Product Sourcing
October 19, 2015 at 11:01 am
Business executives from global clothing giants H&M, Inditex and Gap have canceled trips to Dhaka this month after the killings of two foreigners, industry sources said, causing anxiety for Bangladesh's $25 billion garment export sector. Bangladeshi suppliers to the world's top brands said they didn't expect the disruptions to hurt their orders for the year-end Christmas…
October 12, 2015 at 11:37 am
Fur will be flying. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is hopping mad at hipster retailer Urban Outfitters and its Free People clothing brand for selling sweaters, hats and dresses made from angora rabbit fur. The group is launching a campaign Monday targeting Free People and highlighting the cruelty it says is inflicted on rabbits…
October 7, 2015 at 11:09 am
Whole Foods will stop selling products made using a prison labor program after a protest at one of its stores in Texas. The company said the products should be out of its stores by April 2016, if not sooner. Whole Foods said it has sold tilapia, trout and goat cheese produced through a Colorado inmate program…
October 6, 2015 at 12:24 pm
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Taobao shopping website should be put back on the U.S. government’s “Notorious Markets” list for failing to stop the sales of fakes, according to a group representing U.S. clothing makers. Taobao is synonymous with counterfeits and has been unwilling to make serious reform since it was removed from the list in 2012,…
October 5, 2015 at 11:58 am
By going direct to consumer, luxury bedding brand Boll & Branch has been able to keep its prices competitive without sacrificing the quality on which the brand has built its reputation (its products are made with certified organic cotton). In this episode of Total Retail Talks, Scott Tannen, co-founder and CEO of Boll & Branch,…
September 15, 2015 at 6:32 pm
Etsy is adding more manufacturers to its artisanal crafting platform. The company announced Monday that it's creating a manufacturing marketplace that connects third-party manufacturers with its sellers. Since 2013, Etsy has allowed select sellers to work with outside manufacturers, but this move expands the partnerships. Etsy said manufacturers will be able to apply to be part of the…
September 8, 2015 at 10:07 am
H&M, Europe’s second-largest clothing retailer, is rolling out a more generous compensation program for its Asian suppliers to improve factory conditions and combat unrest in the countries that produce the majority of its apparel. The Swedish retailer, which has 3,649 stores across 59 markets, is introducing a “fair wage method” to 68 factories in China, Cambodia…
July 23, 2015 at 2:41 pm
Fresh off of her victory against Apple Inc., Taylor Swift is taking on an even more ambitious challenge: conquering China. The singer is teaming up with JD.com Inc., the second-largest e-commerce company in China, to sell a new fashion line designed specifically for Chinese shoppers. Dresses, sweatshirts and other tops will be available in August…
June 30, 2015 at 2:11 pm
America’s largest retailer was doing something very un-American. Wal-Mart has been selling products online that claim to be made in the USA when in fact they're not. After it was threatened with a potential probe by the Federal Trade Commission, Wal-Mart said that it has a problem with its website design. Truth in Advertising, a…
June 16, 2015 at 2:59 pm
M.Fredric is a California-based apparel retailer that sells its products via nine brick-and-mortar stores and an e-commerce website. Like many omnichannel brands, managing inventory levels in real time to prevent out-of-stocks and overstocks was a challenge for M.Fredric. In addition, a lack of real-time sales data meant buying decisions were delayed, a serious inhibitor for…
