Marc Bain, Business of Fashion (BOF) Journalist Profile

Articles

Crypto-Luxury Brand 9dcc Is Shutting Down

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain

The self-proclaimed first crypto-native luxury brand, 9dcc, is shutting down. The brand’s anonymous founder, Gmoney, announced the news in a post on X Tuesday and said the company would wind down operations at the end of the month. “Despite strong brand recognition and community engagement, we were unable to overcome the macroeconomic headwinds in consumer Web 3 and global luxury retail softness,” Gmoney wrote in the post.
AI Shopping Is Coming to Google

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain

Google is looking to further integrate artificial intelligence into how people discover and buy products online, including a feature that can complete checkout on a user’s behalf. The search company announced a set of shopping-related updates at its annual I/O developer conference Tuesday. Shopping will be a key capability of its new AI mode, which Google plans to roll out to all US users in the coming weeks after testing it in its experimental platform, Search Labs.
The Next Sneaker Powerhouse?

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain

It’s safe to say fashion’s dealmaking drought is over. On Thursday, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker announced an agreement for Dick’s to buy Foot Locker for roughly $2.4 billion. Dick’s offered $24 a share for the sneaker retailer, a premium of 86 percent. The acquisition came little more than a week after Skechers’ $9.4 billion buyout by 3G, a Brazilian private-equity firm, and a month after Prada bought Versace for $1.25 billion. All three deals are blockbusters by any standard.
The Debrief | The Trade War’s Off, For Now. What’s Next for Fashion?

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | Cathaleen Chen |Marc Bain |Sheena Butler Young |Brian Baskin

Listen to and follow ‘The Debrief’: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | OvercastOn May 12, the US and China reached a deal to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days, offering a breather from an escalating trade war. Stocks surged on the news, but experts warn this relief might not fully resolve deeper industry uncertainties or consumer anxieties.
With the Trade War on Pause, Here’s What’s Next for Fashion

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain |Cathaleen Chen

Moments after news broke Monday morning that the US and China had reached a trade deal, Bogg founder Kim Vaccarella called her manufacturer in Dongguan, China and told them to start making her brand’s colourful plastic beach bags again. “We had a lot on hold and as of this morning, we’ve released 90 percent of our production orders,” Vaccarella said. She added that she’s also slowing down on a frantic search for alternative factories in Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Exclusive: Inside Adidas’ Running Strategy

2 months ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain

Adidas’ new supershoe is already off to the races. Two of the first three men across the finish line at the annual Boston Marathon this past Monday — Alphonce Simbu and CyBrian Kotut — wore the newly unveiled Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2, the second generation of the $500 supershoe the brand introduced in 2023.
Explainer: What the US-China Trade War Means for Fashion

2 months ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain |Malique Morris

Until last week, getting products from China to the US as quickly as possible was top priority for some clients of Shift Fashion Group, a studio that helps brands with product development and manufacturing. That changed when tariffs as high as 145 percent kicked in last week. “They’re starting to put it on a boat and gamble if the tariffs are going to lower in the next little while,” said Joe Ng, Shift Fashion Group’s founder and chief executive.
The Debrief | Can Tariffs Really Revive ‘Made in USA’ Fashion?

2 months ago | businessoffashion.com | Brian Baskin |Sheena Butler Young |Malique Morris |Marc Bain

The author has shared a Podcast.You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future. Subscribe to the BoF Podcast here. In early April, President Donald Trump announced an unprecedented wave of tariffs, imposing duties as high as 145 percent on imports from China.
Fashion Stocks Soar After Trump Pauses Tariffs on All Countries But China

2 months ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain

Fashion stocks rallied Wednesday as US president Donald Trump pulled back on the most severe tariffs in his global trade war — with one big exception: China. With global markets in a tailspin, Trump said on his social-media platform, Truth Social, that he had authorised a 90-day pause on the country-specific tariffs he announced last week, excluding those on China.
Trump’s Tariffs: Assessing the Impact, One Week Later

2 months ago | businessoffashion.com | Marc Bain

To many in the fashion industry, the days after Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement had a familiar, sinking feeling to them. “I’ve heard this analogy a number of times from my members: It feels a lot like the first few weeks of March [2020] when Covid was hitting and everything was closing down,” said Matt Priest, president and chief executive of Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, the largest footwear trade association in the US.