Fashion
UK’s Castore acquires Belstaff, Ineos invests in growth push
Castore and Belstaff will join forces to drive future growth across premium categories, capitalising on Castore’s direct-to-consumer and online retail networks and expertise, supply chain, growing global retail footprint and Castore’s roster of professional sports team partnerships.
Ashley Reed Chairman of Belstaff, said: “This is a union of two British brands who have come together through shared qualities of purpose-led design and entrepreneurial spirit. Castore is disrupting the sportswear market and has demonstrated phenomenal growth and resilience in recent years. Having witnessed their journey, we saw a unique opportunity to join forces and accelerate Belstaff’s transformation through shared knowledge and resources.”
Castore has acquired 100 per cent of British brand Belstaff from Ineos on a debt-free, cash-free basis.
As part of the deal, INEOS will make a strategic investment in Castore.
The partnership aims to accelerate growth by combining Castore’s digital retail, supply chain and sports partnerships with Belstaff’s heritage positioning, while strengthening both brands’ presence in premium categories.
Tom Beahon, Co-Founder and CEO of Castore, said: “Belstaff is a truly iconic brand with unparalleled heritage, and I have personally been a huge fan for a very long time. INEOS and the management team at Belstaff have done a phenomenal job in steering the company back to profitability following a challenging period for the retail sector. To have the opportunity to take Belstaff through the next stage of its growth journey is a dream come true and a huge privilege. We are also delighted that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS is investing in Castore which is a demonstration of commitment to our business and global growth ambitions and we look forward to working together to deliver on this vision.”
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)
By
Reuters
Published
September 1, 2025
Fast fashion brand Forever 21 is making its fourth run at the Chinese market, having previously entered and exited the world’s second-largest economy three times since 2008.
Also in the brand’s sights is a new partner to help relaunch in the North American market, with further announcements to come on that soon, according to Authentic Brands Group, the owner of Forever 21’s global intellectual property.
China and the U.S. will be the focus for the near-term, Authentic Brands said in a press release.
In March, Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. for the second time in six years and said it would wind down its domestic operations, hurt by mounting online competition in the fast-fashion sector and weak mall traffic.
After re-launching its China business for the third time in 2022 and opening some brick and mortar stores outside of the country’s major fashion capitals, the business quietly wound down again late in 2024, according to local media reports.
But now, it’s back and making some noise, its bright yellow signature colour popping up in major Chinese cities in recent months with marketing events at music festivals and Forever 21 advertisements plastering train interiors on Shanghai’s metro.
This time around Authentic Brands is partnering with brand operator Chengdi, a company partly owned by e-commerce platform Vipshop Holdings. Chengdi said at a press day for the brand’s relaunch in Shanghai on Thursday that it will focus on localising operations, introducing Forever 21 to a new generation of young consumers in China, and aims to open bricks-and-mortar stores in 2026.
Last year, during a presentation, Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter said acquiring Forever 21, which was bought out of bankruptcy in 2020, was “probably the biggest mistake I made.”
When asked about those comments this week, a spokesperson for Authentic Brands said Salter “has always believed that (having Forever 21 as part of Authentic Brands Group) is a good idea and he still believes that.”
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
Published
September 1, 2025
From September 4 to 8, Paris Nord Villepinte hosts another edition of Maison&Objet, the must-attend event for decoration, design, and lifestyle professionals. With over 2,500 exhibitors, including 40% international brands and 25% new participants, the show confirms its status as the global crossroads of creativity and innovation. Nearly 50,000 visitors are expected.
Organized twice a year, in January and September, Maison&Objet now distinguishes its events: winter focuses on premium hospitality, collection design, and home fashions, while the more forward-looking September edition honors innovation, emerging practices, and young talent. This autumn session promises to be a laboratory of ideas, in a particular context: Mélanie Leroy, managing director of SAFI (the show’s organizing company), announced in early July that she was stepping down after two years at the helm of the event. Despite this change in governance, the current edition of the show intends to mark a strategic turning point, with a completely redesigned scenography organized around six major sectors, for a more intuitive reading of the offering.
For this edition of renewal, artistic direction has been entrusted to Amélie Pichard, a singular designer, known for having founded the shoe and leather goods brand of the same name. After closing her Paris boutique and her e-commerce site, which she chose to open on an ad hoc basis for one-off launches, she moved to the countryside, where she founded Synthétique, a creative studio combining consulting, coaching, and art direction.
At Maison&Objet, she created Welcome Home, a manifesto installation covering 150 square meters, conceived as an immersive home where crafts and artificial intelligence meet. This space replaces the traditional “trend spaces” and offers a poetic, open-plan scenography: decorative objects, fashion, cosmetics, and art of living cohabit, reflecting a transversal vision of design. “In a home, you find everything: decoration, fashion, beauty products,” she explains, asserting her sensitive, narrative approach to design.
The show’s offering is now organized around six major thematic sectors. Decor & Design (Hall 6) is the central pillar. It brings together a multi-faceted range of home furnishings, including antiques, reinvented crafts, and inspired textiles.
Also in Hall 6, Fashion & Accessories explores the links between fashion, lifestyle, and design, with a selection of 235 brands, including Bensimon, Cala, Méduse, and Rive Droite Paris. Fragrance & Wellness (Hall 7) focuses on holistic well-being, with over 140 exhibitors, including Kerzon and Savonnerie Fer à Cheval, showcasing home fragrances, natural skincare products, and sensory rituals. Cook & Share (Hall 4), new for the September edition, celebrates gastronomy as a global art form, where culinary innovation and design meet. Gift & Play (Hall 6) completes this cartography with playful, sensory, and technological gift objects.
By focusing creative energies on a decompartmentalized reading of design, Maison&Objet September 2025 demonstrates a clear determination to assert its place as an avant-garde, trend-setting platform, even at a time of strategic transition.
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Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
By
Reuters
Published
September 1, 2025
Hong Kong property developer New World Development confirmed on Monday it is in discussions about a loan facility led by Deutsche Bank AG, but denied receiving any other funding proposals.
However, the firm did not reveal any other financial details about the loan facility being discussed with Deutsche, Germany’s largest lender.
Bloomberg News reported earlier, citing unnamed sources, that Hong Kong tycoon Henry Cheng’s family, also the firm’s controlling shareholder, was weighing a HK$10-billion ($1.28-billion) capital injection through a joint venture.
The report said the family was seeking a partner to provide a roughly similar amount for an equity stake, with Blackstone and CapitaLand among those in talks.
New World, which carries one of the highest debt ratios among its peers, secured an $11.2-billion loan refinancing package in late June, one of the largest yet in Hong Kong, designed to bring the company back from the brink of default.
Shares and bonds of the property developer had surged on August 7 after a media report on a potential take-private deal.
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
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