The 280 billion euros ($320 billion) per year global luxury goods sector, already reeling from months of protests in the shopping hub of Hong Kong, was dealt a hammer blow earlier this year by the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China.

China accounts for just around 1% of the group's total revenue and Italy for 5%, the CEO said. Safilo's factory in China reopened on Feb. 10 and it is now running at 85% of its capacity, and no big problems occurred at plants in Italy.

Twelve tons of the gel will be produced as soon as this week.

Giorgio Armani has donated 2 million euros in recent weeks to hospitals around Italy.

Dior, which is also owned by LVMH, the world's biggest luxury goods group, has been making masks since the end of last month for hospital staff.

At its star Gucci label, which powers most of its profits, like-for-like sales were down 23.2% in the period, contrasting with a less pronounced 13.8% drop-off at Kering's Saint Laurent brand.

The offers are on luxury products such as watches, cars and shoes, just as many other players also join the ‘lockdown bandwagon’.

The drop in consumption by the world's second-biggest gold buyer could limit a rally in global prices.

We foresee a deferred demand. Most of the weddings in Q1 got pushed to Q3 or Q4 due to the lockdown. People may spend less money on destination weddings, clothes and other events around it. But we expect investment in jewellery for weddings, said Ajoy Chawla, CEO of Titan’s jewellery division.

Customers can purchase the precious metal from two grams upwards following which a gold ownership certificate would be sent to them on the day of Akshaya Tritiya based on the customer recommended platforms.

The revenue growth of organised gold jewellery retailers could halve to 5-6% (compound annual growth rate) in the current and next fiscals, compared with 12% in the preceding three fiscals, a CRISIL study of 44 such retailers it rates shows.

The lockdown has resulted in closure of retail stores across the country. Apart from this, there have been supply chain disruptions with restriction on movement of non-essential goods. While jewellery buying is generally spread throughout the year, it peaks during periods of Akshaya Tritiya, wedding and festival seasons as buying gold is considered culturally auspicious.

GJC chairman Anantha Padmanabhan said, “There may be some token booking for gold by individuals for amounts like Rs 5,000 or so. But there will be no big investments in gold as all the shops are closed. The drop in demand will be around 94%.”

Senco Gold & Diamonds is offering a discount on the gold rate. Sankar Sen, CMD of the Kolkata-based company, said the special Akshay Tritiya offer entails giving a discount of Rs 400 per gram on the gold rate during the offer period that runs from April 22-27.

"As we started getting a lot of enquires from our regular customers, we have started taking Akshay Tritiya bookings online from 21st April onwards on our e-commerce platforms. The same will be delivered to the customers post lockdown ends," Aditya Pethe, director, WHP Jewellers said.

Mr. Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division at Titan Company Limited said, "All 328 Tanishq stores remain shut this year and hence it would be unfair to compare numbers with last year. But the overall customer response to tanishq.co.in from key metros and even with tier-2 and tier-3 towns has been extremely encouraging.

The 49-year-old, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest last year, appeared before a UK court via videolink.

World's gold demand during the first quarter of 2019 stood at 1070.8 tonne, according to WGC's Q1 Gold Demand Trends report.

Brand Content Initiative

Datassette presents a series of mixes intended for listening while programming to aid concentration and increase productivity (also compatible with other activities).

The body has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state chief ministers to facilitate payement of wages to workers for these two months. GEMA president Vijay Jindal also sought intervention of Textile Minister Smriti Irani and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the matter.

Online retailers such as Myntra and Tjori have their consumer engagement teams working on to engage their customers till the time the lockdown eases. Others such as fashion brand Anita Dongre are brainstorming changes in consumer behaviour and how to keep them engaged online till the time stores become fully operational.

Once markets are reopened, the industry would also be braving a changing consumer spending behavior and capacity. There could be a major lag before sales begin to pick up. Fashion as a commodity is also perishable. It may be very difficult to sell the loaded inventories in warehouses, and heavy discounts would not be an attractive option at a time of slim profit margins.

The annual index by advocacy group Fashion Revolution - now in its fifth year - ranked 250 of the world's biggest brands according to how much information they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and outcomes.

It is a tough time for apparel retailers who are looking at zero offline revenues and a steep drop in online sales. The latest dress or the pair of khakis may not be able to save them.

In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, he said the council members could not clear the shipments on time because of lack of documents, "therefore, demurrage waiver may please be granted starting from March 1 till the time lockdown continues".

"We have to accept coronavirus as part of life. If we don't open factories, there will be economic crisis," said Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice president Mohammad Hatem.

The New York-based chain, known for preppy clothing at times worn by former first lady Michelle Obama, filed for bankruptcy in a Virginia federal court with an agreement to eliminate its roughly $1.65 billion of debt in exchange for ceding ownership to creditors.

International brands have begun sharing prototypes of fashion masks in cotton and blends with Indian suppliers who are awaiting a nod from the Centre to export non-surgical masks.

H&M warned on April 3 it would make its first quarterly loss in many decades in March-May, its fiscal second quarter.

H&M, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, said local currency sales had tumbled 57% in the March 1-May 6 period, while online sales grew almost a third.

Several apparel makers and fast-moving consumer goods companies had earlier stepped up to produce medical-grade masks as a philanthropic act when Covid-19 struck but now it is apparent that the pandemic is set to alter lifestyles for at least some time to come.

Kickended by Silvio Lorusso is online database artwork archiving the Kickstarted campaigns that got not even a single penny. This competitive aesthetics of failure has been able to attract the attention of major national newspapers (from the British “The Guardian” →

YesNo by Timo Kahlen feels like “traditional” net art, a well crafted stuck webpage for the user’s aural and clickable enjoyment.

Sometimes the online world reveals unsuspected parallel dimensions. This is an unknown restyle of Neural independently (and secretly as we never knew about it) made by NY-based Motion and Graphic Designer, Clarke Blackham. Very nicely made, perhaps only a bit →

The Indian unit of Unicharm Corporation has moved within striking distance of market leader Procter & Gamble in the Indian diaper market.

Omni-channel kids wear retailer Toonz Retail India has announced a partnership with Tariq Albassami Group for entering the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

Timmy Sarna, CEO at DLF Brands, said the company has made Kidskart dormant since it wants to focus on brick and mortar retail which is the key focus area.

Malaysian kidswear brand Poney is waxing optimistic about India. But will it and other brands in the space succeed where so many have failed before?

The shift in preferences from gender-specific colours and home-grown labels to branded outfits has led to a phenomenal growth in kids’ clothing in India.

In the past five years there have been a lot of changes in the mentioned segment including preference for branded kids’ apparel.

612 League sells its products through 48 EBOs and 450 points of sales across the country. "We will also increase our points of sales to 800 in 4 years," he said.

Concept Group, one of Russia’s leading fashion retailers, creates collections and sells women’s clothing, accessories as well as children’s wear through its own retail stores.

Fashion e-commerce platform Voonik on Monday announced its foray into kids wear segment.

It is alleged that the company and its officials fabricated balance sheets to avail a loan which was not repaid to the bank, they said.

The company, one of the largest in its space, sells just about everything a child and a new mother needs - apparel, footwear, toys, books, feeding & nursing products, soaps, oils, powders, baby monitors, strollers and baby bedding.

Until late Sunday, only a handful of states including UP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Odisha, Delhi and Uttarakhand issued notifications on the lines of MHA’s Friday order.

Amazon’s India unit has contracted 2 million sq ft while Walmart-backed Flipkart has contracted 1 million sq ft across Bengaluru, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Coimbatore, said multiple persons aware of the development.

The funding comes at a time when the company’s sales and margins have doubled, compared to the same period last year.

They also suggested that the levy should not be imposed on services or goods that are executed online but delivered offline – for instance, online hotel bookings, air ticketing and even heavily regulated financial services – besides seeking a clear definition of what comprises online sale of goods, services and the digital or electronic platform.