Alberta Ferretti has promoted Philosophy designer Lorenzo Serafini to be its new creative director.

Serafini joined parent company Aeffe in 2014 as part of a plan to relaunch Philosophy, a brand known for light, sensual femininity which Ferretti founded in 1984. Now he is succeeding Ferretti at her namesake brand after the iconic designer and entrepreneur announced she was stepping down as creative director last month. Ferretti will continue in her role as vice president of Aeffe.

As part of the move, Aeffe will fold Philosophy into the Alberta Ferretti brand from the Autumn-Winter 2025 season “with the aim of strengthening the brand’s appeal and positioning for the future,” the company said in a statement.

”I am thrilled to announce that Lorenzo will be my successor at the helm of the brand that bears my name. With the fashion world undergoing tremendous change, I strongly believe that Lorenzo has the creativity, strong  aesthetic sense, professionalism and expertise required to meet this challenge,” Ferretti said.

Aeffe reported a net loss of €20 million ($22.27 million) in the first six months of this year. In 2023, its consolidated revenue fell by 9.5% to €319 million. The group has struggled to cope with turbulence and rampant discounting in its wholesale channels, as well as to build robust handbag and shoe lines that could help lower its dependence on expensive ready-to-wear.

At the group’s biggest brand Moschino, the company is investing in a creative revamp with help from outside talent after hiring Adrian Appiolaza, a longtime deputy of Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, last year.

For Alberta Ferretti, the choice to hire from within and suspend standalone shows for Philosophy will come with cost savings, as well as allowing Ferretti to keep the label in a trusted pair of hands.

”I am honoured that Alberta has chosen me as the successor to such a significant and prestigious legacy,” Serafini said. “I will carry it forward with care as I begin a new chapter.”

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Alberta Ferretti Steps Down From Her Brand

The Italian designer is stepping down as creative director of her eponymous brand, with plans to name a successor soon.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc plans to close 14 percent of its US stores to cut costs as consumers pull back spending.

The drugstore chain said Tuesday it will shutter around 1,200 outlets over the next three years, with 500 closures slated for 2025. The shares surged 14 percent at the open of trading in New York.

The company also issued profit guidance for 2025 that met Wall Street estimates.

Adjusted earnings will be in the range of $1.40 to $1.80 a share in the year ending Aug. 31, 2025, Walgreens said Tuesday, in line with the $1.73 average estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Fourth-quarter earnings were $0.39 a share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $0.36 a share. The ailing drugstore chain beat analysts’ expectations — a sign that its aggressive cost-cutting measures are starting to pay off.

“The decisive decision to shutter a large cohort of underperforming stores is a positive in a narrative where the expectations are exceedingly low,” said Jonathan Palmer, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. However, the larger question is how the closures ultimately improves the profitability of the US retail pharmacy segment and the timing of a turnaround, he said.

$3 Billion Loss

In the fourth quarter, the company also posted a $3 billion loss, which mostly included tax charges related to opioid liabilities and a write down of an investment in a Chinese pharmacy chain.

The company said in a filing that it would redeploy the majority of the workforce in stores that are closed.

Walgreens’ retail division has struggled as budget-conscious consumers turn to online retailers like Amazon and discount giants Dollar General and Costco. Competitive pressures led the Deerfield, Illinois-based company to lower full-year guidance for the second consecutive quarter in June and announce store closures, which caused its shares to plunge.

Walgreens’ US retail pharmacy unit posted fourth-quarter revenue of $29.5 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $27.5 billion.

Headwinds in 2025

Chief executive officer Tim Wentworth had previously cautioned that he expects headwinds to persist into 2025. In a statement Tuesday, he said Walgreens is focused on optimising its store footprint, controlling operating costs, improving cash flow, and addressing reimbursement models.

“This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term,” he said.

The US health-care unit, which includes VillageMD, reported revenue of $2.1 billion, in line with analysts’ estimates. Under former chief executive Rosalind Brewer, Walgreens invested $5.2 billion in primary-care provider VillageMD, enabling it to open hundreds of doctors’ offices in its drugstores. This move aligns with the company’s broader strategy to shift away from its retail roots and expand into more lucrative areas of health care.

Walgreens’ international business generated sales of $6 billion, slightly above analysts’ expectations of $5.8 billion. While the company had revived discussions last year about potentially selling the Boots chain, it has since shelved plans for an initial public offering. Wentworth reaffirmed his commitment to investing in Boots and unlocking its potential.

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Inside Drugstores’ Expanded Beauty Department Strategy

Walgreens and CVS have added beauty services, more expensive products and new indie and DTC brands, in an attempt to compete with online and specialty beauty stores.

CoverGirl parent Coty, opens new tab on Monday estimated first-quarter like-for-like sales growth below its prior forecast due to a slowdown in the U.S., sending its shares down 6% in after-market trading.

The cosmetics maker projected sales growth on a like-for-like (LFL) basis of between 4% and 5% for the three months ended September, compared to 6% it previously forecast. Coty said very tight order and inventory management by retailers resulted in weakness in certain markets such as the U.S., Australia and China.

The company and rivals including Estee Lauder, opens new tab and L’Oreal, opens new tab have signaled strained consumer spending for beauty and cosmetics products, widely considered an affordable luxury and recession-proof.

Coty now expects second-quarter LFL sales to grow moderately with some acceleration in the second half of the year.

The company said it was re-accelerating its cost-reduction efforts to deliver savings well above the initial target of about $75 million in fiscal 2025 in anticipation of “a more uncertain demand backdrop, including cautious retailer behavior and a complex macroeconomic environment.”

The company, which maintained its annual core profit target, will report first-quarter results on Nov. 6.

By Aishwarya Venugopal and Neil J Kanatt.

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Coty Misses Revenue Estimates on Cautious Retail Orders, Lacoste License Sale

Coty’s fourth-quarter net revenue rose nearly 1 percent to $1.36 billion, missing LSEG estimates of $1.38 billion.

All companies looking to sell shares in London will face scrutiny over workers’ rights, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Bloomberg Television, in response to questions about whether his new Labour government would welcome a listing by online fashion giant Shein.

“I’m not going to get into individual businesses. What I will say — let me be very clear about it — standards and high standards do matter to us,” Starmer said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Head of Economics and Government Stephanie Flanders at the International Investment Summit in London on Monday. “Of course we’ll be looking at any issue,” he continued, “with a particular feature on the rights of the workforce.”

Shein’s possible initial public offering could help rebuild momentum in London after a string of defections from its stock markets. Valued at $66 billion in its last funding round, Singapore-headquartered Shein confidentially filed papers in June for a possible London IPO, Bloomberg News reported at the time.

A Bloomberg study in 2022 found that garments shipped to the US by Shein were made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, where the US State Department has alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur people, which China denies. Though the firm has said it has a “zero-tolerance policy for forced labor,” an earlier plan to list in New York was met with opposition from US lawmakers.

A share sale in London would also be controversial, after Starmer’s party made boosting protection for workers a key pledge in its election manifesto. The government published draft legislation last week seeing to balance the competing demands of trade unions and business leaders, including greater entitlements to sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal.

“We’ve been really clear that we see that as two sides of the same coin when it comes to growth, good employment rights and protections,” Starmer said. “They’re not a drag on growth. They’re fundamental for growth, and I think pretty well all good businesses understand that.”

By Alex Morales, Irina Anghel and Alex Wickham

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Shein: Fashion’s Biggest Polluter in Four Charts

The ultra-fast-fashion giant’s planet-warming emissions have nearly tripled in the last three years as its growth far outpaced other major fashion companies. In Shein’s latest sustainability report, CEO Sky Xu says tackling emissions is “particularly critical.”