Headline News From Major Fashion And Retail Brands
Today we’re checking in with the latest announcements and financial data released by major fashion and retail brands. As it’s early 2023, much of the focus is on full-year reports for last year and it shows a real mixed bag. Some may expect it to be more negative than positive, but major brands are showing positive signs and this tells us something about the industry.
No matter whether you work in retail, fashion, e-commerce fashion photography or marketing it is great to see positive results and plans for the year ahead.
Gap Inc report leadership changes amid a drop in sales
The headline figures for Gap Inc don’t make for positive reading. For Q4 of 2022, they saw sales drop by 6% based on a 3% drop in stores and 10% via online platforms. This feeds into the full-year results for 2022 of a net sales drop to £13 billion (a 6% fall). This led to an overall net loss of £168 million.
As a result of this rather negative performance, Gap Inc has announced a change in its leadership team. Aiming to simplify the structure and provide a consistent structure across all of its brands they have removed the Chief Growth Office role and will see its Chief People Officer leave the business by the end of 2023.
Mango celebrates record sales and significant profits in 2022
On to some good news now from the fashion retailer Mango who saw profits reach £72 million in 2022, delivering record sales at the same time. Furthermore, they announced a record turnover, hitting 20.3% more than the previous financial year.
Interestingly for those of us working in e-commerce fashion photography in London, Mango saw impressive growth in their retail stores’ thanks in part to opening 119 new locations. When we delve a little deeper, their women’s fashion lines accounted for the vast majority of turnover, at 82% but they did see growth in both men’s and children’s.
Hugo Boss reports sales in 2022 are up by 27%
Fashion brand Hugo Boss achieved a record sales figure in 2022, up 27% to £3.2 billion. This is the first time since the company started that they have gone past the 3 billion Euros mark.
They saw growth across all regions and brands, with standout performers including BOSS Womenswear (21%), BOSS Menswear (27%) and HUGO (27%). What is more interesting is bricks-and-mortar sales grew by more than digital services, perhaps a sign that physical retail stores are finally recovering from the impact of covid.
Shein looks set to raise £1.6 billion in a new funding round
The Chinese fashion giant has seen incredible growth in both popularity and performance in recent years. As a result, they are looking to raise £1.6 billion of new funding this month with the goal of launching a potential IPO in the United States of America.
With major investors across the world getting ready to put money in Shein, the business has been valued at over £81 billion early in 2022. However recent valuations have reduced this by approximately a third. There will be more to come on this story as the year progresses.
