Amazon India set to expand private-label offerings. Bengaluru/New Delhi: Online marketplace Amazon India plans to create its own private brands in fashion and expand its existing private label offering in electronic accessories and related products, two people familiar with the matter said.
The company, which operates the Amazon Now grocery ordering app, is also considering launching private labels in groceries and has hired legal consultants to help it figure out structures that comply with regulations, the two people said on condition of anonymity. Amazon has hired former Myntra chief creative officer Gautam Kotamraju to lead its push into private brands in fashion. Kottamraju, who has worked 18 years in the fashion business, helped create Myntra’s large private brands business, which generated more than 20% of Myntra’s gross sales within two years of its launch. Now, brands such as Roadster, Mast & Harbour and Dressberry account for nearly 25% of Myntra’s sales. Top Fashion Schools in France: A Battle for Innovation. PARIS, France — With fashion’s most important commercial and creative centre as its capital, France’s culture and economy have fashion at their core.
Indeed, the fashion industry contributes 35 percent of the country’s national GDP. However, to date, the French educational institutions have been divided between design theory and practical creation, in a system that is at odds with wider international approaches to fashion education. Surprisingly, given the importance of design culture to French fashion, the top ranked French school in BoF’s annual rankings was the Institut Français de la Mode, renowned for its unique positioning and blend of management and design, which came third in BoF’s ranking of MA programmes.
ESMOD came sixth in the MA rankings and was also France’s highest scored BA programme, placed 11th. Although these achievements are commendable, France’s outsized influence in the international fashion industry is far less apparent in its fashion schools. Explicit cookie consent. GOOGLE left.
Facebook is blocked. Amazon is struggling to make headway. And if further proof were needed that China’s tech market is a world apart, this week seemed to provide conclusive evidence. Uber, a ride-hailing service that is the world’s most valuable startup, decided to sell its local unit to Didi Chuxing, a Chinese rival (see article). Its China dream, like those of so many before, is dead. For many, the lessons of this latest capitulation are clear. At first sight, Uber’s retreat appears to fit this damning profile.
Brexit 'means economy faces 50/50 recession chance' Image copyright Reuters The UK has a 50/50 chance of falling into recession within the next 18 months following the Brexit vote, says a leading economic forecaster.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) says the country will go through a "marked economic slowdown" this year and next. It says inflation will also pick up, rising to 3% by the end of next year. "This is the short-term economic consequence of the vote to leave the EU", said Simon Kirby of the NIESR. Overall the institute forecasts that the UK economy will probably grow by 1.7% this year but will expand by just 1% in 2017. This would see the UK avoid a technical recession, typically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
Mr Kirby argued that the June referendum vote had led to such financial and political uncertainty that this would bear directly on the spending and investment decisions of both businesses and households. UK interest rates cut to 0.25% UK interest rates have been cut from 0.5% to 0.25% - a record low and the first cut since 2009.
The Bank of England has also signalled that rates could go lower if the economy worsens. The Bank announced additional measures to stimulate the UK economy, including a £100bn scheme to force banks to pass on the low interest rate to households and businesses. It will also buy £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds.
Governor Mark Carney said there was scope to cut the interest rate further. He said that a majority of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) backed another cut if subsequent data showed the economy was deteriorating. Mr Carney also took a tough stance on banks and the introduction of its Term Funding Scheme. Investor piles pressure on French Connection to address concerns. US fund Gatemore Capital has said it is yet to receive a “substantial” response from members of the French Connection board to its complaints about the retailer’s performance, management structure and use of the FCUK slogan.
Gatemore Capital, which holds an 8% stake in French Connection, wrote an open letter to the company criticising its poor performance compared to rivals and arguing the board’s plan to reverse the company’s fortunes did not go far enough. The fund confirmed it had received a response, but its concerns have yet to be properly addressed. A spokesman said: “Gatemore has received an individual reply directly from French Connection UK’s CEO/chairman, which we believe does not substantially address any of the issues we had previously raised regarding the company’s performance.”
Drapers has contacted French Connection for a comment.