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Fashion Knockoff Ban?
U.S. LAWMAKERS are considering legislation to protect fashion brands from knockoff s, but some believe the pro- posed rules would hurt both the industry and consumers, RetailWire reports. Sen. Charles Schumer (D.-NY), the bill’s sponsor, says the U.S. fashion industry is being hurt by knockoff s. He also says the U.S. is at a disadvantage com- pared with Europe, where laws protect registered designs for up to 25 years. “Unfortunately our local industry is at a severe disadvantage because greater protections are aff orded to designs made overseas than in New York or the United States,” Schumer says. “Unregulated, high end knockoff s are hurting the integrity of this industry.”
But others disagree with the senator. “T e industry is
actually working very well today, and there is no compel- ling reason to change,” Kal Raustiala, a law professor at the University of California, says. “T e point of copyright laws is to ensure that copying doesn’t kill creativity. In fashion, we have long seen copying coexist with creativity. Indeed, copying oſt en fosters creativity.” Some fashion designers in recent years have been pushing for more protection aſt er seeing their designs quickly replicated by H&M, Zara, Forever 21 and others. T e proposed law, which has bipartisan support, would protect unique designs for three years.
Holiday Web Sales Uptick?
COMING OFF a summer that saw signifi cant online sales growth, several forecasters are dreaming about the upcom- ing holiday season. A careful look at the numbers suggests that there is reason for e-retailers to hope they will fi nd bet er ecommerce sales this year. For one thing, sales were up. August saw online sales of full price merchandise rise 28 percent versus summer of the prior year, according to the MyBuys Ecommerce Wellness Index. T e latest govern- ment data is also encouraging. T e U.S. Census Bureau says August sales for nonstore retailers, of whom etailers are a subset, were up 10.5 percent from August 2009. Looking ahead, ecommerce services company Bold
Soſt ware polled its customers and found that 65 percent think holiday sales will rise in 2010. Stock analyst Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets says ecommerce sales will grow ten to 15 percent, and Kantar Retail, a research fi rm, forecasts ecommerce sales growth of six percent for the coming season. But the holidays also help etailers who help them-
selves. According to Internet ecommerce blogger Mike Ewing, there are four things etailers can do to boost their holiday results:
• Write blog posts featuring your products, explaining why they are compelling gift choices.
• Create web pages with special offers or discounts on particular products that expire by a specifi c date. These can bring in search engine shoppers looking for deals.
• Email limited time coupons with holiday offers to your existing customers.
• Use social networking sites to push key products, using brand names.
For example, retailers can search Twit er posts for products they sell, and then engage in tweet conversa- tions with power users, off ering discounts and reasons to shop.
Find other great ideas for running your business at:
www.wholesalecentral.com/wholesale–news 20 November 2010
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