What: Following great success from 2021 Falabella has unveiled their new Alegra store in Colombia.

Why it is important: This will be a store specialized in fashion based on customer demand.

The company is looking to continue to strengthen their omnichannel operation, offering all Barranquilla residents the possibility of collecting, personalizing and managing the orders they make through Falabella.com and the Falabella app.

Falabella opens new Alegra store in Barranquilla, Colombia

What: After 700 days, masks will no longer be mandatory in interior spaces in Spain however, the large distribution chains are committed to prudence and to maintaining its use in customer service.

Why is it important: El Corte Inglés has asked its employees to wear masks when dealing with customers who wear them, as well as in restaurant areas and in supermarket and product sales areas.

El Corte Inglés is committed to keeping masks ( In Spanish)

What: Breuninger, MediaMarkt, and Decathlon are the retailers with the best omnichannel strategies in Germany.

Why is it important: In a study, Google and the HDE association examined which retailers offer the best omnichannel experience. Right at the front: MediaMarkt, Breuninger and Decathlon.

Breuninger, encourages customers to continue shopping offline throughout their online experience and availabilities for both online and in-store products are clearly communicated. In addition, Breuninger offers a variety of flexible fulfillment options such as Click & Reserve, Click & Collect or 24-hour delivery - as well as the option of having shipments delivered to Packstations.

Omnichannel: Breuninger does it best

What: As of Tuesday, March 22, Fnac Switzerland will be opening its shop-in-shop at Manor Zurich Letzipark. Fnac will be present on the second floor of the building on an area of about 590 square meters.

Why it is important: The shop-in-shop is part of the agreed partnership between Manor and Fnac to open 27 shop-in-shops in Manor department stores by mid-2022.

This new shop-in-shop will be offering different customer experiences including discovery vouchers that will be distributed at the cash registers of the store,  such as free Fnac membership cards during the opening, week as well as an exclusive Apple offer for the first 100 customers of the new shop-in-shop with AirPods for 99 Francs instead of 139 Francs.

Fnac Switzerland will be present on the manor.ch online store during the course of 2022 and will offer several thousand items in the newly created marketplace.

For Manor, this partnership also means that its own stores and the manor.ch online store will benefit from Fnac's know-how and sales force in the multimedia, cultural products and small household appliances categories.

Manor Zurich Letzipark location is set to open a Fnac shop-in-shop (in French)

What: The department store supports Le Train pour l'Égalité (translating to A train for equality), the first nation-wide campaign by Fondation des Femmes (Women's Foundation) promoting gender equality, from 26 February to 7 March.

Why it is important: The Train pour l'Égalité will be on the road for more than a week, stopping off in ten major French cities, including Marseille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux. At every stop on the train's itinerary, volunteers from the foundation will take up residence in 9 selected Galeries Lafayette stores to raise customer and visitor awareness of gender equality issues.

Stores will also play audio messages presenting and promoting the campaign. In addition to providing physical spaces and issuing online and in-store communications, Galeries Lafayette is also mobilizing its forces alongside the foundation for the International Women's Day. From 7 February to 3 April, all Galeries Lafayette customers will be able to donate to Fondation des Femmes when paying by rounding up their purchases to the nearest euro.

 Galeries Lafayette supports gender equality

What: SM Investments Corporation reported its net income increased 65% to PHP38.5 billion in 2021 from PHP23.4 billion in 2020. Consolidated revenues grew 9% to PHP428.1 billion compared with PHP394.2 billion last year.

Why it is important: SM Retail reported revenues at PHP303.9 billion, from PHP296.8 billion, up 2%. Net income increased 133% to PHP9.6 billion from PHP4.1 billion. The general improvement in profitability was largely due to sustained growth in sales particularly for the SM Stores and Specialty Stores.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, SM continued to expand its retail footprint. THE SM STORE opened two new stores in 2021 in Caloocan and Camarines Norte. The food group, which includes SM Markets (SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore), Alfamart, and WalterMart added 219 new stores in 2021.

By the end of the year, SM Retail added a total of 294 new stores across the entire portfolio for a total of 3,215 outlets, consisting of 68 The SM Stores, 1,539 specialty retail stores, 62 SM Supermarkets, 52 SM Hypermarkets, 214 Savemore, 73 WalterMart, and 1,207 Alfamart stores.

The total assets of SM grew 10% to PHP1.3 trillion. SM maintains a healthy balance sheet with a conservative gearing ratio of 38% net debt to 62% total equity.

SM net income grows 65% in 2021

What: El Corte Ingles' new structure has been designed to reinforce the company's management and facilitate the execution of the Strategic Plan, framed by best corporate governance practices.

Why is it important: The Board of Directors believes that, in response to the new scenario emerging in the wake of a highly complex macroeconomic environment, it is time to embark on a new phase to tackle the challenges that lie in store with a fresh team of professionals with expertise in the various areas to be pursued by the Group.

Víctor del Pozo, CEO for the last five years, is stepping down from the company at his own request, for personal reasons.

The group is setting up a new Executive Committee on which its chairwoman, Marta Álvarez, directors José Ramón de Hoces and Javier Rodríguez-Arias, and two managing directors, José María Folache and Santiago Bau will sit.

Javier Rodríguez-Arias, one of the company's executives, has been newly named director; José María Folache will take over the running of the retail business; and Santiago Bau will assume responsibility for the corporate and new businesses.

El Corte Inglés sets up a new management structure

What: El Corte Inglés has created its first 3D fashion collection with the objective of increasing the efficiency and sustainability of its collections. This approach would also shorten the development and production of garments.

Why it is important: 3D design collections are enabling companies to have shorter development and production times by decreasing processing times and allows for pre-testing by conducting preliminary test of a sample online prior to creating stock.

The 3D collections will allow the improvement of the production and offers the chance to build communication between departments and suppliers with traceable and digitized online communication. Additionally, these collections allow for collaboration and design to be the front of the collections. With the chance to collaborate with consumers for their opinions on collections prior to manufacturing while also collaborating with different designers in various locations.

The 3D fashion design will lead to a 50% sample reduction, a 15-day decrease in the time it takes to process collections for approval and allows for the teams carrying out the promotion at the point of sale can intervene two months in advanced. This results in improvements in sustainability, efficiency, in the product and in sales.

The first garments of this pilot project that will be designed in 3D are those corresponding to the spring/summer collections.

El Corte Inglés has designed its first 3D fashion collection (article in Spanish)

What: The 45,000 square-feet department store will open in December 2022 and will be part of Treasure Island Resort World Hotel and Shopping Centre.

Why it is important: After Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, the store will be the fourth to open in Greater China.

The store is one of six retail and lifestyle brands new to Macau that will anchor a five-star hotel and shopping precinct. The new development will be built on a site that was previously earmarked to be a casino, plans for which collapsed along with the business of previous owner, Genting Hong Kong.

Hong Kong-listed Forward Fashion Holdings, which operates more than 200 self-operated stores in Greater China for brands including Stella McCartney, Bose, La Maison du Chocolat and Moschino, will manage the five-storey retail precinct.

It will incorporate pop-up art elements and integrate a mix of international designer names, luxury and vanguard fashion brands, trendy footwear and accessories, high-end beauty, and fashion cafes, "bringing French elegance and European Art Nouveau to the city" the statement read in part.

Other tenants confirmed by Forward Fashion to date include Under Armour, UFC Gym, North American fast-food chain Five Guys and gaming centre Beebeeland. A Pop Mart flagship will target "the premium, trendy cultural segment," reflecting the collectibles company's expansion into collaborations with fashion labels, including Moncler.

Galeries Lafayette to open in Macau

What: Supaluck Umpujh the Chairwoman of the Mall Group has been awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honor at the rank of the Knight by decree of the President of the French Republic.

Why it is important: The National Order of the Legion of Honor at the rank of Knight is an insignia of the highest honor appointed by the French Republic with over two centuries of history and global recognitions. They are awarded to French nationals and non-French recipients who contribute to the public service of France. It is the highest honor and an invaluable pride.

Currently, there are 313 non-French recipients who received the honor. In Thailand, Supaluck Umpujh is the first woman in the retail business to receive this honor. In addition to being an honor to her family, the recognition is an honor to all Thai citizens and the retail industry of Thailand.

Chairwoman of the Mall Group awarded the 'Legion of Honor' 

What: Falabella has established itself in the first position of the best places to work in Chile within Computrabajo's "Best Workplaces 2022" ranking for the retail category.

Why is it important: These results come after more than 211,000 appraisals and recognize Falabella in the list that encompasses all sectors, placing it in fourth place. The results also accompany the most recent of the Chilean company released at the end of 2021 by the Corporate Reputation Business Monitor where Falabella ranked first in the retail sector and sixth in the general ranking.

This is the fifth year in which the Computrabajo digital job exchange has compiled the ranking of the best companies to work for in Chile with the support of the reviews and evaluations that employees and former employees of each company published on the portal.

Falabella, the best Chilean retailer to work for

What: Falabella's new 'customisation workshop’ is a service to convert disused garments into new clothes. Customers will be able to renew their garments into something completely new.

Why is it important: Falabella continues betting on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint in the fashion industry through its new workshop. The initiative aims to give a second life to disused clothing and promote the circular economy that is part of Falabella's "+Green" strategy.

In addition, thanks to Taller F, Falabella's garment customisation service , the people who convert their garments will be able to give them a personal stamp. For this, they can use the different options of printing, embroidery, studs, and patches offered by the service.

Falabella launches 'customisation workshop'

What: El Corte Inglés strengthens its marketing team and appoints María Coronado and Javier Gómez Blanzaco as directors of the creativity and branding area.

Why is it important: This is the first time that the company has placed two complementary profiles at the head of this division, since to date this position had fallen to a single employee.

The new directors of creativity and branding have already worked together on some of El Corte Inglés' most recent campaigns. They will report to the group's director of marketing and creativity, José Luis Pascual.

El Corte Inglés appoints two new directors

What: The Moulin-Houzé, owners of Galeries Lafayette group, take a step towards new technologies aimed to support tech start-ups.

Why is it important: Motier Ventures, the family office of the owners of Galeries Lafayette, wish to finance start-ups that take advantage of technology to achieve hyper-growth. They will target marketplaces and start-ups in the finance and insurance sectors, along with software. The fund hopes to support 20 to 25 teams of entrepreneurs each year.

The fund grants them as a business angel, up to EUR 300,000 euros to start, following up to EUR 3 million to invest in the following stages.

The Moulin-Houzé family has already made major investments in the past, in particular with the companies Carrefour and La Redoute in particular.

The Moulin-Houzé family sets up fund for tech startups 

What: The group has enlisted Deloitte to help develop a platform to offer the retailer's 11 million-strong customer base a "new investment concept".

Why it is important: The decision is the result of an internal debate on the suitability of venturing into this world of alternative investments, and includes the creation of a new company called Bitcor, which will allow clients to trade digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Bitcor has already been registered with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to provide "financial services, financial transactions related to currency exchange and currency trading," and approved by the European Commission.

El Corte Inglés launches crypto exchange for its customers

What: The Mexican department store company ended the year with an EBITDA 2.6 times higher than in 2020. The group's online revenue growth was 43%.

Why it is important: After investments in its digital business and remodeling stores in 2021, El Palacio de Hierro has reported a growth above 2019 and 2020.

The Mexican department store company has ended the 2021 financial year with a year-on-year growth in sales of 46.4%, to 37,215 million Mexican pesos (1,620 million euros). The company has thus exceeded the level of sales prior to the pandemic, with an increase of 6.2% compared to 2019. The company's EBITDA reached EUR 186 million euros, four times more than in 2020.

The company has accelerated its digital business in the last financial year, which has consequentially created a higher demand for new providers that are willing to join El Palacio de Hierro's network.

The retailer also increased its revenues through the online channel by 43% in 2021.

El Palacio de Hierro closes 2021 above 2019 figures (article in Spanish)

What: The Galeries Lafayette Group will soon reach a new milestone in terms of its ownership of La Redoute, of which it has held a 51% stake since the end of 2017. Over the next months, the Group's stake will rise to 100%.

Why it is important: La Redoute has proved the relevance of its business model, achieving solid results and significant growth in the last two years.

With a new chapter in the company's history about to start, Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, who have been La Redoute's Co-CEOs since 2014, have expressed their desire to pursue new personal projects. Following their decision, La Redoute's Supervisory Board, chaired by Philippe Houzé, has today appointed Philippe Berlan as the company's new CEO. Philippe Berlan is currently La Redoute's Deputy Managing Director, having joined the company in 2012. He is a graduate of the École des Mines de Paris and has more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry, at Casino, Petit Bateau and Lancel.

Galeries Lafayette to own 100% of La Redoute

What: Last year's sales exceeded CNY 24 billion won (USD 3.8 billion).

Why it is important: The total sales of the "Shop King" shopping malls exceeded CNY 300 billion (USD 47.5 billion). Thirty-five malls achieved double-digit growth and Beijing's SKP ranked first for the tenth time in a row.

In 2020, Beijing SKP also became the world's highest retail sales before London's Harrods.

SKP last year sales 

What: The Manor Cultural Prize has been awarded to five Swiss artists in 2022.

Why it is important: For 40 years, the Manor Cultural Prize has encouraged young Swiss artists in the field of visual arts: painting, sculpture, photography, video art and installations.

In 2022, the Manor Cultural Prize is awarded to Dominic Michel (Aargau), Gil Pellaton (Bern), Claudia Kübler (Lucerne), Lucas Herzig (Ticino) and Sarah Margnetti (Vaud).

The winners will be able to present their work at exhibitions in Aarau, Biel, Lucerne, Lugano and Lausanne over the course of the year.

Manor Cultural Prize, awarded to five Swiss artists, celebrates 40 years

What: El Corte Inglés reaches a new refinancing agreement with its banks with improved terms and conditions.

Why is it important: El Corte Inglés Group has reached an agreement to refinance up to EUR 2.6 bn of its bank debt. The agreement, which has been endorsed by some 20 Spanish and international banks, improves the retail group's existing terms and conditions, locking in stable, lower-cost, and longer-term financing.

This agreement implies the full refinancing of the last agreement executed in February 2020, adding a new EUR 600 mn tranche which will be used to repay capital markets issues. The transaction has been structured into a long-term loan of EUR 919 mn and a credit facility of up to EUR 1.08 bn.

It also includes sustainability commitments in line with the Group's corporate social responsibility strategies. Along with being equivalent to that corresponding to an investment-grade issuer, even though El Corte Inglés has yet to achieve an investment-grade rating so constituting a strong endorsement from the national and international banking community.

El Corte Inglés' new refinancing agreement 

What: Falabella is the first Latin American company to join the Spark innovation program to find innovative solutions.

Why is it important: Falabella will be summoning startups that have projects that help with any challenges users may present. Through the Spark program, they seek to bring creative solutions to certain difficulties that different industries may have, such as financial services, retail and trade, Health, manufacturing and education, among others.

Spark is a program that provides the search for startups that provide solutions to challenges participating companies have, promotes collaboration between the main companies from countries in Latin America, and international startups, producing alternatives for the development of synergies.

Through the partnership with Spark, Falabella will generate joint learning and develop innovation projects that focus on improving the shopping experience.

Falabella calls on startups to help with innovative solutions

What: Although it remains at BB+, the outlook goes from negative to stable.

Why it is important: In the current context of inflation, El Corte Inglés' customers are considered less sensitive to prices.

After this change in the rating, El Corte Inglés is closer to improving its grade and returning to investment grade, a goal towards which it has been heading for a few years.

Fitch joins the recent verdicts of rating agencies Moody's and S&P. The first changed its outlook from negative to stable and the second pointed to the IPO of El Corte Inglés as a possible mechanism to improve its rating.

Fitch improves El Corte Inglés' rating 

What: Galeries Lafayette Haussmann teamed up with vintage skateboard brand Impala and smiley in the unveiling of a free skateboard ramp in front of the flagship store.

Why is it important: After an ice skating rink and a roller-skate dance track, Galeries Lafayette ventures further in experiences designed to attract younger generations.

Galeries Lafayette installs a free skateboard ramp

What: The company achieved sales of 14,120 million pesos in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 37.2% compared to the same period of 2020.

Why it is important: When comparing to 2020, profit increased by 93.6% before financial expenses, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and represents 15.6% of sales.

The commercial division recorded an increase of 36.4%. The credit and real estate division registered an increase of 11.7% and 194.8%, respectively. The triple-digit acceleration of the real estate division is mainly due to the reopening of businesses in the shopping centers where the company participates.

El Palacio de Hierro 2021 Q4 

El Palacio de Hierro 2021 Q4