Zara chief bows out, Aspirationals still key, PPR E-commerce push, Fast Retailing slows, Lucky Holley

End of the line for Zara tsar (Independent)
“Amancio Ortega, the wealthiest man in Spain and perhaps one of the world’s most reclusive moguls, has tiptoed into the spotlight this week by announcing his imminent retirement from the fast-fashion giant Inditex… which he founded with a single store in La Coruna 35 years ago.”

Who’s Buying All That Luxury? Not the Rich (WSJ)
“Luxury is soaring again… The reason for the boom, we’re told, is that the rich are on a spending binge again after the brief unpleasantness of the recession. That’s true to a point. But a new study finds that the wealthy no longer dominate luxury spending like they did before the recession.”

Fashion’s E-Commerce Push (Fashion United)
“French luxury goods group PPR’s E-Commerce Development Unit aims to develop synergies across brands, coordinate e-commerce initiatives and share digital expertise.’”

Fast Retailing Profit Slides 35% (Bloomberg)
“Fast Retailing Co., Asia’s largest clothing chain, reported a 35 percent decline in first-quarter profit after sales fell at its Uniqlo stores in Japan. Net income for the three months ended November dropped to 22.7 billion yen as revenue fell 4.7 percent.”

Lucky’s Brandon Holley: Dressing for a Revolution (NY Times)
“The challenge now… is figuring out how to rejuvenate Lucky without losing what makes it special: ‘I’m trying to figure out what’s baby and what’s bath water.’… Ms. Holley wants to transform Luckymag.com into a ‘social shopping experience,’ akin to eBay and etsy.com.”