Hello TT Fans! Welcome to our new mid-week headlines round up. As your work week drags on, we hope to provide a few more anecdotes for the water cooler, those dry happy hours and the commute home. Don’t worry, this format is not replacing our weekend edition, we’ll just be sprinkling in some bonus content during week, schedule/Noemi permitting. Enjoy!
Happenings…
GQ has an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the new Bode x Nike Astro Grabber. Simone Rocha x Crocs was gone in an instant. Zendaya wore Marc Jacobs-era LV to the Paris premier of Challengers. Yeti opened a massive boutique in NYC’s Flatiron district.
Adweek: How Hodinkee’s Big Bet on a Watch Business Backfired
Leading watch editorial site Hodinkee acquired pre-owned watch shop Crown & Caliber with big plans to expand into e-commerce. Things have not gone as planned, with multiple rounds of layoffs and a failed opening of a retail outpost in Soho. Pre-owned watch margins are razor thin, much thinner than apparel or footwear/accessories, and online retail is very difficult and extremely competitive. After a rough few years, according to Hodinkee founder Ben Clymer, they ended 2024 Q1 with a profit.
SSENSE: THE 2024 TREND REPORT
The influential Montreal e-commerce site released their 2024 trend report, noting Old Masters, Anime Kings, Oui-Haw, Montecito GF/Melrose BF and Watercool Chic. (The report was also seemingly sponsored by Klarna.) We will never, ever get tired of reading a trend report. Hard to compile, fascinating to read, they are amazing snapshots of the rapidly evolving retail world.
BOF: Puig IPO Priced at $2.5B EUR
The 110 year old family conglomerate, which owns brands like Dries Van Noten, Paco Rabanne & Byredo, is going the route of Hermes, LVMH and Kering and going public. The family will continue to own a supermajority of voting shares, which will allow them to retain control while raising funds for further investment. Expect further retail expansion from its wholly-owned brands, and further scrutiny on the smaller fragrance-licensing side of its business. And perhaps a further shopping spree, as it seeks to expand its portfolio to compete with the larger European luxury conglomerates.
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