Fashion

Birkenstock IPO

Hippy style Birkenstock speed marches into an IPO. What does its flagship Tokyo store reveal about its growth strategy?

According to Bloomberg, bohemian German shoe brand Birkenstock will IPO shortly for around $8b.  If all goes to plan it’s almost double what PE Group L Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault shelled out when acquiring the business just over 2 years ago. What’s driving such a rapid rise in Birkenstock’s fortunes? To start with Birkenstocks …

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Love the look! Korea’s best selling fashion unicorn Musinsa eyes global stardom

Musinsa is a Korean ecommerce unicorn that runs an online shopping mall, a fashion magazine and invests behind young designers who want to enter the fashion industry. Its gross sales are said to exceed Won 2.3T ($1.8b) In Korea there are a range of EC platforms, all competing on the same turf, including Bungaejanter, Karrot …

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’60s rebel child Dr Martens stomps its footprint worldwide; a psychedelic punk pivoted by private equity

Made famous by Pete Townsend of the Who, who famously wore Dr Martens on stage when rebelling against flower power fashion and the flamboyant colours of the psychedelic era. The dark, drab boots were originally conceived in the late 1940s, and sold primarily to Britain’s working classes. Today the brand tries hard to stick to …

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Fashion icon SuperDry bets big on Oxford Street whilst secretly battling another trademark rival

SuperDry is the tale of a British company that masquerades as a Japanese icon. It is ironical that for those of us who live in Japan, there are no SuperDry clothing stores. Founded by an entrepreneur who took a liking to Asahi SuperDry, the brand leverages SuperDry’s image and is especially popular in western markets. …

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Photo FreeStocks

High profile Rent-the-Runway IPOs. Is it the pin-up for Do Good capitalism?

Rent-the-Runway subscribers can browse luxury fashion online and rent attire. Its accessories, handbags and jewellery come from over 750 designer brands.  The business meets a consumer need of wanting ‘new’ styles and since the goods are returned after a month, is arguably more responsible environmentally. The company was founded in 2008 and has around 120,000 …

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Once seen as a broken-IPO, Stitch Fix’s data science saves the day

Unless you live in the US or the UK you may not know StitchFix. It is an online apparel retailer with revenue exceeding $2.1b. Its USP is data science. StitchFix employs over 140 modellers who pour over a client’s clothing preferences to recommend five items that “fix” neatly into a box. On sign up, customers …

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