🇦🇺 Australian multi-brand e-tailer Cettire admits to US tax queries. The buzzy grey market luxury e-commerce platform has said that the US authorities are in contact with the firm over unpaid taxes, after anonymous bloggers questioned the elusive company’s taxation status in the states of Texas and California. The ASX-listed company founded by Dean Mintz in 2017 has recently seen its share price rise rapidly, attracting intense scrutiny from sceptical investors and industry observers over a lack of public detail about its operations. It is believed the company partners with third-party wholesalers to offer products from major brands, including Prada, Burberry and Gucci, to global consumers at steep discounts. [Australian Financial Review]

🇧🇷 Brazil’s JHSF Capital partners with private equity firm 1686 Partners. The investment vehicle launched in 2022 by JHSF Participações, the real estate company behind luxury fashion mall Cidade Jardim and other shopping centres and properties across Brazil, has inked a strategic partnership with the Luxembourg-based firm founded by Chanel heir David Wertheimer, creating a new fund for Latin American investors. In its first full year, JHSF Capital structured and is managing six real estate funds; 1686 Partners has already invested in companies like Fusalp, a French mountain sports and fashion brand and Watchbox, a platform for second-hand luxury watches. [BoF Inbox, Brazil Journal]

🌏 Textile supply chain ripple effects of Taiwan earthquake remain unclear. Considering the strength of the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck last week killing 13 people, the island emerged remarkably unscathed but there was significant damage to infrastructure in some locations. “At a macro level, we don’t think the impact is going to be huge… but on an individual company level, it could be significant. And the impacts might not be known for months,” said Peter Guinto of supply chain risk management provider Resilinc. Taiwan’s textile and apparel exports amounted to $8.8 billion in 2022, with the island serving as home to 4,511 manufacturers. [Sourcing Journal]

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi Investment Authority considers India’s Purplle. ADIA, the sovereign wealth fund operating on behalf its namesake emirate in the UAE is in the early stages of talks for a $100 million investment in the Mumbai-based multi-brand beauty retailer, according to business media Mint, citing informed sources. If the deal materialises, it will mark ADIA’s second investment in the firm within a year following a $50-60 million injection in 2023, valuing it at $1.1 billion. [Mint, Zawya]

🇯🇴 Jordanian factory supplying sportswear brands accused of forced labour. Needle Craft, a major Jordan-based clothes manufacturer for the likes of Under Armour, American Eagle and Columbia among other brands, is facing claims of systemic abuse and exploitation of a Bangladeshi migrant worker at the firm’s Fine Apparel site in Zarqa, which allegedly led to her death by suicide. The US brands have launched urgent inquiries into the claims which were reported by workers’ rights campaign group Labour Behind the Label. [I News]

🇦🇺 Australian cotton processing giant Namoi Cotton receives takeover bid. The company, which operates 11 cotton gins in the states of New South Wales and Queensland through its joint venture with Louis Dreyfus Company, the Namoi Cotton Alliance, has received an offer from Singapore-based farming business Olam Agri Holdings Limited for a total cash consideration of $0.59 per share. [Ragtrader]

🇮🇳 Indian jeweller Titan Company reports double-digit revenue growth in Q4. The Bengaluru-based watch and jewellery group, whose portfolio includes namesake brand Titan, Tanishq, Zoya, Mia and CaratLane, saw revenue increase 17 percent year-on-year in the quarter ended March 2024. The firm added 86 stores to its global network, including Dubai and Chicago locations, bringing the total to 3035 during the period. [Economic Times]

🇮🇳 India’s Kalyan Jewellers posts 34% revenue growth in Q4. The Thrissur-based company whose portfolio includes its namesake brand and digital-first brand Candere reported a 31 percent increase in revenue on a consolidated basis for the full 2024 financial year during which it launched 71 new showrooms, bringing the total number to 253 across India and the Middle East. [Economic Times]

🇦🇺 Australian fashion retailer Marquee Retail Group calls in administrators. The company that owns Colette by Colette Hayman and The Daily Edited has confirmed it is going into voluntary administration, citing the impact of a downturn in sales from October 2023 to March 2024, compounded by debts it previously accrued during the Covid-19 pandemic. [Ragtrader]

🇲🇾 Lagardère Group names Heart Media Group as partner for Elle Malaysia. The French publishing giant has inked a license agreement with the regional publisher based between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1997, Heart Media launched the first issue of Elle Singapore in March 2024 and publishes titles including Men’s Folio and the Singapore editions of Esquire and Grazia. [Khanh Linh for BoF]

🇮🇳 Indian hair care firm Traya raises around $9 million in funding. The company founded by Saloni Anand and Altaf Saiyed offering products using a combination of ayurveda, allopathy and nutrition to tackle hair loss, has secured 75 crore rupees in investment from Mumbai-based private equity fund Xponentia Capital. Previously, Traya Health raised about $3 million from firms including Fireside Ventures Stride Ventures, Kae Capital and Whiteboard Capital. [Economic Times]

🇸🇬 Carousell Group snaps up Singapore’s luxury resale platform LuxLexicon. The group, which includes its namesake C2C marketplace, Vietnam’s Chotot and Malaysia’s Mudah, has acquired LuxLexicon, a Singaporean luxury bag reseller and authenticated luxury consignment platform, for an undisclosed sum. The move follows the group’s acquisitions of authenticated sneaker and streetwear e-tailer Ox Street and fashion re-commerce site Reflash in 2021 and 2022 respectively. [Khanh Linh for BoF]

🇮🇳 Amazon India launches Bazaar for low-priced, unbranded fashion. The e-commerce major has onboarded sellers for the new vertical featuring unbranded products in the apparel, watches, shoes, jewellery and luggage categories, in a bid to ramp up competition with the likes of Meesho and Flipkart’s Shopsy. [Economic Times]

🇯🇵 Japanese beauty giant Kosé shutters Tmall flagship in China. Citing strategic realignment, parent company Kosé Group has announced the closure following a reported decline in the brand’s presence in the key Chinese market, including an absence from major promotional events like Singles’ Day and 618. [Jiemian, Jing Daily]

🇰🇷 Temu’s Korean user base surges by over 40% in just one month. The e-commerce marketplace owned by China’s PDD Holdings saw its user count in the South Korean market grow from 5.8 million in February to 8.3 million in March, according to analytics services WiseApp and Mobile Index, closing the gap with its more established rival Alibaba Group’s AliExpress. [InsideRetail]

🇨🇱 Latin American retail giant Falabella appoints general manager. The Chile-based department store group with operations in markets including Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Colombia, has announced the appointment of Alejandro González Dale as general manager. Before occupying the role on an interim basis for three months, replacing Gastón Bottazzini, González Dale was manager of administration and finance at Falabella for over 17 years. [Graciela Martin for BoF, Forbes Chile]

🇮🇳 India’s Good Glamm Group launches Serena Williams’ makeup line. The Mumbai-based content-to-commerce unicorn, which began as DTC makeup brand MyGlamm before acquiring a stable of beauty and personal care products, has formed a joint venture with the American tennis champion to launch her new brand Wyn Beauty starting in the US market through a new entity called SW-Sanghvi Beauty USA Inc. [BoF, Economic Times]

🇨🇳 Fred taps Chinese actress Zhang Tian’ai as brand ambassador. The LVMH-owned jewellery brand has partnered with the star also known as Crystal Zhang, who has over 18 million followers on social media platform Weibo.

🇦🇪 Dubai retail giant Landmark Group appoints new deputy CEO of Lifestyle. The UAE-based group with a footprint across the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia whose portfolio includes fashion retail chains such as Centrepoint, Splash, Shoemart, Max, Styli and Lifestyle, has tapped Ritesh Mishra for the role at its Lifestyle chain. [Economic Times]

🇨🇳 Hublot names Chinese actor Yu Shi as a brand ambassador. The LVMH-owned Swiss luxury watchmaker has tapped the actor known for roles in films such as ‘Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms’. [Jing Daily]