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Business of Fashion
2 days ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
French Senate Backs Law to Curb Ultra Fast-Fashion
France's Senate approved a revised version of a law regulating fast fashion on Tuesday, which if implemented would ban advertising by fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu. Senators in the upper house of parliament voted almost unanimously for a modified version of a bill passed by France's lower house last year, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry. Critics say the low-priced garments produced by fast-fashion chains drive excessive consumption and waste, exacerbating the textile sector's impact on the environment. An amended version of the bill distinguishes between 'ultra' fast fashion and 'classic' fast fashion, however, imposing less onerous restrictions on European fast-fashion players like Zara and Kiabi, but drawing criticism from environmental groups. The 'clarifications (made by the Senate) make it possible to target players who ignore environmental, social, and economic realities, notably Shein and Temu, without penalising the European ready-to-wear sector,' said Jean-Francois Longeot, chair of the Senate's Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development. 'Shein is not a fast fashion company,' said the Chinese firm in a statement in response to the vote, adding that its model was 'part of the solution, not the problem'. Faced with competition from very low-priced products, several French brands are experiencing significant difficulties, such as Jennyfer, which went into liquidation at the end of April, and NafNaf, which has been in receivership since May. The law would also introduce penalties for both fast and ultra fast-fashion companies if they don't meet certain environmental criteria, reaching at least 10 euros per item of clothing by 2030, or up to 50 percent of the product's price excluding tax. The government needs to notify the European Commission of the vote, and will then need to set up a joint committee to reach a compromise between the Senate and lower house versions of the law before it is implemented. By Florence Loeve; Editors: Dominique Patton and Mark Potter Learn more: Tariffs Won't Kill Fast Fashion, But They Might Kill Sustainable Fashion Some have hailed America's escalating trade war as a means to finally curb overconsumption of cheap goods. Instead, the economic hardship its likely to bring on will eviscerate efforts to transform the industry for the better, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Airbus beats first-quarter forecasts, maintains targets
By Tim Hepher and Florence Loeve PARIS (Reuters) -Europe's Airbus posted stronger-than-expected revenues and core profit for the first quarter and reaffirmed targets for the year, while stressing it was too early to quantify the impact of tariffs. The world's largest planemaker said its widely watched adjusted operating income rose 8% to 624 million euros ($707 million) and revenues gained 6% to 13.54 billion euros in the quarter, led by defence which smoothed the impact of lower jetliner deliveries. Analysts had on average expected adjusted or underlying operating profit of 602 million euros on revenues of 12.95 billion, according to consensus data compiled by the company. Airbus also burned significantly less cash than expected. Boeing's European rival continued to project 820 aircraft deliveries for 2025, up from 766 last year, but cautioned these would once again be backloaded towards the latter part of the year as it faces supply chain problems. The company, which finalised an agreement on Monday to take over some factories of ailing Spirit AeroSystems, said the U.S. aerostructure supplier's difficulties were continuing to put pressure on the ramp-up of the Airbus A320 and A350 jets. It held output forecasts unchanged, however, and stuck with 2025 financial forecasts that include 7.0 billion euros of adjusted operating profit - a measure routinely used by Airbus to exclude gains and losses related to restructuring, currency and certain other factors. The 2025 forecasts include the impact of absorbing part of Spirit but not the uncertainty surrounding a growing tariff war. "We are closely monitoring and assessing the situation, but it is too early to quantify the (tariff) impact today," CEO Guillaume Faury said in a statement. Airbus said it was in "constructive" talks with purchasing nations for the A400M military airlifter, while studying the impact of the current state of orders on manufacturing plans. The A400M has been hit by delays, partial cancellations by European launch nations and slow exports, with the order pipeline expected to run out in 2028. But industry sources have said higher European arms spending could revive interest from buyers that have curbed deliveries, such as France and Spain. Airbus also announced new charges of 105 million euros related to the ongoing restructuring of its Defence and Space division. ($1 = 0.8821 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
French court orders market watchdog to review Vivendi's breakup
By Florence Loeve PARIS (Reuters) -The Paris court of appeals ruled on Tuesday the French market watchdog must reconsider whether a mandatory buyout offer is or was necessary when the former media conglomerate Vivendi completed its multibillion-euro split last year. Last December Vivendi spun off its Canal+, Louis Hachette and Havas businesses, which are now listed as standalone companies in London, Paris and Amsterdam respectively. The breakup was championed by Vivendi's largest shareholder Bollore SE, the holding company of French billionaire Vincent Bollore. While a reversal of the breakup appears unlikely, the ruling intensifies the existing legal battle between Paris-based investment fund CIAM, a minority Vivendi stakeholder that opposed the breakup, and Vivendi. By siding with the small activist fund CIAM, the court has partially annulled a previous decision from the French financial market regulator. "This decision is a historic one for minority shareholders," Julien Visconti, one of CIAM's lawyers, said in email to Reuters. Last November the French market watchdog, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), found that Bollore did not control Vivendi and so it did not have to examine whether Bollore should have filed a buyout bid or not. Bollore holds a 30.4% stake in the spinoffs, while it retains 29.3% of Vivendi's share capital. The court found that Vincent Bollore, "who controls the Bollore Group, has effectively determined, through the voting rights at his disposal, the decisions at Vivendi's general meetings." "Therefore, it is appropriate to recognize the existence of Vincent Bollore's control over Vivendi," it added. The demerger was approved with more than 97% of the votes at a shareholder meeting last year. CIAM claims that the split allowed Bollore to extend its control over the group without making a buyout offer. "The Paris Court of Appeals has resumed its role as guardian of minority rights and is sending a very strong signal to the AMF," he added. Representatives for the Bollore group, Vivendi and the French market watchdog could not immediately be reached for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
STMicro independent board members block appointment of Italy's Sala
By Florence Loeve (Reuters) - Three independent members of STMicroelectronics' supervisory board blocked the appointment of Italian Marcello Sala to the Franco-Italian chipmaker's board, vetoing support from French members, its chairman said on Wednesday. The independent members collectively hold a veto right, Nicolas Dufourcq said in a statement sent to Reuters. "We must respect the decision of the board members not designated by STMicro," he said. Italy proposed the nomination of Sala, head of an economy ministry department that manages state-run firms and asset disposals Italian and French governments own a combined 27.5% share in STMicroelectronics through a holding company. A close aide to Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, Sala has played a key role in helping the government deal with some of its most delicate corporate issues. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple hit with $162 million French antitrust fine over privacy tool
By Florence Loeve and Foo Yun Chee PARIS (Reuters) -Apple was hit with a 150 million euro ($162.4 million) fine by French antitrust regulators on Monday for abusing its dominant position in mobile app advertising on its devices via a privacy control tool. The fine - the first by any antitrust regulator over Apple's App Tracking Transparency tool - comes a year after the European Union hit the company with a 1.8 billion euro antitrust fine for thwarting rival music streaming services on its App Store. The head of the French Competition Authority dismissed worries that the decision would prompt retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened to slap fines on EU countries fining U.S. companies. "We apply competition law in an apolitical manner," Benoit Coeure told a press conference. "But what we have heard ... is that they (U.S. authorities) intend to apply antitrust law to the big digital platforms as strictly as their predecessors. So in terms of antitrust, I don't see any controversy between the United States and Europe on how we apply the law," he said. The ATT tool lets iPhone and iPad users decide which apps can track their activity. Digital advertising and mobile gaming companies complained it made it more expensive and difficult for brands to advertise on Apple's platforms. "While we are disappointed with today's decision, the French Competition Authority has not required any specific changes to ATT," Apple said in a statement. Coeuré told reporters the regulator had not spelled out how Apple should change its app, but that it was up to the company to make sure it now complied with the ruling. The compliance process could take some time, he added, because Apple was waiting for rulings on regulators in Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania who are also investigating the ATT tool. The French case, which covered the period 2021 to 2023, was triggered by complaints from several associations for online advertisers, publishers and internet networks accusing Apple of abusing its market power. "While the objective pursued by ATT is not in itself open to criticism, the way it is implemented is neither necessary nor proportionate to Apple's stated objective of protecting personal data," the regulator said in a statement. It added that the privacy tool "particularly penalized smaller publishers," as they depend to a large extent on the collection of third-party data to fund their businesses. Alliance Digitale, the Syndicat des Regies Internet (SRI), the Union des Entreprises de Conseil et d'Achat Média (Udecam) and the Groupement des Éditeurs de Services en Ligne, which had complained to the French watchdog, said the decision was a significant victory for advertisers. ($1 = 0.9239 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
