Fashion
EU names CPA as Bangladesh’s hub for Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation
The EU’s Critical Maritime Routes in the Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO) programme has been expanding the Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform into a central hub for secure operational coordination among maritime agencies.
It supports everything from incident reports and vessel tracking to geospatial analysis and joint responses to piracy, trafficking, fishing, marine pollution and search-and-rescue operations, a CPA press release said.
The EU has designated the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) as Bangladesh’s focal point for its Indo-Pacific maritime information-sharing network.
The decision offers the country a larger role in a system used by over 150 organisations across 57 nations and may streamline how Bangladesh’s agencies use IORIS.
CPA officials attended the IORIS policy board’s third standing committee meeting last month.
The new EU decision offers the country a larger role in a system now used by more than 150 organisations across 57 nations, domestic media outlets reported.
It is also expected to streamline how Bangladesh’s agencies like the Navy, the Coast Guard, port authorities, customs, fisheries and emergency response units use IORIS.
CPA officials represented Bangladesh at the IORIS policy board’s third standing committee meeting in Manila last month.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Fashion
Germany’s LuxExperience appoints Francis Belin as new CEO of Mytheresa
Francis Belin brings extensive and diverse luxury experience and proven leadership in driving international growth. He also brings a deep understanding of high net worth individuals worldwide. Most recently, as President Asia Pacific and overlooking global Luxury and Asian Art at Christie’s, Francis has achieved numerous milestones, cementing Christie’s position as the global market leader. He has played a key role in securing some of the most important collections and works of Art. Francis has been pivotal in several important strategic initiatives, including acquisitions such as Gooding & Company, a leading car auction house in California. Prior to that, he held various roles at Swarovski and Richemont, having started his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.
Mytheresa parent LuxExperience has appointed Francis Belin as CEO effective January 01, 2026.
Belin, formerly president Asia Pacific at Christie’s, brings deep global luxury and HNWI experience.
He succeeds Michael Kliger, now LuxExperience Group CEO.
Belin will lead Mytheresa’s existing leadership team and drive the platform’s next phase of global expansion.
Francis Belin graduated from ESSEC in France and holds a diploma in International Management & Psychology from the University of Mannheim in Germany.
Following the tenure of Michael Kliger, who over the last 10 years successfully transformed Mytheresa into the leading luxury multi-brand digital platform, Francis Belin will succeed him as Mytheresa CEO and drive Mytheresa’s continued global expansion while delivering exceptional value for its customers and partners. Francis will report to Michael, who in his role as LuxExperience Group CEO, will continue to lead the overall strategy at Mytheresa, NET-A-PORTER, MR PORTER and YOOX. Francis will lead the current Mytheresa leadership team, including the Chief Commercial Officer, the Chief Growth & Site Management Officer, the Chief Marketing & Customer Officer, the Chief Buying & Group Fashion Ventures Officer and the Chief Creative Officer, who will all continue with their current responsibilities.
Michael Kliger, Chief Executive Officer of LuxExperience, said, “I am extremely delighted to appoint Francis Belin as the new Mytheresa CEO. With Francis we have found an exceptional leader, who is renowned for his customer-centric focus, global mindset, delivery of excellent results and collaborative leadership style. I am looking forward to supporting Francis as he leads the next exciting chapter for the Mytheresa business.”
Francis Belin adds, “I am truly honored to take on the lead of Mytheresa. I am deeply impressed by the robust business model and strong brand positioning that Mytheresa has established under Michael’s leadership. I look forward to working alongside the talented team to unlock Mytheresa’s next phase of global growth as an industry leader in the luxury market.”
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)
Fashion
Birks sales surge on European acquisition, strong retail performance
Published
December 8, 2025
Birks announced on Friday a 16.2% uptick in half-year sales to $93.1 million, on the back of the Canadian jeweller’s acquisition of European Boutique, and a strong retail performance.
The Montreal-based company also logged an increase in third-party branded timepieces across multiple brands for the 26 weeks ending September 27, in addition to gains in sales of Birks branded jewelry and third-party branded jewelry.
Meanwhile, comparable store sales rose 6.3%, attributable to strong sales in all product categories, particularly in third-party branded timepieces, but also in Birks branded jewelry and third-party branded jewelry, the company added.
In light of the strong sales performance, Birks narrowed its earnings loss during the six months to an operating loss of $0.2 million, compared to a reported operating loss of $0.3 million in the prior-year period.
“Our net sales, gross profit and comparable store sales for the first half of Fiscal 2026 are higher than the corresponding period in Fiscal 2025 due in part to the acquisition of the European business but also due to our strong retail performance, which speaks to the strength of our product offerings, both in terms of our Birks branded products and our third-party branded watches and jewelry,” said Niccolò Rossi di Montelera, executive chairman of the board and interim CEO.
“I would like to thank our teams for their dedication and hard work. The growth achieved in the first half of Fiscal 2026 is a testament of our commitment to our customers and I am grateful for the unwavering efforts of all our employees which contributed to these results and the successful integration of the European stores.”
In July, Birks acquired the luxury watch and jewellery business of European Boutique from its founders, the Sutkiewicz family, for a purchase price of $9 million.
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Fashion
Bernard Arnault pays homage to late Frank Gehry
Published
December 7, 2025
Bernard Arnault has paid homage to the late Frank Gehry, the brilliant Canadian-born architect who passed away on Friday in Los Angeles.
For Arnault, Gehry designed the Fondation Louis Vuitton, widely seen as the most important work of contemporary architecture ever commissioned by a luxury brand.
Gehry died aged 96 Friday after a short respiratory illness, bringing to an end a truly remarkable career that included buildings such the highly acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, his greatest masterpiece.
“I am profoundly saddened by the passing of Frank Gehry, in whom I lose a very dear friend and for whom I shall forever retain boundless admiration. I owe to him one of the longest, most intense, and most ambitious creative partnerships I have ever had the privilege to experience. His oeuvre, crowned by the Pritzker Prize, is immense. He will remain a genius of lightness, transparency, and grace,” Arnault said in a release.
In October 2014, in the presence of French president François Hollande, Gehry and Arnault opened the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a brilliant Deconstructivist building with a price tag that ran to some €800 million. Riffing on late 19th-century French architecture which revolutionized the use of glass like the Grand Palais and combining that with computer technology and 3D design, Gehry created a beautiful structure. Built on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, its unique shape suggested a giant sailboat gathering wind in its sails.

“Frank Gehry – who possessed an unparalleled gift for shaping forms, pleating glass like canvas, making it dance like a silhouette – will long endure as a living source of inspiration for Louis Vuitton as well as for all the maisons of the LVMH group. With the Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création, he bestowed upon Paris and upon France his greatest masterpiece, the highest expression of his creative power, commensurate with the friendship he bore our city and the affection he showed for our culture,” Arnault added.
Gehry was to go on a design several stores and handbags for Louis Vuitton and has two more buildings in the pipeline for the luxury marque. A super-store concept building on Rodeo Drive in LA, due to open in two years, and an adjacent structure beside Louis Vuitton Foundation.
“My wife, my children, and I express our deepest condolences to his wife, Berta, and to his children,” concluded Arnault.
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
-
Tech1 week agoGet Your Steps In From Your Home Office With This Walking Pad—On Sale This Week
-
Sports1 week agoIndia Triumphs Over South Africa in First ODI Thanks to Kohli’s Heroics – SUCH TV
-
Entertainment7 days agoSadie Sink talks about the future of Max in ‘Stranger Things’
-
Fashion7 days agoResults are in: US Black Friday store visits down, e-visits up, apparel shines
-
Politics1 week agoElon Musk reveals partner’s half-Indian roots, son’s middle name ‘Sekhar’
-
Tech7 days agoPrague’s City Center Sparkles, Buzzes, and Burns at the Signal Festival
-
Sports1 week agoBroncos secure thrilling OT victory over Commanders behind clutch performances
-
Entertainment7 days agoNatalia Dyer explains Nancy Wheeler’s key blunder in Stranger Things 5
