A week with great partnerships and eventful personalities: Zalando and Vestiaire Collective announce a collaboration that redefines second-hand retail, while Gucci brings luxury and motorsport together with its entry into Formula 1. Despite a few bright spots, the situation in retail remains tense – the insolvency report for the first quarter of 2026 shows increasing numbers in fashion retail, and Galeria continues to struggle with rent arrears. Upheavals dominate at the personnel level: Mango, Isabel Marant and Diane von Furstenberg are restructuring their management team, and H&M is bringing its new head of information directly from its competitor Inditex.
Business
Business figures
The Hamburg trading group Otto almost doubled its profits in the past financial year: Earnings before interest and taxes rose from 276 to 641 million euros, while sales fell by around 7.4 percent to 13.8 billion euros as a result of the sale of the About You subsidiary. The Platform Group from Düsseldorf, meanwhile, reported sales growth of 51.2 percent to 243.1 million euros for the first quarter of 2026 and confirmed its annual forecast.
The inflation rate in Germany fell significantly to 2.6 percent in May, after 2.9 percent in April – a relief for consumers, even though household energy and fuel were still significantly more expensive than a year before.
Platforms and regulation
Zalando and Vestiaire Collective announced a far-reaching partnership that will make second-hand items accessible across 14 European markets – a move that will structurally align the used fashion market with the new goods trade. On the same axis, TikTok Shop is expanding further in Europe: From June 15th, users in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland will be able to shop directly in the app. Meanwhile, the EU Commission imposed a fine of 200 million euros on Temu because the Chinese online marketplace did not properly assess the risks of illegal products – a particularly serious violation of the Digital Services Act.
Logistics and social plan
At Zalando in Erfurt, the management and works council of the logistics center threatened with closure have started negotiations for the first time about a balance of interests and a social plan – around 2,000 jobs are at stake. Galeria continues to default on rent payments for several branches, including the location on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz; Owner Commerz Real called for significant strategic investments in modernizing the concept.
Artificial intelligence and brands
A study by ARD Media shows that AI-generated advertising endangers the credibility of brands: 70 percent of those surveyed have already seen AI advertising, and 63 percent say they can hardly distinguish it from classic advertising. A separate article this week highlights how AI can specifically relieve the burden on fashion companies – for example with supply chain disruptions, demand forecasts and fragmented planning processes.
Corporate strategies
Flowers for Society, the Hamburg sneaker brand of former Adidas manager Till Jagla, will become part of the Framework Studios GmbH portfolio, which already includes the labels Reternity and Hatline Lab. The Dutch lifestyle brand Paperstraight will be joining the German fashion retailer Breuninger this fall and focuses on classic silhouettes with a streetwear influence. The Textilfabrik 7.0 project at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences in Mönchengladbach, which is intended to establish CO₂-neutral, circular textile production in Germany with up to 25 million euros in public funding, draws its first interim conclusions after almost a year of operation.
fashion
Gucci will become the title partner of the Alpine Formula One Team from the next World Championship – the fashion house is entering motorsport as its namesake for the first time in the brand’s history and is launching the “Gucci Racing” experience platform. In a similar way, Loewe is relying on sport as a communication channel: the Spanish luxury house will be the official off-field outfitter of the Spanish national football teams until 2030.
Bugatti, in turn, is choosing a different approach to brand presentation and is taking over the Bagno Angelo beach club in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany from May to October to bring its spring/summer 2027 collection to life. Meanwhile, Pas Normal Studios and Salomon are releasing a joint crossover collection for spring/summer 2026 that combines cycling aesthetics with outdoor performance and focuses on a hybrid shoe for asphalt and gravel.
Peter Kaiser is expanding its range: The traditional brand, which was taken over by Caprice after bankruptcy in 2023, will be bringing men’s shoes back onto the market for the first time from the spring/summer 2027 season. The Lycra Company is partnering with Primark to launch a new design-led shapewear collection that will be available across Europe and the United States through the retailer’s network of stores.
Two analyzes round off the content of the fashion week: A guide for retailers gives concrete recommendations on which clothing belongs in the shop window in the summer heat. A study hypothesizes that Generation
Personal details
Jonathan Andic, son of Mango founder Isak Andic and non-executive vice president of the board of directors, resigned from all responsibilities within the Spanish fashion group following his formal indictment for the alleged murder of his father. Isabel Marant appoints Catherine Jacquet as new managing director; She succeeds Anouck Duranteau-Loeper and will officially take office in June.
As artistic director, Henry Zankov takes over the entire creative direction of the US brand from Diane von Furstenberg; his first collection will be shown at New York Fashion Week in September. At Givenchy, Marco De Vincenzo, previously creative director at Etro, takes over as head of the leather goods department under creative director Sarah Burton.
Austrian fiber manufacturer Lenzing has appointed Georg Kasperkovitz as its new CEO; The previous operations manager will take over the role on June 1st, his term of office runs until May 2029. H&M is bringing in Diego Teijeiro Ruiz, who worked at Inditex for almost two decades and was responsible for global data and analytics processes, as the new head of information.
Olymp brings Philipp Lübbenjans on board to promote the restart of the Eterna brand: The former sales manager of Eterna will take over the management of the newly founded Eterna KG on June 1st. Skims appoints Judy Genovese, previously of Victoria’s Secret and Ralph Lauren, as its new head of retail for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region – ahead of the opening of its first UK store on London’s Regent Street.
retail
The Falkensteg insolvency report for the first quarter of 2026 paints a sober picture: retail bankruptcies rose by almost nine percent across all sales categories, and by around ten percent in the fashion and non-food segments. The decline in major insolvencies compared to the previous quarter is not a sign of structural relaxation, but is due to the record level at the end of 2025, warns the consultancy.
Gabor reopened its flagship store in Westerland on Sylt and introduced its new furnishing concept “Gabor Brand New Space System” for the first time, which is modular and sustainable based on the modular principle. Birkenstock is continuing its expansion in Italy and opened a store in the center of Bologna, the interior design of which is based on the city’s historic brick architecture.
Viking is launching a re-sale marketplace for the brand’s used children’s and adult shoes under the name “ReExplore” – currently available in Germany, Norway and other markets. Sport 2000 now enables its trading partners to offer repair and cleaning services in e-commerce – implemented via a white label platform from technology partner Simplysolve.
A guest article highlights the trend towards inflatable and oversized spatial installations as a brand experience in stationary retail – temporary structures that are too big to be ignored and that rely on analogue presence in an increasingly digital world.
Measure
The Danish fashion trade fair CIFF is moving further away from the classic seasonal format: In the run-up to the 67th edition, which takes place from August 3rd to 5th in Copenhagen, the organizers presented a more comprehensive international strategy. New additions include 66°North, Oakley, Rains and Merrell.
The Supreme Group and Munich Fashion Week are joining forces for the August edition: The Supreme Women & Men order fair from August 8th to 11th at the MTC World of Fashion will for the first time be directly linked to the creative program of the fashion week from August 5th to 11th – a shuttle service will seamlessly link business and cultural programs.