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PRShots Digest brings you the latest retail news from H&M, Mulberry, Topps Tiles, M&S, Kurt Geiger, Lacoste, Primark, Karen Millen, Van de Velde. Plus articles on how to succeed in a permacrisis, what does Black Friday mean for Christmas, what to learn from Balenciaga’s PR crises and more.
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THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS
H&M to cut 1,500 jobs to reduce costs
H&M will cut 1,500 jobs (around 1% of its global workforce) as part of its cost-cutting program in Q4. Group's net sales for Q3 were up 3% €5.38bn but net profit was down to €49m.
Mulberry swings to half-year loss
Mulberry half year to 1 Oct saw sales down 1% to £64.9m with a pre-tax loss £3.8m down from £10.2m profit in 2021, however it reported an improving trend in revenue in the 8 weeks to 26 Nov.
Topps Tiles reports second year of record revenues
Topps Tiles has reported its second consecutive record year of revenue with an 8.4% increase to £274.2m with adjusted profit before tax of £15.6m up from £15m in 2021.
Strong Cyber Monday means overall online uplift for Black Friday weekend
Cyber Monday saw UK retailers’ online revenues rising 16.3% year-on-year and followed a 2.3% rise in online revenues over Black Friday and the weekend.
UK clothing firms holding 57% more stock
Clothing and fashion manufacturers saw the seventh biggest increase in stock on hand levels, with current stock levels up 57% on pre-pandemic levels.
‘Bleak winter’ ahead as inflationary shop prices break new records
Shop price inflation accelerated to 7.4% in November, up from 6.6% in October, according to the BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index a record for inflation since the index started in 2005.
Retail has recovered in London’s west end
Landlord Shaftesbury, which owns around 600 buildings in London’s west end, says the capital has recovered from the pandemic as clients report sales 6 % ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
TRENDS, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
How to succeed in a permacrisis – five winning strategies for 2023
For its word of the year in 2022, the Collins English Dictionary has selected permacrisis – a term that defines “an extended period of instability and uncertainty”.
What does shopper behaviour on Black Friday mean for Christmas?
From surprisingly strong in-store results to the rise of the indies, shopper behaviour this Black Friday has produced some key lessons for retailers ahead of Christmas
What to learn from Balenciaga’s PR crisis
Outrageous ads and stunts are nothing new. While apologies pop up here and there, the social media set moves on pretty quickly to the next topic du jour.
Elon Musk's recent changes to Twitter are causing many users to abandon the app. Here is a list of platforms retailers might explore for future marketing.
M&S buys Thread’s tech to ramp up personalisation
M&S has acquired the tech behind AI fashion personalisation website Thread after it went into administration. The tech will allow M&S to recommend clothes based on style, size and budget.
Klarna launches platform to connect retailers with influencers
Klarna has launched The Creator Platform to help retailers and influencers connect. The platform was trialled in the US in October and is now available in all 45 regions where Klarna operates.
PEOPLE, MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Van de Velde appoints current CFO Karel Verlinde as interim CEO
Van de Velde has severed ties with CEO Peter Corijn – who joined in May 2022 - with immediate effect and has appointed the current CFO Karel Verlinde as interim CEO.
BRAND NEWS
Kurt Geiger partners with Secret Sales to drive sales from excess stock
Kurt Geiger has launched on premium non-full price fashion marketplace Secret Sales, to drive sales from markdown and promotional inventory, alongside its new ‘made for outlet’ range.
Lacoste opens virtual reality store in partnership with Emperia
Lacoste has unveiled its first-ever virtual store, developed in partnership with Emperia, a virtual reality tech developer for retailer and fashion.
45% of Primark clothes now contain recycled materials
Almost half (45%) of all Primark clothes now contain recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, up from 25% since it launched its sustainability strategy last September.
Boohoo extends supplier payment terms
Boohoo Group has extended its payment terms, from 1 Dec, suppliers will be paid within 60 days rather than 30 days, while manufacturers’ payment timeframe will move from 14 days to 30.
Karen Millen launches rental service with My Wardrobe HQ
Karen Millen has launched its fashion rental platform “Karen Millen Rotates.” The platform uses My Wardrobe HQ technology and allows users to rent over 40 styles from £6 a day.
AND FINALLY
LVMH has launched Heristoria.com a growing online archive of the finest items from the archives of the luxury group's labels from 1900 to 2010.
PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES
What were our users searching for on PRShots week-ending Nov 25th 2022?
1/ Christmas
2/ Cushion
3/ Candle
4/ Gifts
5/ Bathroom
6/ Rug
7/ Scarf
8/ Pink
9/ Boots
10/ Jumper
COLLABORATIONS ON PRSHOTS
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NEW BRANDS TO PRSHOTS
Silk & Lawn are a Brighton-based accessories brand creating beautiful handmade headbands, hair ties & turbans for little and grown-up people made from silk and Tana lawn cottons.
Branch Jewellery is a small business that has become synonymous with hand-made wooden and horn jewellery. All materials used are ethically sourced and chosen for their quality and sustainability in mind.
Fabrap makes fabric gift wrapping that stands the test of time. Inspired by Indian textiles and the traditional Japanese art of Furoshiki, these fabric gift wraps combine timeless elegance, sustainability and ease of use.
Boutique agency Emslie Creative has joined PRShots adding jewellery from Joanna Laura Constantine and KJJ Fine Jewellery and handbags from Sambar
TaskPR has added it’s rosta of big name brands to PRShots with womens wear images from Bias Cut DKNY Jaeger Guinea London Knitwear Queen Empreinte and Leocé Couture mens wear from Jaeger jewellery from Annie Haak Tateossian Thomas Sabo Tommy Hilfiger watches and jewellery from Movado and occasion wear from Azazie
Bridge Coffee Roasters launched Bridge in 1985 by sourcing and providing the very best coffee from around the world, and since then Bridge Coffee Roasters has bloomed into roasting and selling coffee, coffee machines and accessories
Threadbare is a proud family-owned British brand bringing great quality up-to-date fashion trends for men, women, children and dogs at affordable prices. Elevated, everyday, essentials
Ivyline creates contemporary accessories for the home and garden. Founded in 1976 the UK team works on everything from initial design to eventual dispatch. Its ethical product range comprises everything from fire pits and candles to planters, plant pots and everything in between.
Cutter & Squidge is a family-run, all-natural bakery created by two food-obsessed sisters. Playfulness is their passion, they love to create exciting, experimental flavours and artisan designs. Their bakes and gifts are lovingly handcrafted to taste delicious and look exquisite on any occasion.
HELP WITH YOUR IMAGE SEARCHES
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BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES
Clothing, beauty and accessories
Matalan has new Christmas jumpers and AW22 collections
M&Co has new clothing for men, women and kids and Christmas gifts and clothing and pet accessories including a new Kylie range
Primark has the new athleisure wear, Greggs Primark range and new clothing and accessory ranges for men, women and kids
Hope Fashion has new hooded coats
The Morphbag by GSK has new campaign images
F&F has new spring 2023 ranges
Accessorize has new jewellery and gift ranges
Dune London has new Wedding collection, AW22 party ranges and going out shoes
Roman Originals has new warm winter wear, party and going-out outfits
Barbour has new collaboration with Wander as well as outfits for men, women and for your pets
George at Asda has new athleisure, lingerie, Christmas party wear
River Island has new Christmas outfits for men, women and kids as well as accessories
New Look has new Christmas outfits and shoes, jumpers and loungewear
Very has new beauty ranges, Michelle Keegan and V by Very ranges
Cath Kidston has new winter and Christmas ranges for adults and kids
Hope Fashion has new outfits for winter
Crew Clothing has new AW clothing and shoes and boots ranges
Seol + Gold has new jewellery ranges rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces
PrettyLittleThing has new ski wear, party wear and winter clothes and boots
Freemans has the new November drops and Love Mark Heyes and Julien Macdonald ranges
Dancing Leopard has new winter outfits
Monsoon has new womenswear
From my mother’s garden has new womenswear ranges
Radley has new boots and bag ranges for November, December and January 23
Dune London Men’s has new 30th anniversary shoes
See additional new clothing and accessories images from the last few weeks at
Tu Clothing Fatface Cotton Traders Peacocks Sainsbury’s Beauty Sonder Studio TK Maxx Homesense Oliver Bonas Bryony Bel The Range White Stuff Shoe Zone Marks & Spencer Joe Browns Aspiga Radley The Range F&F Lemuel MC
Home and food
Marks & Spencer has new SS23 homeware
Sofology has new SS23 furniture ranges
The Range has new kitchenware and Christmas decorations
Cult Furniture has new lighting options, Christmas images and desks
Daisy Park has new Emma Bridgewater and Gisela Graham Primavera and Pastel home and gift ranges
Designers Guild has new SS23 fabrics
Avalana has new patterned luxury curtains
Biscuiteers Baking has new Christmas and New Year food
Dobbies Garden Centres has new AW plants, home goods, outdoor goods, pet accessories, Christmas decorations and gifts
Cath Kidston has new winter and Christmas gifts, and home and kitchen ranges
Dunelm has new SS23 ranges including Smart Industrial home ware and furniture for the lounge
Matalan has new SS23 homestore ranges
M&Co has new Christmas gifts, games and decorations and home wear
Dune London has new luggage ranges
B&M has homeware and kids and adults gifting ranges
George Home has Christmas gift ideas
Fritz Fryer has Christmas gift ideas
National Trust Shop has new Christmas and Easter ranges
Paperchase has added more Christmas decorations and gifts for the home
Next has new Emporium homeware collection due Jan including homeware from rugs to lights
Furniture Village has new furniture for the kitchen, dining, living and bedrooms
Luxdeco has new Christmas gifts
Designers Guild has new wallpaper and textile designs and home accessories
NoLoGo has table linen for the Christmas table
Cuckooland has new furniture ranges
See additional new home images from the last few weeks from
Primark Cambridge Imprint TK Maxx Homesense Abstract House Oliver Bonas White Stuff Cartwright & Butler Monsoon George Home Nest Wilko Cardfactory KMI Brands DFS Fatface Very Habitat Hotel Chocolat Cath Kidston Christy Matalan Oliver Bonas
Looking for inspiration??
Our trends lightboxes section has lots of ideas for features and themes but If you can't find something or you need help then email us at support@prshots.com, and we'll see if we can help
DIARY
Days until Christmas Day – 25
Days until Valentine’s Day - 76
Days until Mother’s Day - 109
Days until Easter – 130
November
How to make your products attractive to the media in November
We are well into autumn and the Christmas season and the media are looking for images that help them fill all those “what to buy on Black Friday” features, the endless Christmas gift guides, and all those “What to wear for the Christmas party season” articles.
You should be uploading Black Friday and Christmas images for most media, but long lead time magazines will be looking at January issues so anything that helps illustrate the inevitable “New you for 2023” issues, so athleisure, outdoor healthy sporty images will all be useful.
As always don’t forget to add keywords – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, Gifts, Christmas, Xmas, Winter plus all those words beloved of home and women’s magazines like cosy, cosiness, hygge, wellbeing.
Clothing wise the media are looking for party wear, party dresses, nightwear, “going out out” (thanks to Annie Mac Ex-Radio 1), Christmas Jumpers, jumpers, scarves, bobble hats, beanies, cardigans, coatigans, jackets, and coats. So, make sure that you have plenty of images in those categories uploaded and labelled with as many of those words as you can.
Also make sure that if your clothing is made from a fabric associated with winter that it’s flagged up somewhere in the title/keyword or in more information. Wool (woolovers are a thing), cashmere, fur (faux obviously) and velvet.
If you’re aiming at being included in Christmas Guides then make sure you have added prices. Guides are normally price-led eg “Presents under £50”, “Party dresses for less than £150” and without prices your items won’t be included.
If you’re a PRShots brand user and you need more ideas, then take a look at the keywords that media are searching for on PRShots in the Keyword Search Report and try and add those in.
November Diary - Weeks/Months
Events to add to your marketing diary for November include
Movember which centres around men’s health issues and moustaches, so beard and shaving-related things might be useful, in the US it’s also national peanut butter lovers month, sweet potato month and candy month.
The first week of November is National Sausage Week in the UK – the perfect accompaniment to Guy Fawkes - the first week is also national fig week and the second week is national split pea soup week
November Diary - Days
30th – St Andrew’s Day (Bank Holiday Scotland)
How to make your products attractive to the media in December
Christmas is nearly over by now for the media; there are just a few dailies, weeklies, websites and influencers doing last minute gift guides for Christmas but for most print media it’s the New Year, and what’s happening in 2023.
You should be uploading SS23 outfits and home goods for those “A new you for 2023” “Redecorate for 2023” issues, so athleisure, outdoor healthy sporty images will all be useful plus anything for the home.
As always don’t forget to add keywords – New Year, Gifts, Spring, Christmas, Xmas, Holidays, Winter plus all those words beloved of home magazines like cosy, cosiness, hygge, wellbeing.
Clothing wise the media are still looking for going out outfits for Christmas and New Year, so party wear, party dresses, nightwear, “going out out” (thanks to Annie Mac ex-Radio 1), and also winter clothing jumpers, scarves, bobble hats, beanies, cardigans, coatigans, jackets, coats. So, make sure that you have plenty of images in those categories uploaded and labelled with as many of those words as you can.
You can also start to look at holiday clothing and outfits for when the weather gets a little warmer so make sure SS23 is flagged on your drops even if they’re not yet available until 2023 – If they’re not on sale until Jan or Feb then use the On Sale date field to flag this up. You can either add a specific date 2/2/22 or if you’re not sure then you can use text “available first week in Feb”
If you’re a PRShots brand user and you need more ideas, then take a look at the keywords that media are searching for on PRShots in the Keyword Search Report and try and add those in.
December Diary - Weeks/Months
December is all about Christmas and New Year events but it’s also AIDS awareness month, and universal human rights month and Kwanzaa runs from 26th to the 1st Jan as well as No Gender December. Additionally, the 1st week (5th-9th) is UK Charity Week
December Diary - Days
1st – Returns will start to come back from Black Friday sales – be ready for them
1st – World AIDS Day
2nd – National day of giving
2nd – English Breakfast Day
3rd – Advent Sunday/First Sunday of Advent
3rd – UK Small Business Saturday
6th – St Nicholas Day
8th – Christmas Jumper Day
10th – Human Rights Day
18th – Hannukah begins
18th – Stilton Day
21st – Winter Solstice
22nd – National Regifting Day
24th – Super Saturday/Panic Saturday
25th – Christmas Day
26th – Boxing Day
26th – Hannukah ends
27th – Substitute Bank Holiday for Christmas Day
31st – New Year’s Eve
Do you have any news on your brand that you want us to feature, or have a new appointee or a new event that you would like us to feature? Get in touch at news@prshots.com We don't charge, so get emailing now!!!
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