Retail news around the globe

Pierre Cardin dies at 98 French fashion magnate Pierre Cardin, 98, has passed away. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Cardin influenced catwalks with his space-age, futuristic bubble dresses and geometric patterns and mentored some of the today’s most successful designers, such as Jean Paul Gaultier. “Thank you Mr Cardin for opening me the doors to fashion and for making my dream possible,” Gaultier wrote on Twitter. Cardin was the first designer to sell clothes in department stores

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first designer to sell clothes in department stores back in the late 1950s and the first to license perfumes, accessories and food.

JD, Tmall, Vipshop slapped with fines over 11.11 pricing

China’s market regulator has fined e-commerce stores JD, Alibaba’s Tmall and Vipshop 500,000 yuan (US$76,657) each for having irregular pricing during the 11.11 shopping festival.

Consumers filed complaints to the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) during the yearly November 11 sale. Last year, Beijing issued draft rules preventing monopolistic behaviour by internet firms. The SAMR said it would fine Alibaba, Tencent Holdings-backed China Literature and Shenzhen Hive Box 500,000 yuan each because they did not report deals properly for anti-trust reviews.

Vipshop responded saying it would address the issue and standardise its business operations further. While Alibaba and JD have not responded to requests for comment on the matter..

Adidas pledges to use 60 per cent sustainable materials in products

Sustainable materials are set to feature in 60 per cent of Adidas’ products this year, including football jerseys made from recycled polyester and vegan Stan Smiths. The sportswear giant shifted to using sustainable cotton in 2018, and starting in 2024, it will start using only recycled polyester.

“Sustainability is an integral part of the adidas business philosophy. We have continued to invest in sustainability initiatives during the coronavirus pandemic and we will significantly expand our range of sustainable products in 2021. To this end, for example, we have worked with our suppliers to create the structures that make it possible to process recycled materials on a large scale. Not only does our commitment make Adidas more sustainable, but it also drives the development of the whole industry,” said Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted.

The company partnered with suppliers to target its global climate neutrality by 2050 and across its supply chain. It is rolling out recycled products with the ‘Primeblue’ and ‘Primegreen’ labels to indicate recycled materials.

Toyota Japan shifts gears with new line of BEVs

Carmaker Toyota has launched a limited number of “C+pod” ultra-compact battery electric vehicles (BEV) for businesses, local governments and other organisations in Japan. It’s the first step in its plan to establish systems to help popularise BEVs before marketing the C+pod to individual customers in 2022.

The new C+pod is an environmentally friendly two-seater BEV and is targeted at corporate users visiting customers on a regular basis and people living in urban or mountainous communities who need safe and environmentally friendly transportation.

Toyota said it is open to collaborations as it works to build new business models. It launched Toyota Green Charge with Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co to provide a single point of contact for customers looking to construct optimal charging facilities or developing electricity plans for BEVs.

Tesco cuts one billion pieces of plastic from UK stores

Supermarket giant Tesco has removed one billion pieces of plastic from its UK stores in 2020 under its 4Rs packaging strategy: remove where possible, reduce where it’s not, reuse more and recycle what’s left.

“Our own-label and branded suppliers have had a lot to contend with in 2020 so removing a billion pieces of plastic is fantastic progress. Our work to Remove, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle will continue into 2021 – there is no place for unnecessary or non-recyclable packaging in our business,” Tesco quality director, Sarah Bradbury, said.

“Plastic pollution continues to be one of the most visible symptoms of the environmental crisis we’re currently facing. Businesses, governments and households have all got an important part to play, so it’s encouraging to see Tesco delivering against their commitments to significantly reduce the amount of plastic we use. We look forward to welcoming further initiatives of this scale in 2021 and beyond,” Paula Chin, sustainable materials specialist, WWF said.

Tesco initially removed plastic wrapped multipacks and began selling loose cans at the same price years ago. In July, it rolled out an online shopping service with Loop where shoppers can get their groceries delivered in reusable packaging.