DTC Dispatch #006

LATEST NEWS

Temu is back with a fresh lawsuit against Shein

Back at it again! Temu is suing its competitor Shein, saying the fast fashion company is using ‘Mafia-style’ intimidation tactics on merchants who list their products on both platforms.

The lawsuit comes as Shein prepares to go public in the US, which could happen in 2024.

Our take: US consumers are intrigued with fast fashion and bargain-bin prices. Although the price tag is right, consumers question both companies in regards to their labor practices and knock off’s of small businesses. Will this new lawsuit shed light to these issues for both companies and cause more harm than good for them?

Sephora’s continued support for emerging beauty brand founders

Sephora announced eight beauty brands to participate in their 2024 mentorship program. The Sephora Accelerate program consists of a six-month curriculum that provides merchandising support, grants and investor connections with an opportunity to launch in Sephora’s North America stores once completed.

Our take: The Accelerate program chooses brand founders from underrepresented communities, according to a press release. Sephora continues to be a positive influence in the beauty industry by providing opportunities for these amazing brands that represent a collective pool of their clientele.

Prices of Rolex and other luxury Swiss watches keep falling

If you are looking for a luxury watch for the holiday’s, now is the time to buy. Subdial, a watch industry data provider, reported that its Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index fell again for the month of November, down 3% from the prior month and 10% from a year ago.

The Subdial team believes there might be a silver lining. Despite falling prices in the secondhand market, there is still volume in terms of transactions.

Additionally, a potential positive for the watch market? The future interest rate environment. Subdial found that the slide in the watch market “perfectly” correlated with the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes.

Our take: The luxury watch market is seeing a new two-year low on value in the secondhand or used market watches. According to Subdial, this is far from a cause of concern compared to times during the early stages of the pandemic, when supply was low.

What will 2024 look like for the luxury watch market? The future interest rate environment could be a determining factor in the markets success.

Adidas is debuting popup stores and merch on the Roblox gaming platform

Fashion brand Adidas is activating on gaming platform Roblox, in first instance via pop up stores carrying digital wearables and accessories. They have joined forces with Roblox creator Rush Bogin (Rush X) on a range of exclusive, limited edition user generated collections (UGC). After the initial release, more Rush X collaboration products will be introduced.

Our take: The launch of the new Rush X collection on Roblox is a smart play for Adidas, which will allow the fashion brand to create connections with new audiences. This also allows Adidas to reconnect with fans of the brand in the digital realm.

The brand is still trying to recover from its Yeezy fallout. In Q3 of 2023, Adidas reported a 6.4% dip in net sales.

Will the new era of digital pop up stores help Adidas’ revenue in 2024?

A more nuanced way to reach luxury consumers

Today’s luxury consumer audience has become more discerning, eco-friendly and active across a range of channels. According to Insider Intelligence, here are three ways to reach this evolving audience:

1. Lead with intention

2. Leverage a multichannel approach

3. Innovate in the face of uncertainty

Our take: With so many options for consumers these days, marketers need to seek out insight-driven ways to engage these luxury consumers and deliver messages that will stick. Developing an authentic connection with luxury consumers can be challenging, but the relationships formed can be long-lasting.

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