Daily Links: March 7, 2023

1. US corporate bankruptcy filings hit 12-year high in first 2 months of 2023: The high monthly bankruptcy counts in 2023 follow a historically slow year in 2022. Many bankers and analysts expect a downturn in the economy in 2023 that may prompt additional bankruptcy filings. – Read More on S&P Global

2. Permira studying Gruppo Florence’s books for possible buy: Gruppo Florence, a hub of Italian clothing manufacturers that supply top luxury brands, has given private equity firm Permira access to its books to facilitate a potential sale. – Read More on Reuters

3. ENTERPRISE READ: Fashion Supply Chain Investment and M&A Tracker. We have compiled a tracker of supply-focused investments and M&A events to provide a broad overview of which players are fundraising, merging, and how the trajectory of this segment of the market evolves over time. – Read More on TFL

4. Jack Daniel’s trademark court case poses a danger to free expression: “The dispute obscures a perhaps more interesting question: Why is this even a trademark law issue in the first place? Jack Daniel’s makes whiskey, not chew toys. Nobody is going to accidentally buy a chew toy when what they really want is a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, unless, perhaps, they have already had a shot too many.” – Read More on Chicago Tribune

5. Shoppers Are Cooling on Luxury Purchases, Saks Fifth Ave Says: Sixty-two percent of respondents to the survey said they are planning to spend the same or more on luxury goods compared with the previous three months. That’s down from 68% in September. – Read More on Bloomberg

6. Shein’s lead under fire as Chinese-owned Temu tops US charts: Temu views Shein as its biggest rival in the near-term, but the firm, which sells anything from clothes to kitchen supplies, is ultimately aiming to take on global behemoths Amazon.com Inc. and eBay. – Read More on Economic Times

7. For female VCs, bias is a branding issue: More women in venture means that bias and strategic branding are increasingly relevant for a larger fraction of check-writers. – Read More on TechCrunch