Boohoo chief summoned to US court to explain ‘fake’ sales promotions claim July 31, 2021 The head of online fashion retailer Boohoo has been summoned to give evidence in a US court over allegations that the company promoted fake sales to attract customers. Mahmud Kamani will give evidence to a Los Angeles court remotely on or before 15 August in a four-hour deposition. Boohoo is accused of tricking customers into [...]
Meet Shein: The secretive Chinese fast-fashion firm taking over online retail July 27, 2021 Taking the Tube at the minute can still, at times, feel like time travel. Around you are slightly tattered posters for theatre productions that haven’t been on stage for more than a year; ads for movies touted for cinema release that ended up quietly released to Netflix with little fanfare. Amongst these relics of a [...]
Boohoo to bolster Debenhams stores and e-commerce sites in the Middle East July 14, 2021 Boohoo, which bought Debenhams for £55m, has partnered with the Alshaya group to bolster the ex-high street staple’s presence in the Middle East. Kuwait-based Alshaya, which currently run Debenhams stores in shopping malls, will have exclusive rights to operate the Debenhams stores and local e-commerce sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and [...]
Philip Green’s wife Tina paid £50m by Topshop administrators July 7, 2021 Tina Green, the wife of former retail tycoon Philip Green, received £50m in May from Topshop’s administration. The £50m was lent to Topshop as part of an emergency restructuring in 2019 and secured against a warehouse in Northamptonshire. In the wake of the collapse of parent company Arcadia, the space was sold for £83m, the [...]
Second-hand market ripens as China’s $3bn platform plots US IPO July 5, 2021 Tencent-backed online second-hand marketplace Beijing Zhuanzhuan Spirit Technology (BZST) is plotting a $400m funding round ahead of an initial public offering, according to reports. BZST, currently valued at $3bn, is trying to gauge interest from private equity and strategic investors, Bloomberg first reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The second-hand retailer is eyeing a [...]
Investors should have a duty to investigate links to modern slavery June 25, 2021 While slavery might sound like an egregious crime of the past it is still commonplace in modern society. It is a crime that exploits and dehumanises individuals and sees them as property to be bought, sold or traded. While it is prevalent, it is not public, and across the world acts of modern slavery take [...]
Boohoo’s Carol Kane staves off investor revolt at AGM to win overwhelming shareholder backing June 18, 2021 Boohoo co-founder Carol Kane has avoided a feared investor revolt to oust her as a director today, instead winning overwhelming shareholder support. Some 88 per cent of Boohoo shareholders voted in favour of Kane continuing in her role as an executive director at the company at today’s general meeting. Prior to the AGM, there were [...]
Road to recovery: FTSE 100 closes at highest point since the start of the pandemic June 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 has returned to its highest point since the start of the Covid-19 crash that wiped hundreds of billions of pounds off the index last year. The market ticked back up to 7,172.48 after gaining another 25.8 points on Tuesday, a 0.4 per cent rise. It means that the index is currently at [...]
Boohoo takes tough stance on suppliers following Leicester factory scandal June 15, 2021 Boohoo has taken a tough stance with its suppliers that includes removing them from the online retailer’s supply chain list if an alert is raised about them. Boohoo has set up a sub-committee of its Supply Chain Compliance Committee that will focus on the financial practices of the businesses and now requires suppliers to have [...]
Fossil fuel fashion: half of clothing made from non-recycled plastic, think tank says June 11, 2021 Half of fast-fashion items sold by online brands like Boohoo and Missguided, are made solely from non-recycled plastics, a think-tank has said today. Think tank Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) urged the government to impose a new tax on such clothing made from non-recycled plastic like polyester. Income from the suggested clothing [...]