Fashion
IKEA buys $213 million Manhattan building for new store in US push
By
Reuters
Published
October 1, 2025
Ingka Group, the biggest global IKEA retailer, has acquired a Manhattan property where it plans to open a new store as part of the furniture group’s expansion in the United States, it said on Wednesday.
The 53,000 square feet property in New York City’s SoHo district will house a two-story IKEA store, while four floors will be renovated for office use which will then be rented out, Ingka Group’s investment arm said.
The purchase price for the building was $213 million, Ingka Investments told Reuters.
The purchase is part of the retailer’s $2.2 billion expansion plans for the United States, announced in 2023, Ingka said.
Last year Ingka invested in a property project on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue where it also plans to open a store.
While IKEA for decades established its stores in out-of-town locations, it has in recent years added developments in major city centres such as Paris and London.
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
Fashion
India’s Dollar Industries delivers strong Q2 FY26 with higher margins
Dollar Industries has reported a strong Q2 FY26 with total income up 5.6 per cent to ₹47,329 lakh (~$53.34 million) and gross profit rising 9.6 per cent.
Operating EBITDA jumped 23.3 per cent, while PAT grew 32.7 per cent.
A major milestone was the proposed merger of nine promoter group companies, consolidating brand ownership and strengthening long-term strategic alignment.
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Fashion
US’ Skechers appoints fashion icon Sofia Vergara as brand ambassador
Throughout her career she has received five Emmy and five Golden Globe nominations, most recently for Griselda, and in 2025 made history as the first Latina nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series at the Emmys.
Skechers has named actress and entrepreneur Sofía Vergara as its new global brand ambassador.
Known for her style and wide fan reach, she will lead a new campaign highlighting Skechers’ Hands-Free Slip-ins and Glide-Step designs.
Vergara chose the brand for its blend of comfort and fashion, marking a strategic move to strengthen Skechers’ style-driven appeal.
“I don’t do anything unless I believe in it – and I truly believe in Skechers,” said Sofía Vergara. “I’ve been wearing Skechers for over a year now, and they’ve completely changed how I think about sneakers. They’re not just comfortable – they’re chic, stylish, and easy to wear with everything in my closet. That’s what made this partnership feel so natural.”
Skechers first caught Vergara’s attention not through business talks, but in a mall. After knee surgery left her searching for supportive, stylish shoes, she discovered Skechers on her own – purchasing multiple pairs before learning her team had already been in talks with the brand.
Now, as the latest face of Skechers, Vergara will appear in a new global campaign that celebrates style, versatility and comfort – hallmarks of the Skechers brand. The campaign will spotlight Skechers’ iconic Hands-Free Slip-ins Glide-Step styles.
“Sofía embodies everything Skechers stands for – bold, confident, and committed to comfort without compromise,” said Michael Greenberg, President of Skechers. “She brings a fresh energy to our brand, and her passion for great design will shine through in everything we do together.”
With more than 50 million followers and global recognition from Hollywood to Barranquilla, Sofía Vergara adds unparalleled star power to Skechers’ legacy of working with beloved figures who resonate across generations.
This collaboration marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter – where effortless fashion and everyday comfort meet in one powerful step forward.
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
Debenhams dives deep into agentic AI
Published
November 18, 2025
UK online retailers have enthusiastically embraced many forms of new technology in recent years and with agentic AI being the hot topic at present, Debenhams Group is at the forefront.
As the year’s key shopping season moves in a higher gear, the e-tail giant that owns its signature brand as well as PrettyLittleThing, boohoo, boohooMAN, Karen Millen and more has introduced a new artificial intelligence solution “to help manage sales, stock and pricing more effectively across its brands”.
The tech means it can achieve “faster, data-driven decision-making during the busiest trading period of the year. By combining information on stock, pricing and promotions, it gives teams a clearer view of demand and performance, helping them respond quickly as shopping patterns shift through the season”.
The innovation was created in partnership with Peak, a UiPath company, and is said to be able to “predict and guide decisions — and act on them autonomously — saving the merchandising team time each month and increasing the speed and accuracy of decision-making across brands”.
And by providing its teams with improved insights and the ability to make decisions more quickly, it’s “helping to strengthen planning and coordination across the group in the run-up to Black Friday and the festive shopping season”.
The latest development comes after the company first partnered with Peak in June to explore how AI could enhance product pricing and promotions.
CEO Dan Finley believes this technology “will transform how we manage stock and pricing — especially during the busy festive season — and help us continue to deliver great value and service across all our brands”.
And understandably, Peak’s CEO Richard Potter thinks that the “future of retail belongs to intelligent AI systems — ones that will optimise decision making and take action alongside the business team. By bringing this level of agentic AI innovation to market, Debenhams Group is setting the benchmark for how technology can transform retail performance today”.
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