Italy’s Ferragamo Parts Ways with Former Burberry Chief Gobbetti

A view of Italian luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo's logo at a store in Milan, Italy, March 6, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of Italian luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo's logo at a store in Milan, Italy, March 6, 2024. (Reuters)
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Italy’s Ferragamo Parts Ways with Former Burberry Chief Gobbetti

A view of Italian luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo's logo at a store in Milan, Italy, March 6, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of Italian luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo's logo at a store in Milan, Italy, March 6, 2024. (Reuters)

Italian luxury goods group Salvatore Ferragamo said CEO Marco Gobbetti would step down next month after little over three years in charge.

The company has started looking for a new chief executive, it said in a statement on Monday. Chairman Leonardo Ferragamo will take on executive powers, with help from an advisory committee, once Gobbetti leaves on March 6 and until his replacement is found.

Ferragamo brought board former Burberry chief Gobbetti on board at the start of 2022 as the Florentine group grappled with the damage wrought from the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit it harder than rivals.

The revamp, however, has proven difficult, leaving the Ferragamo group battling a slide in sales as luxury demand globally cools down, especially in Asia.

A year ago, after reporting an 8% drop in sales for 2023, Gobbetti warned that hitting turnaround goals could take longer than anticipated.

In October, Gobbetti guided for a 2024 operating profit at the low end of analyst estimates, after revenues fell 7.2% at constant currencies in the third quarter.



Primark to Open First Dubai Store

A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Primark to Open First Dubai Store

A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman speaks on her mobile phone as she browses a shop for new clothes ahead of the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in Dubai on March 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Budget fashion retailer Primark has confirmed it will press ahead with opening its first Dubai store on Thursday despite the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, during which the emirate has been hit by Iranian missiles and drones.

Primark, owned by London-listed Associated British Foods, and its ⁠franchise partner Alshaya ⁠Group will open the store in Dubai Mall.

Primark and Alshaya plan to open two more stores in Dubai - at City Centre ⁠Mirdif in April and Mall of the Emirates in May.

Dubai's malls have seen a sharp fall in visitors since the Iran war began, reflecting a collapse in tourism.

Primark and Alshaya plan to open stores in Bahrain and Qatar by ⁠the ⁠end of the year.

Primark entered the Middle East with a store in Kuwait in October last year.

As of the end of January, Primark traded from about 475 stores in 18 countries across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the US.


ASOS Posts 50% Profit Jump as Cost Cuts Overshadow Merchandise Value Dip

FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo
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ASOS Posts 50% Profit Jump as Cost Cuts Overshadow Merchandise Value Dip

FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk past the ASOS pop-up store in London, Britain, November 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo/File Photo

ASOS reported a nearly 50% jump in first-half adjusted core profit on Wednesday, as cost cuts overshadowed a 9% decline in gross merchandise value, and helped lift gross margins.

The online fashion retailer has been trying to revive its fast-fashion ⁠appeal among its ⁠core twenty-something shoppers, while sharpening its focus on profitability through tighter cost control amid intensifying competition from cheaper Chinese rivals.

British retailers have ⁠been squeezed by weaker consumer spending as high inflation has curbed discretionary purchases.

UK inflation held steady at 3% in February, official figures showed on Wednesday, ahead of a likely uptick as the Middle East war pushes prices higher.

According to Reuters, ASOS said ⁠its ⁠GMV decline improved sequentially through the reported period, with its largest market - the UK - outperforming the group with a 5% decline.

The company also reiterated its annual profit guidance of 150 million pounds ($200.7 million)-180 million pounds.


Paris Appeals Court Rejects Government's Request for Suspension of Shein's Marketplace

(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)
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Paris Appeals Court Rejects Government's Request for Suspension of Shein's Marketplace

(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the logo of Asian e-commerce giant Shein in its stall at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP)

A Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected the French government's request to suspend Chinese online platform Shein's marketplace, defeating an appeal by the state after a Paris court ruled against the government in December.

Shein has ⁠been embroiled in ⁠a scandal since France's consumer watchdog DGCCRF found sex dolls resembling children and banned weapons for sale ⁠on its marketplace last year, prompting the government to attempt to suspend the platform.

In December, a Paris court had rejected the government's request to suspend the Shein site in France as a ⁠whole ⁠for three months, saying it would be "disproportionate", prompting the government to appeal the ruling.

Shein banned all sex dolls and suspended the adult products category from its marketplace globally on November 3 after the consumer watchdog's findings.