Fashion’s art and science reinvented

Contemporary & Accessible Fashion Spot On

Facing multiple challenges in the form of COVID-19 and sustainability issues, the fashion sector is looking to do what it does best – innovate and design, but this time applying those skills to its ways of working. From bringing more operations in-house to significant investment in e-commerce and changing the role of physical stores, many brands are actively looking to change the way fashion does business.

We have already seen many brands acquiring their artisan producers, renouncing licensing agreements, and investing massively in e-commerce. We forecast these trends will persist and the largest groups will enjoy a boom in their market valuations as they protect their brand image by bringing more operations in-house. MICHELE SALERI, CONTEMPORARY & ACCESSIBLE FASHION SPECIALIST, OAKLINS

In our latest Fashion Spot On, we take a look at the market and explore some of the different trends and approaches being adopted as fashion looks to the future - with more casual clothing, investments in the second-hand market and the introduction of omnichannel strategies, companies are fully embracing their ‘new normal’.

We also speak to Pietro Negra, the founder and CEO of contemporary Italian brand Pinko, about how he sees the development of fashion going forward and how PINKO is already putting forward-looking commercial approaches in place.

Digital has been our fundamental ally to get out of this crisis, and technology in general is at the heart of our business decisions, so we see technology as instrumental in offering better service to our customers and leveraging the efficiency it can bring to the physical channel. The most important driver, however, is the evolution of points of sale. We are trying to test various ways we can use our stores as a customer attraction point that is not limited to just selling. PIETRO NEGRA, FOUNDER & CEO, PINKO

Our report includes an overview of some of the world’s leading listed fashion companies, and a summary of recent M&A activity in the sector that highlights how many transactions have been taking place in the past few months, coinciding with the beginning of the recovery cycle, which is always a prime time for acquisitions.