An "accessible luxury" brand is buying a "high fashion" shoe and accessories brand for £896 million as American mall traffic continues to decline and consumers have gravitated towards either extremely cheap or extremely expensive fashion products:
Many upscale retailers are grappling with plummeting sales and tepid profits. Mall traffic in North America has declined sharply, and deep discounting tactics have resulted in some luxury labels losing much of their luster with core customers.
Shoppers who have traditionally been loyal to the so-called middle market have gravitated toward brands at extremes of the style, and price, spectrum. That has benefited e-commerce giants like Amazon, fast-fashion brands like H&M and Zara, and luxury houses like Gucci.
And it has left companies like Michael Kors — once the runaway leader of the "accessible luxury market" — exposed.
[...] The shoemaker was founded in 1996 by Tamara Mellon, then accessories editor at British Vogue, and the Malaysian cobbler Jimmy Choo. It shot to fame thanks to a slew of celebrity patrons, including Diana, the Princess of Wales, and the actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who embraced its signature sky-high stilettos and the vampish aesthetic for which it became known.
After three cycles of private equity ownership, it became the first luxury footwear brand to list on a public market in 2014. Prices range from $425 for flat shoes to $1,795 for over-the-knee suede boots, while small clutch handbags start around $700, according to Jimmy Choo's website.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday July 26 2017, @08:57AM
Well, yes, the shirts last longer then the tee-shirts.
Unfortunately, not at the 10 years mark - the cuff and the corners of the collar get worn out after 4-5 in my case.
I'm usually having/using 10 "business" shirts, single day wear, washing them at the end of the week (so every shirt gets about 25 washes/year).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford