The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The author has shared a YouTube video.
You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future.
Created by BoF’s journalists and editors, in conjunction with our wider network of leading fashion creatives, thought-leaders, and innovators, Masterclasses are in-depth webinars with supporting resources, designed to deliver key learning outcomes on critical industry topics.
During the pandemic, brands were able to break their years-long cycle of endless discounts as they pulled back on ordering and decreased their overstock. However, as demand came roaring back in 2021, so did old habits. Now, according to BoF retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen, the author of BoF’s case study “The Complete Guide to Managing Markdowns,” retailers have lost that markdown discipline due to a lack of inventory management.
“What happens when you have too much inventory?” Chen asked. “You have sales.”
In this Masterclass, Chen is joined by BoF deputy editor Brian Baskin, Adam Cochrane, a general retail and luxury equity research analyst and Deutsche Bank partner Kelly Pedersen to discuss when retailers should implement markdowns, how to change consumer perceptions around discounts and more.
Exclusive to BoF Professional members.
After avoiding markdowns for much of the last two years, many brands returned to their old ways this holiday season. Are discounts a necessary evil?
All three companies have embraced a busy, garish design that’s popular in China and ideally calibrated to sell plenty of low-cost products. Will the same be true as these companies attempt to move upmarket?
The South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang has saved Farfetch from potential bankruptcy, and could use its logistical and marketing might to solve some of the luxury e-tailer’s seemingly intractable problems. But “everything stores” have a spotty track record when it comes to high-end retail.
Return rates are set to soar this holiday, despite slower sales growth, putting brands’ returns management playbooks to the ultimate test.
The deal provides the online luxury giant with $500 million in emergency funding. A complex transaction that would have seen Farfetch acquire a 47.5 percent stake in Yoox-Net-a-Porter from Richemont is dead.