Latest from Business of Fashion
Business of Fashion
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Tracee Ellis Ross: Understanding the Diversity of Humanity is Good Business
Listen to and follow the 'BoF Podcast': Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast Background: When Tracee Ellis Ross launched Pattern Beauty in 2019, she set out to challenge the beauty industry's lack of products for curly, coily and tight-textured hair. Despite numerous obstacles, including scepticism about market viability and systemic biases in the product testing process, Ross has built Pattern into a leading haircare brand addressing an underserved market. 'Black beauty and textured hair was not being mirrored back as a celebration but instead it was a problem,' Ross shared. '[Pattern] is to allow people to have the access to their most beautiful hair and self in their own bathroom as opposed to having to always trust a professional.' During her conversation with BoF founder Imran Amed at The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2025 in Napa Valley, California, Ross shared her journey from Hollywood actress to entrepreneur, detailed the systemic changes she's driving in the haircare industry and emphasised the importance of humanity in business building. The author has shared a YouTube video. You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future. Accept Key Insights: Ross described her early struggle with understanding and accepting her natural hair as a deeply personal and emotional journey. 'Making sense of how my hair grew out of my head was difficult,' she said. 'I had to master and understand and gain a sense of love and celebration in my hair.' This experience became the foundation for her brand Pattern, which aims to shift the narrative around textured hair from one of difficulty to one of pride and empowerment. Ross articulated how the standard beauty narrative has often required Black women to erase parts of themselves to be seen. 'There's a part of beauty and beauty culture that has been about erasing who we are in order to fit in,' she said. Through Pattern, she seeks to change that narrative by celebrating individuality and authenticity: 'I want people to have their hair. They just need the right products to support their hair. That's what doesn't exist.' Pattern was not an overnight success born of celebrity privilege — it took a decade of perseverance, rejection and self-education, Ross said. 'There's this myth that I was this famous actress who had lots of money to start a company — garbage,' she said. 'I'm a Black actress in Hollywood. Let's be clear about my finances.' While products are at the heart of Pattern, Ross stressed that her brand is rooted in community, identity and purpose. 'Pattern is about allowing people access to their most beautiful hair, their most beautiful self, in their own bathroom,' she said. 'You have an opportunity to take all that wasted space not serving this customer and turn it into money, purpose, and value.' Additional Resources:
Business of Fashion
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Pandora Is Hiring on BoF Careers
This week, we are pleased to introduce a new partner on BoF Careers. Founded in 1982, Pandora is the world's largest jewellery brand by volume. Sold in more than 100 countries across six continents, and through more than 6,800 points of sale, the Copenhagen-based brand employs 37,000 people worldwide. Pandora crafts its jewellery pieces from recycled gold and silver and has also set out to halve greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2030. Listed on the Copenhagen stock exchange, Pandora generated €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) in revenue last year. Pandora is currently hiring for a junior e-commerce analyst in New York, a store manager in California, and an accounting manager in Baltimore, among other roles.
Business of Fashion
18 hours ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Temu US Sales Plunge 25% Amid Tariff Barrage
Temu's sales decline in the US is deepening as the online marketplace drastically cuts spending on advertising targeting American consumers, signalling a shift in focus after President Donald Trump's tariff barrage. Compared to a year ago, Temu's weekly sales dropped more than 25 percent in the period from May 11 through June 8, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, which analyses credit and debit card data. That's in contrast to other e-commerce platforms run by Shein, Walmart Inc. and Inc., where weekly sales have all returned to year-on-year growth since Trump's trade truce with China in mid-May. The deepening sales decline comes alongside Temu's cut in advertising spending, an abrupt turnaround in strategy after it spent big last year to attract the attention of US shoppers, including running commercials on Super Bowl night. From creating thousands to tens of thousands of new advertisements daily before April 10, the numbers are now down to dozens or even single digits, with some days in June seeing no new commercials, according to analytics company AppGrowing Global. ADVERTISEMENT 'Temu's sales growth has always been glued to their aggressive advertisements,' said Wu Yanwei, chief content director of AppGrowing's parent YouCloud. 'The abrupt slowdown in advertisement spending is likely turning its growth engines off' in the US, Wu said, noting that Temu was channeling ad spending toward other markets including Europe. While declining to specifically comment on sales and ad numbers, a spokesperson for Temu said the company has been working with local merchants across regions to deliver stable pricing to consumers. Temu and Chinese e—commerce shopping platforms such as Shein had for years relied on a tariff exemption on small parcels to ship cheap clothing and household goods to American consumers duty-free. After President Donald Trump plugged that loophole this year, they largely lost the discount-appeal that drew US shoppers in droves. Still, Shein's US sales have fared relatively better in recent months. It has managed to reverse a drop in sales to return to growth from June 1, Bloomberg Second Measure data showed. Shein's single-digit growth since then is similar to levels posted by Walmart's e-commerce platform. Shein's advertising in the US has remained more stable than Temu, with the number of new commercials most days this year being anywhere between dozens to a few hundreds, according to AppGrowing Global. Learn more: French Senate Backs Law to Curb Ultra Fast-Fashion If implemented, the law would ban advertising by fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu.
Business of Fashion
2 days ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Ben Gorham to Exit Byredo
Ben Gorham will leave Byredo at the end of June, stepping away from the brand he founded in 2006. The departure comes two years after Puig acquired full ownership of the Stockholm-based fragrance and lifestyle company. Gorham had agreed to stay on through mid-2025 as part of Puig's acquisition terms, maintaining creative oversight during the transition. His exit finalizes Puig's integration of the brand, which it purchased amid preparations for its stock market debut last May. Byredo was valued at over €1 billion ($1.15 billion) at the time of the 2022 deal, and has since expanded across categories including cosmetics, leather goods and jewellery. The brand's makeup line, launched in 2020, was developed with artist Isamaya Ffrench and later overseen by Lucia Pica. Puig's portfolio includes brands like Rabanne, Charlotte Tilbury and Dries Van Noten. The Spanish group is positioning itself as a major player in high-end fragrance and beauty, segments that continue to perform well despite weakness in other areas of the luxury market. Learn more: Byredo's Ben Gorham on Propelling a Niche Brand to Global Success For 'The State of Fashion: Beauty' founder Ben Gorham breaks down Byredo's journey to its recent acquisition by luxury group Puig and how indie labels can flourish in a crowded market.
Business of Fashion
2 days ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Luxury Sector Will Continue to Slip, Bain Forecasts
Luxury consumption will remain soft for the remainder of 2025 across key categories — particularly leather goods, makeup and watches — as price fatigue and macroeconomic turbulence weigh on consumers, according to the latest forecast from Bain & Company. If current trends continue, the sector will contract 2 percent to 5 percent for the year. While hospitality and experiential luxury continue to grow, physical goods are losing steam in the key markets of the US and China. Demand in Japan is weakening as tourism slows down and the yen regains value. Emerging markets in Latin America (particularly Mexico and Brazil) and the Middle East are growing, though their smaller scale is no match for a sluggish China, where high youth unemployment is dampening consumer sentiment. 'Right now many Chinese feel 'luxury shame' — consumers don't want to be seen wearing visible logos in a moment where GDP growth is softer and causing social tensions,' said Claudia d'Arpizio, head of global fashion and luxury goods at Bain. New government incentives to boost spending in the country could restart consumption, but only closer to the holiday season, d'Arpizio added. There are some bright spots in the industry, notably categories like eyewear, jewellery and beauty — particularly high-end fragrances — that are being fueled by product innovation and new brand entries. D'Arpizio noted that the same brands that outperformed last year are still doing so now. There is also cause for optimism looking further ahead. The second half of 2025 could bring creative revival to the industry as it welcomes a wave of new creative directors at several top brands. 'Many brands are in a risk adverse situation now — there's not a lot of new products. The fall will be a new ignition, when new designers speak. That wave of creativity should show first results at the beginning of 2026,' said d'Arpizio. But in the current macroeconomic climate, the timing of a recovery is hard to predict, d'Arpizio warned. Under one scenario, Bain believes consumption could start rebound in the second half of 2025, in which case the luxury market could contract just 2 percent or even grow as much as 2 percent for the full year. But another scenario has demand sliding even further, causing the sector to contract anywhere from 5 percent to 9 percent. 'Every turbulent headline causes a dip in confidence,' d'Arpizio said. Recapturing Gen-Z Another challenge for the industry is that consumers aren't just feeling priced out, they're emotionally disconnected. Gen-Z continues to trade down to more affordable luxury and experiences, turned off by a lack of creativity, connection and inclusive experiences from many luxury brands. The group also doesn't display wealth the way its predecessors did, preferring to show off 'quality of life and personal choice,' said d'Arpizio. 'There are 50 million fewer customers in luxury compared to before, especially among younger demographics,' she said. While premiumisation works for some categories, like high-end watches, most luxury labels would benefit from a 'high-low' strategy, with both premium products and entry-level offerings that attract new clients. 'A focus on top clients is important but to grow, an inclusion of aspirational, younger customers is key,' said d'Arpizio. 'Growth and resilience come from a balanced strategy. Especially large brands, they need aspirational customers to thrive.' Many brands seem to have forgotten that lesson in recent years, as product prices have surged without an improvement of quality or design, diminishing their value proposition.
