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Initial research & written notes into impacts powerpoint presentation

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Initial research & written notes into impacts powerpoint presentation

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WGSN Report - long term strategies moving forward

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WGSN Report - long term strategies moving forward

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- Create new calendar - time to rethink production line when things drop ect. match delivery to need - fashion shows to become digital? (Shanghai)
-The H&M Mitte Garten in Berlin features smaller footprint specially curated local edit. Made-in-Berlin lifestyle products and 120 vintage items selected by Berlin-based stylists are on offer alongside a tight edit of H&M's mainline range.(idea - scale back - local)
- Explore how platforms can replicate the in-store experience on mobile and text-based platforms e.g Hero allows store staff to showcase products to individual consumers on video.

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Arcadia: nearly all head office staff furloughed
Notified suppliers all orders cancelled & pension scheme payment deferred

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BFC [21 May]: The British Fashion Council (BFC) and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) have called for an alignment of the global fashion industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook [20 May]: Facebook has accelerated and extended the launch of its shopping platform as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Urban Outfitters [20 May]: Urban Outfitters has predicted its global store sales could be down more than 60% in the second quarter because of "tepid" demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Boohoo Group [20 May]: Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani has joined forces with Richard Hughes, founder of investment bank Zeus Capital, to launch direct-to-consumer sales of a saliva-based rapid test for the Covid-19 antigen.

Marks & Spencer [20 May]: M&S has announced a £1bn battle plan to counter a 37% drop in clothing and home operating profits for the year to 28 March amid the coronavirus crisis.

Westfield [20 May]: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has outlined plans for the reopening of its Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City shopping centres when the government lifts restrictions.

Prada [20 May]: The Prada Group will reopen some production facilities in Italy today following an enforced four-week closure in response to the coronavirus crisis.

JC Penney [18 May]: US retailer JC Penney has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnsons Shoe Company [15 May]: Family footwear business Johnsons Shoe Company has appointed administrators, leaving a hole in brands' stockist bases.

French Connection [15 May]: The retailer turned down a bid from ex-AllSaints and USC chief executive Stephen Craig in partnership with two private equity firms in January.

Boohoo [14 May]: Boohoo Group intends to raise £200m through equity placing to bankroll further acquisitions in the coming months.

Little Black Dress [14 May]: Womenswear marketplace Little Black Dress has been bought out of administration by private investment firm Fashion Ventures Limited in a pre-pack deal, Drapers can reveal.

Marks & Spencer [14 May]: Marks and Spencer has confirmed that F&F chief executive Richard Price will join the company on 6 July as its new clothing and home managing director.

Asos [14 May]: Asos has hit back at calls from union GMB to close its Barnsley warehouse after workers had tested positive for Covid-19.

Oasis and Warehouse [12 May]: Liquidators have been appointed to wind up Oasis and Warehouse Group in Irelan

Under Armour [12 May]: Sportswear retailer Under Armour reported a 23% drop in revenue in the first quarter, to $920m (£734m).

Moss Bros [12 May] The menswear retailer will restart online operations on 13 May, after stopping transactions on its website since 26 March.

Kering [11 May]: Kering has launched a €1.2bn (£1bn) bond issue after the French luxury group took a 15.4% sales hit in the first quarter.

H&M [11 May]: H&M Group's UK sales fell 60% year on year for the period 1 March to 6 May.

Neiman Marcus [7 May]: US department store chain, Neiman Marcus, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and expects to emerge from a financial restructuring later this year.

Primark [7 May]: Senior store staff at Primark have returned to stores to prepare them for reopening once government restrictions are lifted.

White Stuff [7 May]: White Stuff has entered redundancy consultations with its head office and UK retail teams.

Zalando [7 May]: The Berlin-based etailer expects double-digit growth in 2020 despite the challenging trading environment due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Chief executive Julian Dunkerton told Drapers the business has made further efficiencies as a result of coronavirus.

Debenhams [7 May]: The department store chain is to shut five stores in Hammerson shopping centres after failing to agree terms with the landlord.

Asos [5 May]: Asos is accelerating its use of augmented reality (AR) technology to simulate r eal-life model photography to support social distancing in its studios, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net-a-Porter [5 May]: The etailer announced that its distribution centre has reopened, stating in an email sent to customers that it has gone "above and beyond government guidelines to maximize protection." Measures include having a reduced number of staff present, checking temperatures on entry using "advanced thermal screening technology", staggered breaks, entry and exit to site aswell as a one-way system being introduced and staff have been given PPE including masks, gloves and sanitizer.

Amazon [4 May]: Amazon staff whose jobs can be done at home can do so until at least 2 October. Employees have been working from home since March.

Irish retail [4 May]: Small Irish retailers are to open on 8 June. Other non-essential retailers can open from 29 June, followed by shopping centres on 10 August.

J Crew [1 May]: Struggling US casualwear brand J Crew is reportedly preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Victoria Beckham [1 May]: Victoria Beckham has reportedly reversed the decision to furlough 30 staff members following criticism.

Net-a-Porter [30 April]: The luxury etailer is understood to be working towards a gradual reopening of its warehouses with a small number of volunteers on-site at its London-based distribution centre testing new health and safety measures.

TK Maxx [30 April]: The retailer has reopened its online operations with a daily order limit to protect the safely of warehouse employees.

John Lewis [30 April]: John Lewis Partnership's chairman Sharon White has refused to rule out the permanent closure of some John Lewis stores when the government's high street lockdown ends, it has been reported.

Intu [30 April]: Shopping centre owner Intu could reportedly lose some of its key retail assets as early as June, as bondholders draw up plans to seize control.

Westfield [30 April]: Property firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has said the coronavirus pandemic only had a "limited effect" on revenue in the first three months of 2020, but warned the impact will be felt more deeply in the second quarter.

Adidas [30 April]: Adidas Group has warned that its second quarter sales and profits will be heavily impacted by the global coronavirus lockdowns.

Shoe Zone [30 April]: Shoe Zone has cancelled its final dividend for the year to 5 October as turnover for the six months to 31 March took a 3.4% hit as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

John Lewis [29 April]: The John Lewis Partnership is recruiting for the role of executive director at department store John Lewis and its sister supermarket, Waitrose, to build on its new management structure.

Next [29 April]: Next has warned sales have fallen faster and more steeply than previously expected during "unprecedented uncertainty" created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hush [29 April]: Womenswear retailer Hush has received investment from private equity firm True, which will be used to support its expansion into new channels and markets.

Marks & Spencer [28 April]: Marks & Spencer has completed steps to secure liquidity for the likely duration of the Covid-19 crisis and to underpin its recovery strategy and accelerated transformation in 2021.

Sports Direct [27 April]: Sports Direct has written to suppliers demanding a 20% discount on outstanding invoices.

John Lewis [27 April]: John Lewis is reopening its Lancashire textiles factory to make clinical gowns for the NHS. The retailer also said it would take three to six week's to reopen its 50-store chain once lockdown is lifted.

Atterley [27 April]: Online marketplace Atterley is launching a crowdfunding campaign having experienced year-on-year sales growth of 200% during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Burberry [24 April]: Luxury brand Burberry says it has donated more than 100,000 pieces of PPE to date, after it transformed its trench coat factory in Castleford to manufacture the equipment for medical and care workers.

Marks & Spencer [24 April]: The retailer has committed to paying it's clothing suppliers for the "vast majority" of orders.

Cath Kidston [23 April]: The retailer has agreed to pay three weeks of wages owed to staff who were made redundant when the business went into administration less than a week before pay day.

LK Bennett [23 April]: LK Bennett administrators have extended the company's administration process for a further year, due to "property matters" and other remaining work that needs to be completed.

Studio Retail Group [23 April]: Online retail business Studio Retail Group, formerly called Findel, has accessed various credit facilities in a bid to protect the business amid the coronavirus.

Animal [23 April]: Surf-inspired fashion retailer Animal will reportedly cease to operate by next year, marking the latest blow to the sector amid the coronavirus crisis.

Primark [22 April]: Primark has endorsed the UN International Labour Organisation's (ILO) calls for urgent support of global garment industry workers affected by coronavirus.

Laura Ashley [22 April]: Global advisory, restructuring and investment firm Gordon Brothers has rescued Laura Ashley from administration.

Boohoo Group [22 April]: Revenue and profits soared at Boohoo Group in the year to 29 February 2020, and the fast fashion giant said a strong balance sheet will help it weather the coronavirus pandemic.

Wolverine Worldwide [22 April]: US footwear group Wolverine World Wide has restructured its executive team, to help make the company "more nimble" during this period of economic disruption.

Harrogate Fashion Week [22 April]: The July edition of Harrogate Fashion Week is still expected to go ahead, despite ongoing coronavirus concerns.

Primark [22 April]: Primark will remain a bricks-and-mortar-only retailer despite the temporary shutdown of its entire global store portfolio due to coronavirus restrictions, John Bason, chief financial officer at the retailer's owner, Associated British Foods, has told Drapers.

Mango [21 April]: Mango's retail stores across mainland Europe are poised to reopen as countries begin to relax their lockdown restrictions. Over 600 stores are expected to be open by the end of April.

John Lewis [21 April]: Online sales at John Lewis have g rown 84% year on year between the middle of March and 15 April, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Cath Kidston [21 April]: The retailer's owner has bought the online, franchise and wholesale business of the brand, leaving its store estate facing permanent closure.

Joules [21 April]: Lifestyle retailer Joules has confirmed the successful completion of a £15m increase to its revolving credit facility (RCF), with Barclays Bank.

Primark [21 April]: Sales at Primark grew 2.2% for the 24 weeks to 29 February 2020, however the value retailer's parent company Associated British Foods warned trading in the second half of the year would be "radically different" as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

French Connection [21 April]: The retailer has appointed wealth management and brokerage firm WH Ireland as its financial adviser and sole broker.

Vestiaire Collective [21 April]: Resale giant Vestiaire Collective has secured €59 million (£51m) in funding to help expand into Japan and Korea and develop its US shipping services.

Primark [20 April]: Primark has committed to paying for all product that was in production, finished and planned for handover by 17 April. This is an additional £370m of product, over the £1.5bn of stock already in stores, depot and transit.

Bonmarché [17 April]: EWM Group is including a pandemic clause into new leases for Bonmarché stores, having rescued the retailer from administration.

LVMH [17 April]: LVMH's fashion and leather goods division recorded a 14% drop in revenues to €4.6bn (£3.9bn) for the first quarter of 2020.

River Island [16 April]: River Island has announced that it has today started despatching online orders again, after temporarily closing operations amid the coronavirus.

Harpenne [16 April]: River Island Holdings-owned Harpenne has decidedly to permanently cease trading.

Next [14 April]: The retailer has re-opened its online operations after closing its distribution centre for more than two weeks due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. It reached its new self-imposed daily order limit by 8.30am.

John Lewis [14 April]: The department store has introduced virtual services including one-on-one personal styling video sessions.

Moss Bros [14 April]: Moss Bros has delayed the publication of its full-year results from late May until late July under the new temporary relief measures issued by the government.

Debenhams [9 April]: The struggling department store chain has appointed FRP Advisory as administrators.

Arcadia Group [9 April]: Arcadia is seeking to borrow up to £50m against its distribution centre.

Westfield [8 April]: Bosses at shopping centre owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) will donate 25% of their pay to help support the fight against Covid-19.

H&M group [8 April]: H&M Group has signed a new 12-month revolving credit facility of €980 (£862m) to strengthen its financial position through the coronavirus crisis.

Asos [7 April]: Asos group sales dropped 20%-25% amid the coronavirus pandemic, after it achieved record interim profits. Asos said it is finalising discussions to secure a £60m to £80m 12-month extension to its RCF with covenant adjustments to ensure additional operational flexibility through the crisis.

Primark [6 April]: The retailer has introduced a temporary 20% reduction in pay for senior executives, and a temporary 10% reduction for the remainder of employees across its headquarters and office functions for the coming 12 weeks.

Reiss [6 April]: Reiss made the decision to close all of its stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, US & Canada on the 20 March, immediately furloughing all of its retail team. From 1 April, 50% of the head office team have now also been furloughed, Drapers can reveal.

Debenhams [6 April]: Department store Debenhams has today filed a notice to appoint administrators.

TK Maxx [6 April]: TK Maxx has extended payment terms by 90 days.

Cath Kidston [5 April]: Cath Kidston has filed notice that it will appoint administrators amid the coronavirus outbreak, putting around 950 jobs at risk.

Schuh [3 April]: The footwear retailer reopened its website after temporarily shutting on 26 March.

Ted Baker [3 April]: Ted Baker has furloughed around 2,000 employees, including head office staff.

New Look [3 April]: New Look has written to suppliers to inform them it will be cancelling all orders and pushing back payment terms "indefinitely".

Shoe Zone [3 April]: Footwear retailer Shoe Zone has announced plans to cancel dividend payments.

Lululemon [3 April]: Canadian activewear giant Lululemon has cut senior leadership team salaries by 20% for the next three months, while its board of directors will "forgo their cash retainer".

Debenhams [3 April]: Debenhams is preparing to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators as early as next week, as it continues to struggle amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Primark [3 April]: Top bosses at Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) will temporarily cut their salaries by 50%, and will not receive dividends for the current financial year.

Arcadia Group [2 April]: Arcadia Group has furloughed nearly all head office employees across the group, and the board and senior leadership team will take a salary reduction of between 25%-50% amid the coronavirus crisis.

Asos [2 April]: Etailer Asos has informed almost all employees on fixed-term contracts that it will be ending their agreements early, as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Next [2 April]: Next is seeking buyers for its headquarters and three warehouses as part of a mitigation strategy to shore up its balance sheet against the effects of a fall in trade.

JD Williams [2 April]: N Brown Group brand JD Williams has cancelled spring 20 orders with some suppliers as the coronavirus epidemic continues to affect the retail industry.

JD Sports [1 April]: JD Sports has witheld rent and service charges for the quarter, amid warnings that the coronavirus crisis will have a "significant impact" on its outlook.

Asos [1 April]: Asos has denied claims from union GMB that its warehouse in Grimethorpe, Barnsley, is unsafe for workers under new coronavirus public health guidelines.

Marks & Spencer [1 April]: Marks & Spencer has offered its frontline team "an additional 15% additional pay reward", and confirmed furloughed colleagues will receive full pay to protect them financially from the coronavirus outbreak.

Next [1 April]: Credit rating agency Moody's has downgraded Next's status from stable to under review as there is "no certainty at this stage as to how long store closures persist."

Anthropologie [1 April]: URBN, the owner of Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters has taken a number of steps to protect its cash reserves, including borrowing £177m and suspending hiring and bonuses.

Moda [31 March]: UK footwear trade show Moda has pushed back the date for the spring season show to September, in response to the rapid spread of Covid-19.

Debenhams [31 March]: Debenhams is deferring all historic concession balances for 30 days, in a bid to mitigate the government's "mandated" shut down of its store estate.

Matalan [31 March]: Matalan has offered all warehouse workers the option to be placed on furlough, after coming under fire for its health and safety conditions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Monsoon [31 March]: Monsoon Accessorize is considering a sale of the business as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Zalando [31 March]: Zalando has warned revenue and gross merchandise value growth in the first quarter will fall below analyst's expectations as consumers rein in spending during the coronavirus pandemic.

Oasis and Warehouse Group [31 March]: The Oasis and Warehouse Group has informed suppliers that it will be delaying payment terms, in an attempt to protect the business during the coronavirus outbreak.

Retail Trust [30 March]: Retail Trust, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Retail Week and World Retail Congress (RWRC) and have joined forces to raise £10m for retail colleagues who are facing financial distress as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hammerson [30 March]: As of the end of last week, shopping centre owner Hammerson received 37% of UK rent billed for the second quarter ending 25 March.

Men's Fashion Weeks [30 March]: Men's summer fashion weeks in Paris, Milan and London have been cancelled or postponed due to the ongoing social distancing measures enforced across Europe in an attempt to quell the spread of coronavirus.

Save the High Street [30 March]: Campaign group Save The High Street has l aunched a 12-week Covid-19 support programme, designed to help local businesses survive the ongoing health and economic crisis.

Mothercare [30 March]: Mothercare has announced there has "inevitably been some delays" with its UK franchise deal with Boots due to coronavirus.

Zalando [30 March]: Zalando is keeping its warehouse and distribution centres open through the coronavirus crisis, while adhering to new government guidelines.

Arcadia Group [30 March]: Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group has written to suppliers to inform them that it will be cancelling all orders and extending payment terms, in a bid to protect the business during the coronavirus outbreak. It is also planning to defer a series of contributions into its pension scheme in a bid to conserve cash through the coronavirus crisis.

Footasylum [27 March]: Footasylum has approached landlords to request a three-month rent holiday for the third quarter from 25 June.

Net-a-porter [27 March]: The online retailer has halted online trading.

TK Maxx [27 March]: TK Maxx has suspended all online orders.

BFC [27 March]: The British Fashion Council has announced £1m in support to help fashion businesses survive the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Applications from womenswear, menswear and accessories businesses are open until 10 April.

Next [27 March]: Next has announced the temporary closure of its website, warehouse and distribution operations.

The Outnet [27 March]: The luxury online retailer has announced the temporary closure of its warehouses.

Jack Wills [26 March]: Frasers Group has announced the immediate closure of a further 17 Jack Wills stores, bringing the total number of store closures announced over the last week to 22.

River Island [26 March]: River Island has announced that it will be temporarily closing its distribution centre in Milton Keynes, as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Moss Bros [26 March]: The menswear retailer has temporarily ceased trading online as a safety precaution to staff. It had shut its 128 stores on Friday 20th March.

Asos [25 March]: Asos has paused several incoming deliveries from suppliers and third-party brands as it makes adjustments to manage its stock throughout the coronavirus uncertainty.

Arcadia Group [25 March]: Arcadia Group has written to employees on fixed-term contracts to inform them that it will be ending their agreements early.

Matalan [25 March]: Matalan has asked landlords for a three-month rent break to mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus.

Fenwick [25 March]: Department store chain Fenwick is temporarily halting its online operation, as orders are picked in its stores.

Kingpins [25 March]: Denim trade show Kingpins Amsterdam has announced it is going online, after it cancelled its next edition in April amid health concerns and travel restrictions linked to the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Intu [25 March]: Shopping centre owner Intu is set to slash service charges for tenants in the second half of 2020, to help ease the burden on retailers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cadogan [25 March]: Chelsea and Kensington landlord Cadogan has deferred rent payments over the next three months for its smaller retail businesses. It has also donated £50,000 to the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation which raises funds for local projects to support vulnerable residents.

New Look [24 March]: New Look has requested a three-month rent holiday from landlords, alongside other immediate actions to mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus.

Oasis and Warehouse [24 March]: The Oasis and Warehouse Group has appointed "Big Four" auditor Deloitte to help conduct a potential sale of the business, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Frasers Group [24 March]: Frasers Group has U-turned on an announcement that Sports Direct and Evans Cycles stores were to stay open during the UK's new lockdown measures, and will now not open stores until it receives the "go-ahead" from the government.

Mulberry [24 March]: British luxury brand Mulberry has become the latest brand to warn on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, announcing that it anticipates making a small loss in the second half of the year ending 28 March 2020.

All fashion stores to close [23 March]: Prime minister Boris Johnson has ordered the immediate closure of all fashion retailers as part of new measures to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Next [23 March]: Next is the latest retailer to temporarily close all of its stores until further notice, as a result of the coronavirus. The stores will be closed from 6pm on Monday 23 March.

Debenhams [23 March]: The department store chain has temporarily closed all of its UK and Republic of Ireland stores. It comes as the company continues to engage with landlords asking them to consider further rent cuts and store closures as part of its ongoing company voluntary arrangement (CVA),

Frasers Group [23 March]: The Mike Ashley-owned group has suspended its share buyback scheme with immediate effect.

John Smedley [23 March]: As of today, John Smedley has closed its three London stores on Jermyn Street, Brook Street and New Cavendish Street. The decision to re-open will be reassessed daily.

Crew Clothing [22 March]: Crew has closed all of its 82 stores in the UK until it is safe to reopen them. The brand, however, will accept returns on purchases made before the closures when their stores re-open.

Primark [22 March]: On Sunday of all stores in the UK which represented 41% of sales, all 376 stores in 12 countries are now closed until further notice. This represents a loss of some £650m of net sales per month.

Kurt Geiger [21 March]: Its 55 shoe store across the UK and Ireland stopped trading on Saturday.

New Look [21 March]: New Look has made the decision to temporarily close all of its 480 stores in the UK from 5:00pm today. All the 28 stores in the Republic of Ireland were temporarily closed from 5:00pm on Friday 20 March. Newlook.com is open as usual and deliveries and Collect+ locations remain available. The company has offered its 13,000-strong workforce the option of unpaid voluntary leave, voluntary reduced hours or the chance to use their holiday allowance for the foreseeable future. Drapers can reveal that it has also halted production.

River Island [21 March]: All of its clothing stores across the UK and Ireland are closed until further notice.

John Lewis [21 March]: The John Lewis Partnership has announced that it will temporarily close all of its 50 stores on Monday 23 March for the first time in its 155-year history, as a result of the coronavirus.

H&M Group [21 March]: The group has today decided to temporarily close its stores across the UK. The retailer is currently offering standard delivery and free and flexible returns on all hm.com orders. The returns policy has been extended to 100 days.

Hobbs [21 March]: The womenswear retailer has closed all of its stores from today, until further notice. Shoppers can still order products on the website.

& Other Stories [21 March]: As of today, the company has decided to close all UK stores. Store staff will receive a further two weeks of pay and benefits. The online store will continue as usual, with an extended return policy of 100 days.

Gant [21 March]: From today Gant has closed its stores in the UK until further notice. The online store remains open and is offering free delivery and returns. The return period has been extended to 60 days.

Adidas [20 March]: The sportswear retailer has closed all its stores through March. Customers can still purchase products on the website and via the app.

Mint Velvet [20 March]: All of its stores inside the M25 are closed until Easter. All of the other stores will close tomorrow evening until Easter.

Graduate Fashion Week [20 March]: Following a trustee meeting today, where the options of postponement, curtailment, event redesign and a combination of all of the above were discussed and based on the evolving guidance from the World Health Organisation, national government and health agencies, organisers have decided that the GFW event "could not possibly go ahead". It will be launching a series of activities to showcase students' work, with more information on this to follow.

The White Company [20 March]: The retailer has decided to temporarily close all The White Company stores from the end-of-day Saturday 21st March.The online store will remain open. The company has its own warehouse in Northampton, and it has put in place strict safety measures to ensure that the team stay safe at work.

Clarks [20 March]: Clarks has temporarily closed its stores in the UK and US. All of its store employees will receive pay and benefits during this time. Customers can continue to shop online.

Charles Tyrwhitt [20 March]: Menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt has temporarily closed its 12 USA stores and 29 UK stores. It's ecommerce site remains open.

Arcadia [20 March]: Arcadia has closed all stores across the UK and Ireland. A spokesman for the fashion retail group, which owns chains including Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Burton, said store staff "have not been made redundant", but the business said it would continue to "review the situation". It stated that all store staff will be paid their normal pay for March plus any outstanding overtime payments.

Gap [20 March]: Starting tomorrow, Gap will be closing all UK stores for the next two weeks. It said it will ensure that impacted employees are supported with continued pay during this time.

Ted Baker [20 March]: The retailer has only closed some stores but says that more will follow "inevitably." It stated that trading hours have been adapted, it has increased hygiene precautions and has switched to cashless payment systems to avoid contamination. The returns policy has been increased from 14 to 40 days and has stopped Click and Collect options.

Harrods [20 March]: The luxury department store will close at 7pm on Friday 20 March, with its Food Halls and pharmacy left open. Its website will stay operational.

River Island [20 March]: River Island is closing stores but offering free home delivery and Click and Collect to local parcel shops on orders over £40, with a £1 fee for those under.

Prada [20 March]: Italian luxury giant Prada Group has warned that the coronavirus outbreak has "interrupted" growth.

H&M [19 March]: H&M has extended its returns policy from 28 days to 100 days both in store and online. Stores in the UK are not yet closed, but the retailer has announced closures in the US, Canada and Germany. The H&M Foundation has donated $500,000 to the World Health Organization.

Dune [19 March]: The footwear retailer has closed all stores until further notice, announcing in a statement on Instagram: "We must pull together and act responsibly if we are to navigate the coming weeks and months effectively."

Warehouse [19 March]: Warehouse stores will close from the end of the day on Friday 20 March. The website remains open and Warehouse has updated delivery options to offer contact-free delivery to those self-isolating. Head office staff at the womenswear retailer are working remotely.

Marks & Spencer [19 March]: M&S has introduced dedicated shopping hours for NHS workers and vulnerable shoppers. It will reserve the first hour of trading for them at all of its owned stores. The first will take place tomorrow on Friday 20 March, and after this, on every Monday and Thursday. In addition, M&S is also introducing a special shopping hour to support NHS and emergency service workers - and this will take place for the first hour each Tuesday and Friday morning.

Timberland [19 March]: The retailer has made the decision to temporarily close all of its stores. In the meantime, customers can shop online with free shipping.

Reiss [19 March]: The premium retailer will close its stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland from Friday 20 March until the end of March, with a view to extending or reducing this timeframe in accordance with advice from health authorities. The website will continue to operate with the brand saying that precuationary measures have been put in place in its warehouses.

Dover Street Market [19 March]: Dover Street Market has closed temporarily with the view to re-open on 28 March if it is safe to do so. The businesses online store remains open and is delivering orders as usual.

Fenwick [19 March]: The department store chain has announced the closure of all of its stores from 6pm on 19 March until further notice. The company said it will continue to run its digital and social channels, including its online store, "for as long as it can".

Joules [19 March]: Joules has said it is taking "prudent" actions to manage the near term challenges whilst ensuring the business remains well positioned to deliver its long term growth plans. These actions include removing cost and non-critical capex from the business. It has also decided to cancel the proposed interim dividend, saving £0.7m of cash.

Burberry [19 March]: Burberry's chief executive Marco Gobbetti has warned the material negative effect of Covid-19 on luxury demand has "intensified", forcing more global store closures. Burberry is now implementing mitigating actions to contain costs and protect its financial position, including renegotiating rents, restricting travel and reducing discretionary spending.

Brown Thomas [18 March]: The company has taken the decision to close all of its Brown Thomas and BT2 stores in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway from 5pm on 18 March. It remains operational at Brownthomas.com and via its app.

House of CB [18 March]: The company has announced that it will be closing stores from 19 March to 2 April. Its staff will be paid during this time, and it is still working as normal from HouseofCB.com.

John Lewis [18 March]: All shops remain open and the company said it "currently has no plans to close any". At the moment stores are operating their normal opening hours, but this may be subject to change. Currently all click & collect locations are open, and customers can make online deliveries.

Beales [18 March]: The department store has accelerated the permanent closure of all of its 23 stores by two weeks to 19 March. Beales collapsed into administration in January and announced the closure of all of its stores last month.

Department store Selfridges announced the closure of its UK stores from 7pm on Wednesday 18 March due to the spread of coronavirus. It had previously reduced opening hours across the branches in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Grenson Shoes [17 March]: Has decided to reduce prices by 20% at grenson.com for the next two weeks to keep things moving. This is the brand's first ever mid-season sale. The company is monitoring UK Government advice on a daily basis and will change its policy very quickly where required. For the time being stores remain open on reduced hours: 11am - 4pm.

Columbia Sportswear [17 March]: The retailer has temporarily closed all Columbia-owned and operated European retail stores until further notice.

Bicester Village [17 March]: Bicester Village has closed stores across the outlet centre, including New Balance, Lululemon, Ugg and Timberland.

Nasty Gal [17 March]: The etailer announced that it is running operations as usual.

Hobbs [17 March]: Hobbs stores are currently open, but the retailer will not be holding any in-store events.

The retailer has closed all of its UK stores for the next two weeks [from 17 March]. Sweaty Betty 's online store will remain open, with customers now offered free delivery on all orders. The business has assured that store teams will be given paid time off during this period.

The company's South Kensington, London store will close at the end of this week. Styling and wardrobe-uploading appointments will be made online.

Debenhams has asked landlords for a five-month rent holiday, starting immediately [17 March], as it struggles to deal with the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

H&M group is temporarily closing all of its stores in Germany from 18 March. In addition, the group is also closing all its stores for two weeks in the US, Canada, Portugal and Belgium from 17 March. It has also asked landlords for rent relief during this "extraordinary period" to manage the disruption of Covid-19 coronavirus on the business [17 March]. It's sales were impacted in the second half of the quarter due to coronavirus.

Jigsaw stores are currently open, and the company said it is "reviewing this". It will only be accepting card payments. In addition, the retailer has cancelled all store events to minimise the number of people in stores at one time. Jigsaw's website is up and running, and it is offering free delivery on all web orders.

Laura Ashley [17 March]: The retailer has filed a notice to appoint advisory firm PwC as administrators after failing to secure an emergency funding lifeline amid coronavirus trading concerns. Despite announcing that it was in "advanced discussions" with a third-party lender to provide £15m investment, Laura Ashley has now said it will be unable to secure the funding "in a timely manner sufficient to support working capital requirements".

Make it British [13 March]: UK manufacturing trade show Make it British Live has been postponed until further notice. The show was due to take place on 17 March at the Business Design Centre in London.

Kingpins [10 March]: Denim supply chain trade show Kingpins Amsterdam has cancelled its April edition amid health concerns and travel restrictions linked to the Covid-19 coronavirus. The show which was supposed to run from 22 - 23 April in the new SugarCity location.

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Coronavirus tracker: how the industry is reacting

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BFC [21 May]: The British Fashion Council (BFC) and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) have called for an alignment of the global fashion industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook [20 May]: Facebook has accelerated and extended the launch of its shopping platform as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Negative Press - Abandoning supply partners

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Negative Press - Abandoning supply partners

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- moving forward compassion & care will see consumers favouring those who looked after their suppliers

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The letters, sent to suppliers on 27 March and seen by Drapers, state that all orders will be cancelled until further notice, and payment terms will be extended by 30 days, with immediate effect. The standard terms will therefore be 90 days.

"Global retailing is facing unprecedented times with the impacts of Covid-19 unfolding and changing daily", the letters read. "As many of you will be aware, following UK government intervention, we were forced to close our stores last week to safeguard the welfare of our employees, customers and communities.

"You will appreciate that this has significantly hindered our ability to make use of any goods supplied by you and has dramatically reduced the revenue coming into our business. As a result, we need to take action wherever possible with each of our stakeholders to preserve the future of the Arcadia business for the benefit of our employees, suppliers and customers."

"We have worked with our loyal supplier base for many years and value our relationships enormously", the letters add. "This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we do not underestimate the impact this will have for you and your business. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation at this very difficult time."

Since the coronavirus outbreak, retailers including Primark, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) and New Look have also written to suppliers to cancel orders until further notice.

Arcadia Group declined to comment.

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Arcadia cancels orders and extends supplier payments

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The letters, sent to suppliers on 27 March and seen by Drapers, state that all orders will be cancelled until further notice, and payment terms will be extended by 30 days, with immediate effect. The standard terms will therefore be 90 days.

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The group has about 16,000 employees, of which around 14,500 are now being furloughed.

Drapers understands this impacts various teams, including those in buying and design across Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins.

A company statement reads: "Safeguarding jobs through this period is critical and we are grateful for the government support offered by the job retention scheme which will enable us to 'furlough' a substantial number of our colleagues who are unable to work. All store employees have been furloughed effective from 21 March and the majority of our head office employees will be furloughed from 5 April."

It adds: "A significantly reduced number of head office employees will continue in their roles to provide essential functions for the Group. In support of these challenging times the board and senior leadership team will take a salary reduction of between 25%-50%."

Meanwhile, group CEO Ian Grabiner, has elected to receive no salary or benefits until further notice.

Grabiner commented: "The health and wellbeing of our employees, customers and communities remains paramount. The actions we have taken are essential in order that we can manage our business through these unprecedented times. We are grateful for the support and understanding of our staff and all of our stakeholders during this incredibly challenging time. We look forward to opening our store doors again as soon as it is safe to do so and welcoming back our colleagues and customers."

Arcadia Group's online operations are continuing albeit at a reduced capacity as part of an implementation of strict safety measures in ensuring the well-being of employees within its distribution centres, and in accordance with the guidelines recommended by the government.

Last week the group wrote to suppliers to inform them that it will be cancelling all orders and extending payment terms, in a bid to protect the business during the coronavirus outbreak.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, retailers including Urban Outfitters, Primark, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) and New Look have also written to suppliers to cancel orders until further notice.

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The group has about 16,000 employees, of which around 14,500 are now being furloughed. Drapers understands this impacts various teams, including those in buying and design across Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins.

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All 550 UK stores in the Arcadia portfolio are currently closed, and the business is looking to shore up its future during the pandemic with a new round of borrowing against its Northamptonshire distribution centre, reports Sky News.

Arcadia opened the logistics hub in Daventry last year, and the location forms a central part of its Topshop logistics set up. It is not yet clear whether a funding deal has been reached.

Earlier this month, Arcadia announced it was furloughing 14,500 of its 16,000 staff, with senior leaders in the business taking a paycut of between 25% and 50%. Arcadia CEO Ian Grabiner, elected to receive no salary or benefits until further notice.

Arcadia declined to comment on the reports.

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All 550 UK stores in the Arcadia portfolio are currently closed, and the business is looking to shore up its future during the pandemic with a new round of borrowing against its Northamptonshire distribution centre, reports Sky News. Arcadia opened the logistics hub in Daventry last year, and the location forms a central part of its Topshop logistics set up.

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Discounted garments, sales, push for loungewear

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Topshop Clothing, Shoes & Accessories | ASOS

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Group revenue was up 44% year on year to £1.23bn. Profits before tax rose by 54% to £92.2m.

Revenue at flagship brand Boohoo rose by £38% to £600.7m. Sales were also up at PrettyLittleThing, by 38% to £516m, while they more than doubled at NastyGal - rising 106% to £98.8m.

The group said trading since the middle of March has been "mixed" as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Although initially there was a marked decrease in year-on-year growth, trading performance has improved in recent weeks and it is now seeing improved year-on-year growth sales in April.

CEO John Lyttle said: "While recent events have understandably overshadowed what has been a great year for Boohoo, they have also highlighted its key strengths.

"Our business is founded on our ability to be agile and flexible and it is at times like this when these abilities are tested, and I am proud of how our colleagues and business partners from around the world have responded to the challenges posed by this pandemic.

"Although there is near-term uncertainty in the markets that we operate in, the group is underpinned by its incredibly strong balance sheet and is well-placed to leverage its scalable multi-brand platform and to continue to disrupt fashion markets around the world."

Boohoo Group added that its warehouse teams "have adapted to completely new way of working" to comply with social distancing measures.

It also said the group has continued to pay suppliers for all orders and has set up an emergency fund to help suppliers through the pandemic.

Boohoo Group also announced the appointment of Kath Smith to the board as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 May. Smith is currently non-executive director of JD Sports Fashion.

She has previously held directorships or partnerships at Adidas UK and Ireland and Reebook Ireland.

Sara Murray will step down as non-executive director. Murray chairs the company's nomination committee and is senior independent director. Brian Small, deputy chairman will be appointed to these positions with effect from today.
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Revenue and profits rocket at Boohoo Group

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Group revenue was up 44% year on year to £1.23bn. Profits before tax rose by 54% to £92.2m. Revenue at flagship brand Boohoo rose by £38% to £600.7m. Sales were also up at PrettyLittleThing, by 38% to £516m, while they more than doubled at NastyGal - rising 106% to £98.8m.

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The factory is now manufacturing non-surgical gowns and supplying them to the NHS, and Burberry is also sourcing surgical masks through its supply chain for the NHS and healthcare charities such as Marie Curie.

Burberry has also committed to not rely on government support for jobs in the UK. Senior leaders have taken a 20% pay cut from April to June, and the board of directors has also agreed a voluntary 20% reduction in base salary and fees from April to June.

The money from this will be donated to the Burberry Foundation Covid-19 Community Fund.

Chief executive Marco Gobbetti said: "Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our priority has been the safety and well-being of our employees, our customers and our communities. While we continue to take mitigating actions to contain our costs and protect our financial position, we are also committed to safeguarding jobs and supporting the relief efforts during this global health emergency.

"I would like to thank our teams for their continued determination and resilience as we continue Thomas Burberry's legacy of protecting others and caring for the community."
Drapers' coronavirus update:
We're working to keep delivering to your doorstep. If your magazine is delivered to your office and you'd like to change this, please email help@subscribe.drapersonline.com or call 01604 828 705.

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The factory is now manufacturing non-surgical gowns and supplying them to the NHS, and Burberry is also sourcing surgical masks through its supply chain for the NHS and healthcare charities such as Marie Curie. Burberry has also committed to not rely on government support for jobs in the UK.

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The joint administrators of the group, which includes Oasis, Warehouse and The Idle Man, confirmed they have been unable to rescue any part of the business "as a going concern", blaming the "extraordinary challenges" of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Certain stock and intellectual property assets associated with the group have been sold to investment and advisory firm Hilco Capital, the former owner of record store HMV.

Rob Harding and Richard of accountancy firm Deloitte were appointed as joint administrators to Oasis and Warehouse Group on 15 April.

At the time of appointment, the business operated from 92 branches across the group's leasehold stores, and 437 concessions located in third party retailers.

Following their appointment, the joint administrators carried out a "rapid assessment" of the costs associated with maintaining the business in the short term. This was to allow sufficient time to sell the business and/or reopen the stores after the Covid-19 lockdown.

However, on Wednesday 22 April the decision was made to temporarily stop online trading as a result of rising costs of fulfilling online orders and associated logistical challenges.

As a result of this, and as it became clear that a sale of any part of the business as a going concern would not be possible, the decision was taken to accelerate a sale of some of the group's assets.

Meanwhile, the High Court has appointed provisional liquidators to the Irish arm of the group, which comprises 11 stores and around 29 concessions.

Rob Harding, joint administrator at Deloitte, said: "Covid-19 has presented extraordinary challenges which have devastated the retail industry. It is with great sadness that we have to announce a sale of the business has not been possible and that we are announcing so many redundancies today. This is a very difficult time for the group's employees and other key stakeholders and we will do everything we can to support them through this.

"We would like to thank all the employees and other key stakeholders in the group for their continued support."

Earlier this week Drapers revealed that Oasis and Warehouse Group chief executive Hash has stepped down as part of the company's administration process.

Group chief product officer Stewart also left the business at the time of administration.

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Oasis and Warehouse Group to cease trading

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The joint administrators of the group, which includes Oasis, Warehouse and The Idle Man, confirmed they have been unable to rescue any part of the business "as a going concern", blaming the "extraordinary challenges" of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

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Net monthly global sales have fallen from £650m to zero, as all of Primark's global store estate is currently closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, ecommerce is still not an option for the value retailer, Bason told Drapers.

"The economics of online remain the same, coronavirus hasn't changed that," he said. "The focus is coming back into our estate strongly for our consumers."

ABF this morning announced that it has the financial headroom and cashflow to meet "even the most pessimistic" of its forecasts.

Bason confirmed: "We can put any worries about financial headroom to the back of our mind. That is very important. We've got the wherewithal to carry Primark through with sales below where they were before for a long period of time."

ABF has written down the value of the chain's stock by £284m to reflect realistic pricing when stores re-open.

"We've got a lot of stock on hand but that's not a problem," said Bason. "It just means that we carry it through to next year. We will not dump stock.

"The complexity with re-opening stores is which countries open up and when. We want to make sure that the stock in the stores is appropriate for both the customers and the time of year [in those countries]."

This week Primark announced its commitment to paying for all product that was in production, finished and planned for handover by 17 April. The retailer cancelled all new orders on the 23 March.

Primark has also pledged to pay the wages of workers who were producing Primark orders that have now been cancelled.

"We've worked out a way now to have a responsible position with our suppliers and one that recognises our cashflow but also their position and to continue to work with them," Bason added.

The value retailer held its quarterly rent payments in March to enter negotiations with landlords over coronavirus rent concessions.

Although Bason would not give a full update, he told Drapers: "We have made agreements with a number of landlords and which will include either delay of lease payments or in some cases a holiday."

The CFO praised the government's economic support for the retail sector: "I would like to thank the government and in particular the chancellor. The response of the government to the predicaments of many companies, in particular for us the Job Retention Scheme, was very speedy and responsible."

On the retailer's financial position, ABF chairman Michael McLintock said this morning: "We have taken steps to confirm the availability of existing, and to agree new, borrowing facilities."

"Our assessment of ongoing concern shows that, even though this is a time of unprecedented uncertainty, the group has ample cash liquidity to deal with the likely challenges in the year ahead."

At the half year, the group had net cash of £801m and an undrawn, committed revolving credit facility (RCF) of £1,088m. Funds were drawn down in full on the RCF on 18 March.

ABF did not seek a waiver for its covenant test for September 2020 but has confirmed a waiver for February 2021. The group has also been granted access to funding under the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility.

As at the date of the interim results to 29 February, the group had available central cash on hand of £1.5bn.

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Coronavirus: Ecommerce remains uneconomic for Primark

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Net monthly global sales have fallen from £650m to zero, as all of Primark's global store estate is currently closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, ecommerce is still not an option for the value retailer, Bason told Drapers. "The economics of online remain the same, coronavirus hasn't changed that," he said.

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The retailer announced that it would reopen its website for orders today, however, would initially operate for a restricted number of hours a day to reduce order numbers and protect warehouse staff.

To achieve limited volumes, Next will now only allow customers to order the number of items that it believes can be picked safely on any given day. When this limit is reached, the retailer will stop taking online orders and convert the website to "browse only" until the following morning.

The limit varies from day to day.

The retailer today reached the limit by 8.30am on its first day of relaunch. However, if customers had items in their basket at that time - they had another 20 to 25 mins to checkout their purchases.

On 26 March, Next was among the first to announce its online operations would close because of employee concerns.

Peel Hunt analyst John Stevenson said: " There's clearly no issue with demand.

"Next will gradually build volumes, capacity and ranges available for sale over time, while maintaining a clear focus on safe working practices. We believe the business has a role to play in helping to clear excess third-party stock across its platform, accelerating recovery as we come out of lockdown.

"Next will also come out of this in a stronger market position."

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Next reaches online daily order limit by 8.30am

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The retailer announced that it would reopen its website for orders today, however, would initially operate for a restricted number of hours a day to reduce order numbers and protect warehouse staff. To achieve limited volumes, Next will now only allow customers to order the number of items that it believes can be picked safely on any given day.

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The 3% decline is in comparison with a previously expected rise of 5%, analyst GlobalData has reported. This would have been an increase of $927.7bn (£742.2bn) across the year.

Europe is expected to experience a decrease of 4.4% for the year, and North America a decline of 4.8%. Asia Pacific is predicted to see a less marked decline of 1.3%.

The updated outlook comes as new research from The Institute of Directors found business leaders are pessimistic about the future of their firms beyond the current lockdown.

The poll of business leaders, which has run since the UK's European Union referendum in 2016, showed its first negative reading for the week to 24 April.

The directors called for more clarity on how and when coronavirus restrictions will be lifted.
Drapers' coronavirus update:
We're working to keep delivering to your doorstep. If your magazine is delivered to your office and you'd like to change this, please email help@subscribe.drapersonline.com or call 01604 828 705.

As a subscriber you can also read the digital editions of the magazine, which can be found under the 'My Account' tab on the main navigation bar.

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Coronavirus: 2020 global retail spend to fall by £440bn

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The 3% decline is in comparison with a previously expected rise of 5%, analyst GlobalData has reported. This would have been an increase of $927.7bn (£742.2bn) across the year. Europe is expected to experience a decrease of 4.4% for the year, and North America a decline of 4.8%.

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Sitting in empty shops and piling up in distribution centres, excess stock has become a multibillion-pound problem for fashion retail as the coronavirus pandemic continues to decimate trade.

Last week, Next revealed that a "fast and steep " drop in sales has left the business with "a lot more stock" clogging up warehouses than previously anticipated. It warned this could inhibit operations and prevent it from being able to take in new product.

To mitigate the risk, Next has started to use third-party storage facilities and is holding some stock in source countries, at an estimated additional cost of £2m. It has also cancelled £450m of orders.

The industry is facing the largest stock clearance in a century

Chris Griffin, CEO of flash Sale site SecretSales

Primark owner Associated British Foods has written down the value of the chain's stock by £284m to reflect realistic pricing when stores reopen.

A key question for fashion retailers now is what to do with all that excess inventory.

Cancelling orders and carrying unsold stock over into future seasons is one solution to the stock conundrum. Next has identified £330m worth of spring 20 stock - mostly basic products, such as summer T-shirts and chinos - that can be carried over to next year.

However, retailers are still likely to be left with a glut of seasonal, trend-led product that has a short shelf life, and many fear this will lead to aggressive - and potentially brand-damaging - discounting.

"The industry is facing the largest stock clearance in a century," warns Chris Griffin, CEO of flash Sale site SecretSales and former director of ecommerce at Superdry.

"The longer the lockdown lasts, the larger the stock issue becomes. Retailers need to find a way of clearing stock that enhances, rather than damages, their brand equity. Constant discounting on your own platform devalues your brand and your full-price stock.It becomes a spiral.

It will be a Sale to remember for consumers, but the questions facing retailers are very difficult

Raffy Kassardjian, founder of Parker Lane Group

"Retailers need to take a strategic approach that spans different geographies and not flood a single international market with product, particularly as this is likely to be an issue that affects several seasons."

Raffy Kassardjian, founder of Parker Lane Group, which works with retailers to redistribute unsold stock, agrees: "It will be a Sale to remember for consumers, but the questions facing retailers are very difficult. How much stock are you going to be able to shift in a few months when you have missed the peak of the season?

"Warehouses are beginning to fill up with autumn 20 product, putting logistics and warehouse capacity under pressure."

Discounting routes

Selling through off-price channels is one option. A report on the impact of coronavirus on retail by management consultancy McKinsey & Company last month points to the benefits for off-price retailers such as The Outnet, Yoox and McArthurGlen.

The report also argues a new wave of discount digital players will emerge to seize the excess stock opportunity. At the end of April, Chinese ecommerce giant Tmall launched an online outlet, Luxury Soho, which is aimed at premium and luxury brands.

The size of the Chinese market is just vast and there's a real opportunity there

Sarah Curran-Usher, entrepreneur and a non-executive director at French Connection,

Some brands are also launching their own off-price platforms and flash Sale events to move excess stock. This prevents discounted product sitting side by side with full-price inventory.

Contemporary womenswear brand Ganni, for example, launched a six-day pop-up digital Sale at the end of April offering discounts of up to 70% on 400 items. The brand will donate 20% of profits to UN Women projects that support female health workers on the frontline of the pandemic.

Fellow womenswear label Lazy Oaf has relaunched its "Oaflet" discount channel, where it is offering customers up to 80% off.

Selling unwanted stock in other countries is another avenue. Although coronavirus has hit nations around the globe, some international markets have been less affected or are recovering more quickly than the UK.

Business partners Sarah Curran-Usher, entrepreneur and a non-executive director at French Connection, and Nicola Mathews, a former brand director at Ted Baker and Pentland Brands, are collaborating with John Lau, founder of Chinese commerce specialist Ecargo, on a project to help brands and retailers move unsold stock from the UK into the Chinese market.

"The size of the Chinese market is just vast and there's a real opportunity there," explains Curran-Usher.

We teamed up with some other sustainable brands to order some of the abandoned stock

Dea Baker, founder Aqua Rock

"I have been on the other side of the desk as a retailer myself [Curran-Usher was previously managing director at Very's designer discount channel Very Exclusive and founded My-Wardrobe] and know how big the stock challenge facing retailers is. When moving unsold stock to other countries, retailers have to think carefully about matching the stock to the right retail partner and the right consumer - you don't want to end up just transferring the problem."

She adds that in the long term, the pandemic could provide the industry with a valuable opportunity to rethink its approach to stock: "The reality is the industry has not necessarily bought [according] to consumer demand and has been left with excess stock season after season. This could force the industry to look at how to buy more efficiently to reflect the fact that consumers are much more about 'buy now, wear now', and to rethink old patterns."

Mathews adds: "You need to keep that stock moving to be able to pay your teams and your rent. Stock is a huge asset and if you can't find a way to turn into cash then it becomes a ticking clock."

Parker Lane Group's Kassardjian points to opportunities in closer markets: "Some markets have been less affected by the pandemic than others - north African markets, such as Egypt and Tunisia, are easing restrictions, and there's also been interest in unsold stock from eastern European markets, such as Poland."

Donating products to good causes is another option for those left with too much stock, argues Ronen Lazar, co-founder and CEO of Inturn - a platform that helps retailers manage their inventory.

Even before the pandemic, some brands were choosing to support charitable causes and move excess stock. Burberry, for example, has donated product to Smart Works, which provides free clothes and training for unemployed women with an upcoming job interview. Boden has donated more than £770,000 of clothing to 15 NHS trusts across the UK.

"Donation is an interesting option," says Lazar. "These are tough times for everyone, so rather than letting inventory sit and incurring costs to hold it, retailers could donate product to those who really need it. It may not be at the top of retailers' minds at the moment, because of the current challenges, but the sustainability issue will be even more pronounced coming out of pandemic. Retailers will need to double down on reducing waste."

Buying power

Excess stock is providing opportunities for some. Debenhams has been purchasing discounted stock unwanted by other retailers to help fill gaps in its seasonal ranges, although the department store would not confirm whether the stock comes from new or existing suppliers and brand partners.

Some smaller brands are also finding innovative solutions to help mop up excess stock in the market. Sustainable brand Aqua Rock, which usually produces womenswear and accessories made from waste plastic, has created a range of T-shirts made from cancelled stock produced by factories in Bangladesh. All profits will go to charities that support the NHS.

"The yarn we use in our normal product range comes from a supplier in Spain and a supplier in Italy, both of whom have had to temporarily stop operations," explains founder Dea Baker.

"We teamed up with some other sustainable brands to order some of the abandoned stock - it means that the factories are able to pay workers and it helps us survive what is a very difficult time. We hope that other brands will join us and that we can expand the project, which has had a great reaction from European boutiques now able to resume trading in Germany and the Netherlands."

Retailers have a relatively short window to sell spring and summer stock in a period where demand is likely to remain low due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Heavy discounting is inevitable, but risks perpetuating the already-vicious cycle of constant promotions in fashion. Retailers should look to the opportunities in off-price and international markets, to clear some of the stock without damaging their brand equity.

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What can retailers do with their spring 20 stock mountain?

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Sitting in empty shops and piling up in distribution centres, excess stock has become a multibillion-pound problem for fashion retail as the coronavirus pandemic continues to decimate trade. Last week, Next revealed that a "fast and steep " drop in sales has left the business with "a lot more stock" clogging up warehouses than previously anticipated.

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- Archive sales  with % of proceeds going to NHS/ C19 charities
- Strategic markdowns e.g specific department (jeans) discounted per week
-Sample sale platforms - separate from brand avoids customer expectation of discounts
- Carry core into A/W20 - Levi's only 20% seasonal so only slightly affected by piled stock ( idea for brands to become less seasonally strict)
- Relocate stock  where it is weather appropriate e.g Australia or market is beginning to open e.g China
- Repurposing/ up cycling stock - currently brands repurposing unsellable stock into masks(Collina Strada NYC brand)

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A Lloyds Bank business barometer shows firms' hiring intentions fell into negative territory for the first time since 2011, with 37% saying they expect to reduce staff numbers. Close to a third of firms said they expected to freeze pay.

Overall, 74% of businesses said they were being hit hard by coronavirus, although 10% said the lockdown had benefited them.

One fifth of firms said they expected to increase employment.

Companies were not optimistic about a quick bounce-back. Manufacturing firms were most pessimistic, with only 22% expecting their supply chain to return to levels seen before the outbreak within three months.

In the retail sector, only 28% of firms thought supply chains would return to normal in three months.

Paul Gordon, managing director for small and medium-sized businesses at Lloyds Bank, said: "April has shown the unprecedented impact of the shutdown for businesses across the UK, with trading prospects and overall confidence free-falling across the regions."

"During this time it is important that businesses take steps to access the government schemes such as tax deferment, rates reductions, small business grants, the job retention scheme and the various finance options available."

Drapers' coronavirus update:

We're working to keep delivering to your doorstep. If your magazine is delivered to your office and you'd like to change this, please email help@subscribe.drapersonline.com or call 01604 828 705.

As a subscriber you can also read the digital editions of the magazine, which can be found under the 'My Account' tab on the main navigation bar.

Finally, make sure you've signed up to our newsletters by visiting 'My Account' and 'Newsletters'.

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Almost 40% of UK firms expect to cut staff

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A Lloyds Bank business barometer shows firms' hiring intentions fell into negative territory for the first time since 2011, with 37% saying they expect to reduce staff numbers. Close to a third of firms said they expected to freeze pay. Overall, 74% of businesses said they were being hit hard by coronavirus, although 10% said the lockdown had benefited them.

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Mytheresa: Germany luxury etailer Mytheresa has donated more than €350,000 [£307,000] to the Red Cross to support the charity's efforts in the fight against Covid-19.

Pentland Brands: The group has been working to support frontline workers. Ellesse is running a charity T shirt design competition, where the winning designs will be sold on ellesse.com and all proceeds will go to support frontline workers via the World Health Organisation's Covid-19 Solidarity Fund.

Berghaus has donated Goretex fabric to Endura to create prototype medical grade gowns.

The Speedo Fastskin supplier in Portugal is manufacturing masks for public and healthcare professionals. Speedo has also waived its exclusivity conditions for its goggle supplier in China, so it can manufacture PPE visors and protective goggles.

Little Mistress: The group has teamed up with Clap For Our Carers and charitable marketplace Kindred to launch a clothing and accessories range, the proceeds of which will go to NHS Charities Together.

The range is available via the Little Mistress website and all proceeds will go to help frontline workers. Founder and CEO Mark Ashton said: "We aim to create a wide variety of product and expose the brand through a dedicated influencer program and raise funds to support NHS Charities Together. Fashion is a very powerful avenue that we can really drive and make a difference."

Havaianas: The flip flop brand's parent company Alpargatas has adapted its factories in Brazil to make PPE. The organisation will make 250,000 N95 face masks and donate them to public health services in the states of Paraiba, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, where the factories are located. It is making clogs suitable for healthcare professionals instead of its signature flip flops, and will donate 18,000 of these to health professionals at São Paolo Hospital.

It is also donating essential items including food, hygiene products and Havaianas to vulnerable communities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Salvador and Belo Horizonte.

Lacoste: The sportswear brand has made 100,000 face masks and is aiming to double that amount. Its factory in Troyes, France is helping with production, one in Argentina has been adapted to manufacture PPE, as has its Turkish partner EREN Holding.

Reiss: The brand have announced a number of measures to help provide PPE. It's purchasing 10,000 face masks directly from factories which it will donate to the Guys & St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust and Barts Health NHS Trust. Reiss has also donated 2,000m of cotton to the Emma Willis Style for Surgeons initiative, which has made 900 scrubs. The scrubs will be made in Willis' factory in Gloucestershire and delivered to hospitals across the UK.

The brand has also donated 4,000m of fabric to the Emergency Designer Network, which will make 1,900 sets of scrubs.

Selfridges: The department store is asking its followers on social media to tag and post the actions they are taking to help themselves and others during the pandemic. The retailer is working alongside charity partner Heroes + to reward those making a difference on the frontline of the pandemic. Followers are asked to highlight an NHS or key worker they would like to give back to. Selfridges gives a shout out to each person by regramming the posts on Instagram stories or liking the comments. The retailer then selects three to five nominees each week to receive a surprise gift - such as beauty products, homeware gifts or food - sent to their work.

Selfridges has also donated stock from its closed foodhalls to food banks and food sharing schemes across Manchester and London. Over 1,600 Easter eggs were collected by Heroes + and donated amongst staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to thank NHS staff.

Fairfax & Favor: The footwear and accessories brand has raised over £61,000 for the NHS Charities Covid-19 Appeal, after donating 10% of all online sales made in April. The donation will go towards funding wellbeing packs for NHS staff and volunteers, aswell as funding accomodation, travel, parking and other expenses.

For May, the company are selling a limited edition, navy and white suede tassel for £25, with 100% of profits going to the NHS Charities Together Campaign. The brand expects to raise an additional £40,000.

Superdry: Superdry has launched a crowdfunding campaign to provide organic cotton hoodies for NHS staff to change into after front-line shifts. Founder and chief executive Julian Dunkerton has pledged to triple donations made and the campaign has currently raised £16,000.

The Cheltenham-based brand has also donated 300,000 items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff working in care homes in its local area. The items include masks, aprons and gloves to be distributed to residential care homes, nursing homes, hospices and remote care workers.

Klarna: The global payment provider is had pledged to donate £1, $1 or €1 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for every Klarna transaction placed at Asos globally on 29 April.

The 'Giveback Day' will take place internationally and money raised for the ICRC will go towards activities such as sanitation to prevent the spread of Covid-19, support for vital health infrastructure such as hospitals, and towards ensuring access to clean water for countless communities. Klarna has not placed a limit on the amount that it will donate as part of the day.

Brøgger: Danish born and London-based designer Julie Brøgger, founder of the eponymous label, has created patterns for PPE gowns being made in a volunteer pop-up factory for Royal Brompton hospital. A digital version of the pattern is now being shared with NHS trusts, hospitals and care homes across the country to help more pop-up factories be set up.

Mulberry: The luxury handbag brand has reopened its Somerset factory to produce 8,000 PPE gowns in the coming weeks. It has sourced fluid-resistant, washable material that ensures the gowns can be laundered and used safely multiple times for non-surgical use in line with government guidelines.

Mulberry will donate the gowns to University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. It is also in conversations with a number of other NHS Trusts to support them. It is also supporting their local network of voluntary community groups who are making scrubs to order for NHS Staff. Mulberry is cutting large volumes of fabric to pattern for its Bristol 'Scrub Hub'.

Savile Row: tailoring houses Cad & The Dandy and Huntsman are producing and donating up to 100 sets of scrubs a day for frontline care home and NHS workers during the pandemic. The duo have already received over 1,000 orders from around the UK.

Joules: British lifestyle brand Joules is supporting the NHS in its fight against the coronavirus by sourcing thousands of masks and hospital gowns and donating Joules products for both those working on the frontline and the most vulnerable. The retailer is leveraging its supplier partnerships to source and donate 50,000 civilian-grade masks, all of which are being donated to those who urgently need them including the University of Leicester Hospitals Trust, Joules charity partner Hospice UK, and various regional key worker end user groups.

Church's: Church's is launching a fundraising digital marathon, running from 20 April to 31 May, with all proceeds from sales of Church's 'polishing kits' going to support the fight against Covid-19. Various influencers and opinion leaders are involved in the project, and will publish a video on Instagram illustrating their personal approach to polishing their Church's shoes, nominating three other people to do the same, thereby triggering a digital marathon. Church's will regram the best polishing results.

Ebay: Ebay has announced it is working with teams in the NHS Supply Chain, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Army/MoD, to create a new online portal to help ease some of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) supply issues currently facing the medical community. The new portal, which is currently in a pilot phase, aims to help primary and social care providers to order PPE equipment from NHS Supply Chain.

Ted Baker: the retailer has launched Ted's Bazaar, a digital pop-up shop that offers limited edition merchandise. All profits from the initiative will go to charities supporting communities facing challenges. The first drop of merchandise features t-shirts, mugs, towels and beanie hats with rainbow and applause motifs. Donations from the first collection will go to Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides free, healthy breakfasts to schoolchildren at risk of hunger.

Schuh: The Schuh Trust is donating £3m to the Covid-19 Relief Effort. A donation of £2m will be made to the National Emergencies Trust. The NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal will also receive a donation of £1m.

Sessún and Paige: Parisian fashion brand Sessún will be doing its part to help the Coronavirus relief effort by donating 10% of its sales to the Covid-19 emergency aid fund set up by the FHF (French Hospitals Foundation). Fashion brand Paige will donate 20% of their entire sales to St.Vincents Meals on Wheels.

Boden: the British lifestyle brand has collaborated with Helpforce, a charity that coordinates initiatives to improve the lives of NHS staff and patients. Boden is providing nightwear and clothing to NHS staff unable to return home at the end of hospital shifts and to recovered patients unable to get clothing from their families whilst in hospital due to the risk of infection. Customers can also to donate to Helpforce through Boden's website.

Nobis: The Canadian outwear brand has announced that 100% of its digital sales over the coming three weeks will be donated to protecting frontline healthcare teams internationally. This follows an initial CAN$100,000 (£57,000) donated to local Ontario hospitals.

Colliers International: The real estate company has launched a free real estate helpdesk to support London's independent restaurant, retail, and leisure businesses and their landlords during Covid-19 pandemic. It will aim to help with: general property strategy, lease and rent renegotiations, insolvency and restructuring, business rates, deferring or cancelling payments debt advice and government assistance schemes. For further information about Colliers' helpdesk and to receive advice, click here.

Elle: Hosiery business Elle has switched all its manufacturing capabilities from tights to washable face masks, to help the demand on medical equivalents for frontline healthcare staff across the UK. The manufacturer can produce 350,000 masks per week, which can be washed up to 25 times. The masks will be not-for-profit, and retail at £14.99 for five.

David Nieper: The Derbyshire-based retailer has begun production of NHS scrubs, having received its first order to make an initial 5,000 sets of scrubs for two university hospital trusts. Machinists originally furloughed have returned to work to make the scrubs.

Christopher Kane: To limit the amount of people buying medical masks needed by the NHS, Christopher Kane is sending out free craft packs for the general public to make their own face masks from past season fabrics. Email art.dept@christopherkane.com with your full name and postal address to receive the pack.

Raeburn: British brand Raeburn has focused on creativity in its community through the crisis. With its #RaeburnAtHome initiative the brand has released craft and drawing patterns to keep its community busy, as well as an Instagram live from Chistopher Raeburn giving a tour of the Raeburn Labs.

Last week its Raeburn Connect series launched on its Instagram with live videos discussing topics from the future of retail, fashion education and learnings from the pandemic with expert hosts.

Crocs: Crocs is donating over 200,000 shoes to hospitals globally to support frontline healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The footwear brand is also asking online customers to donate £10 outright or with the purchase of a pair of classic clogs. For every donation made Crocs will donate an additional pair of shoes to frontline workers.

Hunter: The British heritage brand has donated 1,500 pairs of Wellington boots to the London Ambulance Service, and 1,000 waterproof jackets to hospitals in the US.

John Lewis: The John Lewis Partnership has installed a staff area in the newly opened NHS Nightingale London hospital, which will provide help and counselling for medical workers.

The business also announced that it has partnered with the British Medical Association (BMA) to deliver "care packages" to 60,000 NHS staff. The packages will include items such as toiletries, food, drink and new socks. The first boxes will be sent on 9 April, distributed to staff working in high intensity clinical areas such as critical and intensive care units.

M&S: M&S has introduced a number of measures to help the NHS and its hospital partners. The retailer has designed and donated t-shirts as part of the uniform pack for the NHS Nightingale Hospital team in London. M&S is also donating individual clothing packs for discharged patients at the new London hospital.

Over 4,000 pyjamas have been donated to be used as scrubs at NHS Derbyshire. M&S is also donating to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Urgent Appeal with customers now able to choose the appeal as their Sparks charity and donate every time they shop.

Balmain: To help support French caregivers and hospitals during the COVID-19 crisis, Mayhoola, the parent company of Balmain, Valentino and Pal Zileri, is donating €1m one million euros to French charity La Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris - Hôpitaux de France.

Kurt Geiger: The footwear retailer will give £5m worth of shoes and bags to NHS in the coming months.

Temperley London: The womenswear brand will donate 20% of all proceeds from its website to the NHS Charities Covid19 Urgent Appeal.

Levi Strauss: The denim giant is committing $3 million (£2.4m) to relief efforts that work around the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including Doctors Without Borders and Chinese for Affirmative Action, which is fighting back against the coronavirus-related racism directed toward Asian Americans.

British manufacturers: British fashion manufacturers and designers have come together to produce masks and personal protective clothing (PPE) for frontline staff during the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Revolve: The US etailer is donating 10,000 federally approved face masks to 2 hospitals in Los Angeles that need support with protective equipment.

Yoox Net-A-Porter: The group has donated its London premier delivery fleet to deliver essential supplies to those in need. Vehicles within the fleet will now serve as volunteered vehicles for seven local Age UK charities in London. The initiative will also support the Emergency Designer Network (EDN), pioneered by London-based designers Holly Fulton, Phoebe English and Bethany Williams which is galvanising local UK manufacturers and designers to produce stocks of key PPE garments such as robes, scrubs and masks.

Yoox Net-A-Porter is also extending donations to charities in Milan and Hong Kong.

Salvatore Ferragamo: The Italian fashion house has manufactured and donated more than 100,000 masks and 50,000 units of hand sanitiser to local healthcare units in the Tuscany region of Italy.

Chi Chi London: Occasionwear brand Chi Chi London is holding activities including isolation bingo, virtual quizzes, fitness programmes and mindfulness activities on its social channels to look after its community.

Linda Farrow: The sunglasses and eyewear brand is donating 10% of its online sales for March and April to the NHS Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.

PVH Corporation: The company's foundation has committed $1m (£800,000) towards Covid-19 relief, including a $100,000 (£8,000) donation to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund created by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, benefitting the World Health Organization and other partners.

Anine Bing: The eponymous fashion brand is producing 10,000 masks and donating them to foundations that need them to continue with the fight against Coronavirus.

Little Mistress Group: The group is offering any brands unlimited space on its marketplace for current, cancelled and markdown stock, in light of the coronavirus. The etailer will reduce commission on sales by 50% for brands who have been affected by wholesale customers. The company plans to start inviting brands onto the site from next week onwards, and will offer marketing to help push their stock.

Brands and factories can fully own their stock. The Little Mistress Group will upload the content onto the site, and once a sale happens the brand will automatically receive notification and dispatch to the customer. Founder and CEO Mark Ashton said: "Or we're also happy to hold their stock. Again, they will still have full ownership and we will take care of the product journey from the point of sale."

Saint James: French heritage lifestyle brand Saint James is shifting its manufacturing activity to produce protective masks for health institutions and hospitals.

Diadora and Geox: Enrico and Mario Moretti Polegato, presidents of Diadora and Geox, have donated one million euros to the Veneto Region of Italy to help manage the ongoing health emergency.

PrettyLittleThing: Founder and chief executive Umar Kumani has donated his salary for March to small businesses struggling due to coronavirus.

Bezo London: Women's T-shirt brand Bezo London is donating 75% of sales from its new Zodiac Collection to the NHS.

Allbirds: Sustainable footwear brand Allbirds is offering NHS workers on the frontline of fighting coronavirus a free pair of shoes. Doctors, nurses and medical staff can claim a free pair by filling out a short form online. The brand said it wanted to show its appreciation for "what the incredible NHS is doing for the country during these awful uncertain times."

Kurt Geiger: Having closed its 55 high street stores across UK and Ireland, Kurt Geiger is urging its 2,000 store workers to utilise their time whilst being paid and not working to become part of their volunteering scheme for employees with Age UK.

Inditex: Zara owner Inditex is looking to convert part of its textile manufacturing capacity in Spain to produce hospital gowns. It has also pledged to make available to Spain its vast global logistics and supplier network to help distribute materials including protective masks, gloves, goggles and caps.

H&M Group: The Swedish retail group is arranging for its supply chain to produce personal protective equipment to be provided to hospitals and health care workers.

John Lewis: The department store is donating comfort items and Easter gifts to local hospitals to support NHS workers.

Mango: Mango will donate and distribute 2 million medical masks to hospitals across Spain.

Phoebe English: English fashion designer Phoebe English is offering to make face masks for organisations that are running low. The designer is also offering assistance to those in the SE8 area of London who are struggling to get the food or medication they require.

If you or your business has machinery that can assist in making face masks or other medical garments you can contact gcfcovid19enquiries@cabinetoffice.gov.uk to help.

Country of Origin: Knitwear brand Country of Origin is launching a kickstarter campaign to retool its knitting factory temporarily to manufacture WHO-grade hand sanitiser. 100% of profits will be used to supply care homes free of charge.

In The Style: Etailer In The Style has pledged to donate 100% of profits from its new collection with Olivia Bowen to Age UK to help support elderly people through the Covid-19 crisis. It has since widened this commitment and will donate 10% of proceeds from all In The Style sales to the charity.

Three Graces: Womenswear brand Three Graces London is to donate 100% of net sales from all products sold on its website over the next two weeks to homeless charity Crisis.

Sophia Webster: Footwear brand Sophia Webster is gifting 200 pairs of its FlyBy trainers to NHS workers.

LVMH: The French luxury goods group is producing hand sanitiser at three of its perfume and cosmetics factories for distribution to French hospitals fighting the country's coronavirus outbreak.

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Thinking positive: fashion's coronavirus relief efforts

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Mytheresa: Germany luxury etailer Mytheresa has donated more than €350,000 [£307,000] to the Red Cross to support the charity's efforts in the fight against Covid-19. Pentland Brands: The group has been working to support frontline workers.

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In the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, suppliers have borne the brunt of retailers' hardships. Cancelled orders, delays and strict lockdown regulations make day-to-day operations a challenge, putting the future of entire businesses in jeopardy.

In order to survive, suppliers and manufacturers are being forced to restructure operations and adapt how they work on a day-to-day basis.

In the absence of regular, conventional trade, some are looking outside the fashion world and responding to the chorus of NHS professionals decrying the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. These are gowns, masks, aprons and other items that help protect medical staff from infection while treating coronavirus patients.

I have a workforce that wants to work, and it's good for the nation as well

Jenny Holloway, Fashion Enter

Fashion and retail businesses have been quick to lend their supply chains to the cause, not just in the UK but around the globe. Last week Burberry became the latest high-profile name to throw its weight behind efforts by retooling factories and offering production capacity for PPE.

The luxury brand plans to make gowns and face masks for medical workers at its Yorkshire factory, and is using its wider supply chain to fast-track 100,000 masks to the NHS. Many fashion businesses globally have also switched production ( box, below).

Additionally, Fashion Roundtable, the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Textiles and Fashion, has announced that it had brought together designers, manufacturers, the UK Cabinet, the Department for International Trade and several brands with the aim of supplying PPE to the NHS and additional protective products to the general public.

Kate Hills, founder of Make It British, is working to unite UK manufacturers to produce PPE for frontline staff, while British designer Phoebe English is leading a team of independent UK designers - including Bethany Williams and Holly Fulton - to produce non-frontline protective clothing with the Home Office's Emergency Designer Network.

London calling

One manufacturer already turning its hand to the production of face masks is London-based Fashion Enter.

CEO Jenny Holloway explains that the factory is also making 5,000 scrubs a week for NHS frontline workers, and has also started production of non-surgical protective face masks, for which is has capacity to produce 15,000 a week.

Orders overall are slightly down but the factory is still creating goods for clients including Asos and Coast, in addition to making masks. As a result, Fashion Enter remains up and running - albeit with new social-distancing policies in place.

"I have a workforce that wants to work, and it's good for the nation as well," says Holloway. "We're trying to carry on as normal. It's not normal, but we have to carry on."

The size of the issue is enormous, and the government needs sources of supply that can ramp up quickly

Nigel Lugg, UKFT

Holloway explains that there are differences in producing medical items - for example, there is no pressing because of the protective chemicals coating the fabrics, and each item is created in its entirety at once, rather than in a series of steps.

The same machinery is used, so no additional training was required for workers.

However, as other factories are already being forced to close their operations, Holloway has concerns about a longer-term skills shortage: "If the factories close, and employees are furloughed and end up stacking shelves, they won't come back. We'll lose them. There will be a skills drain out of the UK manufacturing industry."

National effort

Kate Hills, founder and CEO of UK manufacturing platform Make It British, believes PPE production could demonstrate the value and capacity of local manufacturing.

"The government is realising they've made a mistake by off-shoring so much production," she says. "Now the whole world wants [face masks and PPE], and we don't have an instant home-grown solution.

"Producing this equipment is definitely a viable option to keep factories up and running. We have the capacity: we could make millions and millions of these items."

She adds that the swathes of cancelled orders - from retailers such as Arcadia Group, Primark, Oasis and Warehouse, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group and more - will enable suppliers to offer capacity to make health and safety clothing: "Most factories have pretty much shut down unless they have started re-equipping [to make PPE]. Orders are being cancelled left right and centre, but many factories are ready and willing to help make things for the NHS."

One such business is the luxury menswear brand Private White VC. CEO James Eden tells Drapers that its Manchester factory, where all product is made, is currently closed. All workers were told to expect a four-to-12-week "sabbatical" from operations and have been furloughed.

"We're making luxury apparel - it's not essential or life critical," says Eden. "We have ceased activities to keep staff safe and sound."

However, he describes the business as "on standby", and has contacted the NHS to offer assistance in procuring and creating necessary equipment. The relevant paperwork has been signed, but Eden says Private White VC has not yet been called up.

"We make relatively complicated apparel, so if there is a need for the kind of equipment used in hospitals, I am more than happy to see what we can do as a factory to offer our support," says Eden.

He remains anxious for the wider sector: "The situation is extremely precarious for a lot of businesses. For many, there has been a complete cessation of turnover and cashflow.

"We're not sure what stock we're going to need when. If nothing changes until September, what do people do with the spring 20 stock that they have got now?"

"We carry a lot of stock and we make a lot of stock ahead of the season. We have already got the materials in for our autumn 20 stock. But if we don't need to use that, it will still be relevant for the next year. It is a bit of a drain on capital but not a disaster."

Christopher Nieper, CEO of David Nieper, also offered to put the womenswear brand and manufacturer's closed factory at Alfreton, near Nottingham, and 300 staff "at the disposal of the NHS". Despite discussions with the NHS procurement agencies, he says: "We were faced with a huge, centralised administrative blockage that prevented us from serving our healthcare heroes."

Instead, he went directly to hospitals in the local East Midlands area, and secured an order to supply nine of them with surgical scrubs and gowns. A volunteer team worked over the Easter weekend to make the first 1,000 garments and furloughed staff have now returned to work to fulfil the order.

Standing up

Since the outbreak began in the UK, the UK Fashion and Textile association (UKFT) says it has been inundated with offers of assistance from factories and manufacturers keen to help provide medical staff with PPE. However, chairman Nigel Lugg says that in reality, only manufacturers with large-scale operations are likely to be able to offer sufficient capacity. So producing PPE is unlikely to provide a lifeline for small, struggling suppliers.

"We've had lots of fantastic people offering their help, which is really admirable, but we have to look at the practicalities," he says. "The size of the issue is enormous, and the government needs sources of supply that can ramp up quickly. What the government will be doing is taking the best in the industry." He cites the example of the government's order of 10,000 ventilators from appliance maker Dyson.

Lugg, too, fears for the future of the industry: "There's a tsunami going through the global supply chain. Cancelled orders, deferred payments and a lack of cashflow" are placing exceptional demands on manufacturers. "Suppliers are the lifeblood of the industry. There needs to be a unification of the industry, a moratorium to talk about the issues being faced."

Despite no official policy from government, many factories, including Private White VC's facility, have shut down. Those which are able to remain open - be it for PPE production or standard orders - are putting new and stringent strategies in place to ensure the safety of staff.

Laura Gore, managing director of silk supplier Vanners, says its 67,000 sq ft factory in Sudbury, Suffolk, is being run by a "base crew" of 18 to 20 people every day, while all those who can work from home. Out of a total workforce of 84, 20 staff have been furloughed.

"The people that we have to have in are those doing physical manufacturing: weavers, dyers and warpers," she says. "We introduced gloves for staff and we have hand sanitiser stations across the site.

"We are cleaning down all machinery regularly, but because we're now operating with a small team, people are also able to stick to their own looms, all of which are well spaced apart."

Vanners is holding stock in the factory for customers in the US and Italy, but orders from Japan are still in demand, and being chased by customers.

Gore says it would theoretically be simple to switch production to PPE, and the company has registered its availability to assist.

Many suppliers may feel the fates of their business hang in the balance, as the unimaginable situation ravages fashion and retail across the globe. The torrent of goodwill coming forth from suppliers is positive, but the reality is complex, and may not be the lifeline some producers need.

Protection brigade: fashion switches to healthcare

Burberry Retooling its Yorkshire factory and promising 100,000 masks to the NHS

David Nieper Making gowns and scrubs for hospitals near its factory in the Midlands

H&M Group Pledged to ask all of its 750 suppliers to produce PPE and masks

Lacoste Produced 100,000 masks and adapted its factory in Argentina to produce masks and gowns

Reformation Partnering with the City of Los Angeles to make 5 million masks at its LA factory

Wolford Assisting to produce 200,000 masks from its Vienna factory

Chanel Plans for all factories to produce surgical face masks, pending approval from the French government

LVMH Secured up to 40 million medical or surgical grade face masks from Chinese suppliers - to be provided to the French healthcare system.

Kering Supplying 3 million surgical masks to France, and retooling brand factories to manufacture more

Uniqlo Parent company Fast Company will supply 10 million across Italy, the US and Japan

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In the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, suppliers have borne the brunt of retailers' hardships. Cancelled orders, delays and strict lockdown regulations make day-to-day operations a challenge, putting the future of entire businesses in jeopardy. In order to survive, suppliers and manufacturers are being forced to restructure operations and adapt how they work on a day-to-day basis.

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It outlines the company's global strategy to achieve "significant, measurable goals" across a range of environmental and social sustainability issues, including material sourcing, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste reduction, diversity and inclusion and philanthropic giving.
The company's corporate social responsibility strategy is divided into three areas:
Our World: focused on actions across the company's operations and supply chain, meant to significantly reduce its environmental impact;

Our Community: fostering a supportive, healthy, diverse and inclusive workplace for all of the company's employees;

Our Philanthropy: connecting the talents, energy and success of each of the company's brands to those in need around the world.

The goals and objectives in the Capri Holdings corporate social responsibility report support the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Capri Holdings has set targets to be 100% carbon neutral in its direct operations and to source 100% of energy for its owned and operated facilities from renewable sources by 2025. Building on its net zero carbon emissions commitment, and in an effort to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement, the company will also commit to set emissions reduction targets across its operations and supply chain with the Science Based Targets initiative by 2021.

The company has additionally committed to, and has already been working towards, a number of initiatives, including: all plastic in packaging to be recyclable, compostable, recycled or reusable by 2025; 100% of point-of-sale packaging materials to be recyclable or sustainably sourced by 2025; partnering with key suppliers to reduce water use; traceability of its supply chain; sourcing at least 95% of its leather from certified tanneries by 2025, and furthering diversity and inclusion within the organization.

"We are proud of the actions our company is taking to drive positive environmental and social change within our organization and our world," said John Idol, chairman and chief executive officer of Capri Holdings.

"Early last year, soon after we created our global fashion luxury group, Capri Holdings, we assessed the sustainability efforts each of our brands was already undertaking, along with the core values shared by them. We also considered the responsibilities we collectively hold to the environment, to the communities in which we operate, and to the people with whom we work. We recognize that as our company grows, so do our responsibilities, and welcome the opportunity to do more.

"We believe that sound environmental and social policies are both ethically correct and fiscally responsible. To that end, we are committed to improving the way we work in order to better the world in which we live."

Meanwhile, to coincide with the release of the company's corporate social responsibility goals and objectives, Idol signed the United Nations Global Compact, the sustainability initiative established to support achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Versace owner sets out social responsibility strategy

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It outlines the company's global strategy to achieve "significant, measurable goals" across a range of environmental and social sustainability issues, including material sourcing, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste reduction, diversity and inclusion and philanthropic giving.

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As high streets and shopping centres lie empty in cities across Europe, the usual flow of orders to factories in garment-producing countries has come to a sudden and devastating halt. Among the worst hit by coronavirus cancellations is Bangladesh, whose economy relies heavily on clothing exports. Suppliers, and garment workers, are now struggling to survive.

Disappearing domestic demand has resulted in retailers cancelling orders en masse, putting enormous pressure on the industry in Bangladesh and pushing factories to the brink of collapse. More than 1,100 factories in Bangladesh are currently closed and around $3.08bn (£2.4bn) worth of exports - the equivalent of 964 million pieces of clothing - have been cancelled or suspended during the coronavirus crisis so far, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has reported.

In a video published at the end of March, association president Rubana Huq pleaded with international buyers to take delivery of completed orders under existing payment terms to protect people who work in the sector.

"We will have 4.1 million workers literally going hungry if we don't all step up to our commitment to the welfare of the workers. This is a call we all promised to take a long time ago," Huq warned.

"Orders are being cancelled by buyers and retailers at a rate we've never seen before

Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of denim manufacturer Denim Expert

"One thing is very clear: our foremost responsibility is towards our workers. We are a manufacturing country. Our reality and your reality is totally different, but it is not a time to point out differences - it is a time through which we need to work together."

Workers' rights

Millions of factory workers have been sent home, often without legally mandated pay or severance money, the Center for Global Workers Rights reported last month.

"More than half of Bangladeshi clothing suppliers have had the bulk of their in-process or completed orders cancelled, its report found, and more than half of factories have had to shut operations as a result. When orders were cancelled, more than 70% of buyers globally refused to pay for the raw materials already purchased.

"Orders are being cancelled by buyers and retailers at a rate we've never seen before," Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of denim manufacturer Denim Expert in Chittagong and founder of the Sustainable Apparel Forum, tells Drapers. Denim Expert works with high street retailers including Arcadia Group.

"It is crippling the entire industry. If the buyers do not pay the manufacturers, how will the manufacturers pay the salaries to their workers? Without orders, factories cannot remain operational and will go bust.

"Secure work at [garment] factories is a lifeline for millions of families in Bangladesh. How will they survive if the factories do not?"

Simone Cipriani, head and founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative at the United Nations' International Trade Centre, adds: "Cancelled orders in a country like Bangladesh have a huge social impact - much larger than we can imagine in the setting of Europe or the US.

As a bare minimum, retailers have to be honouring existing contracts

Dominique Muller, policy director at campaign group Labour Behind the Label

"The impact of coronavirus on businesses in western countries has been bad, but there are at least public mechanisms to mitigate the effects on society. In Bangladesh, the lack of a living wage means workers don't have the income necessary to deal with any kind of emergency, not only because of current cancellations but because of employment conditions pre-crisis. Workers have not accumulated any kind of financial buffer."

He adds that desperate workers unable to find alternatives may be forced to find illegal work, including, in some extreme cases, turning to terrorism.

Disease threat

As factories fight to survive, there are also concerns about how densely populated Bangladesh will be able to control the spread of coronavirus, particularly among the country's poorest. Although at the time of writing the number of reported infections and deaths in the country was still relatively low, millions of people live in slums. Cramped living conditions and limited access to running water make social distancing and frequent hand washing to fight off the virus impossible.

One high street supplier who works with factories in Bangladesh tells Drapers: "Somewhere like Bangladesh is not going to be able to enforce social distancing without a huge slowdown in production.

Some factories are also saying they are taking precautions when in fact they aren't

Dominique Muller, policy director at campaign group Labour Behind the Label

"How the country will cope with the virus is a worry. Often in garment factories, workers are a metre away or less from each other.

"The situation also poses challenges for retailers, because one of the key characteristics of the Bangladesh apparel sector is high volumes. Retailers will struggle to switch big orders [to other countries] without incurring huge costs.

"The biggest impact, however, will be on the Bangladesh economy, which will be very badly hit."

Dominique Muller, policy director at campaign group Labour Behind the Label, adds: "This virus affects everyone, and it doesn't discriminate, but how people experience this virus varies hugely. If you're a garment worker living in small room and you lose your job, you'll be forced out on the streets to find work wherever you can and there's a huge risk of the virus spreading.

"From what we've seen and heard, some factories are also saying they are taking precautions when in fact they aren't."

Ethical reponse

To help prevent a humanitarian disaster in Bangladesh, suppliers, charities and apparel bodies are calling on retailers to work with factories to share the burden. A handful of retailers are taking this approach - H&M Group, for example, has agreed to pay for already produced garments and goods in production under agreed terms in all sourcing countries, including Bangladesh. The Swedish retail giant will also not negotiate prices on any already placed orders.

Primark has pledged to pay the wages of workers who were producing orders that have now been cancelled. However, critics, including Labour Behind the Label's Muller, point out that wages do not cover the whole cost of cancelled orders and factories are still left out of pocket.

Muller argues: "As a bare minimum, retailers have to be honouring existing contracts. Some big brands have the power to effectively renege on contracts - they must pay for work that has already taken place. They need to be asking suppliers about employment relations and if all workers are getting legal benefits and compensation.

Brands and retailers should take delivery of the current orders that have already been produced

Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of denim manufacturer Denim Expert

"Now is the time to step up and not just rely on vague codes of conduct. Retailers also need to be ensuring factories are following World Health Organization guidelines to protect the health of workers."

Denim Expert's Uddin agrees: "Brands do not want to lose their supply chains - the world will still need apparel supply chains [after coronavirus], unless we all decide to stop wearing clothing.

"Brands and retailers should take delivery of the current orders that have already been produced or are at different stages of production with the agreed payment terms as per the contracts. Real partnership between brands and manufacturers is now more important than ever, for both sides to support the other and to collaborate to overcome the crisis."

High street retailers and brands talk about the struggle to survive the coronavirus crisis, but this could quickly become a very literal problem for garment workers in sourcing countries like Bangladesh. Many could fall even further below the poverty line if they are left out of work. The wellbeing of workers in sourcing countries is the responsibility of the entire fashion industry.

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'Millions will literally go hungry': coronavirus chaos in Bangladesh

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As high streets and shopping centres lie empty in cities across Europe, the usual flow of orders to factories in garment-producing countries has come to a sudden and devastating halt. Among the worst hit by coronavirus cancellations is Bangladesh, whose economy relies heavily on clothing exports.

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A study by management consulting firm McKinsey on European consumer sentiment has outlined the possible scenarios for the fashion industry's return to a normal state of affairs. Nearly 40% of European consumers are expecting a fall in their income in the coming weeks, and fashion might turn out to be one of the sectors that will take the longest to recover.

Apparel will be low on the purchasing priorities of European consumers in the coming weeks - McKinsey&Company

McKinsey has developed four scenarios, which depend on the interaction of two main elements: the handling of the health situation and the effectiveness of state support for businesses. If both will turn out to be only partly effective, McKinsey is predicting a long, bumpy road to recovery for the fashion and luxury industries. If both elements will instead be well managed, recovery will be faster. If the health situation will be handled ineptly, recovery will be blighted by ups and downs, and if governmental economic policies will be ineffective, recovery will take a linear, but slower path.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, essential purchases accounted for 55% of consumption expenditure. In the crisis' aftermath, the share of discretionary purchases might drop from 45% to 25%. In addition, global fashion and luxury consumption has been hit by the plunge in tourist expenditure, which has dropped by 80% to 90% depending on the country.

Economists are keeping a close watch on these variables, while consumers are monitoring their own indicator, personal income. Uncertainty is the name of the game: the majority of consumers surveyed in the study are "unsure" about the future, even in France and Spain, the countries where consumer sentiment appears to be the most pessimistic. At the time of the study, in mid-April, almost four European consumers in 10 expected their income stream to decrease in the near future. And 31% of them said they intended to reduce their expenditure, either a little or significantly.

Renegotiating supply terms

Fashion will have to fight hard to grab a share of this dwindling expenditure. Asked about their upcoming purchases in early May, both in-store and online, consumers from the UK, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy put apparel low on their shopping priorities. Germany appears to be the country least likely to snub fashion purchases, while Spain, Portugal and the UK are expected to do the worst in this respect.

The gradual slow-down in fashion spend is chiefly determined by consumer concern about future income streams - McKinsey&Company

This state of affairs is prompting fashion labels to renegotiate terms with their suppliers. Some 71% of them have already done so, aiming to pay less than half the agreed price for their existing orders. In 41% of cases, term renegotiation related to more than half of the order total. Also, 64% of labels have asked for extended payment terms. There will of course be repercussions: over the coming months, brands expect to see a sharp increase in defaults among their suppliers, affecting in their opinion over 50% of producers in the next six months. The domino effect of the crisis is already a reality, affecting both consumer income and manufacturers.

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Fashion and luxury industry on slow road to recovery

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A study by management consulting firm McKinsey on European consumer sentiment has outlined the possible scenarios for the fashion industry's return to a normal state of affairs. Nearly 40% of European consumers are expecting a fall in their income in the coming weeks, and fashion might turn out to be one of the sectors that will take the longest to recover.

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Will Covid-19 have a lasting impact on the environment?

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Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have fallen across continents as countries try to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Could it lead to longer-lasting falls in emissions?

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Zara overcoming lack of professional photoshoots

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Zara overcoming lack of professional photoshoots

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those modelling the Zara clothes for their website & other social media platforms have come up with innovative ways in which to present the clothes - many with a very artist take. Although some customers wont understand or relate they will remember which is key. Attracting attention drives sales

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As if trying to sell clothing amid a global pandemic and strict social distancing measures were not hard enough, fashion retailers are having to invent new ways to photograph and market their products.

Models, photographers, stylists, make-up artists and hairdressers are now unable to travel to studios to create the glossy product imagery and catwalk videos that fashion retailers have traditionally relied on.

This poses a serious challenge. Having the right kind of imagery, which can show product to its best advantage, is crucial for encouraging consumers to convert from browsing to buying. Unable to touch and feel fashion online, consumers rely on photography and imagery to guide their purchasing decisions.

Not seeing a product modelled on another person and from multiple angles, as shoppers have come to expect, is likely to be off-putting. It could also send retailer's returns rates skyrocketing, as shoppers will often buy multiple sizes to be sure of getting the right fit, at a time when businesses need every possible sale.

Thankfully, fashion is a famously creative industry, and brands are already finding innovative solutions to these new challenges. Asos, for example, has asked staff, models and its "Asos Insiders" brand ambassadors to photograph themselves wearing new product inside their own homes - Olivia Smith, pictured top, is one example.

Fast fashion giant Boohoo has taken a similar approach with its latest campaign, #boohoointhehouse, which also features content from staff and models photographed in their bedrooms and living rooms.

Zara, meanwhile, has sent its newest products directly to models' homes to be styled and shot, showing models reclining on their own sofas and even making tea.

The results are impressive. Although - naturally - less polished than a professional photoshoot, the content remains aspirational and appealing. Seeing product worn in bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens feels both more intimate and more relevant to consumers stuck at home.

It remains creative and is definitely more likely to spark purchases than simple shots of product on a hanger against a white background. Seeing it worn by staff - who might look more like customers than professional models - could also help shoppers better imagine what the clothing might look like on them. By allowing staff and models to put their own stamp on the styling and imagery, retailers are able to inject a fresh sense of personality into their photography, which could resonate with shoppers.

Product photography taken at home, without professional hair and make-up, also ties into a pre-existing move towards more relatable imagery in fashion. Both Asos and Boohoo have previously won praise from consumers for not retouching out models' stretchmarks in photoshoots.

Of course, asking staff and models to create product photography is not as easy as simply handing them a camera. Retailers and brands looking to take a similar approach will need to provide clear guidelines on the type and quality of imagery expected.

Quality and professionalism are absolutely vital. Social media-savvy staff, who, thanks to Instagram, know how to take a good picture, are an advantage for retailers and brands seeking to create content outside of a professional studio.

Whether this kind of photography encourages sales and outlasts the coronavirus crisis is still yet to be seen. But it is certainly a creative solution for an industry in a pinch.

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Bringing fashion home: photography in a pandemic

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As if trying to sell clothing amid a global pandemic and strict social distancing measures were not hard enough, fashion retailers are having to invent new ways to photograph and market their products. Models, photographers, stylists, make-up artists and hairdressers are now unable to travel to studios to create the glossy product imagery and catwalk videos that fashion retailers have traditionally relied on.

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Report on positive reactions to Covid-19

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Report on positive reactions to Covid-19

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H&M Group arranging for its supply chain to produce personal protective equipment to be provided to hospitals and health care workers

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Mytheresa: Germany luxury etailer Mytheresa has donated more than €350,000 [£307,000] to the Red Cross to support the charity's efforts in the fight against Covid-19.

Pentland Brands: The group has been working to support frontline workers. Ellesse is running a charity T shirt design competition, where the winning designs will be sold on ellesse.com and all proceeds will go to support frontline workers via the World Health Organisation's Covid-19 Solidarity Fund.

Berghaus has donated Goretex fabric to Endura to create prototype medical grade gowns.

The Speedo Fastskin supplier in Portugal is manufacturing masks for public and healthcare professionals. Speedo has also waived its exclusivity conditions for its goggle supplier in China, so it can manufacture PPE visors and protective goggles.

Little Mistress: The group has teamed up with Clap For Our Carers and charitable marketplace Kindred to launch a clothing and accessories range, the proceeds of which will go to NHS Charities Together.

The range is available via the Little Mistress website and all proceeds will go to help frontline workers. Founder and CEO Mark Ashton said: "We aim to create a wide variety of product and expose the brand through a dedicated influencer program and raise funds to support NHS Charities Together. Fashion is a very powerful avenue that we can really drive and make a difference."

Havaianas: The flip flop brand's parent company Alpargatas has adapted its factories in Brazil to make PPE. The organisation will make 250,000 N95 face masks and donate them to public health services in the states of Paraiba, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, where the factories are located. It is making clogs suitable for healthcare professionals instead of its signature flip flops, and will donate 18,000 of these to health professionals at São Paolo Hospital.

It is also donating essential items including food, hygiene products and Havaianas to vulnerable communities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Salvador and Belo Horizonte.

Lacoste: The sportswear brand has made 100,000 face masks and is aiming to double that amount. Its factory in Troyes, France is helping with production, one in Argentina has been adapted to manufacture PPE, as has its Turkish partner EREN Holding.

Reiss: The brand have announced a number of measures to help provide PPE. It's purchasing 10,000 face masks directly from factories which it will donate to the Guys & St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust and Barts Health NHS Trust. Reiss has also donated 2,000m of cotton to the Emma Willis Style for Surgeons initiative, which has made 900 scrubs. The scrubs will be made in Willis' factory in Gloucestershire and delivered to hospitals across the UK.

The brand has also donated 4,000m of fabric to the Emergency Designer Network, which will make 1,900 sets of scrubs.

Selfridges: The department store is asking its followers on social media to tag and post the actions they are taking to help themselves and others during the pandemic. The retailer is working alongside charity partner Heroes + to reward those making a difference on the frontline of the pandemic. Followers are asked to highlight an NHS or key worker they would like to give back to. Selfridges gives a shout out to each person by regramming the posts on Instagram stories or liking the comments. The retailer then selects three to five nominees each week to receive a surprise gift - such as beauty products, homeware gifts or food - sent to their work.

Selfridges has also donated stock from its closed foodhalls to food banks and food sharing schemes across Manchester and London. Over 1,600 Easter eggs were collected by Heroes + and donated amongst staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to thank NHS staff.

Fairfax & Favor: The footwear and accessories brand has raised over £61,000 for the NHS Charities Covid-19 Appeal, after donating 10% of all online sales made in April. The donation will go towards funding wellbeing packs for NHS staff and volunteers, aswell as funding accomodation, travel, parking and other expenses.

For May, the company are selling a limited edition, navy and white suede tassel for £25, with 100% of profits going to the NHS Charities Together Campaign. The brand expects to raise an additional £40,000.

Superdry: Superdry has launched a crowdfunding campaign to provide organic cotton hoodies for NHS staff to change into after front-line shifts. Founder and chief executive Julian Dunkerton has pledged to triple donations made and the campaign has currently raised £16,000.

The Cheltenham-based brand has also donated 300,000 items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff working in care homes in its local area. The items include masks, aprons and gloves to be distributed to residential care homes, nursing homes, hospices and remote care workers.

Klarna: The global payment provider is had pledged to donate £1, $1 or €1 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for every Klarna transaction placed at Asos globally on 29 April.

The 'Giveback Day' will take place internationally and money raised for the ICRC will go towards activities such as sanitation to prevent the spread of Covid-19, support for vital health infrastructure such as hospitals, and towards ensuring access to clean water for countless communities. Klarna has not placed a limit on the amount that it will donate as part of the day.

Brøgger: Danish born and London-based designer Julie Brøgger, founder of the eponymous label, has created patterns for PPE gowns being made in a volunteer pop-up factory for Royal Brompton hospital. A digital version of the pattern is now being shared with NHS trusts, hospitals and care homes across the country to help more pop-up factories be set up.

Mulberry: The luxury handbag brand has reopened its Somerset factory to produce 8,000 PPE gowns in the coming weeks. It has sourced fluid-resistant, washable material that ensures the gowns can be laundered and used safely multiple times for non-surgical use in line with government guidelines.

Mulberry will donate the gowns to University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. It is also in conversations with a number of other NHS Trusts to support them. It is also supporting their local network of voluntary community groups who are making scrubs to order for NHS Staff. Mulberry is cutting large volumes of fabric to pattern for its Bristol 'Scrub Hub'.

Savile Row: tailoring houses Cad & The Dandy and Huntsman are producing and donating up to 100 sets of scrubs a day for frontline care home and NHS workers during the pandemic. The duo have already received over 1,000 orders from around the UK.

Joules: British lifestyle brand Joules is supporting the NHS in its fight against the coronavirus by sourcing thousands of masks and hospital gowns and donating Joules products for both those working on the frontline and the most vulnerable. The retailer is leveraging its supplier partnerships to source and donate 50,000 civilian-grade masks, all of which are being donated to those who urgently need them including the University of Leicester Hospitals Trust, Joules charity partner Hospice UK, and various regional key worker end user groups.

Church's: Church's is launching a fundraising digital marathon, running from 20 April to 31 May, with all proceeds from sales of Church's 'polishing kits' going to support the fight against Covid-19. Various influencers and opinion leaders are involved in the project, and will publish a video on Instagram illustrating their personal approach to polishing their Church's shoes, nominating three other people to do the same, thereby triggering a digital marathon. Church's will regram the best polishing results.

Ebay: Ebay has announced it is working with teams in the NHS Supply Chain, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Army/MoD, to create a new online portal to help ease some of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) supply issues currently facing the medical community. The new portal, which is currently in a pilot phase, aims to help primary and social care providers to order PPE equipment from NHS Supply Chain.

Ted Baker: the retailer has launched Ted's Bazaar, a digital pop-up shop that offers limited edition merchandise. All profits from the initiative will go to charities supporting communities facing challenges. The first drop of merchandise features t-shirts, mugs, towels and beanie hats with rainbow and applause motifs. Donations from the first collection will go to Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides free, healthy breakfasts to schoolchildren at risk of hunger.

Schuh: The Schuh Trust is donating £3m to the Covid-19 Relief Effort. A donation of £2m will be made to the National Emergencies Trust. The NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal will also receive a donation of £1m.

Sessún and Paige: Parisian fashion brand Sessún will be doing its part to help the Coronavirus relief effort by donating 10% of its sales to the Covid-19 emergency aid fund set up by the FHF (French Hospitals Foundation). Fashion brand Paige will donate 20% of their entire sales to St.Vincents Meals on Wheels.

Boden: the British lifestyle brand has collaborated with Helpforce, a charity that coordinates initiatives to improve the lives of NHS staff and patients. Boden is providing nightwear and clothing to NHS staff unable to return home at the end of hospital shifts and to recovered patients unable to get clothing from their families whilst in hospital due to the risk of infection. Customers can also to donate to Helpforce through Boden's website.

Nobis: The Canadian outwear brand has announced that 100% of its digital sales over the coming three weeks will be donated to protecting frontline healthcare teams internationally. This follows an initial CAN$100,000 (£57,000) donated to local Ontario hospitals.

Colliers International: The real estate company has launched a free real estate helpdesk to support London's independent restaurant, retail, and leisure businesses and their landlords during Covid-19 pandemic. It will aim to help with: general property strategy, lease and rent renegotiations, insolvency and restructuring, business rates, deferring or cancelling payments debt advice and government assistance schemes. For further information about Colliers' helpdesk and to receive advice, click here.

Elle: Hosiery business Elle has switched all its manufacturing capabilities from tights to washable face masks, to help the demand on medical equivalents for frontline healthcare staff across the UK. The manufacturer can produce 350,000 masks per week, which can be washed up to 25 times. The masks will be not-for-profit, and retail at £14.99 for five.

David Nieper: The Derbyshire-based retailer has begun production of NHS scrubs, having received its first order to make an initial 5,000 sets of scrubs for two university hospital trusts. Machinists originally furloughed have returned to work to make the scrubs.

Christopher Kane: To limit the amount of people buying medical masks needed by the NHS, Christopher Kane is sending out free craft packs for the general public to make their own face masks from past season fabrics. Email art.dept@christopherkane.com with your full name and postal address to receive the pack.

Raeburn: British brand Raeburn has focused on creativity in its community through the crisis. With its #RaeburnAtHome initiative the brand has released craft and drawing patterns to keep its community busy, as well as an Instagram live from Chistopher Raeburn giving a tour of the Raeburn Labs.

Last week its Raeburn Connect series launched on its Instagram with live videos discussing topics from the future of retail, fashion education and learnings from the pandemic with expert hosts.

Crocs: Crocs is donating over 200,000 shoes to hospitals globally to support frontline healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The footwear brand is also asking online customers to donate £10 outright or with the purchase of a pair of classic clogs. For every donation made Crocs will donate an additional pair of shoes to frontline workers.

Hunter: The British heritage brand has donated 1,500 pairs of Wellington boots to the London Ambulance Service, and 1,000 waterproof jackets to hospitals in the US.

John Lewis: The John Lewis Partnership has installed a staff area in the newly opened NHS Nightingale London hospital, which will provide help and counselling for medical workers.

The business also announced that it has partnered with the British Medical Association (BMA) to deliver "care packages" to 60,000 NHS staff. The packages will include items such as toiletries, food, drink and new socks. The first boxes will be sent on 9 April, distributed to staff working in high intensity clinical areas such as critical and intensive care units.

On 18 May, the retailer announced it would be delivering additional packages to mental health trusts.

The retailer will deliver 1,400 boxes in total, containing over 100,000 products to 500 Hospital Trust locations during the pandemic. This includes those already sent to critical and intensive care units.

M&S: M&S has introduced a number of measures to help the NHS and its hospital partners. The retailer has designed and donated t-shirts as part of the uniform pack for the NHS Nightingale Hospital team in London. M&S is also donating individual clothing packs for discharged patients at the new London hospital.

Over 4,000 pyjamas have been donated to be used as scrubs at NHS Derbyshire. M&S is also donating to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Urgent Appeal with customers now able to choose the appeal as their Sparks charity and donate every time they shop.

Balmain: To help support French caregivers and hospitals during the COVID-19 crisis, Mayhoola, the parent company of Balmain, Valentino and Pal Zileri, is donating €1m one million euros to French charity La Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris - Hôpitaux de France.

Kurt Geiger: The footwear retailer will give £5m worth of shoes and bags to NHS in the coming months.

Temperley London: The womenswear brand will donate 20% of all proceeds from its website to the NHS Charities Covid19 Urgent Appeal.

Levi Strauss: The denim giant is committing $3 million (£2.4m) to relief efforts that work around the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including Doctors Without Borders and Chinese for Affirmative Action, which is fighting back against the coronavirus-related racism directed toward Asian Americans.

British manufacturers: British fashion manufacturers and designers have come together to produce masks and personal protective clothing (PPE) for frontline staff during the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Revolve: The US etailer is donating 10,000 federally approved face masks to 2 hospitals in Los Angeles that need support with protective equipment.

Yoox Net-A-Porter: The group has donated its London premier delivery fleet to deliver essential supplies to those in need. Vehicles within the fleet will now serve as volunteered vehicles for seven local Age UK charities in London. The initiative will also support the Emergency Designer Network (EDN), pioneered by London-based designers Holly Fulton, Phoebe English and Bethany Williams which is galvanising local UK manufacturers and designers to produce stocks of key PPE garments such as robes, scrubs and masks.

Yoox Net-A-Porter is also extending donations to charities in Milan and Hong Kong.

Salvatore Ferragamo: The Italian fashion house has manufactured and donated more than 100,000 masks and 50,000 units of hand sanitiser to local healthcare units in the Tuscany region of Italy.

Chi Chi London: Occasionwear brand Chi Chi London is holding activities including isolation bingo, virtual quizzes, fitness programmes and mindfulness activities on its social channels to look after its community.

Linda Farrow: The sunglasses and eyewear brand is donating 10% of its online sales for March and April to the NHS Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.

PVH Corporation: The company's foundation has committed $1m (£800,000) towards Covid-19 relief, including a $100,000 (£8,000) donation to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund created by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, benefitting the World Health Organization and other partners.

Anine Bing: The eponymous fashion brand is producing 10,000 masks and donating them to foundations that need them to continue with the fight against Coronavirus.

Little Mistress Group: The group is offering any brands unlimited space on its marketplace for current, cancelled and markdown stock, in light of the coronavirus. The etailer will reduce commission on sales by 50% for brands who have been affected by wholesale customers. The company plans to start inviting brands onto the site from next week onwards, and will offer marketing to help push their stock.

Brands and factories can fully own their stock. The Little Mistress Group will upload the content onto the site, and once a sale happens the brand will automatically receive notification and dispatch to the customer. Founder and CEO Mark Ashton said: "Or we're also happy to hold their stock. Again, they will still have full ownership and we will take care of the product journey from the point of sale."

Saint James: French heritage lifestyle brand Saint James is shifting its manufacturing activity to produce protective masks for health institutions and hospitals.

Diadora and Geox: Enrico and Mario Moretti Polegato, presidents of Diadora and Geox, have donated one million euros to the Veneto Region of Italy to help manage the ongoing health emergency.

PrettyLittleThing: Founder and chief executive Umar Kumani has donated his salary for March to small businesses struggling due to coronavirus.

Bezo London: Women's T-shirt brand Bezo London is donating 75% of sales from its new Zodiac Collection to the NHS.

Allbirds: Sustainable footwear brand Allbirds is offering NHS workers on the frontline of fighting coronavirus a free pair of shoes. Doctors, nurses and medical staff can claim a free pair by filling out a short form online. The brand said it wanted to show its appreciation for "what the incredible NHS is doing for the country during these awful uncertain times."

Kurt Geiger: Having closed its 55 high street stores across UK and Ireland, Kurt Geiger is urging its 2,000 store workers to utilise their time whilst being paid and not working to become part of their volunteering scheme for employees with Age UK.

Inditex: Zara owner Inditex is looking to convert part of its textile manufacturing capacity in Spain to produce hospital gowns. It has also pledged to make available to Spain its vast global logistics and supplier network to help distribute materials including protective masks, gloves, goggles and caps.

H&M Group: The Swedish retail group is arranging for its supply chain to produce personal protective equipment to be provided to hospitals and health care workers.

John Lewis: The department store is donating comfort items and Easter gifts to local hospitals to support NHS workers.

Mango: Mango will donate and distribute 2 million medical masks to hospitals across Spain.

Phoebe English: English fashion designer Phoebe English is offering to make face masks for organisations that are running low. The designer is also offering assistance to those in the SE8 area of London who are struggling to get the food or medication they require.

If you or your business has machinery that can assist in making face masks or other medical garments you can contact gcfcovid19enquiries@cabinetoffice.gov.uk to help.

Country of Origin: Knitwear brand Country of Origin is launching a kickstarter campaign to retool its knitting factory temporarily to manufacture WHO-grade hand sanitiser. 100% of profits will be used to supply care homes free of charge.

In The Style: Etailer In The Style has pledged to donate 100% of profits from its new collection with Olivia Bowen to Age UK to help support elderly people through the Covid-19 crisis. It has since widened this commitment and will donate 10% of proceeds from all In The Style sales to the charity.

Three Graces: Womenswear brand Three Graces London is to donate 100% of net sales from all products sold on its website over the next two weeks to homeless charity Crisis.

Sophia Webster: Footwear brand Sophia Webster is gifting 200 pairs of its FlyBy trainers to NHS workers.

LVMH: The French luxury goods group is producing hand sanitiser at three of its perfume and cosmetics factories for distribution to French hospitals fighting the country's coronavirus outbreak.

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Thinking positive: fashion's coronavirus relief efforts

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Mytheresa: Germany luxury etailer Mytheresa has donated more than €350,000 [£307,000] to the Red Cross to support the charity's efforts in the fight against Covid-19. Pentland Brands: The group has been working to support frontline workers.

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Report highlighting shoppers moving to more sustainable fashion

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Britain has been in lockdown for eight weeks.

April experienced the worst like-for-like retail sales in history, falling by 19.1%, showed the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) and KPMG's monitor, which started in 1995.

Unable to visit stores, ecommerce is for now the only channel open to fashion shoppers until stores slowly start to reopen from 1 June, but even digital has taken a hit. While online retail sales as a whole reached a 10-year high in April, up 23.8% year on year in the latest IMRG Capgemini Retail Index, clothing sales plummeted by 23.8%. Footwear and menswear sales were particularly badly hit, slumping by 31.1% and 33.5% respectively.

People have learnt to live with the bare essentials and will realise they don't need clothes all the time

Chloe Collins, senior retail analyst at GlobalData

The population's spending power has been reduced by widespread job losses, mass furloughing and reductions to working hours.Covid-19 will cause the value of the UK clothing and footwear industry to contract 34% in 2020 to £35.5bn, predicts GlobalData, based on the reopening of stores from 1 June.

But there is hope. British knitwear brand WoolOvers unexpectedly doubled sales in April, which CEO Mike Lester attributes to communication with customers, and demonstrates shopper demand for both human contact and product. (Read WoolOvers Comment: "We invited customers to give us a call and have a chat ")

And in markets that opened in mid-May, eager consumers queued up to start spending. On 11 May - the day retail reopened in Belgium - there were queues of shoppers outside Brussels branches of Primark and Zara. Shoppers also lined up outside at Inditex owned-brand's shops in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux. Luxury label Louis Vuitton attracted a queue at its Champs-Élysées store when it reopened in the French capital on the same day.

Emotional attachment

But there is hope. Fashion as a form of escapism and comfort will be a key factor of emotional recovery after the coronavirus, argues Isabelle Szmigin, professor of marketing at the University of Birmingham and deputy dean of Birmingham Business School.

People are quick to forget when trauma happens and want the same comforts they had before

Chana Baram, senior retail analyst at Mintel

"The majority of people will go back to normal, if they can afford to. They will want to forget what has been happening and shopping is a way to express this.

"Consumer culture is too ingrained for this crisis to make much of a difference - although, doubtless some people will become more mindful in their consumption."

Chana Baram, senior retail analyst at Mintel, agrees that fashion purchases may provide some comfort for consumers once the crisis subsides: "People are quick to forget when trauma happens and want the same comforts they had before.

"Consumers will get back to normal very quickly, but some changes will stick. Shoppers are questioning what the essentials are and therefore buying more basics or classic items rather than trend-led pieces, which may continue after coronavirus."

Glen Tooke, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, concurs: "The longer the lockdown lasts, the more consumers' need for new clothes increases. But there is also more potential for consumers to realise they can make do with what they have."

Top priorities

Drapers' own coronavirus survey asked participants how much of a priority fashion spending will be for consumers after lockdown. More than half (57%) said it will not be very important, while 11% said it will not be important at all.

The owner of one fashion retailer says: "There will be a huge re-evaluation of what is necessary, financial and ethical concerns, and global consequences."

Spending on experiences, rather than clothes, is likely to be consumers' priority once the lockdown is lifted, believes Chloe Collins, senior retail analyst at GlobalData: "Consumers will want to go out and won't want to spend time shopping. They will have realigned priorities, such as social events and holidays. Fashion won't be one of them.

There will be a huge re-evaluation of what is necessary, financial and ethical concerns, and global consequences

Fashion retailer owner

"People will want to make sure that they have savings behind them. They have learnt to live with the bare essentials and will realise they don't need clothes all the time. Consumers will want to go out [socially] and won't want to spend time shopping. Plus they will still be cautious of crowded areas such as high streets and shopping centres."

Emily Gordon-Smith, director of consumer product at trend forecasting agency Stylus, believes sustainable shopping habits will "gain momentum": "Who hasn't been excited reading about the lower levels of pollution and nature having some respite during the lockdown? It's potentially the only positive outcome [of coronavirus] and this will drive the sustainability agenda forward."

Mashu is a London-based handbag brand that uses sustainable materials such as Piñatex, which is made from pineapple plant leaves and hemp. Founder Ioanna Topouzoglou agrees that there will be less of a focus on consumption.

"Being isolated at home has made everyone, including myself, more appreciative of everything we once took for granted. Perhaps simpler times lie ahead, where we realise we don't need to consume as much as we did before, and that we can live with less. I am hopeful that we all become more mindful consumers after this."

Mark Dransfield, owner of independent department store Sandersons Boutique Store in Fox Valley, Sheffield, thinks consumer spending will be "more cautious", adding: "But the fashion industry is incredibly resilient and a huge part of the economy. Shoppers are already starting to look at more sustainable fashion and less of the throwaway brands, and at Sandersons that's something we're very keen to champion."

He adds that while consumers may be wary of venturing into physical shops at first, "essentially social animals and that human contact is incredibly important ... I think a return to 'normal' shopping patterns will most definitely be gradual and there will be measures in place for the foreseeable future that will affect how people shop and visit centres like ours."

Shoppers are already starting to look at more sustainable fashion and less of the throwaway brands

Mark Dransfield, owner of independent department store Sandersons Boutique Store

Gordon-Smith continues: "More consumers will have learnt how to appreciate what they have and cut back - people might have lost their jobs so people will buy less stuff. I think we will see the ongoing impact of people buying less, there will be less spend and less money around."

Careful spending is a theory echoed by Mintel's Baram, who thinks consumer confidence will be low as the pandemic would have been "financially devastating for many": "Shoppers will think twice about buying something they only wear once, but the younger demographic will still buy from fast fashion brands."

Szmigin agrees that shopping mindfully might not become prevalent among the younger, under-25 demographic: "Many of them will have been effectively locked up with no opportunity to physically be with their peers, so there may be a short period at least, of quite hedonistic shopping for those who can afford it."

She continues: "There may actually be a resurgence in the high street. People will want to be out, socialising and doing things they have not been able to such as browsing, looking, feeling the texture of things."

Shops with good customer experiences and service will "stand out", says Baram, adding that "people will miss going into the shop and having it [their purchase] the same day".

Businesses who are acting like nothing has changed may well see a change in consumer loyalty and brand perception

Mashu founder Ioanna Topouzoglou

Retailers that have joined the relief effort will be the benefactors of consumers' spending resurgence. Stylus's Gordon-Smith argues that "philanthropic enterprises from brands will resonate going forward".

This is already tangible.

In April and May so far, Mashu sales have grown 20%, which Topouzoglou attributes to the brand's support of charities, as well as consumers' desire to shop from small businesses.

Mashu is donating 15% from all sales of its products to two charities that are helping in the wake of the coronavirus. The beneficiaries are Help Them Help Us, which is assisting NHS staff by delivering meals and PPE equipment, and Bankuet, which helps stock food banks across the UK.

Milan-based vegan footwear brand Yatay announced on Instagram on 3 April that will donate a pair of shoes to the city's Humanitas Research Hospital for every pair sold. Founder Umberto de Marco says online sales rose by 70% in the four days following the announcement.

He tells Drapers: "Coronavirus had consequences on consumers shopping habits, but not all necessarily negative: I'm hoping that we're going to see an improved consumer sensibility in buying better and longer lasting products"

From 1 April, sustainable footwear brand Toms is giving one third of its net profit to its Covid-19 Global Giving Fund, which has partnered with multiple charities, including WaterAid.

Chief giving officer Amy Smith says: "We have seen how rapidly things are changing because of this global health crisis and have speculated what it means for the longer term. Because we are in the heart of the crisis, it is difficult to really know how individuals and businesses will need to adjust once we are on the other side of this.

"Our customers have always been part of the Toms mission of using business to improve lives."

Topouzoglou says: "Businesses who are acting like nothing has changed, and not acknowledging the current crisis, may well see a change in consumer loyalty and brand perception.

"Every business and service is supported by consumers in some way. In a time like this, consumers are looking to brands to return that support and help their communities in a way that matters most right now."

Baram predicts that consumers will turn their backs on flashy, expensive luxury goods, as they did in the 2008 recession: "It became distasteful for people to have big brands."

There will always be a need for clothing - consumers will still want to treat themselves

Gordon-Smith concurs that the luxury market willsee a "more reserved approach"that "feels more appropriate in a post-pandemic climate." She forecasts that there will be a shift away from logos in favour of a more modest, minimalist trend.

Sustainability will be key for the future of the fashion industry, but the supply of continuously new product will continue, thinks Szmigin, as there will be demand from manufacturers and consumers to "get back to the old normal." She also predicts a "big return" to advertising as it will be an even more competitive environment.

Recovery for retail

As for consumer spending habits, "there won't be one behaviour", states Tooke, "It very much is a case-by-case basis - a lot would depend on every household's personal financial situation."

But the frivolity and feel-good factor of fashion is a potential advantage for the industry.

"There will always be a need for clothing - consumers will still want to treat themselves," Tooke continues. "If eating out is one of the first sectors to open, consumers will still want to dress up to do so."

The road to recovery for retail will be long. GlobalData forecasts that the UK clothing and footwear market will rebound by 43.5% in 2021 to a spend of £50.9bn, but this will still be £2.9bn less than 2019 when the market was worth £53.8bn. Brands have to fight to win what could be a limited amount of consumer spend. Fashion retailers that have been considerate to the crisis will benefit from shoppers' trust, as will sustainable products.

On the other hand, bricks-and-mortar retailers may experience a rush when housebound shoppers are finally able to flex their legs - and wallets. Fashion will endure, thanks to the desire for consumers to comfort themselves with exciting new purchases.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What will post-pandemic shopping patterns look like?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Britain has been in lockdown for eight weeks. April experienced the worst like-for-like retail sales in history, falling by 19.1%, showed the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) and KPMG's monitor, which started in 1995. Unable to visit stores, ecommerce is for now the only channel open to fashion shoppers until stores slowly start to reopen from 1 June, but even digital has taken a hit.

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50% for Topshop

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Asos is currently offering up to 50% reductions on big brands. It has also been advertising 20% off everything with a minimum spend of £100 and up to 50% reductions more than 1000 dresses. Sitewide there are savings of up to 70% on selected items.
Boohoo
Boohoo is advertising up to 50% off everything across its website, with an extra 10% off any purchase when using the app. The Boohoo Group has this week successfully completed a £200m equity fundraising to finance further acquisitions in the coming months.
Clarks
Customers can save up to 20% on adult sandals from Clarks.
Dune
Dune is discounting 30% across new season styles and running a clearance Sale of up to 50% off.
Debenhams
The department store, which is currently undergoing a 'light touch' administration, is offering a range of discounts across womenswear. They include up to half price dresses, tops, swimwear and shoes, as well as 30% off lingerie and nightwear.
Fat Face
The lifestyle retailer's online clearance Sale has deals up to 50% off.
French Connection
All spring fashion has up to 50% off at French Connection. This is across menswear and womenswear. The business failed to secure a buyer in January, despite an offer from ex-AllSaints and USC CEO Stephen Craig.in partnership with two private equity firms.
Gap
Gap is offering up to 50% off online until 20 May, with free delivery on orders over £25.
House of Fraser
The Sports Direct owned department store is offering 20% off all online purchases until 18 May.
John Lewis
The department store is offering a selection of discounts across apparel. Discounts on its own brand ranges include 30% off Kin and Modern Rarity, and with its price match promise, discounts across high street brands include 30% off Barbour, 25% discount on Hobbs and a 20% saving on French Connection items.
JD Sports
Peter Cowgill's sportswear retailer is offering up to 50% off on selected lines including brands such as Nike, Adidas and Under Armour. Cowgill is reportedly in a bidding war with Sports Direct's Mike Ashley to buy footwear chain Office.
Karen Millen
Boohoo Group-owned Karen Millen has launched a 40% Sale across its ecommerce site.
Marks and Spencer
The retailer has discounted selected clothing by at least 50% as part of its Rainbow Sale. M&S will donate 10% of the purchase price of all Rainbow Sale items to NHS Charities Together.
Missguided
The online retailer is offering up to 80% off more than 8000 styles.
Moss Bros
The menswear chain, currently in a sale dispute with Crew Clothing owner Brigadier Acquisition Company, is offering an extra 25% off everything across its website. This is in addition to deals including up to 80% off outlet, 3 for 2 on accessories and 2 for £50 on chinos. Moss Bros reopened its website this week after eight weeks of closure.
New Look
The high street retailer is offering a variety of discounts: £25 off £100 spend, £15 off £75 and £10 off £50. Customers can also gain an extra 25% discount by joining New Look's mailing list.
Next
Next's clearance Sale is advertising most items as half price or less. The retailer is soon to launch a new standalone beauty hall concept in five former Debenhams beauty departments.
Office
The footwear retailer, which is currently up for sale, has 20% off online purchases.
Quiz
Online retailer Quiz has an up to 60% Sale online.
Superdry
Julian Dunkerton's Superdry is running a mid-season Sale of up to 50% online. Dunkerton told Drapers the business has made further efficiencies in its business model as a result of coronavirus.
TM Lewin
Jermyn Street shirtmaker, TM Lewin has launched a Sale of up to 60% across its ecommerce site. This is alongside deals including four shirts for £79, and Sale suits from £99. TM Lewin was snapped up by a new private equity owner this week.
Topshop
The Arcadia brand is advertising up to 50% discounts on its website.

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Asos is currently offering up to 50% reductions on big brands. It has also been advertising 20% off everything with a minimum spend of £100 and up to 50% reductions more than 1000 dresses.

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Owner agrees to accept orders with 30% discount

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Owner agrees to accept orders with 30% discount

# data[].attributes.body
Poor brand values in terms of working ethically - may be no money in pot to cover such bills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Last month the group wrote to suppliers to inform them that it would be cancelling all orders and extending payment terms.

In a new letter sent to suppliers, seen by Drapers, the group states that it has a "contractual right" to cancel orders in transit without suppliers' consent and if it cancels an order in transit, it is "not responsible for any costs including, for example, the costs [they] might incur in recovering [their] goods".

However, the group has now offered suppliers an ultimatum on orders that were in transit on 17 March. The letter stated: "For any order that is in transit or was in transit on 17 March 2020, we are prepared to bring in the order at a 30% discount. Our teams will be reaching out to you over the next week to see if you want to accept this proposal instead of us cancelling the order. If you do not wish to accept the proposal, the order will be cancelled."

The group, which comprises Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, among others, has also confirmed that any undisputed invoices, which were due before 17 March 2020 will be settled by the end of next week, 19 April.

The letter also highlighted a legal clause in its trading contracts, which allows the group to cancel any order: "We can ask you to suspend or cancel any delivery or order if we cannot use, or are hindered or prevented from using, the goods because of any cause beyond our control...If we suspend or cancel an order we will not be legally responsible for any direct or indirect damage or loss this may cause you."

Arcadia has told suppliers that it needed to cancel orders because it is "likely to face serious seasonal challenges - customers will not be willing to buy spring goods out of season", and it will not be able to bring in any new orders before the inventory in the stores has been sold.

Arcadia Group declined to comment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Arcadia Group to accept orders at 30% discount

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Last month the group wrote to suppliers to inform them that it would be cancelling all orders and extending payment terms. In a new letter sent to suppliers, seen by Drapers, the group states that it has a "contractual right" to cancel orders in transit without suppliers' consent and if it cancels an order in transit, it is "not responsible for any costs including, for example, the costs [they] might incur in recovering [their] goods".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Britain has been in lockdown for eight weeks.

April experienced the worst like-for-like retail sales in history, falling by 19.1%, showed the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) and KPMG's monitor, which started in 1995.

Unable to visit stores, ecommerce is for now the only channel open to fashion shoppers until stores slowly start to reopen from 1 June, but even digital has taken a hit. While online retail sales as a whole reached a 10-year high in April, up 23.8% year on year in the latest IMRG Capgemini Retail Index, clothing sales plummeted by 23.8%. Footwear and menswear sales were particularly badly hit, slumping by 31.1% and 33.5% respectively.

People have learnt to live with the bare essentials and will realise they don't need clothes all the time

Chloe Collins, senior retail analyst at GlobalData

The population's spending power has been reduced by widespread job losses, mass furloughing and reductions to working hours.Covid-19 will cause the value of the UK clothing and footwear industry to contract 34% in 2020 to £35.5bn, predicts GlobalData, based on the reopening of stores from 1 June.

But there is hope. British knitwear brand WoolOvers unexpectedly doubled sales in April, which CEO Mike Lester attributes to communication with customers, and demonstrates shopper demand for both human contact and product. (Read WoolOvers Comment: "We invited customers to give us a call and have a chat ")

And in markets that opened in mid-May, eager consumers queued up to start spending. On 11 May - the day retail reopened in Belgium - there were queues of shoppers outside Brussels branches of Primark and Zara. Shoppers also lined up outside at Inditex owned-brand's shops in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux. Luxury label Louis Vuitton attracted a queue at its Champs-Élysées store when it reopened in the French capital on the same day.

Emotional attachment

But there is hope. Fashion as a form of escapism and comfort will be a key factor of emotional recovery after the coronavirus, argues Isabelle Szmigin, professor of marketing at the University of Birmingham and deputy dean of Birmingham Business School.

People are quick to forget when trauma happens and want the same comforts they had before

Chana Baram, senior retail analyst at Mintel

"The majority of people will go back to normal, if they can afford to. They will want to forget what has been happening and shopping is a way to express this.

"Consumer culture is too ingrained for this crisis to make much of a difference - although, doubtless some people will become more mindful in their consumption."

Chana Baram, senior retail analyst at Mintel, agrees that fashion purchases may provide some comfort for consumers once the crisis subsides: "People are quick to forget when trauma happens and want the same comforts they had before.

"Consumers will get back to normal very quickly, but some changes will stick. Shoppers are questioning what the essentials are and therefore buying more basics or classic items rather than trend-led pieces, which may continue after coronavirus."

Glen Tooke, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, concurs: "The longer the lockdown lasts, the more consumers' need for new clothes increases. But there is also more potential for consumers to realise they can make do with what they have."

Top priorities

Drapers' own coronavirus survey asked participants how much of a priority fashion spending will be for consumers after lockdown. More than half (57%) said it will not be very important, while 11% said it will not be important at all.

The owner of one fashion retailer says: "There will be a huge re-evaluation of what is necessary, financial and ethical concerns, and global consequences."

Spending on experiences, rather than clothes, is likely to be consumers' priority once the lockdown is lifted, believes Chloe Collins, senior retail analyst at GlobalData: "Consumers will want to go out and won't want to spend time shopping. They will have realigned priorities, such as social events and holidays. Fashion won't be one of them.

There will be a huge re-evaluation of what is necessary, financial and ethical concerns, and global consequences

Fashion retailer owner

"People will want to make sure that they have savings behind them. They have learnt to live with the bare essentials and will realise they don't need clothes all the time. Consumers will want to go out [socially] and won't want to spend time shopping. Plus they will still be cautious of crowded areas such as high streets and shopping centres."

Emily Gordon-Smith, director of consumer product at trend forecasting agency Stylus, believes sustainable shopping habits will "gain momentum": "Who hasn't been excited reading about the lower levels of pollution and nature having some respite during the lockdown? It's potentially the only positive outcome [of coronavirus] and this will drive the sustainability agenda forward."

Mashu is a London-based handbag brand that uses sustainable materials such as Piñatex, which is made from pineapple plant leaves and hemp. Founder Ioanna Topouzoglou agrees that there will be less of a focus on consumption.

"Being isolated at home has made everyone, including myself, more appreciative of everything we once took for granted. Perhaps simpler times lie ahead, where we realise we don't need to consume as much as we did before, and that we can live with less. I am hopeful that we all become more mindful consumers after this."

Mark Dransfield, owner of independent department store Sandersons Boutique Store in Fox Valley, Sheffield, thinks consumer spending will be "more cautious", adding: "But the fashion industry is incredibly resilient and a huge part of the economy. Shoppers are already starting to look at more sustainable fashion and less of the throwaway brands, and at Sandersons that's something we're very keen to champion."

He adds that while consumers may be wary of venturing into physical shops at first, "essentially social animals and that human contact is incredibly important ... I think a return to 'normal' shopping patterns will most definitely be gradual and there will be measures in place for the foreseeable future that will affect how people shop and visit centres like ours."

Shoppers are already starting to look at more sustainable fashion and less of the throwaway brands

Mark Dransfield, owner of independent department store Sandersons Boutique Store

Gordon-Smith continues: "More consumers will have learnt how to appreciate what they have and cut back - people might have lost their jobs so people will buy less stuff. I think we will see the ongoing impact of people buying less, there will be less spend and less money around."

Careful spending is a theory echoed by Mintel's Baram, who thinks consumer confidence will be low as the pandemic would have been "financially devastating for many": "Shoppers will think twice about buying something they only wear once, but the younger demographic will still buy from fast fashion brands."

Szmigin agrees that shopping mindfully might not become prevalent among the younger, under-25 demographic: "Many of them will have been effectively locked up with no opportunity to physically be with their peers, so there may be a short period at least, of quite hedonistic shopping for those who can afford it."

She continues: "There may actually be a resurgence in the high street. People will want to be out, socialising and doing things they have not been able to such as browsing, looking, feeling the texture of things."

Shops with good customer experiences and service will "stand out", says Baram, adding that "people will miss going into the shop and having it [their purchase] the same day".

Businesses who are acting like nothing has changed may well see a change in consumer loyalty and brand perception

Mashu founder Ioanna Topouzoglou

Retailers that have joined the relief effort will be the benefactors of consumers' spending resurgence. Stylus's Gordon-Smith argues that "philanthropic enterprises from brands will resonate going forward".

This is already tangible.

In April and May so far, Mashu sales have grown 20%, which Topouzoglou attributes to the brand's support of charities, as well as consumers' desire to shop from small businesses.

Mashu is donating 15% from all sales of its products to two charities that are helping in the wake of the coronavirus. The beneficiaries are Help Them Help Us, which is assisting NHS staff by delivering meals and PPE equipment, and Bankuet, which helps stock food banks across the UK.

Milan-based vegan footwear brand Yatay announced on Instagram on 3 April that will donate a pair of shoes to the city's Humanitas Research Hospital for every pair sold. Founder Umberto de Marco says online sales rose by 70% in the four days following the announcement.

He tells Drapers: "Coronavirus had consequences on consumers shopping habits, but not all necessarily negative: I'm hoping that we're going to see an improved consumer sensibility in buying better and longer lasting products"

From 1 April, sustainable footwear brand Toms is giving one third of its net profit to its Covid-19 Global Giving Fund, which has partnered with multiple charities, including WaterAid.

Chief giving officer Amy Smith says: "We have seen how rapidly things are changing because of this global health crisis and have speculated what it means for the longer term. Because we are in the heart of the crisis, it is difficult to really know how individuals and businesses will need to adjust once we are on the other side of this.

"Our customers have always been part of the Toms mission of using business to improve lives."

Topouzoglou says: "Businesses who are acting like nothing has changed, and not acknowledging the current crisis, may well see a change in consumer loyalty and brand perception.

"Every business and service is supported by consumers in some way. In a time like this, consumers are looking to brands to return that support and help their communities in a way that matters most right now."

Baram predicts that consumers will turn their backs on flashy, expensive luxury goods, as they did in the 2008 recession: "It became distasteful for people to have big brands."

There will always be a need for clothing - consumers will still want to treat themselves

Gordon-Smith concurs that the luxury market willsee a "more reserved approach"that "feels more appropriate in a post-pandemic climate." She forecasts that there will be a shift away from logos in favour of a more modest, minimalist trend.

Sustainability will be key for the future of the fashion industry, but the supply of continuously new product will continue, thinks Szmigin, as there will be demand from manufacturers and consumers to "get back to the old normal." She also predicts a "big return" to advertising as it will be an even more competitive environment.

Recovery for retail

As for consumer spending habits, "there won't be one behaviour", states Tooke, "It very much is a case-by-case basis - a lot would depend on every household's personal financial situation."

But the frivolity and feel-good factor of fashion is a potential advantage for the industry.

"There will always be a need for clothing - consumers will still want to treat themselves," Tooke continues. "If eating out is one of the first sectors to open, consumers will still want to dress up to do so."

The road to recovery for retail will be long. GlobalData forecasts that the UK clothing and footwear market will rebound by 43.5% in 2021 to a spend of £50.9bn, but this will still be £2.9bn less than 2019 when the market was worth £53.8bn. Brands have to fight to win what could be a limited amount of consumer spend. Fashion retailers that have been considerate to the crisis will benefit from shoppers' trust, as will sustainable products.

On the other hand, bricks-and-mortar retailers may experience a rush when housebound shoppers are finally able to flex their legs - and wallets. Fashion will endure, thanks to the desire for consumers to comfort themselves with exciting new purchases.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What will post-pandemic shopping patterns look like?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Britain has been in lockdown for eight weeks. April experienced the worst like-for-like retail sales in history, falling by 19.1%, showed the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) and KPMG's monitor, which started in 1995. Unable to visit stores, ecommerce is for now the only channel open to fashion shoppers until stores slowly start to reopen from 1 June, but even digital has taken a hit.

# data[].attributes.body
1) minimalistic
2) PPE
3) Fabrics - soft/cozy/comfy

# data[].attributes.body
Arcadia  experienced 42% drop in group operating profit (14.12.20)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
January

As retailers reflected on the all-important festive trading period, a tale of two Christmases on the high street emerged: a lucky few recorded soaring sales but others were left disappointed. Joules, Next, Fat Face and Jigsaw were celebrating a successful festive season after all four reported a rise in sales compared with the previous Christmas, and independents were feeling optimistic on the back of a buoyant peak season. Less jubilant were Debenhams and Mothercare, which both issued profit warnings after a spell of tough trading.

New Look was another high street chain hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons in January. A list of nearly 50 of the young fashion retailer's stores said to be up for disposal or lease renegotiations began to circle around landlords. The list included stores on London's Oxford Street.

Marks & Spencer also revealed plans to shrink its bricks-and-mortar store estate in January, announcing that it would close six stores (in Birkenhead, Bournemouth, Durham, Fforestfach, London's Putney and Redditch) by the spring.

The month ended on an unhappy note for womenswear retailer East, which entered administration for the second time in the less than three years.

May

M&S announced it would close 100 stores over the next four years as it moves more of the business online and downsizes its UK store portfolio. Another of the year's key stories broke at the beginning of the month, when it was revealed that House of Fraser would follow New Look's lead and launch a CVA the following month. The retailer said reducing its store portfolio would provide it with an "effective platform for further growth".

There was also more drama at Debenhams in May, as the department store slashed a raft of senior and director level roles across its men's, women's and children's wear departments.

It was a difficult month for Arcadia. Sales and profits had dropped in what it described as a "disappointing" year for the business. The group experienced a 42% drop in group operating profit - before goodwill, amortisation and exceptional items - to £124.1m for the year to 26 August 2017. And there was worse news still for Jacques Vert, Precis, Dash and Eastex owner Calvetron Brands, which appointed administrators for the second time in less than a year, putting 1,408 jobs at risk.

In better health was fast fashion retailer Zara. It opened a new-look digital concept store at Westfield Stratford City. Twice the size of the previous Zara store, it is home to digital technology including interactive mirrors, and is designed to integrate the online and offline shopping experience.

Finally, Givenchy's artistic director and British designer Clare Waight Keller hit the spotlight when Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, chose a bateau-necked gown from the French fashion house for her wedding with Prince Harry.

July

A summer heatwave saw the UK bask in soaring temperatures throughout July. Retailers celebrated as customers rushed to stock up on summer staples to see them through the warmer months. One person unable to enjoy the summer weather, however, was prime minister Theresa May, who presented her proposals to leave the European Union customs union and create a "facilitated customs agreement". Fashion retailers and suppliers voiced their fears that the industry could face rising costs and uncertainty if the UK failed to secure a favourable free trade agreement with the EU.

World Cup fever swept the nation in July, resulting in England manager Gareth Southgate becoming an unlikely fashion hero. Waistcoats underwent a surge in popularity thanks to Southgate, who donned an M&S waistcoat for all his team's matches in the tournament. Retailers, including M&S and Topman, reported rising sales of the once neglected item. Previously passé product?

Former Jigsaw chief executive Peter Ruis surfaced in a new role when he joined Anthropologie in the newly created role of managing director of international.

The month concluded with some more sad goodbyes for the fashion industry. Retail veteran and former executive chairman of House of Fraser, Don McCarthy, died after a long battle with cancer. The well-respected retail leader worked at many high street chains during his career, including Stead & Simpson, Kurt Geiger, Shoe Studio Group, Principles and Warehouse. Much-loved former Net-a-Porter chief executive Mark Sebba also died following a sudden heart attack.

August

House of Fraser hit the headlines with a bang in August. The embattled department store appointed administrators after talks with investors failed to reach a deal to save the retailer. I t was bought out of administration hours later in a pre-pack deal for £90m by Mike Ashley's Sports Direct. Several House of Fraser suppliers hit out at the news, fearing that they would be left to pick up the bill.

Fellow retail tycoon Philip Day was also jostling to take over the department store, leading a consortium of suppliers in a rival bid to buy HoF for £100m that was rejected. The Edinburgh Woollen Mill owner did, however, successfully add Calvetron Brands to his portfolio in August.

As the month went on, a report from House of Fraser administrators revealed that the retailer's unsecured creditors were owed around £484m. A spat between new owner Ashley and warehouse operator XPO Logistics resulted in House of Fraser's website going offline and distribution centres in Wellingborough and Milton Keynes closing.

There was also bad news for Jack Wills founder Peter Williams, who left the business he founded in 1999 aged just 24, following an alleged disagreement with private equity owners Blue Gem.

September

The House of Fraser saga rumbled on as summer gave way to autumn. All of the retailer's house brands, which included Linea, Biba and Issa, were axed as the retailer reshaped its strategy under Sports Direct. Mike Ashley, meanwhile, was busy calling for HoF's former directors to face an Insolvency Service inquiry, claiming they 'misled' suppliers and warehouse operators.

Online giant Asos chose September to unveil its new 'coming of age' brand Collusion, which it said has been shaped by, and for, an audience looking for something different. The gender-fluid and affordable brand is based around collaboration, inclusivity and experimentation.

Fast fashion etailer Boohoo Group appointed Primark chief operating officer John Lyttle as its chief executive as part of a top-level reshuffle mid-month. Along with that, incumbent joint CEO Mahmud Kamani was to become chief executive chairman, while fellow joint CEO Carol Kane would take the title of executive director.

There was another big people move at the end of September, when it was announced that Fat Face chief executive Anthony Thompson would step down from his role in January 2019. Thompson joined the retailer in 2010 and his career has also included several senior roles at M&S and a stint as the managing director of George at Asda.

October

There were yet more high-profile casualties on the high street in October. "Softening demand for occasionwear" hit Coast, which was bought by fellow womenswear brand Karen Millen through a pre-pack administration. Although the deal rescued Coast's concession, online business and franchise stores, 24 standalone stores and international concessions closed, which was thought to impact 300 jobs.

October also brought the news that Debenhams planned to axe 50 underperforming stores over the next five years in a bid to turn around its ailing fortunes.

Chancellor Philip Hammond threw independents a lifeline in his Autumn Budget. Recognising that smaller retailers were floundering with the weight of fixed costs, including business rates, he announced the government will cut rates for businesses with a rateable value of less than £51,000 for two years from April 2019. In other independent news, premium menswear specialist End opened its first London store.

It was also another big month for people moves. Oasis and Warehouse Group promoted chief operating officer Hash Ladha to chief executive as Liz Evans prepared to step down amid the news she would join Fat Face as CEO next year, while Mike Ashley made his presence known at House of Fraser, sacking the entire senior management team. Chief executive Alex Williamson was among those shown the door.

And finally, at the end of October, Arcadia owner Sir Philip Green was unmasked in parliament as the UK businessman facing allegations of bullying, racism and sexual harassment.

November

The John Lewis partnership, owner of John Lewis and Waitrose, began searching for a successor to longstanding chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield at the start of November. Mayfield, who has been in the role since 2007, announced his intentions to step down in 2020.

Discounting extravaganza Black Friday was the big event circled in many retailer's November calendars. Premium retailer Jigsaw reneged on its former policy promising not to discount in season and launched a 20% off Black Friday Sale. Other offers included 20% off across the whole site at Asos, up to 50% off at Topshop and 30% off at Whistles. Debenhams offered boots at half price, along with 40% off knitwear and 30% of women's dresses. House of Fraser continued with its existing discounts of up to 60% across selected women's, men's and children's wear.

In the course of the month, some high street suppliers chose to stop working with Debenhams over fears of missed payments following cuts to its credit insurance. Two London-based suppliers walked away from the business, Drapers revealed.

Tensions between landlords and Mike Ashley showed no signs of easing as the start of the festive season approached. At the end of November, it was reported that Ashley had decided to close all of his Sports Direct stores located in Intu-owned shopping centres after he failed to agree a deal with Intu to keep open House of Fraser stores in Nottingham, Norwich, Lakeside in Essex and Gateshead's Metrocentre.

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January As retailers reflected on the all-important festive trading period, a tale of two Christmases on the high street emerged: a lucky few recorded soaring sales but others were left disappointed. Joules, Next, Fat Face and Jigsaw were celebrating a successful festive season after all four reported a rise in sales compared with the previous Christmas, and independents were feeling optimistic on the back of a buoyant peak season.

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- Allegations Sir Philip Green bullied, racially abused and sexually harassed some of his employees sent ripples through the industry
-affected by a reduction or withdrawal in cover over the last 12 months as they battled slumping sales and profits. A lack of credit insurance leaves suppliers exposed and retailers without stock.
-Becoming more sustainable may come at a financial cost, but retailers must prioritise putting a sustainability strategy in place
-BREXIT - lack of information has left businesses unable to prepare properly and make the best decisions for future growth. Meanwhile, the pound, and consumer sentiment, remain very volatile.
-Online sales continue to grow = further store closures

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With only a few short months until the UK is due to depart from the European Union on 29 March 2019, the industry is still lacking a clear sense of what life will be like after Brexit. Tough trading conditions in 2018 were compounded by the ongoing uncertainty, and this is set to increase as the clock ticks closer to B-day.

Retailers need clarity on import and export duties, any changes to employment law and immigration, and how ports are going to cope with any backlog or delays. The lack of information has left businesses unable to prepare properly and make the best decisions for future growth. Meanwhile, the pound, and consumer sentiment, remain very volatile.

Action: The industry needs clarity - and fast.

Store surplus

The future of the high street was a hotly debated topic in 2018, and it is set to rage on in 2019 as retailers seek to consolidate their store portfolios while online sales continue to grow. It was the unofficial "year of the CVA" (company voluntary arrangement) as retailers including New Look and Mothercare sought to break leases on unprofitable stores and reduce rents on others to create a fairer playing field with pureplay giants.

Others, such as Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, also confirmed they would close more stores in the coming year.

Another action called for by some, including owner of Sports Direct Group Mike Ashley, was the introduction of an online tax to better balance bricks-and-mortar and ecommerce players.

Action: In the coming year we are sure to see further store closures across UK high streets - the challenge will be to repurpose those units to drive footfall and create community hubs to keep town centres vibrant.

Credit insurance clampdown

Further Brexit uncertainty, rising costs and subdued customer spend in clothing will undoubtedly lead lacklustre trade to continue into 2019 and with it will come a continued increase in prudence from credit insurers. A raft of high-profile retail administrations and company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) in 2018 caused trade credit insurers to take a more cautious approach.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says trade credit insurers have paid out a record £1m a day to help UK firms stay afloat in the second quarter of 2018 - the highest quarterly figure since 2007.

Household names such as Debenhams, House of Fraser and Arcadia Group, owner of Topshop and Topman, were affected by a reduction or withdrawal in cover over the last 12 months as they battled slumping sales and profits. A lack of credit insurance leaves suppliers exposed and retailers without stock.

Action: The industry needs to adapt to the risk-averse environment or it could kill fashion retailers' ability to do business.

Workplace propriety

In 2018, the industry was rocked by reports of abuse and inappropriate behaviour by fashion bosses. Allegations that Arcadia Group boss Sir Philip Green bullied, racially abused and sexually harassed some of his employees sent ripples through the industry. An investigation over "forced hugging", and other alleged improprieties by Ted Baker CEO and founder Ray Kelvin is ongoing.

Action: In 2019, businesses must put in place business practices to ensure staff are supported and can voice concerns without fear of repercussion. The industry must stand up to bullying and inappropriate behaviour to protect its employees.

The discounting drug

As tough trading conditions continue, so does retail's addiction to the discounting drug. Fashion retailers are increasingly reliant on discounting to drive sales. A total of 72% more UK retailers took part in Black Friday in 2018 than in 2017, and price cuts were deeper - an average discount of 37%, compared with 33% in 2017 and 30% in 2016, Sales aggregator LovetheSales.com reported.

Many retailers stretched discounts over a full week or more and some retailers that usually abstain from Black Friday discounting - including Jigsaw and Whistles - took part for the first time in order to tempt shoppers to spend. Many retailers have kept the promotions rolling into December with some - including Debenhams, Topshop and Miss Selfridge, offering up to 50% off. As competition online and in stores become cut-throat in 2019, many will find it difficult to wean themselves off the discounting drug this year.

Action: Retailers will have to weigh up the costs of discounting, both in terms of the message it sends to consumers and the effect on margins.

The sustainable imperative

No longer just a buzzword, sustainability will be a core business focus for brands and retailers in 2019. For many years, sustainable fashion was dismissed as a fad. However, consumers are driving a change in approach. Generation Z - those born since 1995 - are the all-important next generation of consumers, and they say that a brand's ethical principles would motivate them to spend. The government is also waking up to the topic and held several fact-finding parliamentary hearings in 2018 to learn more about the issues and challenges of driving sustainability in fashion.

Action: Becoming more sustainable may come at a financial cost, but retailers must prioritise putting a sustainability strategy in place to support long-term growth and their appeal to the global consumer. If they do not, they risk getting left behind.

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Six challenges fashion retail faces in 2019

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With only a few short months until the UK is due to depart from the European Union on 29 March 2019, the industry is still lacking a clear sense of what life will be like after Brexit. Tough trading conditions in 2018 were compounded by the ongoing uncertainty, and this is set to increase as the clock ticks closer to B-day.

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Amid his battle for control at Debenhams, Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley has lashed out at Sir Philip Green, announcing that he would not buy the mogul's Arcadia Group empire, even for £1.

Speaking to The Times, Ashley dispelled rumours that Sports Direct is considering the purchase of Arcadia, directly or in partnership with Leonard Green & Partners - the private equity firm that already owns 25% of Topshop.

He said: "Let me be completely clear. I wouldn't buy any part of Arcadia either with Leonard Green or directly for a pound."

"I am not getting involved with that pension deficit in Arcadia for reputational reasons. It is not for me. I don't know where the story is coming from. For all I know, Philip is putting it out there that I am going to buy it - but I am not interested."

Arcadia owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Wallis and Miss Selfridge. It is one of Debenhams ' biggest suppliers and a significant concession partner.

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Mike Ashley 'would not buy Arcadia for £1'

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Amid his battle for control at Debenhams, Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley has lashed out at Sir Philip Green, announcing that he would not buy the mogul's Arcadia Group empire, even for £1.

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Green is seeking to launch the restructuring programme as soon as next month, Sky News reports.

The CVA proposal could see a significant number of store closures and job losses across Arcadia, whose brands include Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins.

It comes after Green is said to have launched a review of Arcadia Group and hired advisers from Deloitte to explore a raft of store closures in January.

Deloitte is advising Arcadia on the restructuring, including options to shore up its pension scheme.

Meanwhile, accountancy firm EY is advising the company's pension trustees.

Arcadia and Deloitte have been contacted by Drapers for comment. EY declined to comment.

It also comes after Green reportedly sold Marylebone House in central London to property investment company Aprirose for £44m.

Arcadia has reportedly closed 210 shops over the last two years, representing around a fifth of its store portfolio.

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Green is seeking to launch the restructuring programme as soon as next month, Sky News reports. The CVA proposal could see a significant number of store closures and job losses across Arcadia, whose brands include Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins.

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It comes after Beyoncé bought Arcadia Boss Sir Philip Green's stake in Ivy Park in November 2018, acquiring 100% control of the brand.

Beyoncé founded Ivy Park in 2014, teaming up with Green to launch the debut collection in Topshop in 2016.

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Beyoncé's Ivy Park relaunches with Adidas

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It comes after Beyoncé bought Arcadia Boss Sir Philip Green's stake in Ivy Park in November 2018, acquiring 100% control of the brand. Beyoncé founded Ivy Park in 2014, teaming up with Green to launch the debut collection in Topshop in 2016.

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The group has instigated seven CVAs in relation to certain group companies, alongside a "comprehensive" turnaround plan which it believes will return the business to growth after a sustained period of declining trading performance.

Under the proposals, Arcadia has earmarked 23 out of its total 566 UK and Irish trading locations for potential closure.

They include: Aberdeen (Dorothy Perkins/Burton Menswear); Ashton Under Lyne (Topshop Topman); Bedford (Topshop Topman); Cheshunt (Outfit); Bluewater (Miss Selfridge); Fareham (Topshop Topman); Glasgow - Buchanan Street (Burton Menswear/Topman); Luton (Topshop Topman); Newcastle upon Tyne - Northumberland Street (Outfit); Nuneaton (Topshop Topman); Reading (Dorothy Perkins/Burton Menswear); Salisbury (Topshop Topman); Southend (Miss Selfridge); Stirling (Dorothy Perkins/Burton Menswear); Swindon (Miss Selfridge/Wallis/Evans); Swindon (Dorothy Perkins/Burton Menswear); York (Dorothy Perkins/Burton Menswear); Cork (Dorothy Perkins/Evans); Dublin - St Stephen's Green (Topshop/Miss Selfridge); Dublin - Jervis (Topshop Topman); Dublin - Henry Street (Evans/Wallis); Dublin - Liffey Valley (Wallis); Galway (Miss Selfridge).

The CVA, which will be put to a creditor vote on 5 June, also proposes rent reductions and revised lease terms across 194 locations.

The remaining 349 locations will be unaffected by the proposals. All UK and Irish trading locations will remain open and trading as normal during this period, and the group's online sales channels "will be completely unaffected by the proposed changes".

In an official statement, the group said: "These proposals form part of a wider turnaround plan which will drive greater cost efficiencies, enable store investment and further develop the group's multi-channel proposition to deliver a better experience for customers. No UK or Irish trading locations will close in the short term, and employees and suppliers will continue to be paid on time and in full."

As part of the group's turnaround plan, Arcadia is also restructuring its US operations in line with its strategy to deliver its US retail offer through its wholesale partners and digital platform.

As a result, the group has begun a process which may result in the closure of all eleven Topshop Topman stores in the US.

The group said it has "engaged extensively with its key stakeholders ahead of launching the CVA proposals in order to balance the needs of the group and its landlords, pension trustees, suppliers and other creditors."

It said it "is committed to keeping redundancy levels to a minimum". The locations which have been identified for potential closure employ 520 people.

"Every effort will be made to redeploy affected colleagues within the business where possible, and any staff unable to be assigned a position elsewhere in the Group will be eligible for applicable redundancy payments", the statement added.

Additionally, and as part of the CVA proposals, Lady Green, the group's shareholder, will invest £50m of equity into the group, in addition to the £50m of funding which was provided in March.

She has also agreed to provide all affected landlords with an entitlement to a pro-rata share of 20% of any equity value in the group upon a future sale. Landlords will also "be able to claim against a £40m compromised creditor fund and will not suffer any compromise of dilapidations on currently occupied stores".

The group is also progressing discussions with the trustees of its two largest pensions schemes, the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The company has previously been paying £50m in contributions to the schemes each year.

As part of the restructuring, the new proposals would reduce the contributions from the company to the schemes from £50m to £25m per year, for three years, with security over certain assets being granted in order to provide support to the schemes.

Lady Green has offered to bridge the shortfall with funding of £25m per year for the next three years, plus an additional £25m contribution, resulting in total payments from Lady Green into the schemes of £100m.

Daniel Butters and Ian Wormleighton of Deloitte have been appointed as nominees to the CVA.

Ian Grabiner, CEO of Arcadia Group, said: "Against a backdrop of challenging retail headwinds, changing consumer habits and ever-increasing online competition, we have seriously considered all possible strategic options to return the Group to a stable financial platform.

"Following constructive discussions with all key stakeholders, we believe that a CVA is the best course of action to reduce our fixed cost base and ensure we can continue meeting our commitments to pension trustees, staff, creditors and our extensive supply chain for the long term, while continuing to serve customers through our portfolio of quality fashion brands.

"We have in place a well-developed turnaround plan for the Group, which includes driving cost efficiencies and managing the refreshed retail store estate and investing in the continued development of our multi-channel proposition and logistics. The plan will be executed by the Group's recently strengthened senior management team, made up of top talent from across the retail industry who are committed to returning the Group to growth.

"This has been a tough but necessary decision for the business. We will ensure all potentially affected colleagues are kept fully informed as we seek approval from our creditors on today's CVA proposals."

Arcadia reveals stores to close under CVA

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Arcadia reveals stores to close under CVA

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The group has instigated seven CVAs in relation to certain group companies, alongside a "comprehensive" turnaround plan which it believes will return the business to growth after a sustained period of declining trading performance. Under the proposals, Arcadia has earmarked 23 out of its total 566 UK and Irish trading locations for potential closure.

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So good to so bad

Topshop’s problems, start when you look at the number of competitors battling for a share of the youth market. Rapidly growing rivals have knocked Topshop from its throne. Those looking for catwalk-inspired fashion on a shoestring budget are ably served by Inditex’s Zara, while etailers such as Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and an ever-increasing plethora of fast fashion players offer price-conscious shoppers the latest trends at lightning speed.

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Arcadia, a mythical region of ancient Greece, was known as an untroubled, idyllic paradise. The same cannot be said of the retail empire that shares its name. Following months of rumours about restructuring, store closures and last-minute crunch meetings, Sir Philip Green's high street chain has confirmed it will become the latest in a long line of retailers to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

The group has proposed seven CVAs across its companies, which, if approved, would result in 23 UK store closures and the closure of all eleven Topshop Topman stores in the US.

Green's Arcadia Group comprises Topshop/Topman, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Outfit. It has grown from menswear chain Burton, which was founded in the early 1900s by Lithuanian immigrant Montague Burton. As the business grew, it launched Topshop in the mid-1960s and Topman the following decade. Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Outfit followed in the 1990s and what become the Arcadia Group was bought by Green's Taveta Investments in 2002.

Once riding high, the group has lost its lustre. Sales slumped by 16.6% year on year in the three months to 18 November 2018 and, in February, credit insurance firm Euler Hermes wrote to suppliers warning it planned to cut cover for the group. In its most recent published full-year results, former young fashion giant Topshop reported a £10.9m loss in the year to August 2017, compared with profits of £59.4m in 2016.

Earlier this year, retail experts told Drapers that although flagship brand Topshop is salvageable, some of the other "tired and stale" brands must be jettisoned to secure the group's future.

Walking into Topshop's Oxford Street flagship, it is easy to see why this store remains the jewel in the group's crown - so much so that Green is said to have offered the store as security to the Arcadia pension fund.

Loud, buzzy and permanently busy, the flagship has been home to some innovative examples of recent theatre over recent years, including a virtual reality waterslide and immersive recreation of scenes from Netflix's cult hit Stranger Things. On the day of Drapers' visit to the store earlier this month, bright posters urge shoppers to "snap and share" by taking pictures in store and posting them online. Giant neon pink plants provide some dramatic and suitably summery visual merchandising. Overall, the effect is impactful and impressive.

Experiential retail also has not been forgotten upstairs at Topman, where a sculptural Perspex chandelier dangles from the ceiling and customers can pop into hairdresser Johnny's Chop Shop for a trim or beard shave.

There is also plenty to admire when it comes to the product on offer at both stores, but particularly at Topshop. Seasonal trends that should appeal to the retailer's young target demographic - such as silky slip skirts (£35) and camouflage utility trousers (£42) - are well represented.

Topshop's problems, however, start when you look at the number of competitors battling for - and indeed, stealing - a share of the youth market. Rapidly growing rivals have knocked Topshop from its throne. Those looking for catwalk-inspired fashion on a shoestring budget are ably served by Inditex's Zara, while etailers such as Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and an ever-increasing plethora of fast fashion players offer price-conscious shoppers the latest trends at lightning speed.

Increased competition is even more of a problem for sister brand Miss Selfridge. Its Oxford Street flagship, next door to Topshop's sprawling space, is dominated by rails of discounted product.

Although pretty and feminine in places, overall the offer feels like a less trend-driven take on the same products as Topshop. There's no real point of difference that would encourage shoppers to visit this retailer over all the others jostling for space on the high street.

Miss Selfridge's lack of personality is reflected in a relatively small social media following - it has 630,000 Instagram followers, compared with Topshop's 9.7 million, Asos's 9.3 million and PrettyLittleThing's 10.7 million. The fascia is missing a personal connection and strong sense of brand that will encourage shoppers to part with their cash in today's market.

A lack of clear design handwriting is also a problem at Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, especially when coupled with underinvested and unexciting stores. Both the retailer's stores on Oxford Street are nicely presented - there are marble feature walls at Dorothy Perkins and bright, springtime windows at Wallis. However, neither are particularly innovative or exciting when it comes to both product and store design. Average is not enough in today's retail industry and both brands need to do more to stand out from the crowd.

Green has previously pledged to invest £100m in the Arcadia Group in a bid to secure landlord and creditor support in the run-up to its restructuring. Investment, combined with fewer stores and lower rent bills as a result of the CVA, should result in a fitter, more streamlined business.

A refreshed Arcadia will need to excite and delight customers spoiled for choice in order to carve a successful future.

Comment: What Arcadia is lacking on the high street

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Comment: What Arcadia is lacking on the high street

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Arcadia, a mythical region of ancient Greece, was known as an untroubled, idyllic paradise. The same cannot be said of the retail empire that shares its name. Following months of rumours about restructuring, store closures and last-minute crunch meetings, Sir Philip Green's high street chain has confirmed it will become the latest in a long line of retailers to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

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-value authenticity
-engage with brands on social media
-respond to personalised marketing
- brands matter 'often or always shoppers' - loyalty
-brands to have a mission

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Millennials - they're an entitled, phone-obsessed generation so millennial shoppers therefore don't have much pull in the world of ecommerce, right?

Wrong. Very wrong.

In fact, millennials are likely some of your most critical customers. If you're looking to drive ecommerce sales in 2017, you can't afford not to focus on millennials. In addition to being the largest generation in U.S. history, with more than 92 million members, millennials also have distinctly different shopping and purchasing habits than generations past. Because of this, any brand that wants to market to them successfully needs to understand a thing or two about their purchasing process and how to cater to it effectively.

10 Things Characteristics of Millennial Shoppers Every Ecommerce Store Needs to Know

Whether you're trying to attract millennials to your brand or improve your current millennial marketing strategy, knowing these ten things will help guide the way:

1. They Value Authenticity

Millennials are the kings and queens of keeping it real, and they expect brands to do the same. While advertising to baby boomers often involved inflated claims and infomercial-esque styling, marketing to millennials requires authenticity and transparency. Millennials see right through fake, over the top marketing - so keep it authentic.

2. Social Media Is Number One for Shopping Information

34% of millennial shoppers report that they like brands that use social media more than brands that don't. What's more, 47% report their purchasing habits are influenced by social media, compared to 19% of consumers in other age groups.

3. They Embrace Loyalty Programs

Cost-conscious and dedicated to the brands they love, 80% of millennials participate in loyalty programs. In fact, millennial shoppers are more likely than shoppers in any other generation to keep shopping with a brand because it offers loyalty rewards.

4. They Want to Engage with Brands on Social Networks

According to Forbes, 62% of millennial shoppers state that interacting with a brand on social media makes them more likely to become a customer. What's more, 42% of millennials want to work with the brands they like to co-create products. With these stats in mind, it's clear that brands who engage their millennial consumers on social are much more likely to enjoy larger ecommerce growth.

5. They Respond to Personalized Marketing

Think of the Starbucks White Cup Contest and Coca-Cola's Share a Coke campaign. These are both examples of customized marketing that millennial shoppers love. The Share a Coke campaign was so successful that after launch in 2014 Coca-Cola Co. saw sales rise for the first time in more than a decade, thanks to its personalized bottle campaign. Dedicated to uniqueness and independence, millennials want to feel like brands see and hear them.

6. Price Is Critical, But Brands Matter

While 57% of millennial shoppers compare prices in-store, 60% report being "often or always" loyal to the brands they like. As mentioned earlier, loyalty is essential. If you put in your time and earn the trust of millennials, your brand will likely enjoy positive ROI down the road.

7. They Favor Word of Mouth Recommendations

Millennial shoppers prefer to get direct recommendations from friends and trust the products their friends like. If you can use advertising subtly through influencer marketing or creative social ads, you can create social channels that millennials will want have as part of their feed. Best of all, they'll share their love of your channels with their friends. Word of mouth is good as gold! Find out how you can get more reviews on social media, here.

8. They Want Brands to Have a Mission

Today, 50% of millennial shoppers say they enjoy purchasing products from brands that support charities or causes, like Tom's and Warby Parker do. Meanwhile, 75% of millennials report that it is fairly important to them that a company gives back to society, which may explain the rampant popularity of eco-conscious brands like Patagonia and REI or MEC.

9. They're More Likely to Make Impulse Purchases Than Any Other Generation

Thanks to deep pocketbooks and a comfort with all things tech, millennials are more willing to make impulsive purchases than their older predecessors. According to one Gallup study, 42% of millennials make at least one impulse purchase per month - which is good news for ecommerce businesses like you, right?

10. The Purchasing Power of Millennials Is Estimated to Be $170 Billion Per Year

Millennials have a significant amount of purchasing power, and they intend to use it! With an estimated $170 billion in buying power annually, it's clear that no company that wants to succeed in the modern day can afford to ignore millennial consumers.

Boost Ecommerce Sales by Marketing to Millennial Shoppers

If you want to make it big in the modern ecommerce environment, you've got to market to millennials. Thanks to their massive purchasing power, millennials also represent some of the most influential customers out there, and they're a critical piece of the ecommerce puzzle.

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The 10 Characteristics of Millennial Shoppers You Need to Know | Vantage

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Millennials - they're an entitled, phone-obsessed generation so millennial shoppers therefore don't have much pull in the world of ecommerce, right? Wrong. Very wrong. In fact, millennials are likely some of your most critical customers. If you're looking to drive ecommerce sales in 2017, you can't afford not to focus on millennials.

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For decades, Pew Research Center has been committed to measuring public attitudes on key issues and documenting differences in those attitudes across demographic groups. One lens often employed by researchers at the Center to understand these differences is that of generation.

Generations provide the opportunity to look at Americans both by their place in the life cycle - whether a young adult, a middle-aged parent or a retiree - and by their membership in a cohort of individuals who were born at a similar time.

Michael Dimock, president of Pew Research Center

As we've examined in past work, generational cohorts give researchers a tool to analyze changes in views over time. They can provide a way to understand how different formative experiences (such as world events and technological, economic and social shifts) interact with the life-cycle and aging process to shape people's views of the world. While younger and older adults may differ in their views at a given moment, generational cohorts allow researchers to examine how today's older adults felt about a given issue when they themselves were young, as well as to describe how the trajectory of views might differ across generations.

Pew Research Center has been studying the Millennial generation for more than a decade. But by 2018, it became clear to us that it was time to determine a cutoff point between Millennials and the next generation. Turning 38 this year, the oldest Millennials are well into adulthood, and they first entered adulthood before today's youngest adults were born.

In order to keep the Millennial generation analytically meaningful, and to begin looking at what might be unique about the next cohort, Pew Research Center decided a year ago to use 1996 as the last birth year for Millennials for our future work. Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation.

Since the oldest among this rising generation are just turning 22 this year, and most are still in their teens or younger, we hesitated at first to give them a name - Generation Z, the iGeneration and Homelanders were some early candidates. (In our first in-depth look at this generation, we used the term "post-Millennials" as a placeholder.) But over the past year, Gen Z has taken hold in popular culture and journalism. Sources ranging from Merriam-Webster and Oxford to the Urban Dictionary now include this name for the generation that follows Millennials, and Google Trends data show that "Generation Z" is far outpacing other names in people's searches for information. While there is no scientific process for deciding when a name has stuck, the momentum is clearly behind Gen Z.

Generational cutoff points aren't an exact science. They should be viewed primarily as tools, allowing for the kinds of analyses detailed above. But their boundaries are not arbitrary. Generations are often considered by their span, but again there is no agreed upon formula for how long that span should be. At 16 years (1981 to 1996), our working definition of Millennials is equivalent in age span to their preceding generation, Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980). By this definition, both are shorter than the span of the Baby Boomers (19 years) - the only generation officially designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, based on the famous surge in post-WWII births in 1946 and a significant decline in birthrates after 1964.

Unlike the Boomers, there are no comparably definitive thresholds by which later generational boundaries are defined. But for analytical purposes, we believe 1996 is a meaningful cutoff between Millennials and Gen Z for a number of reasons, including key political, economic and social factors that define the Millennial generation's formative years.

Most Millennials were between the ages of 5 and 20 when the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook the nation, and many were old enough to comprehend the historical significance of that moment, while most members of Gen Z have little or no memory of the event. Millennials also grew up in the shadow of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which sharpened broader views of the parties and contributed to the intense political polarization that shapes the current political environment. And most Millennials were between 12 and 27 during the 2008 election, where the force of the youth vote became part of the political conversation and helped elect the first black president. Added to that is the fact that Millennials are the most racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in the nation's history. Yet the next generation - Generation Z - is even more diverse.

Beyond politics, most Millennials came of age and entered the workforce facing the height of an economic recession. As is well documented, many of Millennials' life choices, future earnings and entrance to adulthood have been shaped by this recession in a way that may not be the case for their younger counterparts. The long-term effects of this "slow start" for Millennials will be a factor in American society for decades.

Technology, in particular the rapid evolution of how people communicate and interact, is another generation-shaping consideration. Baby Boomers grew up as television expanded dramatically, changing their lifestyles and connection to the world in fundamental ways. Generation X grew up as the computer revolution was taking hold, and Millennials came of age during the internet explosion.

In this progression, what is unique for Generation Z is that all of the above have been part of their lives from the start. The iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest Gen Zers were 10. By the time they were in their teens, the primary means by which young Americans connected with the web was through mobile devices, WiFi and high-bandwidth cellular service. Social media, constant connectivity and on-demand entertainment and communication are innovations Millennials adapted to as they came of age. For those born after 1996, these are largely assumed.

The implications of growing up in an "always on" technological environment are only now coming into focus. Recent research has shown dramatic shifts in youth behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles - both positive and concerning - for those who came of age in this era. What we don't know is whether these are lasting generational imprints or characteristics of adolescence that will become more muted over the course of their adulthood. Beginning to track this new generation over time will be of significant importance.

Pew Research Center is not the first to draw an analytical line between Millennials and the generation to follow them, and many have offered well-reasoned arguments for drawing that line a few years earlier or later than where we have. Perhaps, as more data are collected over the years, a clear, singular delineation will emerge. We remain open to recalibrating if that occurs. But more than likely the historical, technological, behavioral and attitudinal data will show more of a continuum across generations than a threshold. As has been the case in the past, this means that the differences within generations can be just as great as the differences across generations, and the youngest and oldest within a commonly defined cohort may feel more in common with bordering generations than the one to which they are assigned. This is a reminder that generations themselves are inherently diverse and complex groups, not simple caricatures.

In the near term, you will see a number of reports and analyses from the Center that continue to build on our portfolio of generational research. Today, we issued a report looking - for the first time - at how members of Generation Z view some of the key social and political issues facing the nation today and how their views compare with those of older generations. To be sure, the views of this generation are not fully formed and could change considerably as they age and as national and global events intervene. Even so, this early look provides some compelling clues about how Gen Z will help shape the future political landscape.

In the coming weeks, we will be releasing demographic analyses that compare Millennials to previous generations at the same stage in their life cycle to see if the demographic, economic and household dynamics of Millennials continue to stand apart from their predecessors. In addition, we will build on our research on teens' technology use by exploring the daily lives, aspirations and pressures today's 13- to 17-year-olds face as they navigate the teenage years.

Yet, we remain cautious about what can be projected onto a generation when they remain so young. Donald Trump may be the first U.S. president most Gen Zers know as they turn 18, and just as the contrast between George W. Bush and Barack Obama shaped the political debate for Millennials, the current political environment may have a similar effect on the attitudes and engagement of Gen Z, though how remains a question. As important as today's news may seem, it is more than likely that the technologies, debates and events that will shape Generation Z are still yet to be known.

We look forward to spending the next few years studying this generation as it enters adulthood. All the while, we'll keep in mind that generations are a lens through which to understand societal change, rather than a label with which to oversimplify differences between groups.
Note: This is an update of a post that was originally published March 1, 2018, to announce the Center's adoption of 1996 as an endpoint to births in the Millennial generation.

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Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins

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For decades, Pew Research Center has been committed to measuring public attitudes on key issues and documenting differences in those attitudes across demographic groups. One lens often employed by researchers at the Center to understand these differences is that of generation.