Clothing

Time to end Swatch margin destruction

15 Jul 2016

The watchmaker has warned profit will fall 50-60 percent in the first half. Sales will underperform the wider Swiss watch industry and there's limited scope to raise prices. Yet there are no real cost-cutting plans. Swatch is in denial about the scale of the problems it faces.

British retail sleepwalks into Amazon-ageddon

8 Jul 2016

Real-world stores are burdened with poor demand, too much property and thinning profit. The U.S. tech giant, meanwhile, is hiring 1,000 UK staff and pushing into fashion and groceries. The UK's economic problems could be a decisive moment in the online land grab.

UK fashion profit risks becoming too skinny

7 Jul 2016

British retailers M&S and Next were losing ground to foreign rivals like Zara even before sterling’s sharp drop boosted the cost of sourcing clothes from Asia. Few can pass on higher costs to thrifty shoppers. Brexit will make it even tougher to regain share and mend margins.