Clothing

Corona Capital: LVMH and Macron, Eyewear deals

23 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: LVMH has friends in high places; 1-800 Contacts has semi-disposable owners.

Corona Capital: Fed’s optimism, Package holidays

16 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Jay Powell and crew at the U.S. central bank reckon the nation’s economy is doing better, just, than they expected; Anglo-German travel company TUI may raise 1 bln euros as the virus whacks new bookings.

Corona Capital: Kraft Heinz, U.S. poverty

15 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The food giant is boosting advertising outlays, even as it continues cutting costs; and the poverty rate in the United States hit a low at the end of 2019, according to new data, only to run into a Covid reversal.

Fashion can bear the costs of virtue cotton

25 Aug 2020

Most of China’s crop comes from the persecuted Uighurs’ home region. Forced labour may taint some of that, but clothes makers do not yet trace their complex supply chains back to the farms. Scrutiny from politicians and investors means careful sourcing makes financial sense.

Corona Capital: Expense accounts, Zoom’s new box

15 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Goldman Sachs’ earnings give an insight into pandemic-era client schmoozing, and virtual meeting facilitator Zoom tiptoes into the high-priced hardware market.

Viewsroom: Chinese access to U.S. money, Boohoo

9 Jul 2020

Chinese companies’ access to American capital is imperiled for all sorts of reasons, says Hong Kong columnist Robyn Mak. The stingy LBO of New York-listed Sina by its CEO won’t help. Also, British fast-fashion retailer Boohoo’s not-quite dark satanic mills are in the spotlight.

Uniqlo is well-tailored for an Asia-led recovery

9 Jul 2020

Fast Retailing cut its annual operating profit forecast but the recovery is robust in its top two markets, China and Japan. It underpins a stock rally that has outpaced rivals Inditex and H&M, and justifies a premium valuation. It also dresses up a bumpy overseas expansion.

Boohoo investors sense its strategic straitjacket

8 Jul 2020

The fast fashion retailer’s shares have slumped again, despite a plan to fix its supply chain. The wider issue is that a doubling of UK clothing makers’ pay could halve Boohoo’s EBITDA margins. Other steps – offshoring more production or hiking prices – are problematic too.

Corona Capital: Amazon, Car perks, College sports

29 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Companies are trying to bolster pocketbooks. Amazon makes extra payments to employees while car companies are offering major discounts. Plus: Under Armour ditches its UCLA deal.

Boohoo’s shopping spree needs to nail more looks

28 May 2020

The $5 bln UK online fashion group is buying out minority investors in peer prettylittlething for $400 mln. The fair price counters short-seller warnings of an overly generous payout. Yet the retailer will need to stretch beyond skin-tight tat to justify its own rich valuation.

Corona Capital: China on Wall Street, Wind power

20 May 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. senators want Chinese firms to share their audited accounts – or face being kicked off American stock exchanges. Plus: why wind energy is the key to an economic and social, as well as environmental, resurgence.

Corona Capital: Airbnb

15 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Airbnb’s new $1 bln loan doesn’t come cheap, especially when compared to Booking Holdings. But the home-renting unicorn has troubles, from few assets to offer as security to how to ensure properties are virus-free.

Corona Capital: Corporate debt

3 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Despite uncertainty, investors have big appetites for investment-grade bonds.

Corona Capital: India on lockdown

24 Mar 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, tells 1.3 billion people to stay at home as the country grapples with the early stages of an outbreak.

Dolce & Gabbana will toil to hit Versace’s heights

17 Feb 2020

The Italian brand has been approached by suitors. With sales of 1.4 bln euros, it would command a 4 bln euro price tag if sold on Versace multiples. Lower margins, coronavirus and an ongoing battle to fully restore its damaged image in China are reasons to be more cautious.

Moncler loyalty share plan sullies poster boy look

14 Feb 2020

The $11 bln down-jacket maker wants to double voting rights for long-term owners. That would give boss Remo Ruffini a stronger hand in talks with potential suitors. Weakening shareholder rights might however dent Moncler’s good public company image and irk investors.

Fashion’s climate Frankenstein has no off-switch

7 Feb 2020

Retailers like H&M are promising to slash their carbon footprint by using more recycled products. That’s good, but quick fixes like using sustainable cotton simply move the problem to landfills. Real change would come from tackling the throwaway culture that they represent.

Burberry checks right boxes on path to turnaround

14 Nov 2019

Strong demand for designer Riccardo Tisci’s new collections has helped the UK fashion group offset disruption at its Hong Kong hub. It expects sales in the Asian city to stay under pressure, but teaming up with Tencent to help a push into mainland China may offer some protection.

Under Armour is unwitting ad for good governance

4 Nov 2019

Flagging growth and federal accounting probes are bad, but in a normal company they wouldn’t knock 20% off the shares. The $7 bln apparel maker, though, is not normal. An unfireable boss and jumbled accountability make it hard to convince investors anything at all is going right.

U.S. retail can get better before it gets worse

22 Aug 2019

Big store chains are bucking the gloom, some thanks to their former inefficiency. Nordstrom is cutting stock, J.C. Penney is slashing costs and Target’s bid to compete with Amazon is starting to take effect. That creates room for pleasant surprises – if only in the short term.