What: Bloomingdale’s transformation under CEO Olivier Bron delivers record sales growth, fueled by curated assortments, experiential retail, and digital innovation. Rachel Abeles, Bloomingdale's senior vice president of customer and revenue growth, sheds light on projects in the works and the store's challenges.

Why it is important: Bloomingdale’s success highlights how department stores can thrive by investing in customer experience, digital innovation, and curated brand partnerships.

Bloomingdale’s ongoing transformation under CEO Olivier Bron is redefining the department store model through a relentless focus on curation, innovation, and experimentation. Over the past year, the retailer has achieved five consecutive quarters of sales growth, with comparable sales up 9.9% in Q4 2025 and net sales rising 8.5%. This performance is driven by a multi-format strategy that includes the launch of Bloomie’s small-format stores, the expansion of its online marketplace, and the introduction of advanced clienteling tools and AI-powered personalisation. The flagship’s sweeping renovation, featuring curated designer shops and immersive retail environments, has set new standards for experiential retail. Bloomingdale’s approach to localised curation, data-driven merchandising, and omnichannel integration—where digital now accounts for 38% of sales—has enabled it to attract both luxury and premium customers, even as competitors face operational challenges. By investing in customer experience, staff empowerment, and innovative partnerships, Bloomingdale’s is not only defying sector headwinds but also establishing itself as a benchmark for modern, customer-centric department store retail.
Bloomingdale’s ongoing transformation under CEO Olivier Bron is a case study in how department stores can thrive through curation, innovation, and relentless experimentation. 

IADS Notes: Over the past year, the retailer has delivered five consecutive quarters of sales growth, with comparable sales up 9.9% in Q4 2025 and net sales rising 8.5% (WWD, Mar 2026; Press Release, Dec 2025). This momentum is driven by a multi-pronged strategy: the launch of new formats like Bloomie’s, a contemporary small-format store; the expansion of its online marketplace; and the introduction of advanced clienteling tools and AI-powered personalisation. The 59th Street flagship’s sweeping overhaul, featuring curated designer shops and immersive retail environments, has set a new standard for experiential retail (WWD, Mar 2026). Bloomingdale’s approach to localised curation, data-drivelocaliseddising, and omnichannel integration—where digital now accounts for 38% of sales—has enabled it to attract both luxury and premium customers, even as rivals like Saks Global face operational turmoil (The Wall Street Journal, Mar 2026; Monocle, Mar 2026). By investing in customer experience, staff empowerment, and innovative partnerships, Bloomingdale’s is not only defying the sector’s challenges but also redefining what it means to be a modern, multi-format department store.

Driving Bloomingdale’s through curation, innovation and experimentation