FROM ANDREW SIA & IAJ TEAM
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FROM THE DESK OF
THE PUBLISHER
Opening Remark
In our July 2025 issue, we continue our writeup in the ten segments as the following:
Special Report – They are covering the topics calling for our reader’s attention.
The “Global Fashion and Exhibition Calendar” and the “Footwear Tradeshows Calendar” are the two most important reports.
The other reports are areas which should call for special attention. There is information that can be considered as important to know.
Market Intelligence – These are shorter writeups reporting on the retail and fashion industry.
Fashion & Design – Everything that is related to fashion trends ad ideas are being featured here. We have a very knowledgeable contributor here, Genevieve Redding, who oversees the fashion trends for the main seasons. We also feature fashion quotes from the fashion icons.
Technical & Knowledge – The journal began with the articles contributed by the renowned David Morris, later he moved on with very specific seminars for the industry. Unfortunately, he passed away two years ago. In this area we are looking for knowledgeable contributors. We believe that there are so much to do especially during this time when we can add the work from robotics and artificial intelligence.
Market Report – This is the news clips that we are preparing. It also deals with countries and territories.
There are other longer features like “China the Giant Juggernaut.”
Environmental & Sustainability – Our main feature is based on the Paris Climate Accord. The articles are very alarming and hopefully that this can draw the attention of the readers.
Supply Chain – With the latest happenings, we changed our title of our main article to “Globalization 2.0 – A Journey with Hope, Faith & Gratitude” to reflect the current challenge.
Entrepreneurship & Business – We present different case studies and hopefully that our readers can pick them up for startups.
Book Report – It is important to share knowledge here with our readers. We are trying to find interesting books to introduce to our readers.
Academic & Education – With everything that have taken the virtual route, we want to use this to promote any interesting courses to our readers. We are looking for participants.
Going forward, we are still trying to explore other ways of presenting our writeups. We need to reach out to a bigger audience, and most important is to hear the response, and hopefully more participations from our readers. At this moment, our writeups are posting in the LinkedIn and we don’t hear back from the readers, only a few of our acquaintances from the industry. It is not enough to boost our work.
We are studying to start a blog and to post our writeup there, hopefully that we can catch a wider audience.
Preview all articles
of this Issue !
About this July 2025 Issue
We have to apologize that the issue can be completed only in its later days. In fact, the last articles are published toward the end of January 2026. For those more critical and time demanding articles, we managed to publish them as early as we could. Many of you could have come to know that we have consolidated everything and have moved ourselves to a senior community. We are starting our life under a new environment, and before we can completely settle down, we are still holding up a lot of our work. We ask for your understanding.
Without further delay, we sum up the articles in the different segments as the following for the briefings.
Special Report
Global Fashion & Exhibition Calendar – October 2025 to June 2026
| By Andrew Sia
We are trying to keep ourselves updated with the report of the fashion and exhibition calendar. We can’t stress enough the importance of this report as it is useful for everyone who is in the business of fashion especially in the intimate apparel and swimwear industry. Altogether we have listed 32 exhibitions which we consider as the most important of all.
This time our world is being threatened with tariffs which are disrupting our supply chain. The manufacturers would need to have the wisdom to take the work to the less volatile countries where the geopolitical situations are not that severe and critical. My heart goes out to those who are struggling and have to find the stable environment to run their business.
I urge everyone not to give up but to get ourselves more ready for the next opportunity to come. I hope that this dark moment will be soon over.
Footwear Tradeshows Calendar – October 2025 to June 2026
| By Andrew Sia
In this report we have listed more than 30 shows around the world in countries like the US, Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and China.
It is very interesting to learn from these tradeshows there are conferences and seminars discussing the sustainability. We read that organizers have raised question about the uncertainty around the impact of tariffs and it is critical to meet with the vendors to understand any changes to pricing and inventory management. There are significant influences that have caused the ineffectiveness of the supply chain, and also inflation is inevitable under this situation.
We hope that with the effort we spent on the footwear sector can bring us readers from this industry. We would like to have more interaction among the industry.
The Rise & Fall of American Department Stores
| By Terri Fisher
This is the last part of our retail correspondent, Terri Fisher’s report. We are coming to the reports of the JCPenney and Sears.
JCP is known as the American wardrobe. At its primetime it had 1,100 stores. Today, its store-traffic plunge to 40% before its pandemic level. Its bankruptcy and restructure don’t help. Its debts stand at $4 billion. Closure of JCPenney store in the shopping mall is like killing the community and all the smaller businesses were closed as it has brought along the domino effect.
Sears shares the saddest story as its remaining stores as of mid-2025 is reported to have 8-full-line stores remaining in the U.S. although the number can be less. Imagine in 2013 Sears and Kmart combined, they had 2,400 stores. Today you can only find them in very few states: California, Florida and Massachusetts. It just closed its last store in Puerto Rico.
Its operations have reduced from a broad merchandise line to home services, appliances, tools, parts, and repair services. It is losing competition to online, discounter, and fast-fashion the changing of consumer expectations has made the large-store model very challenging.
Racing of the AI
| By Andrew Sia
Everyone is talking about the Artificial Intelligence and the surge in investment may cause a “bubble” to burst. Especially when we look at the key players today, they are all the world’s richest persons in the world, and they are all in the tech-industry. We can count Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, and when they are telling us not to worry, I hope that we can be a bit skeptical and take precaution.
Looking back in recent years, we have seen the bubble bursts in many areas, such as:
Dot-com Bubble (1995-2000) – Internet companies were operating with profits attracted massive investments. Burst in 2000 when expectation met reality, as the result NASDAQ lost almost 80% of its value. US Housing and Banking Bubble (2000-2008) – It was led by low interest’s rates and subprime lending inflated housing prices. Collapsed when borrowers defaulted leading to the 2008 global financial crisis. It caused bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.
Commodities and Oil Bubbles (2008) – A barrel of oil hit $147 fueled by speculation in the middle of the year. Price collapsed to under $40 by year end when the recession hit.
Cryptocurrency/Bitcoin Bubble (2017-2018, 2021-2022) – Bitcoin soared to $20,000, fell to under
Biotech and SPAC Mini Bubble – It is worth mentioning that during Covid pandemic, low interest rates sparked booms in biotech, EVs, and SPACs (special-purpose acquisition companies.) It collapsed when interest rates rose, and investor optimism cooled.
I hope that we can be smarter this time and learn from lessons. Remember, the winners will only be a handful of those tech companies, and the rest will be crushed when the bubble burst.
PS: The last I read that Nvidia chief Jensen Huang said that AI boom was “dramatically different” to the dotcom bubble as the hyperscale like Microsoft, Google, and Meta are so much richer than those bubble listings at the time. And then Mary Daly, head of the San Francisco Fed, said that an AI bubble will not be a threat to financial stability. Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, even hailed the AI boom as a “good kind of bubble.” I suggest that we should start to find cover now.
All We Need to Know About Rare Earth
| By Andrew Sia
“Rare earths” is the hot topic in these days. Because of the motors use in the electric vehicles and the computer chips, they have drawn the people’s attention. And lately because of the geopolitical wrestling between China and the United States, they are becoming the bargaining chips. It is supposed to be rare but in reality, they are not really that rare, except for those motors.
We found out that in those very early days, we heard the first time from China’s leader Deng Xiaoping, that he made the remark that, “The Middle East they have oil, we China have rare earths.”
Also in those early days China was the first one to do the mining and the smelting of those minerals that we thought were hazardous to the humans and also the water discharged would contaminate the unground water table. Now we know that they are not really than bad although safety measure should still be taken.
The western world is depending on China’s production for those minerals and its production is still the biggest among all. Of all the total metric tons being processed by the ten countries, China is representing 69% of the world production.
China’s reserve is about half of the world’s total reserve.
China Shock 2.0
| By Andrew Sia
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Don’t wake the sleeping China, for when she wakes up, she will shake the world.” Napoleon Bonaparte (August 15, 1769, to May 5, 1821) could never have any encounter with China, and it makes us wonder how he could had made such a comment. It could probably be not authentic, but it is a powerful metaphor that captures the fear about China’s rise.
On the international scene, you hear more about China than the United States. You have seen its campaigns one after the next. First it was the “Belt and Road Initiative,” then “Made in China 2025,” followed by “China Standards 2035.”
We are not ruling out the next summit for China to capture will be AI and robotic which can be most powerful for the country’s going forward.
Going forward, if China can be more open and more receptive to the western nations, hopefully that it can bring the value closely with the free world.
Beyond the Fabrics: Lessons from Lululemon’s Execution
| By Andrew Sia
It all started with a paid ad I caught from the Wall Street Journal’s October 7 issue titled “Lululemon in a Nosedive.” It was posted by no other than Chip Wilson, the original founder and its ex-CEO who left Lululemon in 2015. This has brought back a lot of memories from the old days when I was still in the manufacturing sector of the industry. But I have to say that I am still impressed by Lululemon’s impeccable quality and the apparel’s execution.
It is most unfortunate that the world has been caught with the tariff war and the supply chain has been under disruption. This has also led to the poor performance of all kinds of products across the board, not only the prices are higher, but also in some cases the quality also suffers.
Because of the challenges and poor performance of these brands, they are compelled to cut back their management headcounts, and we have seen the job market has reflected the situation. I feel very sorry about the situation and there is not much we can do except to watch what is out there and be alert.
How Retail Industry is Faring Under This Adverse Climate
| By Andrew Sia
It all started with a video streaming through my mobile with the title: “Twelve Big Retailers Closing Down Stores All Over America.” I decided to look in-depth for a fuller report. Like I said, I don’t want to spread any pessimistic atmosphere to the industry, I have decided to expand the report to 54 companies. Adding the sustainability, adopting the artificial intelligence, creating community, and empowering our staff to build a better future have been the mission of this piece.
When I was developing the piece, I was very gloomy. But after I expanded from 12 retailers to 54 of them, it allowed me a bigger picture and I started to see the light. After a deeper thought, I found out that there are more rooms for changes and improvements. My heart has been lightened.
I hope that you will feel the same and please help me to put some of the suggestions to practice. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Market Intelligence | By Andrew Sia
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 1
In this issue we have continued to write about the luxury brands and their performance. It seemed that after entering into 2025 they have lost their mojo. We can blame it to the uncertainties of the financial situation around the world. Although they have realized that going forward, they have to depend on those aspirational shoppers and perhaps they have themselves to blame that they have been raising their prices so much for the past years that it is almost unrealistic for those affordable customers. Imagine a pair of shoes at £800, handbags are at least £2,000 and it is becoming so unrealistic.
And almost at the same moment, they have all appointed new design directors, and we are talking about 15 of those design houses that we will begin to see the new faces at the catwalk.
At our final article, we paid our tribute to Giorgio Armani, who was not only a successful designer, but he was also a success businessman. I can imagine that it those days the luxury conglomerates were all keen to acquire his brand. He rightly commented that those “mega structure that lack personality,” and he danced away from them Giorgio Armani was so smart.
Market Intelligence Short Read - Part 2
We bring you the market news and hope that even some of the news are quite depressing as they are dealing with the closure of stores. We have to find out ways how to entice our customers from the market for their different needs. Only if we can maintain ourselves positive, then we can transpire our ideas to catch the market.
Personally, I like to visit stores that are airier with wide aisle, and the instore café can always be more enjoyable as one can combine shopping with leisure.
Other than that, I would like to include community activities, like running, cycling, camping and trekking, and start to do research on their apparels and accessories. These are all business opportunities that can inspire our younger generations to study and develop their career.
Fashion & Design
Autumn/Winter 2026/2027 Trend Report by Genevieve Redding
| By Genevieve Redding
This time our Fashion & Trend correspondent, Genevieve, introduced four themes—Plume, Wallpaper Florals, Coquette Core, and Bedcore Aesthetic.
At the same time, she is using brands like Fleur du Mal, Coco de Mer, Skims, Cultnaked, Atelier Amour, Gilda & Pearl, Wolf & Badger, Victoria’s Secret, Lise Charmel, Agua by Agua Bendita, Adore Me, Cou Cou Intimates, Agent Provocateur, For Love & Lemon, Blubella, Dolce & Gabbana, Kiki de Montparnasse, Sporty & Rich, Kiki de Montparnasse, and Olivia von Halle.
Genevieve tries to bring out each theme by giving us her views that forms the stories in a more substantial aspect under each of the theme.
Being a designer on her own, I found that this piece that she put together can be used by the brands and the lingerie store owners a better way of presenting their lingerie collections. After seeing this piece, I am saying to myself that after all our industry has not been that boring. This can help us to open something more interesting opportunities in the market.
In this very dull moment, it is a shot of boosting some excitement and energy for us to look forward to the holiday season and the new year.
Introducing Vans, An American Sneaker Brand
| By Andrew Sia
One may consider Vans as a classic sneaker. In its almost 60 years of operation, it went through many challenges—bankruptcy, sole to the bank, rebranded, went public on NASDAQ, acquired by VF Corporation, but every time sticked to its corporate symbolism, taking active role in skateboarding, art, music, and street culture.
But lately when the brand stopped to sponsor the music festival—the Warped Tour, it has lost the young age group. To the youngster, the brand has lost its cool.
In June 2023, Bracken Darrell was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of VF Corporation. And he visited Steve Van Doren, who is the brand ambassador of Vans. First of all, he has to turnaround VF, and Vans is its largest brand and accounts for nearly a third of total revenue. We are waiting to see how he can turnaround two corporations in one go.
Fashion Quote by Marine Serre
| By Andrew Sia
This time we found ourselves quoting a quote from a young French designer who just turned 34 years old. At her young age she is already known for sustainability and upcycle, and her message resonates deeply in today’s world which is about responsibility and renewal, not just beauty.
Her approach is very different from the very big brands who are using sustainability for marketing. Her brand is an environmental conscious luxury brand, and she is proving that the two concepts can co-exist.
Market Report | By Andrew Sia
Market Report Short Read - Part 1
The report is still surrounded by the tariff war call upon by Trump administration. It is toppling the world’s financial order because of his inconsistence with his policies among many others. But because of the confusion, China is sneaking in the back and have built up its soft power in a very subtle manner. Eventually it will be a harder situation for the going forward of the western nations to balance the powers
Our writeup of the UNESCO have explained the situation and we ought to fill up those vacant seats there to express our voices.
Market Report Short Read - Part 2
In this issue we want to bring out the fact that the trade tariffs have not brought out any positive effect on any nation but only chaotic situation that erupted the supply chain. We have seen the free trade is being trampled. China is getting more agitated, and its trade surplus has dwarfed all the other nations as it has just hit $1.2 trillion.
We are not optimistic going forward as from what we have seen so far for 2025.
The world requires a positive leader who can carry out rationale thinking and go through more stringent analysis before applying that policy, unlike what we have seen has only send the world to scramble for cover.
China the Giant Juggernaut - Part 22
China is getting very important in everything policy it is taking, and we just cannot take it lightly. With today’s world, it is entering into every arena to claim for its recognition. China is building up its branding across every product category, but many of the names it has chosen, in general, difficult to pronounce. For example, “Lukin Coffee,” Starbucks’ rival in China, may have intended its name to suggest “Lucky Coffee.” And its AI company, “DeepSeek,” a rival of ChatGPT, likely chose “deep,” to apply vision or mindfulness, and “seek” to mean discovery or research. Yet when these names are spoken quickly, they can easily sound awkward and even unintentionally funny. (For this point we would write another article to emphasize the importance to find the right word across the cultures.)
Then we have found that China has reinvented Hong Kong. This time it is used as the second listing of those Chinese listed company for their IPOs. We have found that the international financial institutions are eager to be the underwriters to make some money through the fees.
We have to congratulate China to become the first “electrostate” and it is not easy to win that recognition. We are yet to see its result to justify the title as we know that China is still having its insatiable appetite of coal and fossil oil.
But all these we have to blame to the president we have in the U.S. today that Trump is continuously shooting at his foot with his chaotic policies. But on the other hand, China’s president, Xi Jinping is no better as he is reacting very irrational at times. We always say that “it takes two to tango.”
It was on another occasion that we have written a special feature with the title of: “Reverse to the Current Trending,” where it was in response to “Make America Great Again,” and twisted it to “Make the World Great Again.” I am urging all nations to come together and make our world a better world.
ENVIRONMENTAL & SUSTAINABILITY
Progress Report on the Paris Climate Agreement - Part 27
| By Andrew Sia
I have spent a lot of effort in the preparation of the report of COP30 which was held in Belém, Brazil. Brazil is known for the Amazon rainforest although it covers with other countries: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Brazil has the largest portion, with about 60% of the total area.
There are still many indigenous tribes living in the Amazon rainforest, and 60 of those tribes remain in voluntary isolation. The Amazon rainforest is home to 30% of the planet’s biodiversity as new plants and animal species are being discovered. The deforestation continues year after year and it is a very sad situation.
Building of the railway, highway, farms, mining and many illegal activities are happening there.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Globalization 2.0 A Journey of Faith, Hope & Gratitude - Part 1
| By Andrew Sia
This is a move from our previous writeup under the title of “Globalization Needs Reinvigoration” and we have started to use this new title under the Globalization 2.0 for a change. We have seen that the next-generation globalization is really needed.
We approach the subject positively and in such a way that we hope to build back the global collaboration in a much accommodate manner.
Wait for our next writeup in order that we can kickoff the next-generation globalization.
Entrepreneurship & Business
Case Study Vans Revival Within The Vf Corporation
| By Andrew Sia
This was inspired by an earlier piece in the journal when we were writing about the Vans sneaker. Vans was acquired by VF Corporation in 2004, but the brand is already turning stale as it no longer sponsoring music festivals and lost its young crowd.
The new President and CEO, Bracken Darrell, came on board in July 2023, and since then he has a very big job to deal with. To revive Vans would take efforts to restore brand credibility and to put it back into the global market. Most important is to sustain its sales as it represents a third of the group’s revenue. To make all this happen, Vans would need to develop innovation and product development. It is very definite a challenging task for Darrell.
BOOK REPORT
The Book of Isaiah: An In-Depth Look at Gospel of the Old Testament
| Reported By Andrew Sia
For a change, instead of writing about business and fashion, this time I reported on a biblical study which I have been doing since the time for the Covid lockdown. And the question from the Book of Isaiah, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”, which in life we must have heard so many times this question.
Lately I have also found myself exhausted in find any books from my private library the books worth for doing book review. I tried to go on Amazon and bought several new titles, hoping that I would have picked up some new ideas and eventually share them with our readers. I was a little disappointed because of the writing styles that could have too new for me.
Anyway, this biblical study that I have been doing for the last six years have paid off as finally I decided to open myself and share this with you.