This Week: Fashion Chases Olympic Glory and Tries to Shake the Back-to-School Blues

Fashion’s first big Olympics moment came days before Friday’s opening ceremonies, when athletes from around the world took to TikTok to show off the impressive hauls they’d been gifted by Nike, Ralph Lauren, Skims and others. Those early viral videos boded well for brands that are banking on grabbing the spotlight for a moment – or a few moments – over the next two weeks.

Friday’s festivities featured literal boatloads of athletes decked out in uniforms often designed by brands and designers hoping to boost their global profile by outfitting their home team. While the rain sometimes made it hard to see the work of Ralph Lauren, Armani and others, postings by athletes and designers on social media helped fill the gap. At the opening ceremony, Christian Dior haute couture costumed all five featured performers, including Celine Dion in her long-awaited return to the stage.

Now that the suitcases full of branded gear are unpacked, and the medal events themselves have kicked off, brands are more at the mercy of the skill and luck of the athletes they sponsored. This week might belong to Athleta, the “dry land” apparel partner of Katie Ledecky, who will swim in five events, as well as gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who is favoured to take home gold in the woman’s all-around final on Thursday. The Gap Inc.-owned activewear brand, which reported a 5 percent year-on-year increase in comparable sales in the first quarter after a period of decline, recently launched its first television ad campaign to hype its high-profile partnerships.

Back-to-School Blues

Is your brand getting ready to ramp up marketing for back-to-school season? Too bad, you missed it.

According to Deloitte, parents planned to spend 66 percent of their back-to-school budget by the end of July, up from 48 percent in the same survey five years ago. Amazon is driving the shift, as its Prime Day sale on July 16 and 17 drew bargain-hunting parents. This year, the savings event came a bit later in the month, likely magnifying its impact on school shopping (Deloitte found 48 percent planned to purchase school supplies on Prime Day, up from 39 percent in 2023, when the sale fell on July 11 and 12).

Expectations are low for the category this year, with Deloitte predicting US back-to-school sales will hold steady at about $31 billion. Sluggish spending on supplies and kids’ clothes this summer will add to mounting evidence that consumers, after spending their way through two years of high inflation, are looking for ways to cut back. Surveys by Deloitte and UBS both found parents planned to spend slightly less on their childrens’ school supplies this year, with apparel sales projected to be flat. Higher prices were the most frequently cited reason for pulling back.

Retailers are responding with deeper discounts. Amazon lowered apparel prices by an average 20 percent over Prime Day, compared to 12 percent last year. That is likely to set the tone for the rest of the back-to-school shopping season, with parents holding out for similar deals as the start of the academic year approaches.

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