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Fashion chain Republic reported "record breaking" trading over Christmas with like-for-like sales up 11 per cent in the eight weeks to January 4.
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The Leeds-based company, which sells a mixture of branded and own-brand clothing, said total sales for the period climbed 23.6 per cent to £51.2m.
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Internet sales also showed strong growth, rising by 38.8 per cent over the eight week period.
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On a two-year basis, sales rose 46.6 per cent and like-for-like sales increased by 16.7 per cent.
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Margins were also ahead and Republic said its sale would end this Sunday, a week earlier than last year.
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Republic said that full year sales to January 31 would finish at in excess of £200m and EBITDA would be in excess of £30m.
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Chief executive Tim Whitworth said: "Without doubt, our Christmas trading performance capped another successful and record-breaking year for Republic."
Singapore-based footwear brand Charles & Keith has taken efforts to expand into new markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe via a partnership with DBS Bank.
"It may be unexpected, but then I've never gone by the book," says Charles Wong, co-founder and Managing Director of Charles & Keith. Together with his brother Keith Wong, Charles made the bold decision to transform his mother's shoe shop in Ang Mo Kio into a regional empire selling 3.3 million pairs of shoes annually around the world.
Over the years, supermodel Heidi Klum has walked miles of red carpet, usually in six-inch heels, often wearing very little, sometimes wearing giant wings. Add to that seven seasons of Project Runway, plus four kids, equals one very busy schedule. But there is no stopping this supermom. Heidi has just announced her collaboration with A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity to create two new maternity lines: LAVISH BY HEIDI KLUM for A Pea in the Pod, and LOVED BY HEIDI KLUM for Motherhood, both arriving in stores and online on February 12, 2010.
"I chose to call my collection for A Pea in the Pod Lavish because there is no grander name to express everything you want to give yourself and the child growing within you," said Heidi Klum. "For Motherhood Maternity, Loved is a celebration of new life and the love around you and your baby. I experienced fashion challenges during my four pregnancies and combined my knowledge of what works in terms of style, comfort and practicality to create these lines. They are all about making you feel beautiful; being pregnant shouldn't stop you from being fashionable and feeling great about your changing body. It's an exciting journey."
"Heidi brings with her a tremendous amount of creative energy," said Rebecca Matthias, President and Chief Creative Officer of A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity. "She lives and breathes fashion. Heidi's experience and stunning beauty add a new dimension to our brands. We were thrilled to have Heidi as a client through each of her beautiful pregnancies, so we are especially excited to continue our relationship with her in this design collaboration."
These two collections highlight Heidi's versatility as a designer. First deliveries of LAVISH BY HEIDI KLUM include 15 pieces which feature iconic style and detailed construction; a seamless fit with A Pea in the Pod's sophistication. First deliveries of LOVED BY HEIDI KLUM include 14 pieces that present comfort, playfulness, and supermodel style at the welcoming Motherhood price point.
Headsweats, the leader in performance driven headwear, announces the development of a new fabric called, Eventure Fabric, guaranteed to set new standards within the headwear market. Eventure Fabric is a proprietary woven material that wicks sweat, provides UV protection and is extremely lightweight. Headsweats’ new UltraLite Hat utilizes the attributes of Eventure Fabric with Headsweats’ proprietary Coolmax to provide unsurpassable performance. The center panel of the hat, comprised of Eventure Fabric, is ultra light and has significant UV protection where sun exposure is most extreme.
The side panels are constructed of Coolmax enabling enhanced breathability by transferring moisture rapidly to the outer layer of fabric. A new high-performance light weight headband inside the hat offers a blend of Coolmax knit and Coolmax terry to keep sweat out of user’s eyes and wick it off their brows. The total weight of the UltraLite Hat is 1.6 ounces.
The UltraLite Visor, also made of Eventure Fabric, weighs in at a mere 1.5 ounces thanks to the technology’s woven shell. The visor features an adjustable hook and loop back with a lower profile crown. Its internal sweatband has been updated with the light weight Coolmax headband for maximum comfort and better moisture transfer. “The trend in headwear is to create pieces that attribute to endurance apparel,” states Headsweats general manager, Kay Martin. “Our products have always been light weight and we continue to push the envelope with our new performance enhancing Eventure Fabric.”
These products, as well as all Headsweats products, are available for custom sublimation. Customization can also be done by embroidery or heat transfer. Retailers, athlete teams and clubs can proudly sport headwear that matches in branding and performance. Building on a collection of innovative, field-tested products, the new UltraLite Hat and the UltraLite Visor in the Eventure Fabric are available for spring 2010. Samples will be available to buyers and members of the media during the Winter 2010 Outdoor Retailer Trade Show.
These products and the complete collection can be previewed at Winter Outdoor Retailer, Headsweats booth 36137. About Headsweats Headsweats Perspiration Technology Headwear was founded in the winter of 1998 by shoe industry veteran and obsessed cyclist, Alan Romick.
A successful television and film actress, singer, writer, composer, and producer as well as mother of teenage twin boys Audrey Landers can now add fashion designer and style entrepreneur to her credits. Audrey and her mother and business partner Ruth Landers bring their passion for fashion and their decades of experience working with clothing designers, to the Landers STAR Collection.
During Audrey’s 30 year career in front of the camera with Ruth as her manager the duo collaborated with the designers in Hollywood, New York, Paris and Milan who were styling Audrey. Over the years they learned the secrets to accentuating one’s assets - - and camouflaging when necessary. With that insight and experience, along with their deep love of all things fashion and style, the Landers STAR Collection of women’s clothing was born.
The collection premiered on Home Shopping Europe in 2008 with great success. Ruth and Audrey appeared on air (speaking several languages) and had a fruitful year abroad adding to Audrey’s already established European stardom through her recording career and “Dallas” fame. They decided to bring the Landers STAR Collection home to the U.S. consumer, where it is now available at shopnbc.com. She often makes appearances on ShopNBC TV to present the collection live. The next show with Audrey and Ruth is Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 1:00 AM, 8:00 AM and 12 Noon (EST).
Audrey explains, “We want to create a wardrobe that flatters every shape and size. The collection transcends the generations it is ageless and timeless. Our designs are classic, extremely comfortable, easy-to-wash, and always include a touch of glamour.”
Ruth adds, “We add details of crystals, beads, and sequins -- just enough to give you that sparkle, to lift your spirits, and make you feel like a star. We know that if you look good, you feel good … and when you feel good, you look good. Every woman deserves that.”
Still best known to fans for her role as Afton Cooper for eight years on Dallas, Audrey Landers grew up in front of the camera in the 1970s on daytime television (Secret Storm, Somerset). Hundreds of primetime guest roles in the 1980s and 1990s followed (Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hotel, Murder She Wrote, etc.). She went on to star in the film A Chorus Line (1985) and on the daytime drama One Life to Live (1990). In 1995 with toddler boys at home, she wrote (47 episodes and 250 original songs) and performed in the children’s series, The Huggabug Club, produced by Ruth, which aired on public television for five years and continues to run on other stations today. In 2009 Audrey appeared in a recurring role on USA Network’s Burn Notice and in Fox Films Comedy remake, Bachelor Party.
While working in the U.S., she was breaking records in Europe as a singer and composer. She earned 10 gold singles, four gold albums and two platinum albums.
The clothing retailer H & M promised on Wednesday to stop destroying new, unworn clothing that it cannot sell at its store in Herald Square, and would instead donate the garments to charities.
The practice was discovered by Cynthia Magnus, a graduate student at the City University of New York, who found bags of unworn but mutilated clothing that had been thrown away by H & M on West 35th Street. She also found bags of new Wal-Mart garments with holes punched through them.
After Ms. Magnus wrote to H & M’s headquarters in Sweden and got no response, she contacted The New York Times. More slashed clothing was found Monday night on 35th Street and reported in the About New York column on Wednesday.
“It will not happen again,” said Nicole Christie, a spokeswoman for H & M in New York. “We are committed 100 percent to make sure this practice is not happening anywhere else, as it is not our standard practice.”
Ms. Christie said it was H & M’s policy to donate unworn clothing to charitable groups. She said that she did not know why the store on 34th Street was slashing the clothes, and that the company was checking to make sure that none of its other stores were doing so.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, said she had been unable to learn why new clothing with the store’s tags had been destroyed, but added that the company typically donated or recycled such items.
One charitable program, the New York Clothing Bank, was set up by the city when Edward I. Koch was mayor to accept unworn clothing and to protect the retailers from people who might use the donations to get store credit or undercut sales.
“I would welcome H & M, Wal-Mart and every enterprise that presently is destroying new clothing to call me immediately,” said Mary Lanning, chairwoman of the Clothing Bank.
TFL Holding GmbH has released its new “TFL Colour Trends” catalogue for the season Spring/Summer 2011. In the catalogue, TFL presents the colour trends for the leather garment, footwear, accessory and additionally for the upholstery industry.
The colour trends are divided into “Wearing” and “Living” dedicating each a section within the book. Wearing comprises inspirations and colour trends for garment, footwear and accessories whereas in the Living section all colours are presented that will decorate the season’s interior design.
In the “Living” section the topic is “the freshness of the sea”. New marine shades are developed on nubuk surfaces that are enhanced with the Scotchgard leather protector. In the bright shades of dyed wet-white, strong yellow, a lucent orange and light blue can be seen.
In the section “Wearing” a reference is made highly opaque vegetabilised leathers polished by wood. The Japanese “Raku” pottery shows new metal-pearl reflections in bronze-turquoise, copper-green, gold-clay and platinum-lilac.
Furthermore, in this edition some information about the “TFL COOL SYSTEM” is included. With COOL dyes, it is also possible to use more deep coloured leather articles in summer time.
Real Madrid defender said that he was confident that the lingerie line for women which the Spanish giants plan to launch would be a hit.
"I am sure that a club with so much history and such special fans will have supporters who will buy them," the 24-year-old told a news conference following a training session.
The slips and bras bearing Real's logo will be made by Hong Kong-based textile company Milanoo and they will hit store shelves in March alongside the souvenir jerseys, t-shirts and other club souvenirs already on offer.
Leaked photos of models wearing the lingerie were published in sports daily Marca on Wednesday and quickly circulated around the Internet.
"It is great. The girls are very pretty," the Portuguese added.
Growing revenues from merchandise sales combined with increasingly shrewd global marketing have made Real the world's largest revenue-generating club, according to an annual ranking compiled by business advisory firm Deloitte.
Real pushed Manchester United into second place in the annual Deloitte Football Money League in the 2008-09 season and has maintained the top place ever since.
The club's marketing revenues from sales of souvenir jerseys and other objects bearing Real's logo account for more than 100 million euros of its annual budget of over 400 million euros.
A silk exchange is being set up by the state government of Uttar Pradesh in Varanasi district, to develop the sector in the backward Purvanchal region. The exchange will be opened in the middle of 2010 which will facilitate the availability of silk to the traders and sari manufacturers at reasonable prices.
The exchange is estimated to cost around Rs. 0.15 billion, out of which 80 percent will be provided by the central government and rest will be borne by the state government. The ministry has already received Rs. 0.4 billion in funds to establish the project, which will be covered under National Agriculture Development Scheme, said a Minister.
Annual silk consumption of the state is approximately 5,000 tons, whereas its production in the state is just 50 tons. The state has 160 government farms for mulberry silk culture. Currently, majority of the silk trade is conducted in unorganized sector, but the commencement of this exchange would make trading more professional.
Moreover, it will check the smuggling of silk in the region and take steps to reduce the cost for silk traders and manufacturing units. There are two major industries in Purvanchal region- silk industry in Varanasi and carpet industry in Bhadohi district, and these two districts encompass thousands of micro, small and medium (MSME) enterprises, which manufacture, trade and export silk apparels and carpets.
At the initial stages, this silk exchange will cater to silk trade and later on to the raw material trade for the carpet industry, added the Minister.
Actress Anne Hathaway wearing a design by Marc Jacobs arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in New York, May 4, 2009.
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony on the South Lawn of the White House, October 13, 2009.
Actresses Rinko Kikuchi of Japan and Anna Mouglalis of France attend Chanel's 2009-2010 cruise collection fashion show at the Excelsior hotel on the Venice Lido, May 14, 2009.
David Beckham at the Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2009/10 men's show during Milan Fashion Week, January 18, 2009.
Nicole Ritchie and Alicia Keys watch the Zac Posen collection show at New York Fashion Week, February 19, 2009.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive on the red carpet for the screening of the film "Inglourious Basterds" at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, May 20, 2009.
Lady Gaga performs at the 2009 Wango Tango concert in Irvine, California May 9, 2009.
Spanish Princess Letizia and France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy prepare to pose for photographers before a luncheon at Zarzuela Palace outside Madrid, April 27, 2009.