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Retail Brew

International

Jeena Sharma

retailbrew.com

Bags and coats made with exotic fur or animal skins have long been considered luxurious, and therefore come at a considerable cost.

Well, over at Copenhagen Fashion Week, known for its sustainability-focused initiatives, things are about to change. Collections featuring exotic animal skins and feathers will be banned from the Danish capital’s runways starting next year, the 

The city, which has pretty strict sustainability standards, at least for the fashion realm, has already banned fur and laid out eco-friendly standards. These include requiring brands to showcase items made from more sustainable materials that are recyclable and sourced responsibly.

, have been using mycelium leather—made out of mushroom roots—for a couple of years. Meanwhile, in 2022, LVMH partnered with London’s Central Saint Martins and Imperial College London to develop lab-grown fur.

With the growing interest in alternative fabrics, it could be only a matter of time before the trend becomes mainstream.

“When people who buy from LVMH are getting on board, that means that it can trickle down to all levels of fashion,” Lizzie Horvitz, CEO and founder of Finch, a digital sustainability tool, previously told Retail Brew. “Because if LVMH can do it, that means that H&M will be able to do it in five years, and it becomes more accessible, really, to everybody.”

Copenhagen Fashion Week bans exotic skins and feathers

The Danish capital known for its strict sustainability rules introduced a new set of standards for brands, starting next year. 

Copenhagen Fashion Week bans exotic skins and feathers from its runways

is a recurring monthly feature highlighting PoC who are reshaping the retail industry.

Let’s take a quick journey back to 1978 in India, where a young man named Nand Kishore Chaudhary decided to revitalize the textiles and furnishing industry with two looms and nine artisans. The result: 

, a rug and furnishings company where artisans had full autonomy as the business involved no middleman.

More than forty-five years later, Asha Chaudhary, the founder’s daughter and now the company’s CEO, is at the center of it all the way over in Acworth, Georgia, where she oversees its US operations. Chaudhary moved to the US in 2007 after learning the ins and outs of the business in India and currently works with ~10,000 retail partners and interior designers in the US alone.

While Jaipur Living continues to thrive overseas, at the heart of it all are still the artisans (85% of whom are women) who, per Chaudhary, are ensured a living wage, and receive health and education benefits.

How does she do it? In an exclusive chat with Retail Brew, the executive told all.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you feel like that business has changed since you came on?

The core of the business hasn’t changed. It’s still rooted in love and compassion for the artisans.

However, we have obviously evolved to be a much more customer-centric business…just providing really high-quality products. I’d also say that we have expanded our distribution now at a global scale as well, so I run the US operations. And now we also have stores in Milan, Dubai, and quite a few retail stores in India. This year, we’ll be opening stores in London, and Singapore. So I would say our footprint is a lot larger.

Tell me a bit about your work with the artisans in India.

My dad not only provided them with sustainable wages and livelihood, but really he helped them build their creative capabilities. He has really elevated their pride—the pride and dignity that they feel in the work that they do—which has really made a huge impact on them as entrepreneurs.

We’ve also done a lot of capability-building programs for the artisans. One called Manchaha, which is really where we take some of our unused raw materials, some of our most talented artisans, and let them make any designs that come to their mind…Seeing their journey from being a worker to an artisan to an artist is really an incredibly powerful, empowering story. We also do a lot of work around providing them with basic necessities…like healthcare [and] alternative education for some of the artists and women that are in the villages.

What do you find challenging as a woman of color in retail?

I grew up in a way with a father that worked with some of the most underserved people in the community. And he always talked about how he could never differentiate a human being based on their color, caste, or creed. So I grew up with that mindset.

I’ve always been very passionate about our business, about the people behind the business, our products…When I came here, for me, it was really building on Dad’s legacy and getting their work into the hands of a lot of consumers. I personally never thought that, “OK, I’m a woman; I’m a woman of color.” I never had that mindset. I always make sure I’m working hard and doing my best. But when I go to conferences, or sit in a boardroom, I can see that I’m the odd man out. Sometimes I feel like, “Oh, do I really belong here?” I can see myself and it’s during those times that I get reminded that, fine, I might be the only woman in the rug category, for example. That’s leading a business.

What advice would you have to young women of color who want to become entrepreneurs or succeed in retail?

No. 1 is believe in yourself…I doubted myself all along the way, and I remember my dad telling me that as a woman, you are more receptive, you’re more compassionate, you’re efficient, and you can, in fact, not just be equal, but better than men.

If you don’t have the passion, it’s really hard to get through those days, especially when they are not good days. I’ve also learned that, as a woman, we all need people that believe in us, and having a strong network around us of mentors [and] sounding boards…that care about our success and are invested.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. I’ve always said that actual growth happens when you get outside of your comfort zone and take on things you thought might be a little scary.

Walmart Business

Walmart_RBOTT_Jan25

How Jaipur Living’s CEO is reshaping the global rug business 

In an exclusive chat with Retail Brew, Asha Chaudhary tells us about running an international business and empowering underprivileged women in India.

Voices of Tomorrow: How Jaipur Living’s CEO is reshaping the global rug business  

Strolling along London’s Oxford Street is an exciting experience for a shopper. From Selfridges and John Lewis to a plethora of fast fashion stores, there’s something for everyone.

, Oxford Street alone was responsible for 3.1 billion pounds in sales in 2023.

But a new wave of investments is set to elevate the already popular street to another level.

Per the report, Oxford Street will be central to the Oxford Street Programme, a 90 million pound project funded by the New West End Company, a firm that represents 600 businesses around Oxford Circus, and by Westminster City Council. The New West End Company authored the report with international real estate firm Colliers.

, which will start this fall and run until 2030, is responsible for revamping the streets across the West End neighborhood.

Noting a shift from transaction retail to immersive retail focused on experiential elements, the report emphasized the street’s international as well as domestic appeal.

“Oxford Street’s transformation is well underway—and its future is being created by businesses, property owners and investors who recognise the opportunities that the ‘nation’s high street’ can unlock,” Dee Corsi, CEO of New West End Company, said 

The program is estimated to boost sales 5%–10% every year, or about 2.8 billion pounds in additional sales by 2033.

“Oxford Street is truly redefining what it means to be a thriving flagship retail and leisure destination, and creating a new blueprint for success along the way,” Corsi said.

The facade of a Topshop store in London, England covered in sale signs

Oxford Street is getting a 90 million pound makeover

Per a new report, Oxford Street will be central to the Oxford Street Programme.

We may still be collectively debating whether a recession is here in the US, or will ever be, but for British luxury retailer Paul Smith, which just shuttered its three standalone boutiques in Germany, the culprit is clear, 

The retailer, which has been operating in the country for the last 10 years, has witnessed Germany’s economy shrink post-Covid and ultimately became the only European nation hit by recession.

“The leases for our shops in Germany were all negotiated pre-Covid when shopping habits were vastly different from today,” a Paul Smith spokesperson told WWD. “The decision to close shops is never easy particularly given the dedication and efforts of all of our local staff.”

While luxury as a whole has suffered as inflation tightens its grip and consumer spending dips, some fashion retailers have had a harder time than others.

For instance, Showfields, a New York-based lifestyle retailer that sold fashion, jewelry, and home accessories, 

 Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023, after facing declining sales and rising debt since before the pandemic.

Likewise, Scottish fashion label Christopher Kane was 

 new buyers as it urgently looked to refinance its debt, and ultimately struck a deal with the brand’s original founders last July.

, which both filed for bankruptcy last year, citing mounting debt or issues with cash flow.

 by other firms, the series of fashion bankruptcies and store closures in the last year alone may indicate a troubling pattern.

Paul Smith’s recent store closures in Germany

The British luxury retailer has shuttered three of its stores in the country.

Paul Smith’s store closures in Germany indicate how some fashion retailers are struggling

Inflation, the dreaded word across industries, continues to dampen consumer and retailer sentiment, and is slowing spending in the UK among residents and tourists, 

, citing research from Jane Hali & Associates.

“We felt the slowdown in consumer spend was notable in the UK due to inflation and the lack of tourism,” the retail research company reported, adding that besides inflation, “real estate and energy prices remain a concern. Overall, we remain cautious of brands who have strong business in the UK.”

It’s not just UK shoppers exercising caution around discretionary spending. Wealthy Chinese tourists—who are shopping internationally again after Covid restrictions were lifted—are staying away.

Turns out Chinese consumers prefer countries like France, Italy, and Spain, which still offer VAT-free shopping, and which “are far outperforming the UK in foreign tourist spending,” Jane Hali, CEO of Jane Hali & Associates, told WWD.

When he was chancellor, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 

 for travelers in the UK. According to a report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the decision has likely cost the country £10.7 billion ($14 billion) and discouraged 2 million tourists per year from coming to the UK.

Tourist visa delays may also be deterring Chinese shoppers from visiting the UK; China is currently processing a backlog of applications.

Tax-free Europe lures wealthy Chinese shoppers, while UK lags

A recent report found that consumer spending in the UK is down, as wealthy Chinese tourists prefer European countries for their tax-free shopping.

Shein has returned to India after being banned three years ago, but it must follow some strict rules as part of a licensing deal with Reliance Industries, 

The fast fashion retailer, now headquartered in Singapore, will cede its Indian business to Reliance’s retail arm. Meanwhile, Shein will help train more than 25,000 local suppliers who will produce exports for Shein to sell globally, sources told Bloomberg.

Additionally, any customer data generated by the Shein app in India will remain in India; the brand will have no access to it. Reliance will pay Shein a license fee, since the retailer gets no equity, according to the terms set by the Indian government.

 to make its way back into India after its app was banned in 2020 alongside ~170 other Chinese apps, including TikTok, as a result of border disputes between China and India.

In the meantime, the online retailer has tried other ways to engage with Indian consumers, such as by 

 its products on Amazon and Indian e-commerce company Myntra.

So while the newly inked deal sounds stringent, it offers Shein the opportunity it’s been waiting for to expand its manufacturing sources, tap into the growing Indian economy, and connect with consumers from the most populous country on the planet.

Shein is back in India, but not without conditions

Its newly inked deal with Reliance Industries comes with terms such as no access to customer data and no equity.

 VIA Riyadh mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is enough to see that the once-closed country is now open to international luxury businesses, as part of the government’s ongoing top-down 

 to lessen its economic dependence on fossil fuels. The space is home to retailers from Tom Ford and Dolce and Gabbana to Elie Saab and Zimmerman.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia's fashion market was 

 over €2 billion (~$2.15 billion), and only continues to grow as brands like Prada and Tiffany’s 

 their presence with mono-brand outlets in the country.

This trend has also opened up opportunities for international retailers looking to enter the country.

But while it’s clear that the Saudi Arabian customer has a taste for high fashion, consumers in the region are also unique in their likes and dislikes. And for an international retailer, knowing how to approach them is key to being successful in the country.

“Brands won’t necessarily have the instinctual understanding of what people want that they have in their home market, and may not know which sub-groups or demographics to really focus on,” Sonnet Frisbie, lead analyst for EMEA at Morning Consult, told Retail Brew.

There are two types of consumers in Saudi Arabia: locals and expatriates, and they want different things, Frisbie said.

Expatriates make up about one-third of the population in Saudi Arabia and are spread across diverse occupations with “significant buying power,” according to Frisbie. For the most part, they want experiences that are meaningful, entertaining, and relaxing that “they can share with their spouse and kids,” she said. “The idea many Westerners have of expatriates in the gulf is of young, single men. That doesn’t really bear out in the data.”

Saudi citizens on the other hand want a luxurious, personalized, and thought-provoking experience. “It makes sense that we saw Saudis relatively more interested in things like art exhibits, shows, and expos, and glamping compared to expats,” Frisbie added, citing 

But whether the customer is a Saudi citizen or an expatriate, Frisbie says, there is one thing that the country as a whole 

“A lack of attentiveness and engagement in a shopping experience may be seen as a deficit of status,” Frisbie said. “These kinds of cultural differences are really important to understand in any market, but especially for luxury brands who are in some sense selling an experience.”

Three women carrying shopping bags walk down the street.

What retailers should know about Saudi Arabian luxury consumers

The once-closed country is now home to a range of international luxury brands that may want to consider the differences in culture and customer service expectations.