LVMH continues to add to its sharehold in Hermès. LVMH's participation in the Birkin handbags maker has increased from 22.6 percent on December 31, 2012 to 23.1 percent on June 30, 2013. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC), the world’s largest luxury goods maker, said it increased its stake in Hermès International (RMS) SCA to 23.1 percent from 22.6 percent in what it described as “an opportunistic move,” reported Bloomberg. “It doesn’t say anything about our attitude in the future so you

For the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 29, 2013, Coach net sales rose 6 percent compared to the same period of the prior year. During the quarter, gross profit rose 6 percent while gross margin was 73 percent. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of net sales, totaled 42.6 percent compared to the 40.5 percent reported in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, operating income was 2 percent above the operating income reported in the year ago period, while operating margin was 31.1 percent vers

J. Crew has been much talked about in the news this week. Firstly, the US upmarket high street giant confirmed it would open a separate men's boutique in London. The collegiate brand will launch its new store in Lamb's Conduit Street, the menswear style destination in London Bloomsbury. J. Crew charges up to 40 percent higher prices in UK The other feature concerns a comparison of J. Crew's UK prices. As the brand prepares for its standalone store launch, it's marketing team has gone into o

What is it about supermodels and their inability to age? From Kate Moss’s new campaign for St. Tropez to Naomi Campbell’s recent stroll down the catwalk at Versace, the classic beauties look almost the same as when they stepped into the modeling game over twenty five years ago. The same can be said for Christy Turlington Burns, 44, whose newly released campaign for Calvin Klein Underwear had us confusing the images with the model’s past campaigns for the brand dating back to the mid 1990s. Sh

JNBY Fall/Winter 2012 | Source: JNBY Have you heard of Chiu Shui, JNBY or Vandoren? Behind these names — which might easily evoke a Mexican puppy, a New York law firm and a Belgian chocolate-maker, respectively — are, in fact, three sizeable womenswear brands established here in Hangzhou in mid-1990s. Hangzhou is an important hub for the Chinese fashion industry. Although 80 percent of China’s garment factories are still located in the Pearl River Delta, Hangzhou has about 1,000 manufactur

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana closed their Milan stores over the weekend to protest at being “pilloried” over their tax evasion conviction, which the duo say they will appeal. The designers, who were given 20-month jail terms, emblazed their nine boutiques in the Italian city with the words “Closed for Indignation” along with a newspaper article in which Councillor Franco D'Alfonso suggests that the label shouldn't be allowed to show its next collection in the cit

The glowing fibres are yet to be able to cope with the mechanical loads that occur during the weaving process and when the garments are worn. Picture: Katrin Binner Material scientists at Technische Universit?t Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) have developed a machine with which electronically active materials can be vacuum deposited onto threads. In the past the creation of smart textiles has been hindered as it was not possible to apply electronic components, called organic semiconductors, to th

Tag Heuer campaign feat. Maria Sharapova 2013 | Source: Tag Heuer LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest luxury-goods maker, says its sales of jewelry and watches have dropped in mainland China and are being offset by Chinese nationals buying overseas. Sales to Chinese consumers are performing “fairly well” as shoppers increasingly travel to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Dubai, as well as to traditional European destinations such as Rome, Milan and Paris, Francesco Trapani

In the second quarter of 2013, the Etam Group posted sales of 263.2 million euros (345 million dollars), including a positive currency impact of 0.7 million euros (9.1 million dollars) mainly related to the appreciation of the yuan against the euro. Sales were up 0.7 percent compared with the second quarter of 2012. Like-for-like and at constant exchange rates, sales increased by 1.4 percent. Over the first half of 2013, the Etam Group generated sales of 596.8 million euros (782.2 million dolla

Hermès raised its full-year targets after beating quarterly forecasts on Thursday, driven by a strong demand across the board and in spite of the slowdown in China, one of Hermès leading markets. “We are seeing growth in all of our divisions,” Hermès' Chief Executive Axel Dumas told Reuters in an interview, saying only that sales growth was slower in watches. Full-year sales growth should slightly exceed its mid-term growth target of 10 percent, the company said, and recurring operating income