Skechers makes soccer foray with first-ever football boots
Victoria ’ s Secret into the red after sales slump
Ann Taylor , Loft and Talbots merge into new apparel group KnitWell
NEWS
Skechers makes soccer foray with first-ever football boots
LA-based footwear brand Skechers has launched its first-ever line of football boots and tapped English captain and superstar striker Harry Kane , now playing for FC Bayern Munich , to promote them in a multimedia marketing campaign .
Dubbed SKX _ 01 , the boots have reportedly been in the works for some time , and they are just the beginning of Skechers ’ foray into the roughly $ 20 billion global soccer shoes market , which is currently dominated by the likes of Nike , Adidas and Puma .
“ This first boot is just the beginning with more innovative Skechers Football boots featuring our signature comfort and performance technologies on the way ,” Skechers ’ president Michael Greenberg said .
The boots are available for sale on Skechers ’ e-commerce sites in the UK and Germany , as well as in select Skechers stores and specialty football retailers in the UK and across Europe .
Kane , who has signed a global lifetime deal with Skechers , said that the brand was “ onto something special ” with SKX _ 01 .
“ I ’ ve been wearing the boots for weeks , scoring in them in preseason . They ’ re unlike anything I ’ ve experienced before ,” he said . “ I wouldn ’ t back a brand or gear if I didn ’ t 100 percent believe in it . This is the real deal .”
Victoria ’ s Secret into the red after sales slump
Victoria ’ s Secret has recorded a secondquarter loss of $ 1 million in what one analyst described as “ dismal results ” reflecting a “ muddled and confused ” brand reinvention .
The worst-performing business segment was its North American physical stores , where sales fell by 15.6 percent , the primary contributor to an 11.6 percent overall decline over the past two years . Sales for the three months to June 30 were $ 1.427 billion .
“ Although the numbers from Victoria ’ s Secret were broadly aligned with guidance , these are nonetheless dismal results ,” observed Neil Saunders , MD of GlobalData .
“ Management bemoans the softness in the wider market , particularly for stores . This is presumably to justify the 15.6 percent erosion in sales at the company ’ s North American physical shops . However , we do not buy this . Footfall in malls and other locations where Victoria ’ s Secret is located is coming back , and other retailers are seeing store sales hold up well . There certainly hasn ’ t been a decline of anything near the 15 percent level in terms of physical
spending on apparel or intimate products .”
The fashion label ’ s loss follows a healthy profit last year of $ 70 million . Operating income plunged from $ 98 million in the second quarter of 2022 to $ 26 million in the latest quarter .
“ Basically , all the metrics are going firmly in the wrong direction – and the core business is performing even worse than the headlines suggest as the figures include the acquired and growing Adore Me business , as well as beauty sales which remain strong ,” said Saunders .
Despite the bleak second-quarter figures , CEO Martin Waters said the company entered the third quarter with “ relatively lean inventory levels ” and sales from August were encouraging .
“ The teams have been working tirelessly on multiple growth initiatives designed to change our sales trends in the third quarter and the all-important holiday season .”
Analyzing the results , Saunders said the brand ’ s poor performance in Q2 was largely due to the weak nature of its position and proposition .
“ In our view , the brand reinvention – which is both sensible and needed – has become muddled and confused ,” he said .
“ Victoria ’ s Secret seems to jump back and forth between trying to become a more genuine and authentic brand and going back to its roots of selling with sultry images and marketing . We attribute this schizophrenia to a lack of confidence in staying the course in reinventing the brand , especially as management reverts to past form in a bid to boost sales and results , even if temporarily . In short , we think Victoria ’ s Secret has a partially formed view of what it does not want to be , but it does not yet have anywhere near a full view of what it wants to become .”
Ann Taylor , Loft and Talbots merge into new apparel group KnitWell
American apparel brands Ann Taylor , Loft , and Talbots have merged into a new group , Knitwell . Combined , these companies generate more than $ 3 billion in annual sales .
Steering this new venture , Lizanne Kindler , Talbots ’ s current CEO has been appointed executive chair and CEO of KnitWell Group . She will be supported by a team of executives within the office of the executive chair .
Each brand will also be supported by a team of senior leaders , all dedicated to meeting the unique demands of its customer base .
“ KnitWell is a collection of powerful brands that , in the aggregate , have been providing customers with the fashions they want for nearly 300 years ,” said Kindler .
“ Our operational structure is rooted in this connection . By uniting brands and people , we enhance our resource pool , achieve economies of scale , and deliver enhanced value .”
Stefan Kaluzny , MD of Sycamore Partners , the private equity owner of the businesses , underlined the success achieved by Kindler and her team in revitalizing the brands .
“ Over the last decade , Lizanne and her team have impressively revived and expanded these renowned American brands ,” remarked Kaluzny .
“ The consistent and focused approach they ’ ve employed , built upon a replicable playbook , is laying the groundwork for the current KnitWell portfolio and potential future additions .” The new company said it will continue to extend its shared services to Lane Bryant , a plus – size women ’ s apparel brand .
10 www . insideretail . us September 2023