Industry News – January 31st, 2017

Curated fashion industry news links for Tuesday, January 31st, 2017…

Abercrombie Cuts 150 Corporate Jobs as Comeback Remains Elusive – Bloomberg

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., facing sluggish mall traffic and a shift to fast-fashion brands, is eliminating about 150 corporate jobs after years of struggling to turn around the chain.

Co-Creation: The Future Of Retail Stores? – Forbes

While I was in Manhattan for the National Retail Federation Big Show in January, I took the opportunity to tour a few retail locations. I didn’t get to all the ones I wanted to visit, but two of the ones I did visit underscored a unique approach to the retail store, one that I believe will increasingly shape the future of stores. That approach is co-creation.

Menswear Nerds Are Flocking to This eBay Alternative – Bloomberg

Sunny Lam was on the hunt. The thirtysomething clothing designer and consultant in New York wanted—needed—rare pieces from the early 2000s by his cult favorites, Raf Simons and Helmut Lang.

Hennes & Mauritz Rolls Back on New Store Openings – WSJ

Hennes & Mauritz AB said it was abandoning its target of opening 10% to 15% more physical stores each year—a blistering pace that turned it into one of the world’s largest clothing retailers—and instead targeting local-market sales growth both online and off.

Shoes.com shuts down operations – Chain Store Age

In an abrupt move, Shoes.com pulled the plug on its operations on Friday, Jan. 27.