Worldview | Australian Fashion Week Will Go Ahead Despite IMG’s Exit

🇦🇺 Australian Fashion Week will go ahead next year despite IMG’s exit. The Australian Fashion Council will take over the management of Australian Fashion Week for the next edition of the event in May. The future of the annual showcase was cast in doubt following IMG’s decision last week to terminate its fashion events business in the country. “The time has come for Australian fashion to be represented by those who know it best—our own community,” said AFC chair Marianne Perkovic, in a statement. AFC chief executive Jaana Quaintance-James asserted that “the AFC has the insight, commitment, and industry focus [needed] to lead Australian Fashion Week.” The interim arrangement with the AFC came as a relief to local brands and industry leaders but the format, location and operational details of next year’s event remain unclear. So too does its future beyond 2025. Founded by Simon Lock in 1996, Australian Fashion Week was sold to IMG in 2005. The financial viability of the event came into question after fintech company Afterpay withdrew its three-year partnership in 2023 although jeweller Pandora did sign on as presenting partner this year. IMG’s Asia Pacific fashion events division VP Natalie Xenita said that the termination would allow IMG to “further focus its resources and expertise on its talent representation business,” noting that “IMG Models in Sydney will not be impacted by this change and will continue to conduct business as usual.” [BoF Inbox]

🇶🇦 Qatar Investment Authority appoints Mohammed Al-Sowaidi new CEO. The emir of the Gulf nation has tapped the former chief of investments in the Americas at the $510 billion sovereign wealth fund as its new chief executive, replacing Mansour Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud who becomes Qatar’s health minister. Qatari investors have acquired heritage fashion retailers over the years including British department store Harrods and French department store Printemps through QIA’s operating arm Qatar Holding and Divine Investments SA (DISA), an investment vehicle based in Luxembourg, respectively. The QIA has also invested in Reliance Retail Ventures, a major player in India’s fashion sector. [Reuters]

🌎 Latin American Fashion Summit secures Miami Design District investment. The Miami Design District Associates, a partnership between Dacra and L Catterton’s real estate unit which owns and operates the namesake shopping neighbourhood, has “joined LAFS as lead investor” said Estafania Lacayo and Samantha Tams, who founded the summit in 2018. Describing the US city as a “cultural hub of Latin America,” the pair did not disclose details of the deal but added that “this significant [capital] investment enables us to take LAFS to a whole new level.” Held from Nov. 9-12, the latest edition of LAFS featured industry leaders from companies like Kering and executives from regional firms such as Brazilian group Azzas 2154 in the Miami district where the event has been staged for three editions. [BoF Inbox]

🇱🇹 Lithuania-based online fashion resale giant Vinted rules out IPO. The C2C second-hand clothes marketplace that operates in 20 countries is not considering an initial public offering, said CEO Thomas Plantenga, adding that the company is instead working to expand into other segments of the second-hand market, including phones, toys, gaming consoles and, potentially, luxury watches. “We’re expanding into new countries and we’re expanding our categories. We’re taking a tonne of risk [so] I want to play these bets out,” he said about the firm that last month reached a valuation of €5 billion ($5.29 billion). [BoF]

🇸🇦 Religious symbols’ commercial use banned after Riyadh Fashion Week. The Saudi Arabian ministry of commerce has reportedly issued a ban on the commercial use of religious, national and sectarian symbols to prevent their “abuse or misuse” after outrage spread online over a central installation at last month’s Riyadh Fashion Week. Though some defended the event, which was supported by the Saudi ministry of culture’s Fashion Commission, others criticised it for a central installation that they felt resembled the Kaaba, an ancient building in the kingdom’s mosque complex in Makkah which is considered by Muslims to be one of the holiest sites in the world. [Semafor]

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Azzas 2154 sees revenue up, but profits hit by merger costs. The São Paulo-listed company, formed this year from the merger of Brazilian footwear and fashion firms Arezzo & Co and Grupo Soma, reported net income of 163.8 million reais ($28.2 million) for the third quarter ended September, a 26.8 percent decline, against revenues of 3.67 billion reais ($632.9 million), an increase of 12.2 percent. The firm said it used “pro forma” results to reflect the combined historical performance of the merged entities for annual comparisons. [Graciela Martin for BoF]

🇮🇳 Trump presidency could bolster India’s textile trade with US, says CITI. “With the new administration, the Indian textile and apparel industry is optimistic about expanding its role as an alternative supplier to China,” said Confederation of Indian Textile Industry chairman Rakesh Mehra, noting that approximately 27 percent of India’s total textile and apparel exports already go to the US in spite of the high tariff rates that are applied by the US to certain Indian apparel categories. [Economic Times]

🇨🇳 Amazon launches low-cost storefront Haul to counter Temu in the US. The American e-commerce giant has made Haul available in a bid to compete with the likes of the China-founded ultra-fast fashion e-tailer owned by Pinduoduo parent PDD Holdings which is headquartered in Dublin. Temu’s low-cost shopping app has gained traction with shoppers who trade longer shipping times for rock-bottom prices. Purchases on Haul are delivered in one to two weeks and Amazon charges a $3.99 shipping fee that’s waived for orders larger than $25. [BoF]

🇮🇳 Indian beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa sees Q2 profits surge. FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the Mumbai-based listed company that operates multi-brand retailer Nykaa, has reported a consolidated net profit of 13 crore rupees ($1.5 million) for the quarter ended September, up 66 percent from the comparable period a year earlier. Gross merchandising value (GMV) during the period stood at 3652 crore rupees ($432 million), up 24 percent year over year. [Economic Times]

🇨🇳 British prime minister plans to leave Shein IPO scrutiny to UK regulator. The UK government plans to defer scrutiny of Shein’s potential London Stock Exchange listing to the Financial Conduct Authority, avoiding a deeper examination of the China-founded, Singapore-based ultra-fast fashion e-tailer’s labour practices despite calls from some MPs to strengthen protections. Shein’s executive chairman Donald Tang recently met with UK ministers, following longstanding allegations against the company — which it denies — of using cotton tied to forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region. [BoF]

🇮🇳 India’s Kalyan Jewellers posts 3% profit decline in Q2. The Thrissur-based company whose portfolio includes its namesake brand and digital-first brand Candere reported consolidated net profit of 130.32 crore rupees ($15.4 million) for the quarter ended September. The jewellery retailer, which operates more than 250 showrooms globally, reported a 37.3 percent year over year increase in revenue from operations to 6065.48 crore rupees ($717.7 million) during the period. [Economic Times]

🇯🇵 Rakuten Group sells credit card arm share to Mizuho for ¥165 billion. The Japanese tech conglomerate that operates its namesake e-commerce platform and financial and communications services is selling 15 percent of its credit card business to the banking giant for around $1.1 billion, its latest move to shore up capital. The e-tailer manages online storefronts for fashion brands like Marc Jacobs, Missoni and private label collections from Beams and United Arrows and serves as title sponsor for Tokyo Fashion Week. [Bloomberg]

🇨🇳 Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy in China with prices well below US. The Danish pharmaceutical company is launching its top-selling obesity drug in China at a fraction of the US price, a key step in unlocking a big, fast-growing market for its blockbuster franchise. Initial prescriptions for the drug are expected to be issued in Shanghai this week, Yicai news service reported Monday. [BoF]

🇮🇳 Indian jeweller Giva sees 66% annual revenue rise, but losses widen 30%. The Bengaluru-based brand backed by Premji Invest has reported a 65.8 percent year-on-year growth in operating revenue, reaching 273.6 crore ($32.3 million) rupees for the quarter ended March 2024. The firm’s net loss widened by 29.6 percent to 58.6 crore rupees. [Economic Times]

🇱🇧 Lebanon’s Elie Saab marks 45-year anniversary with Saudi spectacle. The couture brand based between Beirut and Paris founded by its namesake designer created a colossal event in Riyadh celebrating its link with red carpet style. The 1001 Seasons of Elie Saab extravaganza featured 300 looks from the brand’s archives styled by Carine Roitfeld, celebrity guests like Halle Barry and Monica Bellucci and five musical performances Jennifer Lopez, Camila Cabello, Nancy Ajram, Amr Diab and Celine Dion. [Vogue Arabia, Harper’s Bazaar]

🇨🇳 Hong Kong makes arrests over counterfeit Chanel goods and tickets. Police in the city have arrested several individuals in two cases, one involving an online store selling alleged counterfeit goods from Dior, Chanel and other luxury brands which led to the seizure of about 15,000 items and another involving fake tickets to the recent Chanel resort show at the HK Design Institute. [South China Morning Post]

🇮🇳 Indian apparel exporter Gokaldas Exports posts 18% Q2 profit rise. The Bengaluru-based company employing over 32,000 people across twenty production units has reported consolidated revenue of 28.16 crore rupees ($3.3 million) in the quarter ended September 2024, up from 23.71 crore rupees in the comparable period a year earlier. The firm recorded total income of 941.8 crore rupees ($111.4 million) during the period, increasing 85% year over year. [Economic Times]

🇲🇽 Mexican direct sales catalogue agents start offering Shein and Temu. Door-to-door saleswomen who once focused on selling homewares from the likes of local company Betterware to neighbours and acquaintances are now offering to order fashion on their behalf from the China-founded ultra-fast fashion e-tailers. [Rest of World]

🇮🇳 Indian e-tailer Nykaa appoints Abhijeet Dabas as business fashion head. The company has named Dabas as executive vice president and business head fashion. The executive, who previously held leadership positions at technology and e-commerce companies including Cars24, Swiggy, Myntra, and Lazada, will oversee Nykaa’s online growth strategy, its international physical store network expansion, and strategic partnerships with the likes of Foot Locker. [Economic Times]

🇰🇷 Celine taps South Korean entertainer Bae Suzy as global ambassador. The French luxury brand has partnered with the actress and singer, also known by her Korean name Bae Su-ji, famous for her roles in TV series like “Start-Up” and “Doona” to endorse its products. Bae, who has around 20 million Instagram followers, started her career as a member of the K-pop band Miss A. [L’Officiel Philippines]