What: John Lewis Partnership chair Jason Tarry warned that a tax raid on large stores in the UK Budget on 28 October would trigger a wave of high street closures.

Why it is important: Business rates are already John Lewis's largest cost, ahead of rent. A further tax rise on large stores would push department stores to cut their most expensive assets, the very stores that anchor UK high street footfall.

Jason Tarry, chair of the John Lewis Partnership, has warned chancellor John Healey that taxing department stores and supermarkets in the 28 October Budget would only harm UK high streets. Retailers fear that prime minister Andy Burnham will fund a business rates cut by shifting costs onto larger stores through a "warehouse tax". Tarry said such a tax would hit far more high street shops than warehouses; for John Lewis, it would raise charges on 18 warehouse hubs and 200 stores.

Tarry argued that the plan reflects a misunderstanding of how modern high streets work. Retailers forced to balance the books will look first at their most expensive operations, their stores. He described department stores and large supermarkets as anchor tenants whose footfall sustains surrounding independent shops, pubs, bakeries and cafes.

Following higher business rates on larger warehouses from April 2026 and rising employment costs, Tarry asked Healey for a clear Budget commitment that no high street shop will face higher taxes. He also criticised the government's limited engagement with retail and hospitality on the cross-government high street strategy announced in January, noting that four high street reviews in 15 years had been shelved.

IADS Notes: Tarry's warning comes a year after industry bodies cautioned that a business rates rise could put more than 100,000 UK retail jobs at risk, with department stores and supermarkets facing the steepest bills (Retail Week, October 2025). Costs have continued to rise since then. Retailers absorbed higher National Insurance contributions and minimum wage increases by cutting hours, headcount and pay rises (Financial Times, October 2025). John Lewis Partnership's first-half pre-tax loss widened to £124m from £88m despite 2% sales growth, a result Tarry attributed to the increased cost of doing business (Drapers, September 2026). In the same results period, he named business rates as the retailer's largest cost, ahead of rent, and said head-office job cuts would not be a one-off (Drapers, September 2026), which supports his argument that stores would be the first operations cut if taxes rise further. Government action on high streets has so far focused on property rather than operating costs: Andy Burnham's £210m package funds the redevelopment of derelict buildings, rental auctions and community rescue schemes, adding to the £5bn Pride in Place programme (Retail Week, September 2026).

John Lewis chair warns Budget tax raid on large stores would trigger high street closures

What: Galeries Lafayette has recruited a former Lyon hotel general manager to open and run Nouvelles Galeries Bron, its new lifestyle destination in East Lyon.

Why it is important: The appointment moves the €100 million+ Lyon-Bron "Nouvelles Galeries" project from construction to operation, and it shows how Galeries Lafayette intends to run its regional sites: as places to spend time, not just to shop.

Citynove, the property company of the Galeries Lafayette Group, has named Agnès Razanaka to lead Nouvelles Galeries Bron, a newly created position. She will oversee the site's opening, scheduled for early 2027, before taking charge of its development and day-to-day animation. She aims to make it a must-visit East Lyon destination with high hospitality standards, unconventional events and a strong collective spirit with tenants.

The project is designed to go beyond premium retail and create a lifestyle space combining shopping, discovery, culture, sport, health, leisure and dining. Confirmed tenants include H&M, Normal, Picard, Maxi Zoo, On Air and Palomano, alongside food outlets Popeyes, Chamas Tacos and Ice Cream Coffee. Razanaka cites Citynove's people-centred approach and the aesthetic ambition of its sites.

Aged 37, she holds a master's degree in international hospitality and restaurant management from iaelyon School of Management. After starting at Cook & Go in Lyon Confluence, she joined Louvre Hotels Group in 2014, ran the four-star Silky by Happyculture hotel from 2019 and Eklo Lyon from 2022 to 2024, and led the opening of Océania Lyon in 2025. She has sat on the board of the Club Hôtelier Lyonnais since 2020.

IADS Notes: The appointment marks the final stage of a transformation that began when Galeries Lafayette Lyon-Bron reopened with a 9,200 m² extension. That first phase set out plans for a 60-unit shopping centre with restaurants, a medical centre and a gym, backed by more than €100 million of investment (Mes Infos, October 2024). The project then took shape as the "Nouvelles Galeries" concept: the site grows from 21,000 to 37,000 m², adds over 80 boutiques with a strong proximity-retail focus, and aims to double annual footfall, following the Annecy model of more than 3 million visitors and 20% sales growth (Fashion Network, May 2026). Bron sits within a wider regional programme that includes the €6 million flagship-inspired renovation of Nice Masséna, as the group elevates its regional stores into destinations (Nice Matin, June 2026). Choosing a hospitality executive to lead the site reflects a sector-wide shift: department stores such as Selfridges, John Lewis and Harrods now compete for consumers' leisure time through food, services, workshops and cultural programming rather than product range alone (The Retail Bulletin, July 2026).

Galeries Lafayette appoints a hotel executive, finalising Nouvelles Galeries Lyon Bron store 

What: Hyundai Department Store is opening a pop-up store featuring five Korean fashion brands inside Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris, running through 27 October.

Why it is important: By placing Korean brands inside Galeries Lafayette rather than a standalone store, Hyundai is using an established department-store partner's footfall and prestige to de-risk its first entry into Europe, mirroring the host/export logic already seen with its Japan and Taiwan pop-ups.

Hyundai Department Store's K-content export platform, The Hyundai Global, is opening a pop-up on the third floor of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris, running from 6 to 27 October. The 79 square metre space sits near the escalator entrance, close to Sandro and A.P.C., and features five Korean fashion labels: KIMHĒKIM, RE RHEE, LIE, FRITUR and THE ILMA. The pop-up is run in partnership with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), with Hyundai handling event planning, logistics and on-site operations while KOCCA supports participating brands and local promotion.

The Hyundai Global launched in Tokyo in 2024 and has since opened pop-ups and flagships in Osaka, Nagoya, Taipei and Taichung. Hyundai says its Omotesando flagship in Tokyo is currently running 30% above its sales target, while earlier pop-ups at Shibuya Parco and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Taiwan achieved the highest sales recorded at those locations. The Paris activation is intended as a springboard into the European market, part of a plan to open around ten The Hyundai Global flagships across Asia, Europe and North America by 2030.

IADS Notes: Hyundai Department Store's push into Paris follows a broader cross-border strategy already visible in Tokyo, where the group opened its first overseas flagship in June 2026, as Time Out reported; that entry's own sourcing already flagged the Handsome subsidiary accelerating European expansion through pop-ups at La Samaritaine and Galeries Lafayette, making the current activation a continuation of that strategy rather than a new initiative. The move also sits alongside Hyundai's digital-side bet on curation over speed, embodied by The Hyundai Hi app, covered by Forbes in September 2026, which builds audience through editorial discovery rather than price competition. On the host side, Galeries Lafayette has built a recurring format of culturally themed pop-ups at its Haussmann flagship, from the Céline Dion activation reported by Fashion United in September 2026 to the Africa Now showcase of African designers documented by Fashion Network in May 2026; the Korean fashion pop-up extends the same playbook of using international and cultural programming to diversify footfall and position the store as a global cultural destination.

Hyundai Department Store brings Korean fashion pop-up to Paris Galeries Lafayette