Retail news round-up on July 9, 2015: Retailer administrations fall by a third, Mulberry creative director takes up role, Zalando shareholders sell shares and India’s Flipkart to adopt app-only strategy

Retail administrations fall 32% in first half

The number of retailers collapsing into administration fell to 45 in the first half of this year, thanks to a stabilising economy after a tough few years. The figure is 32% lower than the 66 in the first six months of 2014, according to a study by Deloitte.

Deloitte UK head of retail Ian Geddes said: “The overall outlook is positive, and as consumer finances continue to improve this will be felt even more in the retail market.”

Mulberry creative director Johnny Coca takes helm

Ex-Celine designer Johnny Coca has formally joined luxury fashion house Mulberry as its new creative director. He will be in charge of the design team on leather goods, shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear collections, as well as ‘all creative aspects of the brand’s image’. Coca replaces the brand’s star designer Emma Hill, who left more than two years ago. He also intends to spend time with Mulberry’s staff at The Rookery and at The Willows factories.

Zalando shareholders sell 8.3m shares

Zalando shareholders Holtzbrinck Ventures and KG and AI European Holdings have offloaded shares worth €244m (£176m), representing 3.36% of the online fashion retailer’s shares. The duo sold approximately 8.3m shares at €29.5 each.

Indian etailer Flipkart to ditch website for mobile app

India’s biggest online marketplace Flipkart is to go app-only in a strategy focused on smartphone customers. The retailer will close its website later this year, the Financial Times reported. This shift comes after the company-owned online fashion portal Myntra closed its web and mobile sites in May and adopted an app-only strategy.

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