Stores

Relations between the owner of Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman and its vendors are at an all-time low. But both sides need each other more than they’d like to admit.

Relations between Saks Global and many of the 2,000-odd brands stocked in its department stores appear to be worse than ever after the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman sent a letter this week setting new payment terms.

Partnering with department stores and boutiques used to be the first and sometimes only option for new labels to break though. Today, that path often winds through Shopify and Instagram first, but multi-brand retailers still have an important role to play.

Not so long ago, Aritzia was a little-known womenswear brand serving elevated workwear staples from a modest footprint of stores. CEO Jennifer Wong talks in The State of Fashion 2025 about how the retailer found itself in hypergrowth — and why excellence starts from within the company.

Differentiating the in-store experience is key to reigniting demand for in-person shopping, according to the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025. Brands can achieve that by empowering their store associates to reach their full potential.

Zara, Uniqlo, Mango and Primark and other European and Asian brands plan to open hundreds of stores in the US in the coming years. They’re hoping American consumers will keep spending — and that they’ll give new labels a try despite having plenty of options.

Some stores have burned to the ground in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood being decimated by a still-growing wildfire.

As the brand races to hit eleven-digit annual sales, CEO Joe Preston opens up for The State of Fashion 2025 about what New Balance is doing that its rivals aren't, the company's unique approach to brand and athlete partnerships and how it plans to stay ahead in the innovation battle.

To combat the high costs of overstock and stock-outs, winning brands are improving their end-to-end planning with tech tools and operating models that allow for greater supply-chain agility, according to the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025.

Facing depressed consumer sentiment and a slew of other macroeconomic headwinds this year, the industry was forced to revisit a timeless retail playbook: compelling product, prudent spending and a revival of brick and mortar.

As the four-decade-old American retailer projects record sales this year, CEO Libby Wadle unpacks how she and her design team were able to win back alienated customers for the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025.

BoF Careers provides essential sector insights for fashion professionals in retail this month, to help you decode fashion’s retail landscape.