Country: China

UK-based department store chain – House of Fraser has opened its first standalone outlet in Nanjing, China, selling famous international apparel brands such as Barbour, Ted Baker, Dyson, Nike, Dior and Lancôme.

Spanning over 425,000 sq. ft. of retail space, the new store will introduce brands like Cambridge Satchel Company, Biba Alexandre of England, Peter Werth, D.A.T.E, Le Tanneur, Lyle & Scott, and Radley into the Chinese market for the first time.

Also Read – BHS mulls international expansion

Frank Slevin, Chairman, House of Fraser said, “This is a very exciting time for House of Fraser and the opening of the store in Nanjing is a strong way to finish 2016. The store has focused on bringing international brands and a premium shopping experience to China. We are confident that our first store will clearly demonstrate the unique status that House of Fraser can achieve in the market, and will be a standout platform for our brand partners.”

The fashion chain will also launch a variety of new retail concepts, aimed at the VIP crowd such as ‘Style by HoF’ section.

Fashion label Topshop has confirmed its plans of opening up to 80 Topshop and Topman stores in mainland China by Spring 2017 in either Beijing or Shanghai. It will provide a shop floor and full-scale experience for consumers.

“For the first time, both brands will deliver fashion to the shop floor and beyond by opening full-scale stores in China – host to the world’s fastest-growing retail economy,” said Philip Green, Owner, Topshop.

Also Read – Topshop to enter India!

The label has also collaborated with Shangpin.com to help raise the brand’s profile in the Far East and to roll out the new venture. Shangpin.com is a members-only website that gives registered users access to Western brands.

“The future of retail lies within offering an omnichannel shopping experience. Bringing together Topshop and Topman’s style authority and retail experience with Shangpin’s localized market and tech expertise promises a winning partnership,” added Green.

World’s top five markets, namely China, US, UK, Japan and Germany are likely to start witnessing a decline in the growth rate in e-commerce sales by the year 2020, even as e-commerce sales across the world reach Euro 1.5 trillion in the same year, according to the report titled ‘Top 5 Country B2C E-commerce Sales Forecasts: 2016 to 2020’ by yStats – a Germany-based e-commerce and online payment market research company.

The report points out that China is likely to remain the largest and the fastest growing market in the e-commerce sector. It is also expected to be the only country among the top 5 nations to have a growth rate of over 20 per cent over the forecast period.

As per the report findings, Japan also expects double-digit growth rates of online retail sales which is the world’s fourth and Asia-Pacific’s second largest e-retail market. The UK is the leader among the top 5 in B2C e-commerce’s share of total retail sales, and is thus projected to see some of the lowest growth rates through 2020. However, majority of primary sources cited in the report predicts that year-on-year growth rates will decline as these markets mature.

Also Read – US now vital e-commerce market for UK retailers

Highlighted in the report, there are various factors that will influence the development of the e-retail sector in these countries in the near future, which include the rise of m-commerce sales, omni-channel features and cross-border online shopping.

Global Brands Group – an apparel, footwear, fashion accessories and related lifestyle products company – has announced an increase in revenue by 15 per cent to US $ 1,844 million for the six months ended 30^th September 2016 compared to US $ 1,604 million for the same period last year. This increase is driven primarily by growth from existing and new licenses.

The Group’s total margin continued to trend up strongly and increased by 19.9 per cent, reaching US $ 655 million. Core operating profit also posted a significant increase of 129.9 per cent from the same period last year to US $ 78 million, while EBITDA increased by 44 per cent to US $ 179 million.

As for brand management, revenue increased by 52.8 per cent to US $ 66 million, while total margin increased by 41.3 per cent to US $ 16 million.

Also Read – Global Brands Group posts positive results

Bruce Rockowitz, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, Global Brands Group averred, “I am delighted by such a strong set of results which were achieved despite facing a challenging business environment globally and the fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour in our industry,” while adding that the Group is embracing change, continuing to diversify its brands, leveraging their ability to be channel agnostic and gearing up their e-commerce capabilities.

The Group plans to continue to focus on building their footprint across Europe and Asia, and increasing its market share across all our distribution channels.

Ever-Glory International Group Inc., branded fashion apparel retailer and a leading global apparel supply chain solution provider, has revealed its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016. Company’s total sales dived 7.3 per cent to US $ 109.9 million as against US $ 118.6 million in the corresponding period last year.

In the reporting period, sales for the company’s branded fashion apparel retail division plunged 13.2 per cent to US $ 41.1 million compared to US $ 47.3 million in the comparable period last year, due to a decrease in same-store sales. Whereas, sales for the wholesale division declined by 3.4 per cent to US $ 68.9 million compared to last year’s US $ 71.3 million, primarily due to a decrease in sales in Japan, the United Kingdom and Mainland China and partially offset by an increase in sales in Hong Kong, Germany, Europe-Other and the United States.

Also Read – Ted Baker out with its H1 financial report

Ever-Glory generated gross profit of US $ 29.6 million, down by 8.4 per cent from US $ 32.3 million previous year. For retail division, gross profit, totalled US $ 19.6 million as against US $ 22.4 million in the same period last year; whereas, wholesale business increased by 1.6 per cent to US $ 10.1 million compared to previous year’s US $ 9.9 million. Net income attributable to the company in the period under review amounted to US $ 0.4 million compared to US $ 2.7 million for the third quarter last year.

It may be noted here that the company added a net total of 70 stores during the third quarter, counting to nationwide network of total 1,345 retail stores as of September 30, 2016. It expects to have over 1,400 stores at the end of this year.

Yihua Kang, Chairman, President and CEO, Ever-Glory said, “While our overall business continued to be impacted by the lacklustre macroeconomic environment in the third quarter, the tough operating environment did not slow us from continuing to execute our strategic initiatives with a keen focus on building a long-term sustainable business.”