Worldview | China Moves to Tighten E-Commerce Rules

🇨🇳 China moves to tighten the rules on e-commerce. An amendment to China’s 2019 e-commerce law currently under public consultation is widely expected to be adopted, although some provisions could change before it is finalised. If enacted, it would fill regulatory gaps around livestreaming, social commerce and cross-border shopping while encouraging platform operators to shift from traffic-fuelled growth and price wars to innovation-based competition. For fashion and beauty companies that rely heavily on these channels in China, the proposals could lead to closer regulatory scrutiny, stricter platform oversight and additional compliance requirements. “[It] introduces new regulatory tools alongside existing fines and suspension orders (including business suspension orders, registration holds and license revocation requests), enabling more routine, ongoing oversight of platforms,” wrote Shanghai-based lawyer Ralph Koppitz in a LinkedIn post. He noted that the amendment also “revises provisions targeting e-commerce violations that have drawn strong public concern and extends the law’s reach to overseas e-commerce activity that disrupts China’s domestic market or harms domestic parties.” [Yicai, BoF]

🌍 Arab Fashion Council appoints Amina Taher as chairwoman. The Dubai-based organisation that seeks to promote the fashion sector across 22 Arab countries has tapped Taher, an Emirati executive who previously served as vice president of brand, marketing and sponsorships at Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad. Her previous leadership roles include serving as chief marketing officer at Wio Bank and on the boards of prominent organisations across the United Arab Emirates. “Few leaders move with equal fluency across government, industry and culture, and fewer still bring that fluency to the service of design,” said Jacob Abrian, founder and CEO of the Arab Fashion Council, noting that Taher’s appointment “is not a change of direction.” [BoF Inbox]

🇲🇽 Mexico’s El Palacio de Hierro invests in major department store upgrades. Having recently completed a $50 million (980 million pesos) renovation of its store in Guadalajara, the capital and most populous city of the western state of Jalisco, the company plans to carry out similar renovations at its store in Monterrey, the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León. El Palacio de Hierro currently operates around 15 luxury department stores, two outlets and five other retail formats across the country. [El Informador]

🇮🇳 India’s P.N. Gadgil Jewellers records 41% Q1 revenue rise. The Pune-based listed jewellery retailer that traces its origins back to Sangli in 1832, has reported that its retail business contributed nearly 78 percent of the company’s overall revenue during the first quarter of the 2027 financial year. The company operates 78 PNG Jewellers and LiteStyle outlets, mostly in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Goa, but has also expanded to North and Central India and a handful of overseas locations. [Economic Times]

🇦🇪 Mall of Al Ain readies for major expansion in Abu Dhabi. Makani Real Estate, the commercial real estate arm of Mair Group, has said that the redevelopment of the shopping mall will begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Makani operates over 70 malls and neighbourhood centres across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain including the Souq Al Jami mall in the latter city. The Mall of Al Ain was acquired by Mair in 2024. Al Ain is the largest inland city in the UAE, the second largest in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest overall in the country. [AGBI]

🇮🇳 Indian brand Fizzy Goblet secures investment from actress Kareena Kapoor. Financial terms were not disclosed for the investment in the footwear and accessories brand, which appointed Kapoor as ambassador in 2022. “She embodies everything we stand for, and this partnership marks the beginning of an exciting new phase for us,” said Govil, adding that the company’s currently annual revenue run rate is around 60 crore rupees ($6.2 million) and that the aim is to hit 100 next year. Founded 12 years ago by Laksheeta Govil around traditional Indian footwear such as juttis and Kolhapuri sandals, the brand has since expanded into other footwear and handbag categories. [Economic Times]

🇳🇿 New Zealand-India fashion industry partnership comes to life. The first initiative under a partnership between New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW) and the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), a body that co-organises India’s fashion weeks, will take place in August in Auckland through a showcase of Indian designers working with khadi, the country’s traditional handspun and handwoven textile. The partnership aims to create reciprocal platforms for designers from both countries to showcase their work internationally. [Ragtrader]

🇮🇳 India’s Kalyan Jewellers posts 38% revenue growth in Q1. The Thrissur-based company said the rise in consolidated revenue growth during the first quarter of the 2027 financial year was down to strong demand in the domestic market. The jeweller, whose portfolio includes its namesake brand and Candere, operates 524 stores, including 354 Kalyan locations in India, 38 in the Middle East, two in the US and one in the UK, and 129 under the Candere brand. [Economic Times]

🇦🇺 Australia’s Country Road managing director Helen Wright is leaving. The Melbourne brand has made Wright’s role redundant as it adopts a new leadership structure focused on product and brand leadership. Wright, who joined the business in March 2025, will leave after 18 months, with Country Road Group chief executive Steven Cook leading the brand in the interim while the company recruits a chief product officer and head of apparel and accessories. [Ragtrader]

🇰🇷 Jaeger-LeCoultre taps South Korean entertainer IU as ambassador. The Swiss luxury watchmaker has appointed Lee Ji-eun, better known by her stage name IU, to endorse its products. The singer-songwriter and actress, one of the best-selling solo acts in the group-dominated K-pop industry, has over 33 million followers on Instagram. She has previously held ambassador roles and fronted campaigns for Gucci and New Balance. [BoF Inbox]

🇪🇹 Ethiopian fashion content creator Kalu Putik is gaining worldwide fame. In less than five months since his first Instagram post, the 15-year-old boy from Mekelle in the far north of the East African country has amassed more than 6.5 million followers spanning markets from Brazil to India for the short videos he created showcasing eye-catching outfits made entirely from recycled clothes and discarded materials. [Semafor, Cosmopolitan India]

🇦🇷 Argentine footwear manufacturer Waps files for bankruptcy protection. The Cordoba-based company, founded and led by president Marco Paolo Dadone, began operations in 2019 selling women’s footwear exclusively through digital channels. Argentina’s textile and apparel manufacturing sector is entering one of its worst downturns in decades, battered by ultra-cheap imports, many from Chinese fast-fashion players. [FashionNetwork]

🇻🇳 Vietnam’s textile and garment exports inch up in H1. The Southeast Asian country’s exports in the category (excluding yarn and fibre) increased 0.9 percent to $18.8 billion in January-June 2026. Yarn exports rose 10.3 percent to $2.29 billion. The country is targeting $50 billion in textile, garment and yarn exports for the full year. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇧🇷 Asian markets accounted for 96% of Brazilian cotton exports in June. The South American country shipped a record 217,000 tonnes of cotton during the month, up 63 percent year on year. Bangladesh became the month’s top buyer at 21.7 percent while Turkey’s imports rose 64.4 percent year on year. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇨🇳 Tommy Hilfiger names Chinese F1 driver Zhou Guanyu as ambassador. The American brand has entered a partnership with the Shanghai-born racing driver to endorse its products. “Zhou Guanyu represents a new generation of talent with influence that reaches far beyond the racetrack,” said founder Tommy Hilfiger, in statement. [BoF Inbox]