Articles by Regina Henkel
Dr. Regina Henkel has been a trade journalist for the fashion and sports industry since 2000 and has been working for FashionUnited since 2015.After studying textile science and business administration, she began her career at the international fashion magazine Sportswear International at Deutscher Fachverlag. She then completed her doctorate and returned to trade journalism. Since 2010, she has been writing freelance for international B2B publications, special interest magazines and cultural studies publications, with a focus on sustainability and digitalization in addition to general business topics.
Oberalp Group’s new head of sales on the outdoor market and women in leadership
The outdoor market was one of the winners during the pandemic because people were drawn outside. However, the current consumer slump is hitting the industry as hard as anyone, and it requires courageous steps, especially from sales. We talked to the newly appointed senior sales manager of the Oberalp Group for the DACH region, Irina Andorfer,...
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Munich Fabric Start: Binary trends define AW23/24 season
Loud or quiet, harmonious or shrill, calm or moving, fast or slow – the fabric trends for autumn/winter 2023/24, which were recently shown at Munich Fabric Start, indicate extremely contrasting tendencies. In the broadest sense, it is about the interplay between the real world, whose fashion needs to become more sustainable, and the digital...
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Gore-Tex: The new membrane and what Greenpeace has to do with it
When the first products with the new, more sustainable ePE membrane from Gore-Tex hit the market in autumn, the world leader for waterproof functional fabrics and with it the entire outdoor industry would have made a real U-turn. Or wouldn’t it? PTFE is Gore-Tex’s main module To understand that the development of this new, more sustainable ePE...
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With platforms booming, what happens to wholesale?
When online retailers like Zalando, for example, want to triple their platform business in a few years, this will have serious implications for the traditional wholesale business and the brands involved. All the more so because Zalando is just one example of several. What does it mean when more and more online retailers develop their traditional...
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Ship from store: how specialist retailer BabyOne involves its franchise partners in online retailing
How does one build up a uniform online business as a stationary retail chain without putting one’s own franchise partners in a bind? German BabyOne specialty store chain with over 30 of its own stores and 73 partner stores, has found its very own solution. At the end of 2019, just a few months before the outbreak of the pandemic, owner-operated...
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How sustainable is the footwear industry?
The topic of sustainability is also gaining momentum in the footwear industry - although one hears far less about it compared to the apparel industry, especially when it comes to leather products. Why is that and where exactly does the industry stand? Leather is one of the most important raw materials in the footwear industry. But how can one...
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Breuninger buyer: “It's getting dressier again, but with the comfort we've grown to love”
With the new round of orders for FW22/23, buyers are again faced with the challenge of planning ahead for a season whose general conditions are more difficult to estimate than usual. What kind of ranges will fashion brands and retailers present to their female customers next year? What kind of fashion do women want next autumn? Will they still...
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KaDeWe buying director: “The trend is moving toward going out again”
The pandemic has inspired a desire for events and dressing up. For the fashion industry, this means a tense balancing act between body-conscious sexiness and the mega-trend of sustainability. How are buyers dealing with the situation? We talked to Simone Heift, buying director of The German KaDeWe Group, about which trends she is focusing on for...
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Sustainable fashion: the most important eco certifications and what they mean
Given the high number of certifications and initiatives out there, it is not easy to keep track of them to make more conscious purchasing decisions. FashionUnited has compiled an up-to-date list of the most important eco certificates and what exactly they mean. In times of abundance, there is an increasing lack of simple truths. Take the...
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Hyper local: Adidas’s new flagship store in Berlin
On 2nd December, Adidas opened its new store concept on 1,400 square metres in Berlin Mitte. It is about much more than just shopping, revealed Hannah Mercer, global retail activation & merchandising head at Adidas, in an exclusive interview with FashionUnited. Hannah Mercer at the flagship store in Berlin | Photo: Adidas The new, three-storey...
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