Opinions
10th December 2020
Stop blaming Amazon
Just Style recently asked me to comment on why Arcadia collapsed. It can't be Amazon stealing its business, because Amazon's Luxembourg accounts show how it's a model of honesty. The...
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9th November 2020
Trump’s Big Sulk: the oddest result so far
Acting like a spoilt baby is odd enough if you've just been the world's most powerful man. But some of the world's other most powerful men are acting even odder....
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29th December 2018
Unofficial retail data? Be very sceptical
Early in December, Mike Ashley, the owner of Britain’s Sports Direct sportswear chain and the Newcastle United football club described retail trading in November as “the worst on record, unbelievably...
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6th November 2018
What’s really made Primark the most profitable British clothing retailer ever?
With an opening programme in its last quarter that included its second New York City store, Primark today announced a new record of £843 millon ($1.14 billion) in profit for...
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22nd October 2018
Sears bankruptcy: don’t credit Amazon
Many observers claim Sears recently filed for bankruptcy because it couldn't compete with Amazon. But we believe the effect of Amazon – and other online retailers - on Sears is...
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19th October 2018
Britain’s physical stores keep growing. But is clothing now the exception?
September’s release from Britain’s Office of National Statistics show that sales in physical stores are still growing. They were 3.1% up year on year in September, and 3% for the...
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19th September 2018
Are we really facing total retail collapse? Or have too many retailers just been misguided?
An awful lot of people are telling us retail's collapsing - or at least fleeing to the internet. Among recent front-page horrors have been Sears in the US hinting it’s...
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5th September 2018
Credit Suisse confirm: for clothes retailers “not being online is an advantage”
Credit Suisse confirmed (download CS analysis 5 Sep) on September 5 that for clothes retailers thinking of online selling "not being online is an advantage". Their argument is that it...
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1st June 2018
M&S admit: it’s too fixated on fashion
Announcing its annual results on May 23, Marks & Spencer publicly agreed with what its older customers have been saying for years: it's too fixated with fashion. Slide 9 at...
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6th May 2018
Does it still take union action to get compensation in a Bangladesh garment factory?
On May 4, a Bangladesh garment worker took ill. His condition was ignored by his superior, so he died. The tragic death took his colleagues out onto the street demanding...
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24th April 2018
India’s handloom obsession starts talk of an “endgame” in its clothing export industry
India's obsession with the politics of hand-weaving means clothes exports are falling sharply. And they were in a surprisingly mediocre position to start with. In the financial year to February, they...
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28th March 2018
Why no-one’s buying clothes any more: The introduction
No-one's buying clothes any more for much the same reason voters are disenchanted. What I originally wrote for publication after the 2016 UK Brexit referendum more or less explains...
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