Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[sussi]

https://s2.q4cdn.com/892021348/files/doc_financials/2023/q1/c19b29c4-a766-4cff-815e-ef03f800f697.pdf

If I'm reading Revolve's quarterly filing correctly, their return rate is now 56.8% of gross sales. That's up 4 points since Q1 last year. Unbelievable numbers.

That's insane!

 

[sushijerk]

I feel like there has to be a rise in general bad faith consumers who was never legitimately keeping any of this stuff to begin with and was only buying to satisfy some mental itch or for some kind of social media validation.

 

[gdl203]

From MS research on Revolve

While Revolve's sales are knocking on the door of the top 25 apparel firms in the U.S., its
gross margins (the closest proxy for pricing power) have clocked in nearly 20% lower than competitively advantaged luxury peers and approximately 8%-10% lower than mass market competitors over the past five years, likely attributable to return rates between 50%-55% (well beyond 30%-40% standards in the industry)

 

[Mariokartfever]

Why not just flag the "problem" customers and intentionally send their orders to an error page, not allowing them to ever check out?

Not sure on the legality of that, but you are allowed to tell people to "leave" your store so you should be able to do the same in a digital storefront.

 

[heebalabala]

Without having data to validate this hunch, I suspect Revolve's higher-than-industry-standard return rate is tied to their heavy influencer customer base that tends to churn through wear-once-and-return clothes for Insta photos.

I continue to be stunned by "haul" videos of influencers regularly unpacking massive boxes of new clothes that seem to arrive weekly, if not more often, and then, after closet cleanouts, showing 10+ filled garbage bags of clothes "donations."

 

[double00]

Why not just flag the "problem" customers and intentionally send their orders to an error page, not allowing them to ever check out?

Not sure on the legality of that, but you are allowed to tell people to "leave" your store so you should be able to do the same in a digital storefront.

retail watch boutiques have been excommunicating customers who flip retail-to-secondary ... it does happen to fire problem customers

 

[bde]

I thought the contrast between the discussion here and on reddit was interesting:

The Free-Returns Party Is Over

Posted in r/malefashionadvice by u/unfashionable_me • 494 points and 240 comments

old.reddit.com

 

[gdl203]

I would not call that a discussion

 

[gdl203]

Why not just flag the "problem" customers and intentionally send their orders to an error page, not allowing them to ever check out?

Not sure on the legality of that, but you are allowed to tell people to "leave" your store so you should be able to do the same in a digital storefront.

What is driving the rollback of free-everything all the time-whenever-you-want policies is NOT driven by problem customers or a small minority of free loaders. It is driven by a much wider tide of behavioral change across the customer base on one hand, and dramatic increases in the cost of those policies over the last couple years.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

 

[smittycl]

 

[ter1413]

Gucci, Coach, and Burberry Are the Best Luxe Labels at Extending the Life of Their Clothes: Report

The trio topped Kearney’s Circular Fashion Index for the second year in a row.

www.yahoo.com

 

[hpreston]

Not sure if this has been posted. Farewell to Hickey Freeman (as we knew it)

CEO of Hickey Freeman on moving production to Mexico

Their new factory store is opening on Union and Broad in Rochester on May 25.

www.rochesterfirst.com

 

[smittycl]

Not sure if this has been posted. Farewell to Hickey Freeman (as we knew it)

CEO of Hickey Freeman on moving production to Mexico

Their new factory store is opening on Union and Broad in Rochester on May 25.

www.rochesterfirst.com

Big changes at HF were discussed here a few weeks ago. Wow, good for Rochester that the factory will stay open. Apparently 75% of their production is for Brooks Brothers, Tod Snyder, etc. anyway. I hope they succeed.

I noticed a while back their website started carrying more Made in Canada stuff as they are owned by the group that also owns Samuelsohn. Then the shop link was removed. Hoping Nordstrom keeps the Rochester factory busy and doesn't carry the Mexico stuff.

Zegna makes it's Z Zegna line in Mexico. Tailoring not comparable to their European factories but shirts and stuff are okay IMO.

More details here:

After 124 years, iconic clothier Hickey Freeman is leaving Rochester - Rochester Business Journal

Hickey Freeman, the iconic men's clothing brand that has been a prominent part of the Rochester business landscape for more than a century, will soon bid farewell to the city.

rbj.net

 

[LA Guy]

Big changes at HF were discussed here a few weeks ago. Wow, good for Rochester that the factory will stay open. Apparently 75% of their production is for Brooks Brothers, Tod Snyder, etc. anyway. I hope they succeed.

I noticed a while back their website started carrying more Made in Canada stuff as they are owned by the group that also owns Samuelsohn. Then the shop link was removed. Hoping Nordstrom keeps the Rochester factory busy and doesn't carry the Mexico stuff.

Zegna makes it's Z Zegna line in Mexico. Tailoring not comparable to their European factories but shirts and stuff are okay IMO.

More details here:

After 124 years, iconic clothier Hickey Freeman is leaving Rochester - Rochester Business Journal

Hickey Freeman, the iconic men's clothing brand that has been a prominent part of the Rochester business landscape for more than a century, will soon bid farewell to the city.

rbj.net

There are couple of members who know a fair bit about this I think. @Epaulet can probably give us some details as well a broader sketch of that manufacturing sector in the USA. From my understanding, this has been a long time coming.