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Our first reaction to Farfetch raising another $110million taking its total funding to $300million was - WHAAAAAT? The company is a retailer without stock and operate as an advanced affiliate network connecting buyers with stores & brands. It earns about 25-30% in commissions on the sales they generate which is much higher than standard affiliate schemes, where anything up to 10% is considered good, and would resemble more of a department store with concession shop-in-shops where up to 40% commission on sales is not unheard of. However, Racked (link below) reports that much of the $110million will be used to...

Lloyds Development Capital acquired a 20% stake in Joules, the UK fashion brand and retailer in 2013 for £22m. What seems to have been little appetite from trade buyers and investment companies in 2015 pushed the company to prepare for a float. On the immediate back of the news that BHS and Austin Reed went into administration the Joules success story might seem like a shining star. We looked at the company's finacials and made a short intro to Joules. More to come. Download the Styleintelligence Joules Ltd insight here

Benetton accelerated with huge growth in the 70's and 80's growing into a global force in colourful fashion with controversial adverts a very innovative supply chain. However, due to its vertical focus the company has taken at least two steps backwards during the 2000's reversing its fortunes. Our view is simple - Benetton, follow what you say! Take the initiative. Download our free Benetton report here # Companies mentioned in this report includes: Inditex, Zara, H&M, LVMH, New Look, YG Entertainment,

An EU funded project "Kidsize" has been launched to provide virtual fitting for childrens sizes which are based on age rather than actual size in many cases. http://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/125180_en.html

Consumers are becoming increasingly visual in their online activities. Visual Search technologies have advanced to a level where entering a visual conversation with consumers is now possible. We profiled 23 companies and interviewed C-level executives in 14 companies. In addition we also interviewed the ecommerce pioneer Eric Olson, Ex-Innovation Director Online at Nordstrom Inc to get the customer view on the technologies. Download a summary of the report here