Saks Finalises Acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group
The $2.7 billion merger counts Amazon, G-III Apparel Group and Authentic Brands Group as investors.
technology / Artificial Intelligence
The Best of BoF 2024: Finding Technology’s Value
Technology was forced to prove its worth this year as businesses sought practical use cases for AI and data analytics amid a tough consumer environment that brought a few high-profile businesses crashing back down to earth.
Puma Is Bringing AI-Generated Design to the Football Pitch
The sports brand is letting Manchester City fans create their own designs for the team’s uniform — no drawing skills needed — with one design to become the club’s third kit for the 2026 season.
Fashion’s New Era of Product Discovery
AI-powered curation across content and search is helping shoppers overwhelmed by choice to find the items they want, with benefits for brands and retailers, according to the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025.
AI Can Now Authenticate Sneakers by Their Smell
An AI start-up working with a major sneaker resale platform believes it has found a way to authenticate footwear and potentially other products through the chemical signatures in their scent.
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The Start-Up Turning AI Designs Into Real Products
Arcade lets shoppers design their own jewellery with AI and then produces it. It highlights both the potential in letting users turn their ideas into reality and how much labour is required behind the scenes to make it possible.
The Debrief | Can AI Make Shopping Online Less Annoying?
The technology is already transforming e-commerce, from search and product recommendations to understanding shopper intent, creating new opportunities and challenges for brands and consumers alike.
How Google Aims to Transform Shopping with AI
The search giant is rebuilding its shopping experience around AI, rolling out new features like personalised product feeds and AI-powered shopping guides, beginning this week.
The E-Commerce Search Bar Gets an AI Makeover
To boost sales and create a better customer experience, companies are revamping the e-commerce search bar to make it easier for shoppers to find products or even shop in new ways.
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After Months of Designing with AI, Norma Kamali Isn’t Looking Back
Concerns are growing that the technology’s transformative power has been oversold. Kamali, on the other hand, is as convinced as ever that, for her at least, it marks the start of a new creative era.
How AI Could Change Online Product Search and Discovery
As generative AI is incorporated into our everyday lives, most recently through Apple’s introduction of the technology into its latest iPhone, it stands to affect how consumers research, discover and buy products online.
Partner Content
Solving Fashion’s $163 Billion Buying and Sizing Inaccuracy Problem
As competition for customers’ discretionary spend intensifies, smart assortment planning — from size predictions to demand forecasting — can help brands and retailers stay ahead. BoF sits down with Style Arcade CEO and co-founder Michaela Wessels to learn more.
Solving Fashion’s $163 Billion Buying and Sizing Inaccuracy Problem
As competition for customers’ discretionary spend intensifies, smart assortment planning — from size predictions to demand forecasting — can help brands and retailers stay ahead. BoF sits down with Style Arcade CEO and co-founder Michaela Wessels to learn more.
What Condé Nast’s Embrace of AI Means for Fashion Media
The magazine publisher is licensing its content to OpenAI, even as other publishers sue the company. We’ll know soon enough which approach can provide a path forward for the media industry as the technology reshapes the internet.
The News in Brief
Model Rights Bill Signed into Law in New York
The new law will give models working in the state greater protection from exploitation, harassment and AI.
L’Oréal Acquires South Korea’s Dr.G in Skincare Deal With Migros
French cosmetics giant L’Oréal said on Monday it had agreed to buy Gowoonsesang Cosmetics, which includes South Korean skincare brand Dr.G., from Swiss retailer Migros.
Boohoo Shareholders Vote to Block Mike Ashley From Joining Board
Investors representing 64% of Boohoo’s stock voted against appointing Ashley and Mike Lennon at a special meeting on Friday morning called by Ashley’s Frasers Group.
Walmart Says to Miss Climate Targets as Green Challenges Mount
Previous pledges to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and 35% by 2025 are probably not achievable, and the company will consider reviewing its climate targets next year.
Lilly’s US Weight-Loss Drug Shortage Ends, Curtailing Copycats
Sales of cheaper compounded versions must stop within 90 days. Novo’s rival shots, Ozempic and Wegovy, remain in short supply.
Prada Group and EssilorLuxottica Renew Ten-Year Eyewear License
Building on an existing twenty-year partnership, Prada Group and the Franco-Italian eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica have renewed their licensing agreement for ten years.
Sofie Pavitt Face Gets Picked Up By Sephora
The “acne whisperer” for A-list Gen Z celebrities inks her biggest retail partnership yet.