Fashion is the second most polluting industry worldwide, which is now a top worry for retailers. Consumers want to reduce their environmental impact and shop "green". Retailers realise they need to follow their customers to avoid becoming irrelevant.

Department stores have several options to engage on sustainability: corporate initiatives, eco-friendly brands, rental clothing, and resale. But how far have we gone?

What are the priorities? Is it the buildings or the merchandise?

What do customers want?

Better communications and transparency; no green washing: we need real measures and offer real answers to customers; communicating on eco-friendly assortment does not exempt department stores from taking ecological measures at the corporate level.

Some are also piloting resale and rental.

Crucially, it has become a positive business strategy as an increasing number of customers are demanding green and are willing to pay for it.

Sustainability: department stores' destiny - Full article (IADS members only)

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. This is an example of the themes the Association regularly addresses, and the topic of an article  from the IADS members-only newsletter date 09 July 2020.

E-commerce has become an essential part of the department store toolkit. It is tasked with increasing sales, improving service to customers and, thanks to an optimised structure, boosting profitability in the same way the return on space did in yesterday's model.

However, e-commerce pure players and most of the e-department stores are losing money in operations, competing for a fickle customer who appears to chase the cheaper option in their mostly indistinguishable offers.

Is that an inescapable fate? If it is, why are some department stores entering the game now, when so few have succeeded so far? Learning lessons from the small number of best-in-class players, the few who are making money, might be a good idea for the newcomers.

And for others too.

E-commerce and department stores; becoming rich online - Full article (IADS members only)

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. This is an example of the themes the Association regularly addresses, and the topic of an article  from the IADS members-only newsletter date 03 July 2020.