WEEKLY WISDOM
“It’s never too late for a new beginning.”
Brexit: New Year, New Deal
The UK and EU finally have a Brexit Deal.
The big win: No tariffs, no quotas for trade between the UK and EU. This is critical considering that the both are each other’s biggest trading partners in many sectors – not just for finished goods, but also for raw materials.
Potential Sticking Point: The deal still needs to be ratified by all 27 EU nations. While most are likely to vote in favor of the deal, it is possible that some might not vote ‘yes’.
New Deals: The UK is now negotiating deals with its global trading partners. It has secured 33 trade agreements, most recently with Japan this month.
More Deals; UK Tariff calculator
We wanted to keep in touch, but at the same time wanted to give our readers a much needed break from industry issues. So we’ve combined this week’s three newsletters into just this one.
Wishing all a relaxing and peaceful New Year’s holiday!
RETAIL
Ascena Retail (USA) has completed the sale of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey to Premium Apparel LLC, an affiliate of private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $540 million.
Evans (UK) has been bought out of administration by City Chic Collective (Australia) for £23 million ($31 million). City Chic plans to operate the plus-size brand as online-only.
- Evans is the first of Arcadia Group’s brands to be sold after it collapsed last month. Other brands include Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Miss Selfridge.
Mango (Spain) will team up with Simon Properties Group (USA) to open more stores in the US in 2021.
U.S. holiday retail sales rose 3% during the Oct. 11 to Dec. 24 ‘holiday season’, according to a report by Mastercard Inc.
- Top performing categories were home furnishings (+16.2% year-on-year) followed by electronics (+6%). Sales of apparel and jewelry slumped.
BRAND EXPANSION
PANAM (Mexico) has opened its first store in the U.S. The brand is famous for its distinctive sneaker design that makes them genderless and ageless.
- The new California-based store sells apparel and accessories, along with footwear.
- PANAM is planning to open more stores in the U.S. in the coming year.
- The brand produces about 3.2 million pairs of sneakers annually and sells them in the EU, Latin American, as well as in their home market.
L.C. Waikiki (Turkey) has opened its first store in Uganda. The store is located at Acacia Mall in Kampala. It is the brand’s second store in East Africa and part of its plans to expand in the region.
PODCAST
From Dead Stock to Profits
If you’ve got a warehouse full of dead stock, Stephanie Benedetto can help you turn it into a profit.
In this podcast episode she tells us about Queen of Raw, an international marketplace where mills and manufacturers can sell unused stock, rather than sending it to landfill.
RETAIL PROPERTY
Mall owners Simon Properties Group (USA) is looking to help digital brands open physical stores.
LOGISTICS
Freight Rates Break New Barriers
Rates on both transpacific lanes climbed significantly for the first time since mid-September.
Equipment remains in short supply making it almost impossible to secure containers – at any price.
Do you have something to share? You can contact us here.
(we’d love to hear from you!)
IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE ARTICLES
- Retailers Gear Up for a Deluge of Returns
- Menswear, Get Ready for a Rebound
- Stuck in Transit: Yet Another Hurdle
- How Five Below Turns Gen Z into Loyal Customers
- Why Primark Banks on Bricks Not Clicks
- Pantone Announces It’s 2021 Colors of the Year
- Why You Can’t Both Chase Price and Sustainable
- How Holiday 2020 Shifts Could be the Change Retail Needs
- Is US-India the Next Trade Deal?
- Nation Race to Make New Trade Deals
