🇮🇳Lakme Fashion Week will showcase global brand collaborations for the Indian market. American footwear and apparel brand Skechers unveiled a streetwear capsule collection designed by Indian designer Kanika Goyal at the latest edition of the biennial Lakme Fashion Week, held from March 13-17 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. The collection will be available across Skechers stores in India. Meanwhile, Argentinian fashion brand La Martina unveiled a polo-inspired capsule collection in collaboration with Indian designer Rajesh Pratap Singh at Mumbai’s iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse as part of the event. The biennial event, organised by title sponsor Lakme, the Hindustan Unilever-owned cosmetics brand, Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and energy conglomerate Reliance Industries, and the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), featured some of India’s leading designers including Anamika Khanna, Shantanu & Nikhil, Gauri & Nainika and Rahul Mishra. The five-day event also saw the participation of many Bollywood stars including Kriti Sanon, Ananya Panday, Taapsee Pannu, Madhuri Dixit and Aditi Rao Hydari. [Arnika Thakur for BoF]
🇨🇳 Supreme opens its highly anticipated Shanghai flagship store. Supreme will open its first standalone store and WeChat mini-program in China on March 23rd. The news marks a major milestone in the streetwear giant’s global expansion plans, following its earlier foray into China in 2022 via a shop-in-shop at Dover Street Market’s Beijing branch. [BoF]
🇨🇳 Anta Sports launches Kyrie Irving Kai 1 in the US. The Chinese sports conglomerate and American basketball player Kyrie Irving have launched their first sneaker. It is priced at around 899 RMB ($125) on Chinese e-commerce sites. In early 2024, Anta announced plans to officially enter the US market on the same day as the Kai 1 launch. [Jing Daily]
🇨🇳 Li Ning is considering taking the company private, people say. Li is considering leading a consortium to buy Li Ning Ltd, which had a market capitalization of HK$52.85 billion ($6.8 billion) on Monday, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Talks to take Li Ning Ltd private are at an early stage and details have yet to be finalized, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is confidential. Li Ning listed in Hong Kong in 2004. [BoF]
🇹🇷 Levi’s is in hot water in the fight over union choice at its Turkish suppliers. Around 500 employees of Ozak Tekstil, a major Turkish clothing manufacturer, have been protesting for 80 days in Urfa, Åžanlıurfa province, first demanding the right to union choice and then employment rights. Protesters report facing verbal and physical threats, police assaults and arrests. A preliminary report by the Labor Rights Association accuses Ozak Tekstil of violating the legal rights of workers in Urfa and breaching Levi’s Supplier Code of Conduct. [Sourcing Journal]
🇨🇳 Real estate crisis and marriage downturn are taking the shine off diamonds in China. The recovery in diamond sales in China has stalled as the real estate crisis has eroded consumer confidence and anti-COVID-19 restrictions have reduced engagements in the world’s second-largest jewelry consumer market. Diamond jewelry sales fell 3% last year to $12.8 billion, according to data from independent diamond analyst Paul Zimniski. The region also includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but demand is dominated by mainland China. [Financial Times]
🇮🇳 India imposes Minimum Import Price (MIP) on underpriced imports of synthetic knit fabrics. The Government of India has set a Minimum Import Price (MIP) of $3.50 per Kilogram for five specific HS codes relating to synthetic knit fabrics with immediate effect. The move comes in response to sustained requests from the domestic industry for implementation of MIP to curb inflow of underpriced synthetic fabrics. [Fibre2Fashion]
🇨🇳 Tiffany & Co. expands in Zhengzhou. Tiffany & Co. opened a boutique in Zhengzhou’s Dayei Shopping Mall. Maxence Kinguett, president of Tiffany & Co. Greater China, Bao Tao, general manager of Denis Department Stores, actress Ma Yili, and actor Feng Shaofeng attended the opening ceremony. [Jing Daily]
🇨🇳 Moschino opens flagship store in Shanghai. Moschino has opened a new flagship store in Shanghai’s Jing’an Kerry Centre, selling collections of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing and accessories, all displayed within a new interior design concept by architect Andrea Tognon. [Jing Daily]
🇱🇰 Striking Sri Lankan workers continue to protest following the breakdown in negotiations. A month after the protests began at the Sumitra Group factory in Hasaraka, support is growing with over 200 workers from various factories joining the protest. Sumitra Group has a total of four factories in the country, which manufactures brands such as Superdry. [Sourcing Journal]
🇯🇵 Gentle Monster opens new store in Aoyama, Tokyo. The luxury eyewear brand has opened a new store in Aoyama, Tokyo. Located in a two-storey space within the Jewels of Aoyama complex, right next to Prada’s futuristic glass tower, Gentle Monster’s flagship store is infused with the brand’s signature retail aesthetic. [CPP Luxury]
