Fashion
UK launches consultation to reform $135.08 bn design sector
The UK Government has launched a major 12-week consultation, running from September 04 to November 27, 2025, to overhaul the UK’s design protection framework and strengthen its £100 billion (~$135.08 billion) design sector.
The Intellectual Property Office is seeking views from independent creators, luxury brands, and other professionals. With around 80,000 businesses and nearly 2 million jobs, the sector is a critical driver of growth.
From the runways of London Fashion Week to British automotive engineering excellence, British design sets international trends and drives economic growth. Spanning everything from traditional craftsmanship to cutting-edge digital design, British creativity helps shape the world, Intellectual Property Office said in a release.
“From Mini to Burberry and the London Underground map, British design is renowned worldwide for its creativity and innovation. These reforms will help remove barriers and make it easier for designers of all shapes and sizes to protect their creations – cementing our position as one of the world’s leading destinations for design investment and innovation,” Feryal Clark MP, Minister for Intellectual Property said in a release.
The consultation addresses key challenges: a patchwork of overlapping rights causing confusion, abuse through dishonest filings, post-Brexit complications, and outdated rules failing to protect modern digital and AI-created designs.
Proposals include fighting design theft through enhanced search and examination powers, stronger bad faith provisions, and the rejection of filings that lack novelty.
Another focus is on streamlining processes by harmonising procedures, consolidating unregistered rights, providing clearer guidance, and introducing deferment provisions for up to 18 months. The proposals also aim to resolve Brexit-related issues by offering practical solutions for designs that lost automatic UK–EU protection.
In terms of enforcement and justice, a new small claims track within the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court is suggested to enable affordable resolution of design disputes. Finally, to modernise for digital innovation, the proposals recommend accepting CAD files and video evidence, updating definitions, and reviewing the scope of protection for AI-created designs.
“Design is at the heart of everything we do as a creative nation. However, protecting brilliant design ideas has become unnecessarily complex. If you’re a small business or start-up with an innovative idea, you shouldn’t need extensive legal expertise just to navigate the system. That’s why we’re consulting on simplifying our designs framework. We want to remove the barriers that hold back creators and make protection straightforward and accessible. Because when we get this right, we’re not just supporting individual designers – we’re building the foundation for the next wave of British innovation that will drive growth right across the country,” Chris Bryant MP, Minister for the Creative Industries, said.
Officials say these changes could deliver the most significant reform in decades, ensuring Britain’s designers are equipped to compete globally. Consultation responses will help shape final policy options for Ministers.
“The UK Fashion & Textile Association welcomes this consultation and is committed to working with the IPO to ensure robust design rights and effective protection mechanisms that support UK creatives and help build a world-class design rights framework,” Paul Alger MBE, international business director, UK Fashion and Textile Association, said.
“The British Retail Consortium welcomes the Government’s consultation on modernising the UK’s design protection system. Design is fundamental to retail success – from innovative packaging and store layouts to digital interfaces that enhance the customer experience,” noted Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO of the British Retail Consortium.
The Government has launched a 12-week consultation to modernise the UK’s design protection system, worth £100 billion (~$135.08 billion) annually and supporting 2 million jobs.
Proposals target design theft, simplify complex rights, resolve post-Brexit challenges, and strengthen digital and AI protections.
Running until November 27, 2025, the review invites input from designers and legal professionals.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
The direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales increased 4.8 per cent to $56.8 million, driven by comparable sales growth of 6.3 per cent, reflecting enhancements to the omnichannel customer experience and stronger engagement with curated product assortments.
Canadian outdoor lifestyle brand Roots has reported solid Q3 FY25 results, with sales rising 6.8 per cent to $71.5 million, driven by DTC growth and stronger wholesale demand.
Gross margin improved to 60.8 per cent, while Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.3 per cent to $7.5 million.
Net income stood at $2.3 million, and net debt declined 5.9 per cent, reflecting disciplined execution.
The gross profit of the company increased 8.1 per cent to $43.4 million, while gross margin improved by 80 basis points (bps) to 60.8 per cent. DTC gross margin rose 140 bps to 65.4 per cent, benefiting from improved product costing and lower discounting, which offset unfavourable foreign exchange impacts on US dollar purchases, Roots said in a press release.
Partners & Other (P&O) sales grew 15.3 per cent to $14.6 million, supported by earlier wholesale orders from Roots’ operating partner in Taiwan for upcoming holiday and spring seasons, along with higher domestic wholesale sales of custom Roots-branded products.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 10.6 per cent to $38.2 million, largely due to higher variable costs linked to sales growth, strategic investments in marketing and personnel, incremental US duties on e-commerce sales, and higher share-based compensation expenses.
The net income stood at $2.3 million, or $0.06 per share during the period under review, compared with $2.4 million a year earlier. Excluding the impact of revaluation of cash-settled instruments under the share-based compensation plan, net income would have been $2.4 million, representing a 1.5 per cent improvement YoY. Adjusted EBITDA rose 5.3 per cent to $7.5 million, or 7.3 per cent on an adjusted basis excluding revaluation impacts.
“Roots delivered strong third-quarter results, with growth driven by consumers’ positive response to our products, enhanced marketing efforts, and improved in-store execution,” said Meghan Roach, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Roots Corporation. “Even in a dynamic retail environment, our heritage, quality, and focus on comfort continued to differentiate the brand and drive engagement across our omnichannel platform. We remain disciplined in execution and committed to strengthening the foundations of the brand to support long-term value creation. While early in the fourth quarter, we continue to experience positive trends.”
“Our disciplined approach to investing in strategic growth continues to deliver results,” said Leon Wu, chief financial officer (CFO) at Roots. “We have sustained positive sales momentum and maintained the underlying margins of those sales, supporting a stronger balance sheet with year-over-year reductions in net debt.”
Net debt declined 5.9 per cent YoY to $44.1 million, while the company also repurchased 415,200 common shares for $1.3 million under its normal course issuer bid.
For the first nine months of FY25, total sales increased 6.6 per cent to $162.2 million, with DTC sales rising 8.6 per cent and comparable sales growth reaching 11.5 per cent. The gross margin expanded to 60.9 per cent, while net loss narrowed to $10 million from $11.7 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA improved to a loss of $1.7 million, reflecting continued progress towards profitability.
At the end of Q3 FY25, inventory stood at $66.6 million, reflecting preparations for peak holiday demand and higher in-transit stock. Free cash flow improved to a loss of $4.6 million, while total liquidity amounted to $34.5 million, providing financial flexibility heading into the final quarter.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
The economy is already at trend growth, and private final demand is running stronger than the RBA anticipated.
The NAB business survey shows that capacity utilisation is elevated and that there is breadth to this dynamic at an industry level. Businesses reported less pressure on margins over recent months.
The National Australia Bank expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to raise the policy rate by 25 bps in February, followed by another likely 25-bps hike in May, taking the cash rate to 4.1 per cent.
The economy is already at trend growth, and private final demand is running stronger than RBA’s anticipation.
Inflation accelerated in Q3 2025, and NAB forecast a 0.9-per cent QoQ for trimmed-mean in Q4.
Inflation accelerated in the third quarter (Q3), and NAB has forecast a 0.9-per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) for trimmed-mean in Q4, suggesting inflationary pressures have persisted.
If realised, this will imply a period of five quarters in which the annual rate of core inflation runs at 3 per cent or higher. Moreover, it would represent a 15 basis points surprise relative to the RBA’s most recent forecast for the Q4 outcome.
Taken in conjunction with stronger growth outcomes and evidence of capacity constraints starting to bind, the bank believes an inflation outcome of this magnitude will force the RBA to execute a modest recalibration of monetary policy in the first half next year, an NAB release said.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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