Author name: Kimberly Lee

For retail operators, it’s been a tough 12 months. Years of sticker shock have pushed shoppers to be discerning — some would say fickle. Freight costs that leveled in 2023 significantly rose once more due to disruptions in the Red Sea, placing pressure on margins. High interest rates meant that there was less available capital

In 2024, fashion businesses across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America navigated a web of opportunities and challenges, adapting strategies to both seismic and subtle shifts in the global market. In China, where luxury has been hit hard by the ongoing slowdown, brands had to reassess this once-reliable customer base. Fewer

2024 was a year of reckoning for skincare brands. After years of pandemic-fuelled growth that saw consumers obsessed with finding affordable, results-backed products, drugstores that helped mass brands rapidly grow are struggling with low footfall. The pendulum has swung to fragrance and haircare, two categories that have recently garnered more innovation and investor interest. Some

Boohoo shareholders have blocked Mike Ashley and an associate from joining its board in a blow to the Sports Direct founder’s attempt to control the struggling online fashion retailer. Investors representing 64% of Boohoo’s stock voted against appointing Ashley and Mike Lennon at a special meeting on Friday morning called by Ashley’s Frasers Group. The

Walmart Inc., the world’s largest retailer, expects to miss short-term climate targets as issues including the availability of low-cost clean technologies slow the task of cutting emissions. Previous pledges to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and 35% by 2025 are probably not achievable, and the company will consider reviewing its climate