goods and Internet sectors. We started our collaboration a few years ago and I really appreciate RBC Capital Markets insights which give me deep … More Fashion Retail Outlook: Expert Call with Alfonso Segura x RBC Capital Markets
A few years ago, in a conference in Barcelona, I described how growing global uncertainties were impacting businesses and, as a consequence, how important was to invest in digitization and become a data-driven company. Examples of uncertainties included social riots (eg Yellow vests riots in France, Peruvian protests), weather extremes due to climate change or … More Inditex, the Bigger Picture by RBC
Vadim Rogovskiy is CEO and co-founder of 3DLOOK, the global leader in AI-first mobile body measuring and fit solutions. Vadim is an angel investor and partner at Geek Ventures, an advisor and mentor at 500 Startups, and a Forbes “30 Under 30” alumni. I discovered 3DLOOK when writing about the fashion technology ecosystem. Then, in … More A few words with Vadim Rogovskiy, 3DLOOK CEO
A few weeks ago, I was guest speaker during RBC exclusive expert call. Richard Chamberlain and myself discussed about supply chain disruptions and constraints, sustainability, casualization or retail transformation. Last week, Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets published European General Retail primer; the strong to get stronger, a report that presents latest market trends, financial … More Apparel Brands Report 2021
The Merchandise Life Cycle In Fashion, products tend to have a short product lifecycle due to fast changes in trends and demand. Fast Fashion accelerated the traditional business model (e.g. usually 2 collection per year), creating a perceived obsolescence and making supply chains even more complex in a context of trade liberalization that started in … More Fashion Goes Tech: Digitization in Retail (2)
Covid-19 restrictions are being eased while vaccination rates are rising (e.g. 76.8% of the population in Spain is fully vaccinated). Stores are re-opening and shoppers are returning to brick-and-mortar stores (also to restaurants, bars and discos). Retail sales are expected to grow between 10.5% and 13.5% to an estimated total of $4.44 trillion to $4.56 … More In-Store Transformation
When I published Fashion Goes Tech, retail was suffering the worst crisis ever: covid-19. Empty streets, no traffic, stores closed. In other words, no footfall, no conversion, no inventory turnover, frozen cash flows, no business. In a business like fashion, it also means that you are increasing inventories and reducing the probabilities of selling it … More Fashion Goes Tech: Digitalization in retail (1)
In Strategic Acquisitions: Amazon vs Walmart (2017), I described how both retail giants were investing in digital capabilities in order to give an omnichannel customer experience while growing (keep growing and adapting) a successfull and sustainable business. Today, retail is more dynamic than ever due to the impact of technology and new types of communication … More Walmart: How to Survive Disruption in Retail
A few words with Nina Brener-Hellmund, Founder & CEO of Cult Mia Nina Brener-Hellmund (Nina): Raised between Mexico, Texas, and Switzerland, I was a global nomad growing up, always feeling like I could adapt to anything. I’ve always been happiest in environments that foster diversity and value an international perspective. Now 29 years-old and a … More A few words with Nina Brener-Hellmund, founder of Cult Mia
Last week, I listened to an interesting podcast from Business of Fashion: 10 Retail Archetypes of the Future featuring Dough Stephens. Stephens is a Canadian futurist, keynote speaker, author and business advisor on the future of retailing and consumerism. He also founded Retail Prophet. These are some compelling insights from the podcast: SHORT VERSUS LONG TERM Last year, during the … More Retailtainment and Enterprise Ecosystems
The Fashion Retailer‘s collaborations and network is growing! Since the blog was founded in 2017, we met, talked or chatted with amazing people, mostly executives and founders of fashion technology companies like Nextail, Heuritech or Zliide. Those essential conversations broaden my perspective on how technologies are making businesses more effective and were key when writing … More The Fashion Retailer Tech Ecosystem is growing
As described in Fashion Goes Tech, my latest book, retail hasn’t changed much in the last century but, over the last 20 years, digitization has drastically transformed the way companies do business and how customers shop. Retail was already facing the digital challenge when Covid-19 unexpectedly forced a shortening of the “adaption deadline” (Fashion Goes … More How to deal with Planning Volatility in Fashion: New Marketing Merchandise Calendar
Bobbie Ttooulis (BT) has more than 20 years of experience in senior roles with companies ranging from global market leaders to tech start-ups and joined the GFS Board in 2017. True to her Greek Cypriot heritage, Bobbie loves nothing more than to be sharing great food and great company with friends and family. TFR: What … More A few words with Bobbie Ttooulis, Marketing Director at GFS
Retail had already been changing but Covid-19 accelerated the digital transformation. Difficult times, are often also times for opportunities and learnings.
Fashion Goes Tech started as a short article about how to fight Covid-19 from a strategical business perspective. What was supposed to keep me busy during a night or two, became my hobby during the next few months. The result is a book about how digitization can reinforce each phase in the fashion supply chain cycle, from concept to design to retailing, from a business strategy perspective.
Featuring stories and insights from best-in-class brands and startups including Zara, Nike, Patagonia, Stella McCartney, Heuritech, Nextail, Provenance, amongst others.
Also available at Amazon
… More Fashion Goes Tech
The Fashion Retailer latest books about the fashion industry trends and digital transformation … More Books
While I was writing how technology is impacting the retail business (book to be published in the coming 2-3 months), a young entrepreneur from Danemark contacted me through LinkedIn asking for advice. Morten presented me what Zliide could offer to omnichannel players when it´s time to rethink stores and customer experience. I didn´t hesitate to … More A few words with Morten Mogelmose, co-founder and CEO of Zliide
A few words with Rene Fang, iStaging CEO Rene Fang (RF) is the Chief Executive Officer of iStaging Corp. Previously, she held senior leadership positions at Financial and Capital Market companies across Asia and Taiwan building transformational companies and leading new initiatives. The last 2 years, she is leading iStaging to success at first as … More A few words with Rene Fang, CEO of iStaging
Two years ago, TFR included Heuritech as one of the AI startups that were taking the world of fashion by storm. The Paris-based company has been recognized by Vogue, BoF, Forbes, WWD, Elle and partners with Google Cloud, Microsoft AI Factory, NYFTL or La Maison des Startups (LVMH), just to mention a few. Fashion keeps … More A few words with Tony Pinville and Célia Poncelin, Heuritech´s founder and CMO
Dollar Stores, Urban Deserts, Sustainability and Black Lives Matter I’ve been following Dollar Stores (Retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells them at discounted prices, sometimes at one or several fixed price points, such as one dollar – Wikipedia) … More Urban Fashion Deserts?
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about The Future of Stores (part 1). But stores are continuously evolving, from its product display to the role of sales assistants, including customer experience. Therefore, I will make updates about this topic on a regular basis. I recently asked Renato Mosca, a former colleague at Ermenegildo Zegna, … More A few words with a Retail Management Expert
William Bernal is the CEO and founder of VIPO Group, a new company that is changing the way people shop in-store and online. He was born in Colombia and moved to France almost two years ago, where he finished his master studies in image and signal processing. William is an electronic engineer with a great … More A few words with VIPO Group CEO and Founder
Nowadays, we are living the “Retail Apocalypse volume 2” (phenomenon that started around 2010 in USA) and this won’t be the last time experts anticipate the end of retail. Stores will survive as described on Coronavirus and Fashion (v1 and v2). “Stores” will emerge again and again, but will we keep using that word? What … More The Future of Stores (1/2)
A few months ago, I interviewed AJ Mak, founder of Chain of Demand, a predictive analytics company that empowers the retail industry to maximize sales and minimize inventory waste with AI-driven sales predictions. Chain of Demand just launched COVID19 Retail Response Tracker that is meant to help businesses better prepare for the upcoming quarters. Retail … More COVID-19 Tracker for the Retail Industry
This article is the continuation of Coronavirus and Fashion (1/2), an overview of the short term strategy to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the biggest challenge to face. Once the bleeding has stopped, companies will need to adapt their businesses for uncertain times. It will require anticipation, flexibility and agility. It’s time to breathe fresh air … More Coronavirus and Fashion (2/2)
TFR latest post was a sociological perspective on Coronavirus, a virus that has the potential to destabilize the pillars of Modern Life. This is a global threat, the worst challenge since WWII, that will cause the first ever global recession (every country is impacted). Blocking the economy might cause rebellion too. Note that guns and … More Coronavirus and Fashion (1/2)
Platforms or conglomerates business models excel at optimizing resources and reduce financial risks (everything impact on financials such as over-stocking, slower lead-times…). It’s the story of “a basket of eggs or eggs in baskets”. Understanding what is the value proposition and leveraging your key resources and partners is crucial to grow in a sustainable way. … More Fashion Technology Platforms
As introduced in the previous post Co-Design: Innovation at the intersection, hyper-consumption and hyper-individualism enabled by technology in the phygital arena are offering customers infinite choices. It´s the long tail of brands and products that create the long tail of customers (from a mass/cebra target to YOU). Nowadays, some leading companies are already segmenting their … More Hyper-customization
A “Tech” exec to replace a “design” exec as Nike CEO… From Design to Technology When I started this blog the aim was to explain how the creative side – Fashion – merges with the scientific side – Retail – of the business of Fashion or Apparel. The Fashion Retailer Blog. A merge of Fashion … More Fashion pivots to Technology