Welcome in, today is Thursday, October first, and we begin with Bloomberg on why Shein's growth engine is proving hard to restart. Bloomberg Business argues Shein's rise was built at the height of the pandemic six years ago, when an intensive social media campaign for ultra-cheap clothes, five dollar floral halternecks and ten dollar pajamas, met shoppers stuck at home. That read holds the same engine is now the constraint, because the growth came from low price and paid reach, and both are harder to hold as acquisition costs climb and trade rules tighten. It follows our report yesterday, per Drapers, of falling profit and sales in the company's first trading update as a public company. At issue is whether price-led scale still works once input and tariff costs rise, a question that sits with the whole value channel rather than one operator. Industry reaction leans toward reading this as a value-trap problem rather than a demand problem, and a canary some commentators flag is order growth running ahead of flat revenue, more baskets at lower value, customers trading down inside the brand rather than leaving it. Also today, Prada. The Wall Street Journal reports the group is concentrating on its top-spending clients, with invitation-only travel, private events and one-of-a-kind pieces priced up to one hundred thousand dollars. That reporting put more than one hundred of its biggest spenders in Milan for fashion week, with a private viewing of Leonardo's Last Supper, restaurants booked out for guests, and crocodile bags with onyx clasps offered first at just over twenty thousand dollars. Chief executive Andrea Guerra told the paper every euro spent on top-client events returns about seven euros in purchases, and that the renovated Galleria complex we covered last week is the template for twenty-five more luxury hubs. Whether high-touch clienteling can offset softer traffic lower down is the open question. That same account notes executives at rival groups say such returns can reach ten to one, with Bernstein analyst Luca Solca saying Prada still has ground to cover against Chanel and Dior. Separately, Giorgio Armani, and the succession we touched on with the spring collection. A profile in The Cut places Pantaleo Dell'Orco, the designer's collaborator of five decades, at the centre of the house: creative director of menswear, chairman, and largest single shareholder in a company that account values at six to eight billion dollars. Per that profile, Armani's will instructs his heirs to pursue a listing or sell to LVMH, EssilorLuxottica or L'Oréal, starting with a fifteen percent stake by March twenty twenty-seven. Beauty and fragrance licensees have a direct stake in who holds control next. Reaction among advisory commentators leans toward reading the arrangement as governance design rather than inheritance, with the staged sale framed as an early test of whether a founder-defined house can be handed to a structure. In leadership, Levi Strauss. WWD reports the company has named Skechers finance chief John Vandemore as chief financial officer, taking over from Harmit Singh, who said in April he plans to retire. Per that report, Vandemore comes out of footwear rather than apparel. The hand-off comes mid-turnaround, and it puts a new voice on how Levi's guides on pricing, tariff exposure and its direct-to-consumer mix. Now, a few more headlines moving the trade today. Luxury Daily reports Delvaux has named longtime Cartier executive Yanina Novitskaya as chief executive from December first, with international growth among her priorities. Drapers reveals Dune London is exploring new ownership or investment as founder and chair Daniel Rubin plans his retirement. Also per Drapers, Primark has signed a multi-year agreement with textile-to-textile recycler Circ to bring recycled polyester made from textile waste into its clothing. And finally, WWD reports on YouGov survey data examining where Americans shop for footwear, finding most still prefer to buy their shoes in a store.