Speaking with style
Exclusive interviews with some of the apparel and footwear industry’s leading movers and shakers. Companies already featured include Marks & Spencer, H&M, Timberland, Adidas, New Look and Li & Fung.
Speaking with style: Mike Shearwood, CEO, Aurora Fashions
8 December 2011
Women's wear retailer Aurora Fashions, owner of the Coast, Warehouse and Oasis brands, has moved beyond multichannel retail to something that CEO Mike Shearwood describes as "omnichannel". Here he tells just-style in an exclusive interview how this strategy is having wide-ranging impacts across the retailer's business, from ensuring a seamless offer to opening up inventory across multiple channels.
Speaking with style: Bernie Brookes, CEO, Myer
7 November 2011
Bernie Brookes, the CEO of Myer, Australia's largest department store chain, speaks to just-style about how the retailer is working to improve its operations and tempt shoppers into its stores.
Speaking with style: Michael Massey, CEO, Collective Brands
20 October 2011
Footwear retailer Collective Brands is in a state of flux, on the one hand announcing plans to shutter almost 500 stores in the US, but on the other inking deals to expand its distribution in a number of emerging markets. Here CEO Michael Massey speaks to just-style's Petah Marian about how the company is developing its presence overseas and online.
Speaking with style: Kim Glas, US Department of Commerce
20 September 2011
The US is "well on its way" to expanding textile and apparel exports by 15% a year by 2014, particularly to Western trading partners in the Americas, according to Kim Glas, deputy assistant secretary for textiles and apparel at the US Department of Commerce. She tells just-style that shipments could rise to nearly $30bn in the next three years.
Speaking with style: Aidan O'Meara, president, VF Asia Pacific
18 August 2011
The easing of cotton costs this year has lifted the price pressure on major brands, according to VF Asia Pacific president Aidan O'Meara. And he tells just-style that the stellar growth of VF's brands across the region is continuing apace, offsetting headwinds that include increased competition, rising wages, inflation, and a more challenging Chinese economic outlook.
Speaking with style: Dr Harry Lee, CEO of TAL Apparel
26 July 2011
TAL Apparel, one of the world's leading garment suppliers, has turned the threat of inflation across the supply chain into an opportunity to do things differently. Here CEO Dr Harry Lee tells just-style how the Hong Kong based firm's long-time focus on efficiency, sustainable development, and added value is helping to combat rising costs and set it apart from the competition.
Speaking with style: Abi Rushton, founder of Ethical Expert
27 June 2011
With 20 years of experience across manufacturing, retail and international development to her name, Abi Rushton is well-placed to help steer apparel sourcing strategies of the future. just-style news editor Joe Ayling found out more in the first part of an extended inteview on the global supply chain.
Speaking with style: Geert Peeters, head of Levi's global supply chain
23 May 2011
Heading up supply chain operations for Levi Strauss, the world's largest denim brand, Geert Peeters strives to source jeans in a sustainable, fashionable and compliant way. just-style news editor Joe Ayling caught up with him at the sidelines of a London event to launch its new WaterLess line.
Speaking with style: Kurt Cavano, CEO, TradeCard
31 March 2011
There's plenty of talk about the uphill battle confronting apparel supply chains in the face of cautious consumer spending and the pressure on margins from rising raw material, labour and transportation costs. What's needed are constructive ways to counter these pressures. Kurt Cavano, CEO of the TradeCard supply chain platform, believes technology has a key role to play.
Speaking with style: Ashroff Omar, CEO, Brandix
25 February 2011
Few have been more instrumental in the positioning of Sri Lanka's 'garments without guilt' apparel industry than Ashroff Omar. Joe Ayling interviewed the Brandix Lanka chief executive during a recent visit to the country.
Speaking with style: Steve Jesseph, CEO, WRAP
31 January 2011
In the ten years that Steve Jesseph has been involved with certification group WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production), massive steps have been taken to improve working conditions at factories around the world. But he is now on a mission to draw attention to the next set of challenges that face the apparel industry - including the dwindling natural resources on which the sector depends.
Speaking with style: Raphael le Masne de Chermont, Shanghai Tang
9 December 2010
Raphael le Masne de Chermont has been executive chairman of Hong Kong-based Shanghai Tang - China's leading luxury lifestyle brand - since 2001. Not only is he the driving force behind the brand's global expansion, but he is a veteran of both Asia and the luxury goods sector. Here, le Masne de Chermont speaks to Marie-Hélène Corbin about the potential and pitfalls of the luxury market in China.
Speaking with style: Sandra Smith, consultant at Bureau Veritas
25 November 2010
With the apparel industry facing higher costs and widening sourcing networks, supply chain expert Sandra Smith tells just-style news editor Joe Ayling how retailers are adapting. She explains how cost pressures, ethics, sustainability and technology fall into today's sourcing considerations.
Speaking with style: Anthony Corsano, CEO, Anvil Knitwear
29 October 2010
Anvil Knitwear is ahead of some of the world's biggest clothing brands when it comes to sustainability. Here, CEO Anthony Corsano talks to just-style about the business case for social and environmental responsibility, and explains why it is a defining feature of the future of the apparel industry.
Speaking with style: Ben Eavis, Sainsbury’s
3 September 2010
Corporate sustainability is seen by sceptics as too often being 'more talk than action'. Ben Eavis, head of corporate responsibility at Sainsbury’s, spoke with Ben Cooper about how the various steering groups, reporting processes and stakeholder discussions at Sainsbury's facilitate action rather being an end in their own right.
Speaking with style: Isak Halfon, expansion director, Mango
14 August 2010
It may be ten times smaller than archrival Inditex (owner of the Zara stores) but Spanish women's fashion chain Mango is nearly as well known, thanks to clever adverts featuring glamorous movie stars and a relentless expansion which has taken it to 100 countries in recent years. And there is room for more - much more - growth, expansion director and board member Isak Halfon tells just-style.
Speaking with style: Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer
1 July 2010
Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer is confident that major investments in the World Cup this summer are paying off. In an interview with just-style news editor Joe Ayling, he also discusses sourcing, currencies and his vision for the Reebok brand.
Speaking with Style: Fazlul Hoque, president of the BKMEA
8 June 2010
Bangladesh faces labour, cost and infrastructure challenges as it matures into a key global garment exporter. But as Fazlul Hoque, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) tells just-style, "the game is just starting."
Speaking with style: Janet Fox, JC Penney
27 April 2010
Modern day sourcing demands that retailers control their inventory and supplier matrix, while keeping tabs on the growing list of manufacturing hot-spots. just-style news editor Joe Ayling discusses the challenge with JC Penney sourcing boss Janet Fox.
Speaking with Style: Carlos Arias, president, Denimatrix
19 January 2010
Last March, a group of savvy investors bought the remains of former struggling Guatemalan denim firm Koramsa – just as the jewel in the crown of the country’s flagship textiles industry had begun to rust under the credit crisis. The move gave genesis to Denimatrix which, according to president and co-founder Carlos Arias, is now making headway in its efforts to become a global heavyweight in jeanswear design.
