Daily LInks
1. Online Sales Exploded in 2020 – but Mostly for Retail Giants: Well-known brands like Amazon and Walmart won big last year, as consumers who were new to online retail largely turned to familiar, big-name brands, and larger companies were better able to handle supply chain and shipping issues that arose during the pandemic. – Read More on Inc.
2. India’s Covid crisis has ripple effects for garment industry worldwide: India makes up about 16 percent of textile imports to the U.S. and about 5 percent of apparel and accessories. While the country constitutes a smaller fraction of imports as compared to China, it still plays a significant role in certain sectors, including raw gems, which makes it difficult to move supply chains outside the country. – Read More on NBC
3. As people move out of big cities, fashion retail follows: “This is potentially one of the most significant dispersions of income, wealth and economic opportunity and economic activity in modern history. I really can’t emphasize it enough.” – Read More on Fashionista
4. RELATED READ: The RealReal Says Apparel Sales Are Growing, as Consumers “Revision” Their Wardrobes Post-COVID. TRR has seen a “bit of a geo shift” outside of New York City and Los Angeles – which accounted for about 40 percent of TRR’s supply units pre-pandemic – with “people in Connecticut, New Jersey, and even Long Island being a little bit more active than people in Manhattan,” which could reflect an enduring exodus from cities across the U.S. – Read More on TFL
5. Most startups spend way too much on branding: Startups that invest in branding too early can end up with a muddled design or one that doesn’t quite work for the long haul because they’ve skipped the step of fine-tuning their strategy. – Read More on Fast Co.
6. Lines between men’s and women’s fashion are blurring as more retailers embrace gender-fluid style: “Retailers and brands should be looking at gender-fluid apparel as an opportunity. It absolutely can’t be ignored. It will definitely be impacting the fashion trends of the future. And the retailers and brands that are doing it now are really going to be ahead of the curve.” – Read More on CNBC
