🇷🇺 Russian billionaire founders feud over e-commerce giant Wildberries. Tatyana Kim, formerly known as Tatyana Bakalchuk before her divorce from Vladislav Bakalchuk, looks to have won the dispute over the future of the $2.7 billion company the former couple founded in 2004 as an online fashion retailer. A Russian court has upheld Kim’s decision to merge the $2.7 billion tech firm with Russ Group’s billboard advertising firm Russ Outdoor. Mr. Bakalchuk had asked the court to annul the deal that would bring Wildberries into a new entity called RWB, claiming its intension was to cause harm to him. Kim, the country’s richest woman, and Russ Outdoor’s Robert Mirzoyan had reportedly persuaded Russian president Vladimir Putin to approve the merger, claiming the deal could create the “largest digital banking network and payment system for rouble settlements worldwide.” Mr. Bakalchuk, who was left with a 1 percent stake in Wildberries, reportedly called on the Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov to help him block the merger and, in September, two people were killed and several wounded in a shootout outside Wildberries’ Moscow headquarters. Mr. Bakalchuk was arrested on murder charges, though he was later released and claimed to not have been charged, stating that he will appeal the ruling. (Financial Times, Moscow Times, BoF)
🇲🇽 Textile trade bodies in Mexico and US support Mexico’s new tariffs. Mexico’s National Chamber of the Textile Industry (CANAINTEX) and the US-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) have united to endorse the Mexican government’s Dec. 19 trade decree which imposes new tariffs of up to 35 percent on global imports of finished apparel products like knitwear, jackets and lingerie (though the US and Canada would presumably be exempt). The organisations wrote in a joint letter that the policy will help stem the flow of “illegal and subsidized products into our markets that evade tariffs, taxes and fees and undermine our critical sectors,” implying that China had circumvented both Mexican and American trade laws by breaching Mexico’s IMMEX (Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry) programme regulations, and illegally benefited from duty-free shipments into the US through de minimis rules and the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). (Sourcing Journal)
🇦🇪 Dubai’s Nervora slams Condé Nast’s takeover of Vogue Arabia. Shashi Menon, the United Arab Emirates-based founder and chief executive of the former license partner of the US publishing giant, has claimed that Condé Nast’s recent takeover of the magazine violated the terms of their contract which expired at the end of last year. Menon, who reportedly filed a lawsuit in a US federal court last year, told Semafor: “This is a brazen and bad faith attempt from Condé Nast to wholesale steal a business that we heavily invested in and consciously built for more than eight years.” A Condé Nast spokesperson responded that the company has “no doubt that the law fully supports our publishing of Vogue Arabia.” (Semafor, BoF)
🇱🇹 Lithuanian fashion retail giant Apranga Group reports record turnover. The Vilnius-listed company controlled by MG Group said it reached its highest ever retail turnover in December 2024 and that Q4 retail turnover hit €102.8 million ($106 million), up 8.0 percent year over year. Once a state-owned clothing company during Soviet times, the company now operates over 170 stores across Baltic region markets Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia including those for its namesake high-street brand and joint ventures with a wide range of international brands such as Zegna, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Burberry, Zara and Mango as well as luxury multi-brand boutique chain Mados Linija. [Fibre2Fashion, BoF]
🇨🇳 China-founded Shein aims for London IPO by mid-year, sources say. A recent visit to China by Britain’s finance minister could help progress the regulatory approvals Shein needs, one source added. However, last week a Shein representative declined to provide a direct answer when asked by a British parliamentary committee whether it uses cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, a key issue for potential investors concerned about allegations of forced labour in its supply chain. Shein has previously said that it has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labour. (BoF)
🇮🇳 Indian jeweller Senco Gold records 22% surge in Q3 revenue. The Kolkata-based company has said revenue for the quarter ended December 2024 were up 22 percent year over year. The company, which has a nationwide footprint of over 170 stores, reported revenue on a trailing twelve months (TTM) basis of more than 6,000 crore rupees ($696 million). (Economic Times)
🇯🇵 Japanese apparel major Sanyo Shokai sees sales decline 2.4%. The manufacturer, distributor and retail partner holding brands such as Epoca and Loveless has reported sales of 43,525 million yen ($277.7 million) for the nine-months ended November 2024, down 2.4 percent year-over-year (YoY). The company’s gross profit fell slightly to 27,574 million yen over the same period. (Fibre2Fashion)
🇮🇳 Indian luxury skincare brand Ras raises $5 million. Founded in 2017 by sisters-and-mother trio Shubhika Jain, Suramya Jain and Sangeeta Jain, the Raipur-based beauty brand has secured funding from Unilever Ventures, the investment arm of the fast-moving consumer goods conglomerate, in a round with participation from Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund and existing backers. (Economic Times)
🇮🇩 Unilever Indonesia hit by Israel boycott amid Middle East war. The FMCG conglomerate has seen its Q3 market share shrink from 38.5 to 34.9% year over year in the world’s most populous Muslim country as pro-Palestine consumers continue to boycott the firm and other multinational firms over their perceived stance on and business activities during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Some Indonesians have replaced Unilever brands with local personal care and beauty competitors. (Reuters)
🇮🇳 Indian bankruptcy court admits Oban Fashions for insolvency resolution. A Mumbai court has admitted the case between Oban Fashions, a subsidiary of Rupa & Co which had previously entered into distribution deals with the likes of FCUK and Fruit of the Loom for the India market, and its creditor Sunrise Knitting Mills over an allegation by the latter of the former failing to pay a debt of about 1.57 crore rupees ($182,000). (Economic Times)
🇮🇷 Iran Retail Show highlights innovations and regional trade opportunities. The sixth edition of the trade show spearheaded by Shahrokh Keshavarz took place in Tehran from January 2-5, showcasing over 150 companies including fashion retailers, e-tailers, payment platforms, advertising and marketing agencies. The exhibition attracted both domestic and overseas business leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Iraq among other countries. (Parastoo Nabati for BoF)
🇨🇳 Labelhood holds Chinese designer exhibit at Harrods for Lunar New Year. The retailer and talent platform has unveiled a showcase running from Jan 9-21 in the London department store in the run-up to the Chinese New Year on the 29th, in partnership with the Shanghai Fashion Designer Association. Featured designers include Uma Wang, Clot, Tangxindan, Samuel Guo Yang, 8on8, Yirantian, Xu Zhi and Ya Yi. (BoF Inbox)
🇹🇭 Valentino taps Thai actors Freen Sarocha and Jeff Satur as ambassadors. The Italian luxury brand has signed an endorsement deal with Saracho, a television and film actress known for her roles in ‘Gap: The Series” and “Uranus 2324” with over 4.6 million Instagram followers, and Satur, an actor and singer with over 5 million followers who first rose to fame with his role in the BL (‘boys’ love’) drama “KinnPorsche.” (L’Officiel Singapore, L’Officiel Hommes Malaysia)
🇨🇳 Dior taps Chinese tennis champion Zheng Qinwen as ambassador. The French luxury brand has appointed China’s first tennis singles gold medallist in Olympic history as its brand ambassador. The Shiyan native, currently world number five in the Women’s Tennis Association’s ranking, joins other international winners from Paris Olympics who have signed endorsement deals for the megabrand. (Prestige)
