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This week in fashion: One major luxury retailer is set to cut hundreds of jobs, and another has a new CEO. Here’s our weekly fashion dispatch.
Adidas on the road to win
Adidas is on its way to a profit margin of 51.4% in Q2, its largest in three years, per analysts’ expectations. According to Reuters, the news comes as Nike has seen sales decline, while Adidas continues to thrive with high demand for products like Samba and Gazelle sneakers.
Why this matters: Things have been generally looking up for Adidas over the past year. In fact, the retailer had been concerned about excess Yeezy inventory after it cut ties with singer Ye (formerly Kanye West) over his antisemitic remarks in late 2022. Instead, it sold $565 million worth of Yeezy inventory in spring 2023, and this April, it reportedly raised its profit target for the year following continued demand for Yeezys.
Burberry to slash jobs
Burberry is set to cut as many as 400 jobs, per information obtained by the Telegraph. The publication reported that the British luxury retailer started a 45-day consultation following a Zoom meeting with employees in June informing them of upcoming layoffs.
Why this matters: The retailer already cut 500 jobs in 2020 to save $70.5 million as it struggled during the pandemic. This year, the brand has seen a dip in profits amid a sales slowdown in the US and China.
Mulberry taps new CEO
Mulberry has a new CEO. The retailer hired Andrea Baldo for the role long held by Thierry Andretta, the Financial Times reported. Baldo was most recently the CEO of Danish brand Ganni.
Why this matters: Mulberry is looking to shake things up as it struggles under a 60% share price drop from January to May of this year. In May, the company reported a 4% drop in annual sales, citing a poor trading environment in the UK and China.