European Planet Distribution Installs New Distribution System

Planet Distribution (Europe) Ltd, the European distributor for clothing brands Miss Mary, Scary, Evil Cat, Gangster, Ruby Gloom, Suspect and Porn Star, has aquired Aria's ERP system. This solution, which is specifically geared towards the industry, will be used to control and monitor the movement of products from foreign suppliers into the UK and distribution to its customers.

Along with the integration of the existing Sage financial accounts system, Aria will provide a completely integrated array of applications covering product sourcing and distribution functions.

August 25, 2004

Hello High Street, Goodbye High Fashion

UK shoppers are spending more on the high street than ever before. With the coolest designers creating diffusion ranges for the likes of Topshop, Marks & Spencer and now New Look, consumers are choosing mainstream clothes over high fashion prices.

The British fashion industry, generally regarded as one of innovation and breeding ground for new talent, though coming in last place to New York, Milan and Paris for growth and development, is not so much run by designer brands as its US and European counterparts as it is by its competitive high street offer. Retailers such as Debenhams, Arcadia and M&S are showing us fashionable and affordable collections that have, in essence, never looked better.

Utilising their capability of fast fashion - translating catwalk designs to the high street in a very short period of time - retailers have been able to keep on top form in the market and reacting to consumer needs much faster than their designer contemporaries. Further more, with the ever-increasing improvement in quality, upmarket and image-conscious consumers are happy to buy their frocks on Oxford Street.

With a high street that exudes cool, hip and smart, retailers have recognized that the seasonal cycle of new designs is too slow to deal with the fast pace change in trends and fashions. What is called 'Quick Response' manufacturing means that the high street can respond to consumer demands in a very short time frame, encapsulating the current fads and needs and turning around fresh injections throughout the season.

More notably is that UK shoppers are increasingly moving away from the lifestyle packages offered by brands such as Armani and Gucci. Not wanting to be walking adverts for a certain brand, consumers are smarter and more selective, choosing instead to mix high fashion with high street product to be cool.

8 March 2004

Clothing and Footwear Boosting Inflation

The Office for National Statistics said the biggest influence on a rise in inflation for July came from clothing and footwear sales. Inflation edged up from 2.8per cent to 2.9 per cent when a fall had been expected.

The ONS attributed the rise in clothing prices to fewer reductions on Sale stock because of good weather.

21 August 2003

Silk Industries in Sale Talks

Fabric manufacturer Silk Industries has confirmed it is in talks that may or may not lead to an offer for the company.

The announcement followed a 23 per cent jump in its share price last Thursday. The company used to own designer brand Paul Costelloe, but sold it to concentrate on the silk business in 2000.

29 July 2003

Euro Shopping

Joining the Euro would be beneficial for British consumers. Getting rid of the pound would increase price transparency and encourage competition amongst companies, as was confirmed by the Treasury on Monday.

Price studies in the EU have demonstrated that British consumers pay more for their products than their European counterparts. On average, Britons pay more than 20 per cent on such goods as alcohol, tobacco, clothes, meals in restaurants and stays at hotels.

Businesses could also benefit from embracing the Euro. Without the pound, there would be no need to convert currencies when companies compare prices, making it simpler to take advantage of the differences. Whilst there would be a possible shift of resources from inefficient producers to the most efficient companies, market efficiency and competition would be improved.

With a wider range of goods of better quality being available to the British consumer, and at lower prices, becoming Euro-minded is a long-term benefit. While short-term price rises due to the cost of changeover are likely to occur, British businesses, especially smaller businesses, would complete the task successfully. The rest of Europe has managed to embrace the new currency and it is only a matter of time before Britain faces the same task.

11 June 2003

Sales growth in UK

Retail sales in the UK grew by 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis, and by 3.9 per cent on a total basis, compared with a year earlier.
The three-month trend rates of growth decreased from 2.7 per cent in January to 2.5 per cent in February for like-for-like sales, from 5.4 per cent to 5.1 per cent for total sales. This data is according to the BRC-KPMG Sales Monitor.

March 13, 2003

Peace shirts booming business

Peace paraphernalia has become a booming global industry as the anti-war movement gathers pace. Millions of peace shirts, from the slinky rainbow vests by the Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana to baggy, mass-produced sweatshirts, have been sold to protesters worldwide.

Printing firms across Britain and America have reported huge increases in sales and are struggling to meet the demand for anti-war apparel. In London, a tiny firm of printers founded by radical punks in the seventies has become a market leader.

Fifth Column, which started out making T-shirts for the Clash, is now making thousands of anti-war tops from its base in Camden, North London. Its director, Spike Naughton said: "We would not like to think we are profiting from possible war in Iraq, but we have seen a big increase in business."

Designers have also jumped on the bandwagon: Dolce & Gabbana appropriated the rainbow "Pace" flags hanging from Italian balconies and turned them into stylish vests, and Katharine Hamnett, the British designer, launched an anti-war top at London Fashion Week.

March 7, 2003

Slow economy little impact on women shoppers

An American survey on fashion shopping trends predicts that despite the weak state of the current economy, 75 percent of American women plan to spend just as much on fashion this year as they did last year buit 58 percent are planning to change their shopping habits. More than half plan to shop only at sales or with store savings coupons, or to keep wearing their existing wardrobes, while filling in with new purchases. One out of four women claimed they are being more practical about price and garment care. 41 percent of those queried claim that in spite of the economy, they won't change their fashion shopping habits at all and 25 percent of the women polled planned to cut back on fashion purchases completely.

What's ahead for the holidays? About half of the respondents said that the slow economy would affect their gift shopping list. While 51 percent said they'd spend as much as they usually do, 46 percent planned to cut down on the number or cost of the gifts they buy. Only eight percent said they wouldn't exchange gifts at all.

Most of the women queried showed a conservative side: asked what they would purchase if they could spend only USD 100 on fashion, 73 percent chose practical items like basic shirts and sweaters. A scant 4 percent would blow it all on the latest trendy accessory like a super-long muffler, and only 3 percent chose sexy lingerie. Asked what would motivate them to buy a new outfit, even on a limited budget, a decisive 66 percent of the women said that they would spend for a special event like a wedding or a big date. And a new job or even a job interview would trigger a trip to the mall for 25 percent of the respondents.

The national sample of 516 adult women took part in this survey on women's shopping habits executed by an independent market research firm, Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch-Express Omnibus, for the Woolite Fashion Forum(TM) from September 25-29, 2002.

November 19, 2002