Can Boohoo’s rebrand solve its fast fashion woes?
Chloe Collins, head of apparel at GlobalData, is of the opinion that the group’s decision to drop the Boohoo name is ‘likely an attempt to ditch the negative connotations associated with it’
In the run-up to Boohoo announcing its name change to Debenhams Group, the fashion business had battled an onslaught of media scrutiny – and we’re only halfway through the 2020s. Let’s recap this chain of events: in 2020, a Sunday Times investigation found that Boohoo suppliers in Leicester were getting paid far below the UK minimum wage and worked in unsafe conditions; a year later, an independent review commissioned by Boohoo indeed found “many failings” in its supply chain; in 2022, the CMA investigated the retailer’s environmental claims, suspecting it to be guilty of greenwashing; in 2023 Boohoo’s revenues suffered due to Shein’s boom in popularity for offering even cheaper and trendier products; just last week PrettyLittleThing attempted to reposition itself as a more “elevated” option, which was met with negative reactions from customers because the company hadn’t ceased its overreliance on polyester.