Industry News – July 29th, 2016

Curated fashion industry news links for Friday, July 29th, 2016…

THE BRIGHT SPOT IN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY IS… – RetailingToday
“One of the brightest spots in the apparel industry is the footwear category, according to a report on MarketResearch.com. Overall, footwear sales have outpaced apparel in recent years, with a compound annual growth rate of 6% over 2010-2015, in comparison to 4% for apparel. By the end of 2019, the global footwear market is forecast to reach $216 billion.”

NEW SEARCH ENGINE HELPS WOMEN FIND CLOTHES ON TV WHILE THEY WATCH – PR Newswire
“TVRunway publicly launches today. The first search engine of its type, TVRunway helps women identify any article of clothing worn in an online video while they watch. No tags, pins, or prior edits to the video are necessary and there is nothing for the user to download. Instead, TVRunway’s API integrates with video distributors’ websites, then uses machine learning to match the user’s requested item with what 300+ retailers have for sale at that exact moment in time.”

KERING ADVANCES AFTER GUCCI TURNAROUND HELPS BOOST EARNINGS – TheFashionLaw
“Kering’s flagship fashion brand Gucci on Thursday posted forecast-beating second-quarter organic sales growth of 7.4 percent, driven by solid demand for the brand’s new looks designed by Alessandro Michele, particularly in Western Europe.”

ROBERTO CAVALLI NAMES FORMER VERSACE HEAD AS NEW CEO – Reuters
“Italian fashion group Roberto Cavalli said on Thursday it had named former Versace head Gian Giacomo Ferraris as its new chief executive as it seeks to relaunch under a new owner. Ferraris, an engineer who also worked for Italian luxury groups Gucci and Prada, radically turned around Versace in his seven years at the company, increasing revenue and cutting debt and bringing it back to profit only two years after being appointed.”

CHRISTIAN SIRIANO HAS A GENIUS BUSINESS REASON FOR COLLABORATING WITH PAYLESS – Yahoo! Style
“It’s been 10 years since Siriano graduated from reality TV and since then he’s produced 25 collections and additional collaborations with big-name brands including Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant, and Payless. While the latter’s shoes might not make it onto a client such as Heidi Klum, it’s not just about luxury or prestige for Siriano. “I couldn’t imagine saying no to a company like Payless,” Siriano said. “Why would you alienate a customer?”