Retail Diary - Week of November 28, 2022

This Week's Topics:

• What's Going On At Balenciaga

• Fashion House Shake-ups

• Black Friday Notes

• New launches, collabs & acquisitions

• What else I ❤️️

What's Going On At Balenciaga

• Fresh off of severing ties with Kanye West (over his antisemtic rants) Balenciaga is yet again apologizing and being held accountable for their recent ads (children photographed with bondage items and alcohol. And the spring campaign that had papers regarding the Supreme Court Ruling about Child Pornography.) The CNN article linked above does not include any of the images but a write up of what is going on.

• Fashionista also outlined exactly what happened with a timeline and what has happened since the images were called out for being inappropriate and disgusting. (Again, this link does not include the images.)

Fashion House Shake-Ups

• After much speculation as to who would get the Tom Ford trophy, Estée Lauder has purchased the Tom Ford label for $2.8 Billion. Ford beauty has already been under the Lauder umbrella, but this is the first fashion foray for Lauder.

• Gucci - November 23rd there was a flurry of articles whispering about the end of Creative Director Alessandro Michele's time at Gucci. Shares in parent company Kering rose once the news started coming out. So now we are heading to a new era at Gucci with Michele no longer at the helm. A few articles to catch up on: Business of Fashion Why Alessandro Michele is Exiting Gucci, and NYTimes Vanessa Friedman's ode to his quirky, nerdy style.

• Raf Simmons is closing his own label as he is now the co-creative director at Prada.

Black Friday Notes

• This year I felt super nostalgic for the old school version of Black Friday - where sales didn't start popping up weeks in advance. There was a strategy to planning and building financials plans around markdowns and sales. Now it just looks like retailers and brands throwing everything at you while you drive 1000 mph down a highway.

• An article from The Atlantic on how The Strategist covers Black Friday and prepares for it.

• NRF is reporting record high numbers for Thanksgiving/Black Friday sales. 197 million consumers shopped.

  • "Shoppers spent an average of $325.44 on holiday-related purchases during the weekend, compared to $301.27 last year. Clothing, toys and gift cards were among the top gifts purchased, per the trade group’s survey."

  • "While the NRF said that online shoppers grew at a slower pace year over year (an increase of 2%) compared to in-store retail (up 17%), the survey found that top destinations for shoppers during the period included online (42%), department stores (42%), grocery stores and supermarkets (40%), as well as clothing and accessories stores (36%)."

• Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) helped drive Cyber Monday spend to a record $11.3B

New launches, collabs & acquisitions

• Launched:

  • Designer Rebecca Taylor has launched a new line, A'court. Ecommerce site here

  • New jewelry line Cast Jewelry. I was able to check out their new store in Marin, CA and it is a fabulous jewel box and the jewelry is featured in the new season of White Lotus (which I'm obsessed with!)

  • H&M launched a new pop-up experience in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

  • Elyse Walker (LA Retailer) has opened up a new shop in NYC.

  • Farm Rio launches a bright, bold and graphic ski collection.

  • American Eagle said to be launching a men's line after testing to positive results.

  • Claire's is launching shop in shops inside Macy's stores. Luring in a younger crowd. 21 locations will be opening this month.

• Collabed:

  • Calling this a collab - and wow! It has been amazing to watch. Stylist Law Roach (known for working with Zendaya) is currently styling Lindsay Lohan for her comeback and it is fantastic.

  • Goop x Lacoste for the Royal Tenenbaum's vibe (see the Goop landing page here)

  • Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama plenty of polka dots, 450 piece collection, to be dropped over a couple of months - and more than a year and a half in the making.

  • Barbara Clarke Ruiz x Kohl's (for their Tek Gear line)

  • Adidas x Rimowa

  • Kendra Scott x Barbie

  • Milk Bar x Fruit of the Loom

  • Canada Goose x Reformation

  • Jimmy Choo x Timberland

  • Hill House Home collabs with W&P on kitchen items (a great way for HHH to get lower price points for the Holiday season and test a broader range of home items.)

• Acquired

  • Estée Lauder acquires Tom Ford

What else I ❤️️

• Are you into the permanent jewelry? It is certainly a trend. And if you are looking for a spot to get welded in upstate NY check out Lola.

• A Thing or Two Gift Guide Podcast episodes are my favorites. They have so many fabulous suggestions.

• Petite Plume's press working hard ahead of the holiday season. I loved hearing about Emily Hikade's, the founder, story (and time in the CIA!) from this WSJ article and this podcast episode from Second Life with Hillary Kerr.

• Ugg/Deckers Shoes knows the formula for launching an on trend style each year. Last year it was the Tazz Platform Slip on style and this year it is the Ulta Mini Platform Bootie. They ensure plenty of press by getting one "it style" on the tootsies of Models and Celebs and having them photographed wearing the shoes in street style paparazzi pics.

• Don't love this, but at least appreciate I'm not the only one disappointed with how Taylor Swift's Eras tour ticket sales were handled.

• Naomi Biden's wedding a the White House looked absolutely beautiful. Her wedding dress was Ralph Lauren.

• Vogue and Harpers Bazaar magazine sales. Oof. Don't love seeing this - actual magazines (not just digital) are still my favorite.

• Speaking of missing magazines, InStyle and the last editor in chief there, Laura Brown I really miss. This article from the NYTimes on Brown's next chapter made her sound like Fashion's best friend and I believe that.

• The RealReal and authenticating vintage luxury fashion.

• I love Holiday Store Windows in NYC. Found these articles to share the love - Fashionista's recap and behind the scenes of the major department stores and window planning on NYTimes.

• I think diet trends are just wild - as in "skinny is in." Bodies aren't trends. But I also think celebs in the spotlight should be more honest about the wild lengths and that it isn't just "eating really clean." This Vanity Fair article talks about the latest trend in skinny drug (really a pre-diabetes drug) Ozempic.

What's Next?

Nonstop holiday deals to get you shopping! What are you excited for this holiday season retail wise? I'm starting to look for the Pantone Color of the Year for 2023 - inspired by the Metaverse.

Thanks for reading Edition 123.
Sarah Shapiro