All Shoe Intelligence articles in Volume 26, Issue 19+20 – Page 3
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Article
Next lifts guidance again as overseas sales boost H1 profits
Next has lifted its annual profit guidance for the second time in two months to almost £1 billion (€1.2bn) thanks to a sharp jump in overseas sales in the first half of its financial year and strong trading in recent weeks. The British fashion retailer raised forecasts for full-year pre-tax ...
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News briefs
Shoes Düsseldorf moves dates forward
The German trade fair organizer Igedo has rescheduled its Shoes Düsseldorf trade fair, held at the Areal Böhler, to an earlier date. The footwear fair will now be held from Feb. 2 to 5, 2025, instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 23-25, moving it forward by four weeks compared ...
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News briefs
Bernd Hummel closes a shoe factory in Germany
The German footwear manufacturer Bernd Hummel, the licensee of the Kangaroos label and owner of the Flip Flop brand, will halt production at its plant in Münchweiler, near Pirmasens, by the end of the year. The entrepreneur Bernd Hummel acquired the facility in 2012 from the bankruptcy estate of ...
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News briefs
Kybun Joya appoints new COO to drive expansion
The Swiss comfort shoes manufacturer Kybun Joya is bolstering its management team with the appointment of a new chief operating officer. Steffen Breitschwerdt, 45, who previously held various management roles at Strellson, Joop!, Windsor and Philipp Plein, joined the company in August. The appointment of Breitschwerdt, who brings more ...
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Article
Micam attracts 40,950 visitors
The trade shows Micam Milano, Milano Fashion&Jewels, Mipel and The One Milano attracted 40,950 visitors, 55 percent of whom came from Italy and the remaining 45 percent from 140 countries. The largest number of visitors from European countries stemmed from Spain, Germany and France. ”The results from North America were ...
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News briefs
Austrian shoe retailer Shoe4You opens four stores in Upper Austria
The Austrian shoe retailer Shoe4You is expanding its footprint in Upper Austria with the opening of four new stores in Wels, Schlüßlberg, Rohrbach and Bad Ischl. “With these new openings, we are expanding our accessibility and getting closer to our customers in Upper Austria, strengthening our market presence in ...
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News briefs
Demand for luxury goods to remain under pressure due to China
Consumer discretionary categories such as jewelry, beauty, apparel and footwear are expected to remain under pressure due to ongoing weakness in Chinese consumption, Deutsche Bank Research said in a note. The bank forecasts China’s retail sales to grow by 4.1 percent in 2024 and by 5.0 percent in 2025.
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Article
Wourth Group buys Peter Hahn
The UK-based omnichannel retailer Wourth Group has acquired the German clothing firm Peter Hahn out of administration for an undisclosed sum. Peter Hahn is a household name in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands and sells mostly clothing and shoes under both its own and third-party brands. Wourth, ...
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Article
Ganka sells Bama brand rights for Europe to Polish company Kaps
The Polish company Kaps has secured the rights to the shoe care products and insoles brand Bama in Europe and Asia. The Canadian outdoor specialist, Ganka Group, which acquired the insolvent company’s trademark rights in June 2024, has struck a deal with the family business to transfer the Bama ...
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News briefs
Zegna’s organic sales slip in H1
In the first half of 2024, Ermenegildo Zegna’s revenues rose by 6 percent to €960.1 million. At constant currency rates, the top line rose by 8 percent while organic revenues dropped by 2.7 percent. The gross profit margin widened to 66.4 percent from 64.2 percent a year earlier. However, ...
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News briefs
THG to demerge its technology business
THG is looking into the option of demerging its technology services arm, THG Ingenuity, as the British e-commerce group looks to focus on its cash generative businesses. “After extensive discussions with shareholders over the past 12 months, THG is progressing options to demerge THG Ingenuity, leaving our highly profitable and ...
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Article
Unflock launches a crowd funding campaign for its sneaker cover
The Italian startup Unflock launched on Sept. 15 a crowdfunding campaign through the Kickstarter platform to raise €42,000 to finance the launch of a cover to protect and personalize the soles of sneakers. Inspired by the “simplicity and functionality of smartphone covers” Unflock’s sole cover aims to reduce the replacement ...
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Article
Rendez-Vous adds fruit and vegetables to its product range
Rendez-Vous, a leading Russian footwear retailer, is offering customers the opportunity to complement their online orders with fruit and vegetables produced at the company’s organic farm in Krasnodar Krai. Launched in February 2024, the project seems to be gradually paying off. Rendez-Vous set up the farm in 2020 as part ...
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Article
Italian footwear production continues to decline
In the second quarter of 2024, revenues of Italian footwear manufacturers fell by 8.0 percent year-on-year, slightly worse than previously anticipated and confirming the decline seen in the first three months of the year. In the first quarter, revenues contracted by 10.1 percent year-on-year, while production decreased by 20.5 percent. ...
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News briefs
US footwear prices decline in August
In August 2024, the price of shoes declined in the US for the first time in a year, driven by women’s and children’s footwear, according to Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA). Overall, footwear prices fell by 0.9 percent from a year earlier, with the prices of men’s shoes ...
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Article
Caleres unveils cost-cutting measures, lowers guidance after falls short in Q2
Caleres said it was accelerating cost-cutting measures and cutting guidance for its full fiscal year, after missing sales and earnings guidance in the second quarter ended Aug. 3. Second-quarter sales slipped by 1.8 percent compared to the year earlier to $683.3 million, a decline that was attributed to a fall ...
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News briefs
US to plug trade loophole on low-value China shipments
The US government said it was taking steps to protect “American consumers, workers and businesses” from the “overuse and abuse” of a trade law that allows low-value shipments to come into the US without paying import duties and taxes. The so-called “de minimis” loophole allows shipments worth less than $800 ...
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Article
Skechers sues Rockport for alleged patent infringement
Skechers filed a lawsuit on Sept. 4 in the Southern District of New York, accusing Rockport, its parent company, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), and its licensee, Marc Fisher Footwear, of selling shoes that allegedly infringe on its slip-in technology. “Rockport shoes infringe Skechers’ utility patent claims protecting innovations associated with ...
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News briefs
China to gradually increase the retirement age
China’s lawmakers have approved a proposal to gradually increase the retirement age, the news agency Xinhua reported. The legal retirement age will be increased from 60 to 63 years for men and to 55 from 50, or from 55 to 58 based on one’s employment, for women. The increase of ...
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Article
Designer Brands cuts guidance as dress, seasonal footwear suffer
Designer Brands said it was cutting its sales and earnings guidance for the full year after posting worse-than-expected results in its second quarter ended Aug. 3, as the outperformance of its growing athleisure offering was not enough to offset difficulties with dress and seasonal footwear. The company, which owns the ...