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KhuKhuZ Blog: KhuKhuZ In The Fashion Capital NewsWire!
KhuKhuZ Blog: KhuKhuZ In The Fashion Capital NewsWire!: Fashion Capital Newswire - 05 July 2012 This email contains graphics, so if you don't see them, view it in your browser . NEWS...
KhuKhuZ In The Fashion Capital NewsWire!
Fashion Capital Newswire - 05 July 2012
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Wednesday 4 July 2012
Thursday 17 May 2012
Khukhuz Fashion - Company Profile
        .  Posted by vhowell on 17th May 2012 at 12:02 PM
Khukhuz Fashion - Company Profile
By Victoria Howell
Being an award-winning stylist is, for many, a difficult role to handle, but for Eccles-based Beryl Phala it's proven to be a breeze. Beryl is the designer behind the up-and-coming brand Khukhuz, a range which fuses Western and African fashion together to create beautiful hand-made traditional garments with a modern twist. The Khukhuz clothing range has a collection that has been inspired by women. Beryl said: "Women who wear my clothes are passionate and daring enough to embrace their femininity to give a vibrant and sleek silhouette." After completing a BA in Fashion from Salford University in 2004, Beryl joined the MSc in Business Management at Salford University and graduates in 2012. The designer has been invited to showcase her collection at an impressive list of fashion shows across the country: * Spring Fashion Show, Manchester (18th February 2010) * Fashion Expo, London (March 2010) * End Of Summer fashion show, Leeds (August 2010) * The Clothes Show Live, Birmingham (December 2010) * Fashion Finest Renaissance, London (February 2011) * RunWay Africa, Manchester (December 2011) * International Fashion Showcase for Emerging Talent 2012 (15 February - 2 March 2012) * Botswana Fashion Show, London Fashion Week (24 February 2012) The International Showcase 2012 run during London Fashion Week was a particular highlight for Beryl. The designer was representing Botswana at an exhibition hosted by the British Council in London. Nineteen countries participated and Beryl also acted as project coordinator for the event. One of her designs was short-listed to win the award along side top 8 other countries. Beryl later showcased her spring/summer 2012 collection to an appreciative audience during the Botswana Fashion show during the London Fashion Week which was a finale of the International Fashion Showcase on 24 February 2012. Not only does the Khukhuz collection range from daywear and evening dresses to jumpsuits and skirts, but they also offer a bespoke service. The made-to-measure service is designed to create unique pieces for those special occasions. Customers are invited to have a consultation with Beryl where measurements are taken and designs are discussed to create an outfit that is personal and individual. With the prom and graduation seasons fast approaching, this is the perfect opportunity to have an unforgettable outfit designed for your memorable occasion. With the hope of some summer sun in Salford, Khukhuz spring/summer collection has designs that will carry us ladies through all our seasonal events. From evening garden parties to glamorous nights out, the range has styles to suit any occasion. Interestingly, Beryl is keen to recycle her fabric and do her bit to support the environment. Beryl said: "I use the end of line stock and redesign them into new dresses. The stock is recycled and given a new life, which saves time and money and helps to create greener fashion." By gracing countless fashion show catwalks with their unique designs, it is fair to say that Khukhuz has been recognised for its top quality bespoke designs. Beryl told us: "I don't mass produce and all my designs are original, comfortable and made to measure. I experiment with different textures and fuse fabrics together to create something special." As well as stocking her range on the high street at Barking Boutique, Barking, 1G11 8DQ, fashionistas can find the Khukhuz range online at www.khukhuzfashion.co.uk or at www.tellusfashion.com This is an advertorial. If you would like to promote your company on SalfordOnline.com please contact: Victoria on 0161 789 5377 |
Coty picks banks for planned autumn IPO
Beauty company Coty Inc has picked its lead underwriters for a planned initial public offering this fall, two days after it pulled a $10.7 billion unsolicited offer to buy Avon Products Inc (AVP.N), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
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The fragrance maker, founded in Paris in 1904 by François Coty, has selected Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) to lead the IPO, the source said.
Coty declined to comment, as did Bank of America and JPMorgan.
Coty, which is based in New York, plans to file a prospectus with U.S. regulators soon, the source said.
The IPO would value Coty, known for fragrances for Madonna and sports brand Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE) at more than $7 billion, the source said.
That would make it almost as valuable as Avon, which has a market value of about $8 billion, but has nearly three times the revenue.
Two days ago, Coty withdrew its offer for Avon, which it first disclosed in early April, faulting what it said was the direct seller's "unwillingness" to sit down and talk.
Coty had been considering an IPO before it looked at a deal with Avon. Last month, on a conference call aimed at making Coty's case to Avon shareholders, Chairman Bart Becht said Coty might go public if a deal did not come to pass.
Coty's products run the gamut from luxury perfumes for Bottega Veneta to skin care products sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N). Its revenues rose 14 percent to $4.1 billion in its fiscal year ended June 2011 and Chief Executive Bernd Beetz told Reuters last year they would make double-digit percentage gains this year.
In trying to strike a deal with Avon, Coty was looking to gain more access to growing markets such as Brazil, Russia and Mexico and deepen its roster of products.
Fragrances made up 57 percent of that, with skin care and makeup accounting for the rest, and the bulk of its revenue come from Europe and North America.
In recent years, Coty has made acquisitions to grow and diversify its products.
In 2010, it bought skin care brand Philosophy from The Carlyle Group, nail color company OPI and a majority stake in Chinese skin care company TJoy Holdings.
Coty is majority owned by German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser. It competes against companies such as Estée Lauder Cos Inc (EL.N), L'Oreal SA (OREP.PA) and Elizabeth Arden Inc (RDEN.O).
The news of Coty's plans was first reported by CNBC.
(Reporting by Nadia Damouni, Phil Wahba and Martinne Geller; editing by Steve Orlofsky, Richard Chang and Andre Grenon)
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved.
Source: fashionmag.com
Coty withdrawal pressures Avon for turnaround
Avon Products Inc's loss of a $10.7 billion takeover bid from smaller cosmetics rival Coty Inc leaves shareholders hoping that new Chief Executive Sherilyn McCoy has a great turnaround plan in the works.
Coty withdrew the $24.75 a share offer Monday night and the stock fell more than 10 percent on Tuesday as investors were left to focus on Avon's blemishes, which include falling sales, rising labor costs in important international markets like Brazil and a shrinking army of sales representatives.
"They’re playing for time; I think they're out of time. I don’t see that the stockholders are going to be extremely patient," said John Lamie, a shareholder and former Avon employee.
Analysts and shareholders said Avon should have looked more closely at a potential deal.
"We believe Avon’s board and shareholders missed a good opportunity to be acquired by Coty," UBS analyst Nik Modi said in a research note. "Given our view on Avon’s issues, we believe it may take 2-3 years to sustainably fix."
Coty last week raised its unsolicited bid, which had the financial backing of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and others, from an earlier $23.25 per share offer, and gave Avon a Monday deadline to respond.
Avon had said on Sunday that it would look at the offer and respond within a week.
But Coty, known for fragrances for celebrities like Madonna and Beyoncé, said that no one on Avon's board or senior management, including McCoy, returned its request for an explanation of why Avon needed more time, leading it to pull its offer.
Avon said in a statement several hours after Coty's withdrawal that it had responded promptly to Coty's May 9 letter by disclosing it on May 10 and indicating that its board would consider the contents of the letter.
Avon had rejected Coty's earlier bids by saying more value could be extracted by a turnaround than by being bought out.
The company has been faulted for not compensating its sales representatives enough, having inadequate computer systems and bungling its growth in emerging markets like Brazil and Russia.
McCoy, who started as CEO three weeks ago, came from Johnson & Johnson, where she was responsible for brands including Neutrogena and Lubriderm.
McCoy, who replaced Andrea Jung, said earlier this month that by mid-June, she will have visited top markets for Avon, including the United States, Brazil, China, Mexico and Russia to get a handle on the operation, and will pick just a few priorities at first while she tries to stabilize the business.
But if Avon turns itself around, some analysts said its value could rise above the price Coty offered in its last bid.
"Ultimately the value at Avon that can be unlocked, if correctly executed, should be worth over $25 per share," Victoria Collin of Atlantic Equities LLP wrote in a client report.
Avon has faced heavy competition from drugstores and trendy, affordable cosmetics in the United States, aggressive pricing by rivals in Eastern Europe and inadequate ordering systems that have frustrated representatives in Brazil, its biggest market.
The company has poured tens of millions into an internal probe into whether it broke the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to build its business overseas. The U.S. government announced its own investigation last year.
SWOONING SHARES
Avon's shares fell as low as $18.10 on Tuesday, well below levels just before Coty first went public with its unsolicited but friendly offer to buy Avon in April.
SWOONING SHARES
Avon's shares fell as low as $18.10 on Tuesday, well below levels just before Coty first went public with its unsolicited but friendly offer to buy Avon in April.
Avon's shares were down $2.18, or 10.5 percent, at $18.55 at mid-afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
But since April, there have also been questions about how seriously the market took Coty's bid.
"How real was Coty bid? They bid barely above the stock price, they weren’t really there, they don’t have a currency," said one industry investor that does not discuss its investment positions publicly.
Analysts questioned Avon's strategy in dealing with Coty.
"We are struck by Avon's continued lack of communication with Coty," Bernstein Research analyst Ali Dibadj told Reuters.
"A bid with financial backing and reasonable starting point in terms of price must be looked at in order to fulfill one's fiduciary duty to shareholders."
In the end, one expert said, Avon was under no obligation to engage directly with Coty.
"These tactics are par the course - the concern is if you make a response, are you setting the stage suggesting the company is up for sale?” said Charles Elson, a corporate governance expert and professor of law at the University of Delaware. "Takeovers are a very delicate legal dance."
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved.
Source: fashionmag.com
Global demand for gold dips 5%
MUMBAI - Global demand for gold fell 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2012 but demand in China hit record highs and outstripped that of megabuyer India, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.
Demand worldwide fell to 1,097.6 tonnes in the quarter ended March, worth an estimated $59.7 billion, with gold prices on average 16 percent higher than those seen in the same period last year, the council said in its latest report.
 Photo: corbis |
Reduced demand for gold from global central banks, jewellery and technology sectors outweighed a rise in investment demand for gold.
Yet Chinese consumption of the yellow metal hit new highs on investor concerns over inflation, rising 10 percent to a record 255.2 tonnes and outstripping rival India which saw a sharp decline, the WGC said.
Demand in India was down 29 percent from a year earlier to 207.6 tonnes, hit by a jewellers' strike, a weak rupee and government policy aimed at reducing gold imports and the country's wide current account deficit.
"China and India have seen continuing economic growth and whilst China's economy is expected to slow, it will nonetheless surpass the rates of growth in the West," said Marcus Grubb, managing director (investment) at the WGC.
In 2011, India saw a 7.0 percent decline in demand year-on-year to 933.4 tonnes, while demand from China jumped 20.0 percent to 769.8 tonnes.
Grubb said Chinese demand over 2012 is expected to outstrip that of India, traditionally the world's largest consumer and importer of gold.
The two countries, which have both been battling high inflation, account for about half of the world's gold demand combined.
Global demand surpassed $200 billion for the first time in 2011 as demand for the metal as a safe-haven investment surged, the WGC said in its annual report in February.
Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
Source: fashionmag.com
Cotton: large stockpiles are driving prices down
While the world's cotton stockpiles this year will be the highest in 25 years, the price of the raw material for delivery in July fell to 77.16 cents per pound last weekend.
This fall in prices coincides with a communication from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which, announced on May 10th an increase of 10% in national stockpiles to 73.7 million bales for 2012/2013. This year, 122.84 million bales are expected to be produced worldwide, the highest number seen for a quarter century. This is an increase in supply against which demand simply can not maintain prices: the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is therefore counting on a decline of 18% in global cotton imports.
This fall in prices preceded a fall of 7% in global production, as announced by the ICAC for 2012/2013. The area dedicated to the cultivation of cotton is thus also shrinking in response to falling prices. Between October 2008 and March 2011, the price of a pound of cotton went from 42.04 cents to 2.27 dollars, its highest recorded price. This has attracted many cultivators, leading them to believe that the current drop is actually setting the stage for a future rise in the price.
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This fall in prices coincides with a communication from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which, announced on May 10th an increase of 10% in national stockpiles to 73.7 million bales for 2012/2013. This year, 122.84 million bales are expected to be produced worldwide, the highest number seen for a quarter century. This is an increase in supply against which demand simply can not maintain prices: the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is therefore counting on a decline of 18% in global cotton imports.
This fall in prices preceded a fall of 7% in global production, as announced by the ICAC for 2012/2013. The area dedicated to the cultivation of cotton is thus also shrinking in response to falling prices. Between October 2008 and March 2011, the price of a pound of cotton went from 42.04 cents to 2.27 dollars, its highest recorded price. This has attracted many cultivators, leading them to believe that the current drop is actually setting the stage for a future rise in the price.
Tuesday 1 May 2012
African designers defy cliches and 'come of age'
 Photo: Loza Maleombho |
Without abandoning their roots, designers have long embraced a range of new ideas and continue to expand, spreading their influence globally while staying in sync with evolving tastes back home.
"The African designer and African fashion in general is moving in a more global direction," said Tsemaye Binitie, a Britain-based Nigerian designer who launched his label by the same name two years ago.
"We are doing more contemporary work ... moving with a more global feel."
Influenced by traditional, long wrap-around skirts, matching blouses and head wraps for women, designers are creating body-hugging jumpsuits, or mini, pencil skirts in the much-loved ankara fabrics, prints with bold colours and energetic designs once known as Dutch Wax cloth.
Their message aims at those whose only perception of the continent is an outdated one: Africa's style and creativity goes far beyond what is often shown on Western television sets.
A recent fashion week in Nigeria's largest city of Lagos put these trends - and diversity - on display. More than 70 designers lined up for the event, including some from outside of Africa.
The African collections at the shows included hints of the traditional with a modern flair - an approach that has proven successful at home and abroad.
Dresses in ankara fabrics were embellished with precious stones or sequins, while animal prints or tribal-themed fabric were used for collars on bespoke suits.
"African designers have definitely come of age," said Penny McDonald, organiser of the event known as Arise Magazine Fashion Week.
"Our chosen designers all created contemporary, wearable, creative African designs that are commercial enough to transport internationally."
PEOPLE ARE RESPECTING US
Traditional African prints are also moving with the times.
"In Bangkok, people love it because it's something different. It's something new. It's something vibrant," said Maureen Ikem Okogwu-Ikokwu, a Nigerian designer based in Thailand.
"We are much more appreciated right now. People are looking to us, respecting us."
Ivory Coast designer Loza Maleombho was one of the few who showcased a collection made exclusively from traditional African textiles, notably the colourful, interwoven silk and cotton kente cloth from Ghana and her native country. Her models strutted the catwalk with heads wrapped in brown turbans, recalling those worn by Tuareg nomads.
"It's about West Africa," she said.
Maki Oh, another Nigerian designer, showed pieces of sensual African street fashion with baggy trousers suggestive of men's agbada suits made from antique aso-oke - a traditional loom-woven fabric.
"Africa is quite a new emerging fashion centre. Europe and America are quite saturated in terms of fashion. If you think of Prada and Gucci - there's almost one in every street corner now," said South African designer Malcolm Kluk.
If one is looking for new fashion frontiers, "maybe Africa will be that," he said.
As interest in African designers grows, some still have to deal with tough working conditions that have prompted others to move shop to overseas bases.
Infrastructure problems like a lack of consistent electricity have dogged designers in countries like Nigeria. Others have had to deal with copyright problems, since many African countries have no such laws that cover the fashion industry.
Nkwo Onwuka, a Nigerian designer based in Britain, has developed a ruse for beating the copycats.
"You just have to stay one step ahead and just create your own look," she said. "Try to do it in such a way that nobody will follow you, and even if they try, it wouldn't be the same."
Source: Fashionmag.com
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