Watches of Switzerland Group Plc said it sees signs of stability in the premium and luxury watch market in the UK after a post-Covid slump dented sales.

Shares of the top seller of Rolex watches in Britain rose as much as 9.7 percent in London after the company said pressures on demand for expensive timepieces suffered this year are starting to wane.

Sales in the UK and Europe fell 5 percent in fiscal 2024 as consumer confidence was hit by shaky economic growth, high interest rates and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The luxury watch retailer now sees those pressures easing, and reiterated its sales forecasts for the current year in a statement on Thursday.

Investors “should find comfort” in the company’s unchanged forecast, Jefferies analyst James Grzinic said in a report. “Signs of stabilisation in the UK market will be an area of focus today.”

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 11 percent to £179 million ($226 million) for the year ended in April as US stores and sales of used Rolex watches outperformed. That topped consensus analyst estimates of £175 million.

The company’s shares had fallen more than 40 percent this year on concerns it could lose market share after Rolex bought rival watch retailer Bucherer AG, marking the top Swiss brand’s first significant move into selling its own products.

Watches of Switzerland said sales of used watches, including Rolex models under the Swiss watchmaking giant’s “certified pre-owned” programme, doubled in its fourth quarter from the prior year and are now its second-biggest source of revenue.

As for new watches, the company said Swiss watchmakers are “being conservative” with production amid slowing demand to avoid flooding the market with too many timepieces.

This is a “responsible approach to the long-term stability of the luxury watch market,” the company said.

Watches of Switzerland warned earlier this year that sales and profit would be weaker than anticipated as it wasn’t allocated as many gold and other precious-metal watches from Rolex and as UK consumers turned more cautious.

The company on Thursday also reiterated its long-term target of more than doubling sales and earnings before interest and taxes by 2028.

By Andy Hoffman

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Watches of Switzerland Dives as Watch Shoppers Retreat

Shares of Watches of Switzerland Group Plc slumped nearly 30 percent after the top seller of Rolex watches in the UK cut its sales and growth forecasts, blaming volatile demand and a shift in luxury spending habits.

At last weekend’s game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, which featured two of the WNBA’s star rookies, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, the action started even before tip off.

Clark pulled up to Chicago’s Wintrust Arena wearing a grey Prada shirt dress and black boots, part of her ongoing relationship with the brand, while Reese opted for a brown corset top and miniskirt set sourced from Revolve, paired with matching knee-high heeled boots. Photographers were on hand snapping the athletes arriving ahead of the match up, which ended with the Sky winning a comeback victory in front of a sellout crowd that included Chance the Rapper, actor Jason Sudeikis and WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes.

Tunnel walk outfits have long been a fixation of NBA fans and provided valuable marketing moments for brands. But the unprecedented popularity of the WNBA this season, thanks in large part to a rookie class including Reese, Clark and Cameron Brink, is drawing the spotlight to what the women are wearing as they turn up for games. While seasoned WNBA talent like Skylar Diggins-Smith, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, as well as younger tastemakers Kysre Gondrezick and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, have put together stylish pre-game outfits for years, players across the board are taking their fashion game up another level. Brands that were slow to embrace dressing WNBA players are now seizing on the opportunity. For example, Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer (male or female), wore Prada to the WNBA draft in April, making her the first player (male or female) the brand ever dressed for a draft.

“There was still some hesitation even prior to the WNBA draft [in April],” said Mary Gonsalves Kinney, who has styled Brink of the Los Angeles Sparks for over two years. But just two months later, Kinney is now inundated with brands looking to dress Brink for tunnel walks or other high-profile appearances. “Pretty much every major luxury brand is willing [to dress Cameron],” she said, naming YSL, Balmain, Versace, Dior and Prada, along with smaller brands like Christopher Esber, Another Tomorrow, L’agence and Andre Emery.

What’s unique about the WNBA’s style appeal compared to its male equivalent is the broader scope its tunnel walk gives brands of all kinds to get involved via commercial partnerships. Whereas NBA players — and male athletes in general — typically play it safe by sticking to a handful of luxury brands and the usual streetwear suspects, the WNBA’s athletes have worked with a wide range of brands, including beauty brands and womenswear retailers. Ahead of this season, Glossier renewed and extended the scope of its deal as the WNBA’s beauty partner, while P&G-owned Mielle Organics became the league’s textured hair care partner last July — a savvy deal for a league made up of 80 percent women of colour.

It’s no surprise they want a slice of the pie. Stadium attendance for WNBA games is up 156 percent from last season. The official WNBA online merch store has already set a single-season sales record just two months into the season, with sales up over 750 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a report released by the league earlier this month. The unprecedented eyeballs and money pouring into the sport have turbocharged the exposure of the tunnel walk and the style credentials of its star players, who are often looking for brand deals to supplement salaries that are still a long way from the sums typically paid to NBA players.

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“The WNBA tunnel walk has truly evolved into a runway event,” said WNBA creative director Roman King. “Particularly this season, we have seen significant attention from fans and the fashion industry alike on how WNBA players are showcasing their fashion sense, and what ‘fits and brands they’re rocking.”

A Marketing Goldmine

California-based fashion retailer Revolve is among those looking to cash in on the appeal of the league’s high-profile rookies. The company worked with Brink to source her pre-game look ahead of the Sparks game against the Dallas Wings earlier this month, and was quick to partner with Angel Reese upon her entry to the league this season after an introduction was made by former NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade, said chief brand officer Raissa Gerona. The company’s in-house stylist works with Reese to pull outfits.

“We’re always on the lookout for emerging talent, keeping a close eye on both college and professional athletes,” she said.

Being associated with top WNBA talent gives brands a way to reach their large and growing fanbases. Reese has a combined following of 7 million across Instagram and TikTok, while Clark has 2.6 million and Brink counts 1.7 million. Reese’s recent post showing off a pre-game Alexander Wang bodysuit and Chanel sneakers sourced from Revolve, whose account she tagged, fetched half a million likes, while Brink’s post of her recent tunnel walk outfit was viewed over 750,000 times on TikTok. The posts generated $488,000 and $300,000 in Media Impact Value (a metric which measures the value of media coverage across the internet) respectively, according to Launchmetrics.

Brink, whose stellar rookie season and dreams of representing Team USA at the Olympics this summer were ended by an ACL injury last week, was a consistent standout in the tunnel. Her outfits have included a Diesel denim dress paired with a tiny black Chanel bag and matching cowboy boots, a cutout Balmain blazer with pinstripe suit trousers and a basketball-style clutch bag, and a white New Balance tennis mini skirt and crop top.

Brands also benefit from their products being shared across the dedicated style pages and soaring number of content creators who obsess over WNBA player fashion. Instagram accounts like WNBA Tunnel — set up by PR specialist and former college basketball player Velissa Vaughn — share daily behind-the-scenes tunnel walk content, while older platforms like League Fits, which previously focused on NBA style, have upped their coverage of the WNBA.

Vaughn only launched her WNBA Tunnel page in May after posting a viral video of Kelsey Plum’s outfit for the opening game night of the season. The account already has over 28,000 followers.

“The WNBA tunnel has a unique allure,” Vaughn said. “People tune in for the nice streetwear looks or the girls showing off their femininity, but also to watch them slamming someone to the floor while getting a rebound on the court an hour later.”

An Opportunity for Everyone

The WNBA itself is leaning into its players’ fashion and beauty interests and the attention around the tunnel walk. King, the WNBA creative director, pointed to long-running content series such as “WNBA Kicks” and “The W in Designer” on the WNBA app and its social channels as evidence of how it platforms the sport’s cultural appeal and helps speak to audiences beyond sports fans.

Brand deals are also important to the league’s elevation of red carpet moments such as the WNBA Draft. Both Glossier and Mielle Organics were present in the “Glam Room” at the hotel where the players stayed ahead of the draft. Glossier artists did makeup for Clark, Reese and Brink, said the brand’s chief executive Kyle Leahy.

“For a long time there’s been a false narrative that sports and beauty shouldn’t mix,” Leahy said.

As players and teams increasingly become known for their style, it’s likely more brands will look to them as ambassadors. In May, Good American tapped Reese for a denim campaign aimed at taller women, while women’s workwear brand MM LaFleur signed a long-term partnership with the New York Liberty last year.

Vaughn sees the tunnel walks as a clever way for players to market themselves for commercial deals to supplement their salaries. Instead of $70,000 a year, she said, they could make that much in a quarter with the right partnerships.

It’s also bringing business to stylists who are styling players’ pre-game looks and helping them build relationships with brands and publicists. Sydney Bordonaro, for instance, has worked with Brink, Plum, Rae Burrell and several others since getting her first WNBA client in 2021.

“It’s unbelievable seeing the difference between this season and just a few years ago when I started out,” she said.

On June 16 in Milan, Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF), held a presentation and cocktail party at Palazzo Giureconsulti, to celebrate their showcase of a curated selection of market-leading Nordic designers. One of Europe’s largest and most established trade shows, their showroom space displayed the Spring 2025 collections of seven independent fashion brands — Henrik Vibskov, Adnym, Envelope 1976, Isnurh, CDLP, Mark Kenly Domino Tan and Aiayu, as part of Milan Fashion Week Men’s SS25 — and invited buyers, retailers and press to peruse the designs.

With the support of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the Milan showcase is part of CIFF’s strategy to celebrate Nordic brands and designers across the global fashion industry and calendar, with further activations to be held in New York, Florence and Munich later this year.

At the event, BoF’s Robin Mellery-Pratt and Annabel Bolton shared insights on the emerging trends surrounding identity, its importance to Gen-Z consumers, and how it can be leveraged uniquely by independent brands. In 2022, BoF found that 50 percent of Gen-Z’s disposable income is spent on fashion. However, it takes just 1.3 seconds for younger consumers to identify and dismiss online advertising — meaning marketing tactics have had to change.

In this context lies the identity-opportunity for independent brands. Indeed, 69 percent of Gen-Z shoppers agree with the statement that what they are wearing says something about them, according to a 2024 study by market research consultancy Ipsos. This expectation is accelerating, with 77 percent of teens agreeing with the same statement. What’s more, the research found that Gen-Z are buying or investing in luxury from a younger age — Millennials on average began spending on luxury at the age of 20 but for Gen-Z this age has dropped to 15.

Three designers from the curated selection of brands — Andreas Palm from CDLP, Celine Aagaard from Envelope 1976 and Frippe Persson from Adnym — were then invited on-stage to put abstract theory into practical reality and share their experience on how to authentically engage communities who prioritise their unique identities. Here, BoF shares insights from the discussion.

How have you crafted and maintained a brand identity that is distinct in the market?

AP: When launching the brand in 2016, the men’s underwear market was dominated by a handful of brands offering a fairly basic product, marketed with big logotypes. We saw an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the category. The brand identity of CDLP stems from a clear purpose of offering products that we want to wear, communicated in an authentic and aspirational manner.

Rooted in Scandinavian design principles, our first products were understated and minimalist, with a focus on superior fit and feel. We chose innovative fabrics like Lyocell over conventional cotton and marketed them in a way that felt true to our ethos of authenticity and creativity, shooting campaigns with friends in hotel rooms rather than studios.

My co-founder and creative director Christian Larson views CDLP as a feelgood movie you never want to stop bingeing — and this philosophy guides our visual storytelling. We focus on characters who embody the brand’s joie de vivre, inviting our community to escape into our world. The brand identity has always been guided by those same principles of authenticity and we’ve tried to stay consistent and curious, constantly seeking ways to improve our products and tell stories that resonate.

What principle do you think is most important to follow in order to authentically connect with your community?

AP: I believe it’s instrumental to have a clear vision of the type of brand and business you want to build in order maintain an authentic and cohesive brand universe that resonates with your community. An authentic connection to your customer base is so much more than a campaign or business strategy — it requires ongoing effort, care and a genuine desire to grow alongside your community.

We have always worked closely with friends of the brand, not only due to early budget constraints as a newly founded company but because collaborating with individuals who genuinely believed in our vision lent a level of authenticity that paid advertisements simply cannot achieve.

These early collaborations set the tone for our approach to community building. Eight years into the CDLP journey, we remain committed to fostering authentic connections. Whether it’s co-creating with our community, celebrating their stories, or openly sharing our own journey, we believe that investing in these relationships is the key to building a brand that stands the test of time.

Why is consistency so important in maintaining brand identity?

CA: Consistency has played an important role since we launched [Envelope 1976]. In a sea of new brands, we need to stand out and create a memorable vision for the consumer — including them in our journey and in all aspects of our brand. Today, consumers are more awake and informed, and the importance of being consistent in what we do, how we design and how we communicate transparency, is key for us as an independent brand. Consumers see through what’s real and what’s not.

Our Nordic heritage has inspired us and how we dress, which is reflected in the way we design our collections. Take, for instance, the contrast between warm Norwegian summer days and the transition into harsh winter nights — we show this in our lookbooks, which are shot locally in Oslo. Even when selecting a show venue with sustainability in mind, we prioritise spaces that embody a raw and unaltered aesthetic, allowing us to showcase that authenticity.

In an industry that is constantly changing and where trends are evolving, we have learned that our customers are returning and buying pieces that feel true to our values and also, to what I would want to wear every day. Credibility is weakened if you don’t stick to your core values and you risk losing your following.

What principle do you think is most important to follow in order to authentically connect with your community?

CA: Even though it’s important to analyse sales data and listen to your buyers and their wants, my best advice is to trust your gut. You can’t win them all, but the most important thing is not to lose the ones you have — those returning customers will be your most important spokespersons out there. Our community knows the core of the brand and we have seen that, once we experiment with new trends, such as pops of colours which aren’t very on-brand for us, the end consumer doesn’t respond to it either.

We have also found that, if a buyer asks for a particular style and we produce it for them — that same buyer will forget the design if it doesn’t sell. This can lead to styles ending up on the sales rack, which isn’t something we like to promote. For us it’s about being as transparent as we can, while being receptive and inclusive — if we strongly believe in a piece and would wear it, that’s normally the best sign to produce and sell it.

Why is integrity so important in building brand identity?

FP: When we launched [Adnym], we were conscious that in retail stores, a lot of denim especially used to be heavily branded, with numbers, logos, claims about stretch and fit. We believed that would create the opportunity for almost immediate disappointment from the customer in the fitting room or later on.

We chose to not rely on logos and marketing language — our logo is just one line. We wanted to be recognisable by the quality of our products and our materials. The physical touch was the brand; the fit of the garment, its quality. That’s why integrity has to be expressed at a core brand level.

If you are more of a logo-heavy brand, for example, you might be interested in reaching more of a “quick-fix audience” who switches alignment on a regular basis. Integrity for us is a core value, as it is the main factor connecting us long-term with our end consumers. They know what they get when they buy Adnym and they know that we will help them be and express themselves in a way that aligns with who they really are.

What principle do you think is most important to follow in order to authentically connect with your community?

FP: Find the DNA and true values of your brand and stand by them, no matter what. I’m talking about the actual product as well as the communications. Sometimes the sun will shine and sometimes the rain will pour. Don’t underestimate the new generations — they will see through you, or at least your advertising, in 1.3 seconds.

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. The next edition of CIFF will take place August 7-9 2024 in Copenhagen.

This is a sponsored feature paid for by CIFF as part of a BoF partnership.

Private equity firm L Catterton and a group of employees of Birkenstock Holding Plc raised $756 million on Wednesday from the sale of a block of shares of the US-traded footwear maker.

The holders sold 14 million shares for $54 each, according to a statement, representing a 9.7 percent discount to the closing price of $59.78 each on Monday when the deal was announced. Birkenstock shares closed Wednesday at $54.61 each. They rose to $54.63 apiece in after-market trading.

L Catterton will have about a 73 percent stake in Birkenstock after the sale, according to an earlier statement. The underwriters have an option to buy an additional 2.1 million shares from L Catterton.

The sale comprises 9.9 million shares solely controlled by L Catterton and 4.1 million shares that the private equity firm and certain executives and other employees have shared voting and dispositive power over, according to a statement and filing.

Net proceeds from the sale of the shared-ownership stock will be used to pay the employees’ tax obligations and outstanding loans, the statement shows. Birkenstock itself will not receive any proceeds.

The sale is being led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the filing shows.

By Amy Or

Learn more:

The Ballad of the Birkenstock

How the 250-year-old German orthopedic shoe company with “Succession”-level family drama transformed itself into a luxury behemoth.