to their health. According to Boohoo, although 40 per cent of its clothes are made in Leicester, the particular factory was not an accredited supplier and it was investigating why its clothes were found there. It added that it was appalled by the reports of unsafe conditions and illegally low wages. Boohoo said its review had already prompted it to end its relationship with two of its suppliers. Previous exposés of poor working conditions in the fashion sector have not attracted much notice in the UK; however, this time, almost £2 billion ($3.63 billion) was wiped off Boohoo’s value over three days, and Next, ASOS and Zalando took its products off their websites, Reuters reports. The shares recovered quickly, as analysts supported the company’s efforts to clean up its act, though they remain well below their price before the scandal broke. Levi Strauss to cut 700 jobs Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh says the US denim apparel company will cut about 700 positions, or roughly 15 per cent of its staff, in the non-retail, non-manufacturing segment, a move he hopes will save US$100 million annually ($143.9 million). Levi reported net loss of US$363.5 million, or US91¢ per share, compared with a profit of US$28.2 million, or US7¢ per share, a year earlier. The loss was largely due to US$242 million in restructuring charges and inventory costs due to coronavirus-related disruptions, Reuters reports. Although there are some encouraging signs for the company – quarterly revenue, though down, topped estimates, and sales are improving as stores reopen – there is still concern over the long-term effects of the pandemic. Another encouraging sign is the booming online business – up 25 per cent in the second quarter ended May 24, with a month-over-month rise of nearly 80 per cent. Steinhoff shares rise as deal looms The share price of embattled global retailer Steinhoff International Holdings has strengthened by some 24 per cent on signs that its legal troubles may soon be over and a settlement reached with its many claimants. Steinhoff says it is close to reaching a potential deal on €10 billion ($16.24 billion) of legal claims lodged against it, following an accounting scandal that almost wiped out the South African-based company, Bloomberg reports. South African claimants – including former chairman Christo Wiese whose suit amounts to 59 billion rand ($5 billion) – have been offered a combination of cash and shares in Pepkor Holdings, Africa’s largest clothing retailer. Steinhoff owns 68 per cent of Pepkor. The company said it was impossible to pay the settlement any other way. “It’s clear we’re not going to pay, in full, €10 billion of legal claims in cash,” CFO Theodore De Klerk said. “It’s not right and we can’t do that.” Wiese has the biggest single claim against Steinhoff after becoming its largest shareholder when he sold Pepkor to the firm in 2015. Lawsuits replaced debt as Steinhoff’s most pressing concern after the retailer struck a deal with creditors to skip principal and interest payments on its borrowings through 2021. Lush closes Hong Kong flagship Cruelty-free cosmetics retailer Lush has closed its five-storey Hong Kong flagship store several months before its lease was due for renewal. The 632sqm high-profile store opened in late 2015 and at the time, it was billed as the brand’s largest store in Asia, featuring the first Lush spa in the world. According to Land Registry records, Lush paid US$196,000 ($282,343) in rent for the latest year. Lush’s closure extends the recent trend of mid-market brands closing stores across Hong Kong in the wake of falling footfall due to political unrest in the city and the Covid-19 pandemic. Other retailers, including Gap, SaSa and Swatch, have been reducing their store count in the city, along with luxury brands such as Tiffany, MCM and Prada. Japan sales start to recover Japanese shoppers are beginning to return to department stores as the threat of Covid-19 eases. Although department store sales were still down between 20 and 30 per cent year on year in June, in May sales were down by between 60 and 80 per cent. The best-performing Japanese department store groups were Takashimaya, where sales declined by 16.4 per cent, and Sogo and Seibu, down 16.5 per cent. J Front Retailing, which owns Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores, reported a sales decline of 29 per cent, hit by declining tourism numbers. At Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings’ stores, sales were down by 19 per cent.