What: Lifestyle International, operator of SOGO Hong Kong, has permanently installed Yayoi Kusama’s 5-metre Dancing Pumpkin in the public square in front of The Twins Tower II in Kai Tak, the work’s only permanent public display in Asia.

Why it is important: The group is using permanent public art, rather than a temporary activation, as the cultural anchor of a development where Tower II is still only half let and leasing is shifting toward experiential tenants.

The sculpture, one of five editions worldwide, was previously shown in New York, Qatar and Australia. It came to Hong Kong after Kusama’s death in August 2026 through a collaboration with the Kusama Studio, the Yayoi Kusama Foundation and Ota Fine Arts, and follows a 3-metre emerald Pumpkin installed at Tower I in June. Free to view around the clock, it is presented as a joint project with the HKSAR Government to enliven public space.
An exhibition at SNDO, running until 31 March 2027, covers the work’s creation, shows more than 20 original Kusama prints, with selected works for sale and a live auction on 21 November, and houses Hong Kong’s first Kusama pop-up store. Weekend workshops for loyalty members and pumpkin menus across both towers complete the programme.
Executives expect Tower II occupancy to reach about 60% by mid-2027 once the cinema opens; Tower I has one floor left. To avoid competing head-on with neighbouring malls, the group is converting some fashion space for a younger, family-dominated clientele and is in talks to add pet-themed retail and an indoor sports park. Concerts at the adjacent Kai Tak Sports Park will feed a 2027 “ticket-stub economy” promotion plan.

IADS Notes: Placing a permanent Kusama sculpture in the public square beside The Twins follows a wider pattern of department stores using art in public space to anchor their place in a city. Manor has partnered with the City of Lausanne on a rotating programme of artist-led installations on its façade, backed by a recurring competition for future works (24heures, January 2026). Samaritaine turned JR’s “La Caverne” installation on the Pont Neuf, steps from the store, into a limited-edition retail activation designed to lift footfall (WWD, June 2026). In Hong Kong, the retail recovery has been held back by value-conscious mainland visitors and residents shopping in Shenzhen. The city has responded with experience-led attractions including Kai Tak Stadium, and its challenge is now to convert traffic into spending (The Economist, June 2026), the same conversion The Twins’ planned “ticket-stub economy” sets out to achieve. El Corte Inglés offers a precedent for monetising a major live event: as the race’s local sponsor, it rolled out a 54-item Grand Prix merchandise collection across seven Madrid stores (Fashion Network, September 2026). On customer mix, Seoul’s leading flagships now draw close to half of their new customers from shoppers in their 20s and 30s, mainly through food halls and pop-ups, with event volumes up 36.7% in 2025 (Maeil Business Newspaper, October 2026).

What: El Corte Inglés increased total transaction value by 2.3% to €8,404 million in the first half of FY2026-27 (March to August), while net income rose 11.5% to €249 million.

Why it is important: Profits rising faster than sales show El Corte Inglés converting modest top-line growth into stronger earnings, extending the momentum of its last full-year results.

Revenue for the period from 1 March to 31 August reached €7,230 million, up 2.6% on a like-for-like basis. EBITDA rose 4.2% to €562 million and recurring net income 9.1% to €210 million.

Retail remained the main growth driver, up 3.3% like-for-like, supported by Fashion & Beauty, Home & Electronics and a strong online channel. Fashion & Beauty sales grew 4% to €2,779 million and Home & Electronics 4.8% to €1,248 million, while Food & Restaurants held stable at €1,402 million.

Viajes El Corte Inglés operated in an international environment marked by geopolitical tensions, yet its sales grew 1.9% year on year from the second half of the period onwards.

In the financial businesses, Seguros El Corte Inglés raised revenue 4.6% to €160 million, with net income of €41 million, up 5.9% excluding extraordinary items. Financiera El Corte Inglés increased revenue 3.5% to €98 million and net income 2.4% excluding extraordinary items.

Balance-sheet strength and cash generation allowed the group to raise investment in commercial, logistics and technological transformation, while net financial debt stabilised at €1,624 million, or 1.3x EBITDA.

IADS Notes: The half-year figures continue the trajectory of the group's full-year results, which reported double-digit profit growth, record-low debt and fashion sales up 3.1%, with Fashion & Beauty named a key growth driver (Press Release, June 2026). Fitch then moved the group to BBB with a stable outlook, citing the lowest debt in two decades, a €15.7 billion real-estate portfolio and a business model spanning retail, travel, financial services and real estate (Press Release, June 2026). The fashion division has since been reorganised: external and own women's brands now form a single unit, and Sfera, the group's main fashion chain, has a new managing director (Modaes, November 2026). In travel, El Corte Inglés has agreed to buy Tool Factory's 25% stake in Viajes El Corte Inglés, pending clearance from the Spanish and Portuguese competition authorities (Fashion Network, October 2026). The €294 million invested over the half follows FY2025 capex of €577 million, of which €237 million went to technology projects covering omnichannel, logistics and AI (Fashion Network, July 2026).

El Corte Inglés grows sales and profits in the first half of FY2026-27

What: Bloomingdale's is renovating its 59th Street flagship and 12 other US stores over five years, with warmer interiors, less product on display and more sales associates working the floor.

Why it is important: The renovation reverses the 1970s department-store model of closed, uniformly lit floors that hid the time of day, betting that comfort, not product density, gets shoppers to spend.

Olivier Bron, CEO since 2023, calls the programme the most ambitious makeover of an American department store chain in 50 years. Bloomingdale's has posted eight consecutive quarters of in-store sales growth and record sales, helped partly by struggles at Saks Global, now Exemplar Luxury Group, and Ssense. Stores in Los Angeles, South Florida and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, are on the roster, with Tysons Corner, near Washington, DC, next.

At the flagship, Bernard Dubois redesigned every fourth-floor shop-in-shop with brands such as Jacquemus and Toteme, and street-facing windows boarded up for 50 years have been reopened. The black-and-white checkerboard tiles now come in browns and pinks, shoes sit on light oak, and track lights spotlight wall displays instead of aisles. Fitting areas have grown from three to five. The ground floor, with beauty and handbags, follows from 2027 with a food-and-beverage concept.

The upgraded personal shopping suite adds larger fitting rooms, a full bar and a lounge, with a separate space for stylist Hillary Tannenbaum, hired from Bergdorf Goodman this year. Top-client events at the flagship rose from about 40 a year before Bron's arrival to 550 in 2025, a number he believes could one day reach the thousands.

IADS Notes: Bernard Dubois's redesign of the 59th Street flagship had already introduced natural light, a residential atmosphere and new designer shops by early spring, alongside more than 3,000 new points of distribution (WWD, March 2026). In September, Bron described the programme as a move from premium contemporary to high luxury covering the flagship and 10 stores over five years, a narrower scope than the current plan, and argued for dwell time over yield from every inch of space (Monocle, September 2026). The luxury renovation had also reduced the number of brands by about 10% to give the remaining ones more space, while top personal shoppers operate as businesses within the business, supplied with brands, inventory, systems and space (BoF, October 2026). US department stores are competing for million-dollar sellers with uncapped commissions, reliable base pay and private boutiques, and Bloomingdale's offers client lounges, upgraded systems and, for some, dedicated assistants (BoF, October 2026). Independent personal shoppers, many of them former staff of Saks and Net-a-Porter, are also winning the top-client relationship on commissions starting at 10% of spend (Financial Times, October 2026).

Bloomingdale's shares more about the renovation of its flagship and 12 more US stores