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Jack Wills cancels plans to float on the London Stock Exchange - Business News - Business - The Independent. Wendy Becker, who was brought in to prepare the chain for the listing, was shown the door after failing to bring the company into shape to appeal to future investors. Instead, Peter Williams, who stepped down as chief executive two years ago, is back in charge.

He remains Jack Wills’ majority shareholder. The retailer was founded by Williams and his friend Robert Shaw in the Devon resort of Salcombe in 1999 and it now has 59 shops, but they have struggled in recent years. Its latest results from February 2014 showed that sales grew slightly from £112m to £118m, but losses widened from £180,000 to £6.7m. Ms Becker joined three years ago after successful stints at Vodafone and TalkTalk. It said the board and shareholders had decided not to pursue an IPO for the time being after “a detailed review of Jack Wills’ growth opportunities”, and that Ms Becker had decided to step down as a result. So how DO they make jeans for $7? Kmart, Target and Big W locked in a head-to-head battle to make the cheapest denim. Australia’s leading retailers such as Big W, Kmart and Target have all engaged in a mighty war battle to offer jeans from $7Daily Mail Australia put the cheap jeans to the test and voted Kmart as the best pair of jeans from the three retailersBut an Oxfam spokeswoman said consumers need to ask themselves if workers are paid enough to produce garments this cheapThe Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety was established in 2013 to ensure that all garment factories in Bangladesh are safeAll three retail giants have signed up to the accord By Cindy Tran for Daily Mail Australia Published: 01:03 GMT, 7 November 2014 | Updated: 21:09 GMT, 7 November 2014 Thrifty consumers with an eye for a bargain can score a pair of jeans for as little as seven dollars.

Australia’s leading retailers such as Big W, Kmart and Target have all engaged in a mighty battle to offer the cheapest denim at rock-bottom prices. But how are these three major discount giants able to make and sell jeans so cheaply? A Silver Lining to Australia's Fashion Crisis? SYDNEY, Australia — Although Australia is the only advanced economy that did not enter a deep recession as a result of the global financial crisis, today, the country’s fashion industry is facing tough times, affecting established retail chains, independent designers and luxury boutiques alike.

Among them are womenswear retailer Ojay; Bettina Liano, which went into liquidation for the second time in two years; and premium brands Kirrily Johnston and Lisa Ho, both of which were forced to close late last year. Marnie Skillings, Colette Dinnigan and George Gross & Harry Who have also shut shop, while Grab Jeans, Little Joe Woman and Belinda International were all narrowly rescued by administrators.

Alannah Hill and Kit Willow recently departed their eponymous brands under contentious circumstances. And things remain challenging for cult streetwear brand Ksubi, which fought off liquidators in 2010, and embattled surf giant Billabong, which has struggled since 2008. So what’s going on? Fast fashion – can you keep up with global trends sustainably and ethically? - The stream of fast fashion hitting Australian shores is about to become a deluge. How do these mega brands stack up when it comes to fair working conditions and sustainable practices?

Photo: Gratisography The international fashion brands are coming are here! Last Saturday, 5 April, international clothing mega-retailer H&M launched a huge store in Melbourne, it’s first in Australia. Last year, Otter published a quick review of the environmental and social sustainability of global fashion retailers. Who’s keeping tabs, and on what? Rank a Brand is a European non government organisation that conducts ratings of hundreds of consumer brands based on a detailed methodology that considers labour practices, climate change, and other environmental issues; it ranks brands from A (best) to E (worst). The Australian Ethical Fashion Guide is based on the The Truth Behind the Barcode report released in August 2013. In summary the key issues reviewed are: The rankings Rank a brand Labour rights Alternatives. Primark to enter US market with Boston store | Business. Primark, the fashion store that brought the £3 jumper dress to the British shopper, is to open in the US as it attempts to become a global chain.

The budget retailer, owned by Associated British Foods, will open its first store in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2015 and said it was in negotiations to open up to eight further stores in north-east America, with warehousing to support them. America has proved to be a leap too far for most UK retailers: Marks & Spencer, WH Smith, Sainsbury's and, most recently, Tesco have all seen their stateside ventures founder. However, fashion chains Topshop and Ted Baker have found favour with US shoppers. Primark said it had decided to take its concept to the US after extensive research.

Primark has defied the recession to become one of the fastest-growing retail businesses in western Europe. "We think we have as differentiated and attractive a proposition in the US as we have in continental Europe and the British Isles. HMV Sold its last US outlet in 2004. H&M opens first Australian store amid concerns over fast fashion. By Clare Rawlinson Updated The opening of fashion behemoth H&M's first Australian store has been welcomed by thousands of eager shoppers, but others in Australia's struggling retail sector have expressed concern.

The Swedish label is one of the key players in the "fast fashion" movement, where production cycles are fast and prices are low. Its 4,500 square metre, three-storey shop in Melbourne's iconic GPO building opened on Saturday and came on top of 1,600 existing stores in 53 countries worldwide. H&M country manager Hans Andersson says the company targeted Australia because it was the "last part of the world [they] had left over".

Mr Andersson says H&M's store will benefit from Australians being relatively well travelled. "We did a survey here last year and it showed that with zero stores at that point, we were more well-known here than in the US, where we have 300 stores and have been around years," he said. H&M uses buying power to supply fast-fashion model. Global Recession Impacts on Fashion Industry: Strategies for Survival. The whole world is facing global recession. The economy is slowing, the business environment is unpredictable and the consumers are getting increasingly diverse, informed, technologically strong and demanding. The global meltdown has, in no way, spared the fashion industry. This industry, along with other textile products industry, is also feeling the pinch of financial adversity. The Fashion Industry The fashion industry can be termed as complicated with no standard for defining fashion companies.

Impacts of Recession on Global Fashion Industry The trends all over the world is that of rising unemployment, credit squeeze and plummeting home budgets. Many big names in the fashion industry are facing financial problems, many of whom have even declared their negative condition. Consumer spending has got lower resulting in pressure on retailers' margins. Is American Apparel A Dead Brand Walking? “We believe that we may not have sufficient liquidity necessary to sustain operations for the next twelve months,” read a release from American Apparel, connected to a regulatory filing triggered by its inability to meet a scheduled debt payment to one of its major creditors Monday.

“These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt that we may be able to continue as a going concern.” Translation: American Apparel may have just months to live. Now, this is far from the first time the once-inescapable hipster basics brand has missed a payment, declared serious losses, or indicated how close it is to complete insolvency—but it is the worst economic report Dov Charney’s Lycra-infused brainchild has ever given. And with good reason.

The company has lost 87% of its stock value in 2015 alone and, as a report from Fortune suggests, it lacks both the cash and the borrowing power to make its next credit payment scheduled for October. Okay! (Via Fortune) And with good reason. Okay! (Via Fortune)