Editor

It’s that time of year again - send in your entries now to have a chance of winning Drapers’ Christmas windows competition for independent fashion retailers.

This issue features the menswear Hit or Miss secret shopper investigation, a look at Shoreditch independent Goodhood as it celebrates its 10th anniversary, a look at Canada Goose’s debut UK store on London’s Regent Street and an interview with etailer Joe Browns’ founder Simon Brown as it opens its first physical store. 

Sales in London’s West End are predicted to rise by 1.5% to £2.61bn during the six-week Christmas period, as international shoppers take advantage of the weaker pound.

2018 will bring intensification of the pressures on sourcing but the solution lies in closer partnerships, says Buzz Carter, event director at London manufacturing and sourcing event Fashion SVP

Revised plans for a £1.4bn redevelopment of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre have been approved.

Canada Goose’s new Regent Street store has been targeted by a group of raiders on mopeds, just days after it first opened.

Etailer Missy Empire generated £803,000 in sales in October, a 54% climb in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Leaving the European single market in March 2019 would be “catastrophic” if a viable customs system isn’t ready in time, a parliamentary select committee has warned.

Independent retailers in “Portas Pilot” towns have said the failed scheme had “its own agenda” and “little focus on retail”.

Topshop has announced its changing rooms are gender neutral following pressure from customers.

Burberry is to cut sales to non-luxury stores, simplify its ranges and leverage its digital reach as part of a new strategy under CEO Marco Gobbetti. 

This week’s issue includes an interview with the ever-opinionated designer Katharine Hamnett, our review of the high street footwear offer at Intu Lakeside in Essex, a look at Morocco’s future as a fast fashion sourcing destination, and an analysis of what a transitional Brexit deal could mean for fashion retail.