Artificial intelligence (AI) and retail

Given the increasing cost of R&D, more companies are looking to acquire innovative businesses to gain access to new products and services, so the emergence of new, disruptive technology will remain an important trend to watch. In 2019 alone, organisations around the world spent $2.3 trillion on R&D – the equivalent of roughly 2 percent […]

Footwear companies have invested more than €185 million in advertising in 2022 in Germany

Americans still love buying things in person, but over the next few years, more shopping is projected to shift online. In China, such purchases now make up more than 25% of overall retail sales, according to some estimates.This is ahead for retail, from the metaverse and AI to Gen A’s spending power and an increased […]

How should international luxury brands deal with Ramadan?

What will the fashion industry, more specifically luxury, be like in 2023? Mass consumption is likely to recede in the face of recession, but luxury consumption should not be particularly affected. Thanks to the access of the new generations in the luxury market, the base of the latter would be expanding dramatically: from 400 million […]

The dumping of second-hand shoes: donated but resold for profit

A third of the world’s economies will fall into recession this year, the International Monetary Fund’s head said. Countries across the globe have been hammered by high inflation and interest rates, as well as the ongoing fallout from the war in Ukraine and China’s difficult exit from its zero-COVID strategy, ensuring that 2023 will be “tougher” […]

Leather for furniture in the context of sustainability

December manufacturing output declined, to finish 2022, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reports. The reports’ key metric, the PMI, came in at 48.4 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), down 0.6% from November’s 49.0, contracting, at a faster rate, for the second consecutive month. The last two months of contraction were preceded […]

Nike, too many stocks, discounts and less profits

Pandemic-related disruption, trade wars, tariffs, rising labor costs, climate crises and the war in Ukraine, along with technological innovation and changing customer expectations, are causing drastic changes to manufacturing. Supply chain disruption is challenging businesses everywhere and forcing company leaders to think differently about how they operate. Artificial Intelligence (AI), data-driven analytics, sustainability and digital […]

Taiwan’s Economy Is Breaking Away From China’s

The mass movement against China’s zero-COVID policy erupted suddenly, and — unusually — it succeeded: 254% increase in outbound flight bookings from China, when Beijing announced it was scrapping quarantine rules for returning citizens, according to Trip.com, a travel site popular on the mainland.Now, China is embroiled in disputes with both the World Health Organization […]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just launched its latest report on the climate crisis

New environmental subsidies came into effect in the United States. As of Jan. 1, the government will help cover the cost of household energy improvements, such as heat pumps, rooftop solar, insulation, or electric vehicles. It’s the latest package of environmental reforms: In 2022, Congress passed legislation defining carbon dioxide as a pollutant, allowing the […]