https://www.scmp.com/rss/515358/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Retail crime has rocketed in countries around the globe, where the return of physical shopping, rampant inflation and the trend towards self-service tills is stoking a shoplifting epidemic. Figures from the UK’s Office of National Statistics showed that shoplifting rose by 22 per cent year-on-year during the year to September 2022. Ten per cent of Americans – over 30 million people – shoplift with some degree of regularity, according to the Shulman Centre, which tracks compulsive theft, spending... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3223072/how-rampant-shoplifting-seeing-walmart-target-and-macys-close-stores-and-why-theft-has-become-latest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3223072/how-rampant-shoplifting-seeing-walmart-target-and-macys-close-stores-and-why-theft-has-become-latest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jun 2023 23:15:12 +0000 Can a US$20 bottle of perfume, “Inspired by Black Orchid”, smell as good as the US$220 Tom Ford original? That is the million-dollar question being asked of the emerging market for fragrance dupes – perfumes’ fast-fashion market, if you will. A group of upstarts and established high-street retailers are piggybacking on decades of brand recognition and millions of dollars worth of research and development and marketing to release scents inspired by designer perfumes. Unlike counterfeiting – a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3216512/are-perfume-dupes-worth-hype-why-fragrances-smell-just-designer-scents-cost-much-less-are-taking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3216512/are-perfume-dupes-worth-hype-why-fragrances-smell-just-designer-scents-cost-much-less-are-taking?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Apr 2023 10:15:09 +0000