What: Juan Luis Mingo will step down as general manager of Falabella Retail Chile to be succeeded by Tomás Platovsky.

Why it is important: After eight years of working as general manager of Falabella Retail Chile, Jaun Luis Mingo is stepping down and generating surprise within the company as he has been an important manager responsible for the firm's transformation in recent years.

Luckily, the experienced executive will be succeeded by another Falabella veteran, Tomás Platovsky. Platovsky is a commercial engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He has been working as the Corporate Commercial Manager since 2017.

Platovsky has 15 years of experience working for Falabella; starting as Brand Manager in the sports department moving to the manager of Stand Alone and has held positions as manager of the Eastern Zone of Santiago and Commercial manager in Chile.

General Manager changes for Falabella

What: The Mall Group was honored for their entrepreneurial excellence by the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards 2022.

Why it is important: The Mall Group received two awards from the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2022. The Mall Group was awarded two titles, the Corporate Excellence Award and the Inspirational Brand Award, for the retail category. These awards highlight the Mall Group's successful management and excellence in the category of retail. The Inspirational Design Award specifically celebrates the Mall Group's ability to create or reform a brand. The Mall Group acknowledges their commitment to customers as a contributor to having received this recognition.

The Mall Group receives 2 awards 

What: El Palacio de Hierro has been recognized for the eighth consecutive year as a "Socially Responsible Company", a distinction that honors those companies that have made a public commitment to integrate corporate social responsibility guidelines into their everyday policies and practices.

Why it is important: El Palacio de Hierro is recognized again for their commitment and efforts by receiving the "Socially Responsible Company" distinction granted by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (Cemefi) and the Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (AliaRSE). El Palacio de Hierro has continually supported their community and employees by carrying out different activities.

For LGBT+ Pride month, El Palacio de Hierro organised photographic experiences for clients and increased awareness and education webinars for their employees. El Palacio de Hierro has also held initiatives around International Women's Day, highlighting the importance of their female workforce by holding virtual conferences with themes of leadership, empowerment, and female health led by experts. El Palacio de Hierro has prioritized health and safety by having vaccination days to protect their employees.

El Palacio de Hierro awarded the 'Socially Responsible Company' distinction

What: Falabella's omnichannel distribution centre has increased its infrastructure by 20,000 square metres.

Why it is important: Falabella has increased its distribution capacity by 50% with increased inventory space and improved automation all while maintaining their sustainability strategy.

The changes made to Falabella's distribution centre will enable the ability to triple the capacity of their e-commerce operation in the coming years. The capacity increase also leads to reduced response time and a greater ability to meet customer needs through improved order processing.

In addition to the spatial expansion, the warehouse improved its automation with 132 more 'Shuttle' robots, automatic packaging machines and environmentally friendly packaging. Finally, Falabella constructed an annexed building dedicated to the storage of perfume improving inventory capacity and product longevity.

The new facilities meet sustainability requirements, including LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

Falabella increases distribution capacity by 50%

What: Galeries Lafayette is giving out 3 exclusive digital wearables in a drawing that will take place on social media.

Why it is important: NTFs are revolutionizing the fashion world allowing for endless virtual opportunities.

In partnership with EGONLAB and Arianee, Galeries Lafayette has launched a contest in win 3 different digital wearables: a wonder bow, bubble shirt, and mushroom boots. Winners will be able to "wear" these items in immersive worlds such as The Sandbox Or Decentraland. This opportunity allows winners to take advantage of unique perks like direct push messages to their wallets, evolutive metadata on Polygon Technology with time stamp features, and Ethereum wallet access from the Arianee app. This new digital fashion trend is more fun, interactive, unique, and makes everything and anything possible in the metaverse playground.

Galeries Lafayette introduces digital fashion 

What: Breuninger creates a temporary SIMPLON experience in their Munich department store.

Why it is important: Breuninger's collaboration with SIMPLON can be seen as a method of addressing the wellness trend through an immersive and curatorial experience for customers that focuses on personalized sports equipment.

Until August 8th, customers can visit the Munich location and experience the advanced technology of Austrian biking company SIMPLON. Clients have the possibility to adapt their own sports bike exactly to their body measurements using a 3D body analysis system on site. The Edition Bikes are also available with selected equipment for certain models that can be obtained from any SIMPLON dealer.

Breuninger's priority to deliver innovative and creative value to its customers is clearly demonstrated through this interactive experience that offers premium handcrafted bikes and biking equipment developed by SIMPLON.

Breuninger partners with Simplon bikes 

What: The Mall's "Welcome to Bangkok Shopping Festival"

Why it is important: Post-Covid and hopping to draw in a new generation of shoppers, the festival celebrates workers back to full working mode as well as the country fully open again.

At a time when the economy is starting to turn around and tourists are returning, 7 leading national shopping centers, The Mall and The Mall Life Store, The Emporium, The Emquartier, Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery organized the event to stimulate the economy, attract tourists, and welcome people back to office working mode.

The Mall celebrates life back to normal

What: Shareholders vote to pass all motions tabled by the board in 2021, notably approval of the 2021 management report, financial statements, non-financial statements and earnings appropriation.

Why it is important: The Annual General Meeting highlighted El Corte Inglés' 22% increase in revenue for FY21 and decreased debt thanks to cash flow improvements and agreements made with new partners. This is the group's lowest level of debt since 2007.

Ignacio Garralda, chairman of Grupo Mutua, attended the Annual General Meeting for the first time as director. The deal reached between the two companies, effective as of May, included the insurance company taking a seat on the El Corte Inglés board (representative of Mutua's 8% stake and purchase of 51% of El Corte Inglés Insurance Group). Shareholders also ratified Javier Rodríguez-Arias's appointment to the El Corte Inglés board via co-option.

The retail business was again the Group's main growth engine, with fashion sales jumping 49%. Also delivering healthy increases were home (+15%) and electronics, culture and leisure (+11.5%). The Annual General Meeting overall highlighted a positive horizon for El Corte Inglés with the means to execute plans for future investments and reach sustainability goals.

El Corte Inglés' positive outlook at Annual General Meeting 

What: The Manor department store group is the main partner of the 75th Locarno Festival giving The Leopard of Honor "Pardo d'onore to independent screenwriter and director Kelly Reichardt.

Why it is important: In the "Locarno Boutique by Manor", visitors will find many items that can create beautiful memories that celebrate the Locarno Film Festival and Manor's contribution this year.

The Locarno Film Festival enjoys international renown and is a very special event in Switzerland.  Manor is proud to award the "Pardo d'onore" Leopard of Honor to an original and independent voice of American cinema, screenwriter Kelly Reichardt.

Clients of Manor can buy memorabilia from the event at the Locarno Boutique by Manor. A few privileges are reserved for holders of the Manor loyalty card: for example, a welcome on the terrace of the Manor department store in Locarno, with an exceptional view of the Piazza Grande, for extraordinary cinema evenings.

Manor presents award at the 75th Locarno Film Festival

What: HuellaChile awards Falabella with a seal of "Quantification and Reduction" for reducing their CO2 emissions for the last mile shipment by 45 tons.

Why it is important: The certification recognizes Falabella's electromobility project that the company developed for home deliveries and launched in 2021 in an effort to reach carbon neutrality.

Falabella has been working on reducing their environmental impact since 2016. Their climate change goals are incorporated into the corporate strategy which has led to the ability to quantify 100% of their facilities. Specifically, the Falabella electromobility project certified by HuellaChile used 29 electric vehicles for last-mile dispatches. Charging centres will also be installed in the distribution centres that come from renewable energy so that the entire shipping process is carbon neutral.

Now Falabella has 68 vehicles operating for home delivery in the Metropolitan Region, Temuco, Talca, Concepción, Valparaíso and La Serena.

Falabella recognized for CO2 reduction

What: El Palacio de Hierro ends the first six months of 2022 with a 36% increase in sales.

Why it is important: Thanks to their omnichannel strategy, El Palacio de Hierro has seen impressive increases in the group's turnover and online sales post-pandemic.

The company's EBITDA stood at 2,495 million pesos (119.1 million euros) in the period, 133% more than in the same period of 2021 and 8% above the first half of 2021. Digital sales rose 31% in the first six months of 2022.

El Palacio de Hierro ended the 2021 financial year with year-over-year growth in sales of 46.4% exceeding the level of sales prior to the pandemic by 6.2%.

El Palacio de Hierro beats pre-pandemic sales

What: Falabella announced the launch of the new collection "Americanino Upcycling" made up of unique models of jeans made from reused clothing.

Why it is important: Falabella is recycling their own waste from samples and scraps to create a new collection of jeans for their Americanino line. Each piece will be designed and fabricated by Falabella samplers and modelers near its Mavesa clothing factory.

Falabella presents Americanino Upcycling

What: El Corte Inglés was mentioned alongside some of the major platforms like Amazon and Aliexpress as one of the most popular platforms where Spaniards buy the most.

Why is it important: The three marketplaces were noticed for their positive evaluations from their buyers about their products.  An element that is very important for more than half of the respondents, who find it essential to consult the reviews before buying a product or service.

The study also reveals what the current consumer is like in Spain. With, 64% of Spaniards make more than one online purchase per month, and their main searches are based on products or services related to fashion (68%), electronics (60%) and travel (58%).

The study also shows that there is a growing number of offer platforms that bring together the most interesting promotions from all these online shops in a single portal.

El Corte Inglés recognized as one of the most popular platforms for consumers in Spain (Spanish)

What: Mutua Madrileña and El Corte Inglés closed their strategic alliance today, implying the sale of the El Corte Inglés insurance business to Mutua Madrileña, specifically the sale of a 50.01% interest in each of its two insurance companies, SECI and CESS.

Why is it important: Grupo Mutua is acquiring 50.01% of each of El Corte Inglés' two insurance companies, SECI and CESS, for a total sum of EUR 550m.

The agreement also entails the acquisition by the insurer of 8% of the shares of El Corte Inglés for EUR 555m.

Thanks to this transaction, Grupo Mutua will become El Corte Inglés' exclusive supplier of insurance and savings products from 1 June. CESS, the retail group's former insurance broker, is converting to an insurance agency tied to Mutua Madrileña in order to market the alliance's insurance products.

This strategic alliance will allow Grupo Mutua to expand its distribution channels and access El Corte Inglés' extensive customer base, currently reached through over 2,000 points of sale in Spain, Portugal and other international locations. The agreement provides El Corte Inglés' customers with a better and more comprehensive and personalised insurance offering.

El Corte Inglés and Mutua Madrileña to operate jointly in the insurance market

What: Galeries Lafayette plans to enter the burgeoning southwest Chinese market with its first boutique concept store in Chongqing this December.

Why it is important: The company signed a lease with Chongqing 100 Mall, located in International Land-Sea Center, which is set to become the city's tallest building. The French department store operator's Chongqing store will total 48,438 sq ft.

They had originally set their eyes on Guiyang, a third-tier city to the south of Chongqing, where they planned on opening a much larger store in a dolphin-shaped shopping mall called D. Place. The store was supposed to open in spring 2021.

Galeries Lafayette entered the China market in 2013, and it currently operates two stores in Shanghai, one in Beijing in partnership with Hong Kong fashion retailer I.T.

Apart from Chongqing and Shenzhen, Galeries Lafayette is also set to launch in Macau later this year at Treasure Island Hotel Macau, a new development anchored to a five-star hotel. The store will take up about 45,000 sq ft and Hong Kong-listed Forward Fashion Holdings will be its retail operator in the city.

Galeries Lafayette abandons Guiyang, opens in Chongqing's tallest building

What: Falabella is joining efforts to strengthen its digital commerce strategy in the region by implementing three measures to achieve their goals.

Why it is important: This year Falabella seeks to strengthen its digital commerce strategy in all the markets where it operates. Along these lines, CEO of Falabella, during the company's last quarterly results conference, anticipated what those strategies would be that they would carry out in the region. To achieve these goals, over the next few months Falabella will implement three measures.

The first step is the launch of an optimized seller platform. "The current platform is an adaptation of the technology we acquired after the purchase of Linio. We are improving the functionalities in terms of interaction with the marketplace to track sales and inventories, which will increase the number of sellers", explained Falabella's CEO.

The second step is Falabella.com will be officially launched in the Peruvian market during the second half of the year and in Colombia in the first months of 2023.

Third, the Chilean company is also developing a pilot of its Falabella Directo service, which allows sellers to make same-day or next-day delivery of orders. This functionality will be implemented in a more open manner in the coming months.

In Peru, the anticipation was that Falabella would have important investment plans for this 2022. Specifically, that it would invest USD 711 million, of which USD 418 million, that is, about 60%, will be destined for technology and logistics. While the other 40% will be oriented to the development of physical stores in their country of origin, as well as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Peru. Part of this investment they are committed to continuing to promote their e-commerce and launch new features to incorporate SMEs into the platform.

Meanwhile, the main focus will be on the marketplace platform, especially on the incorporation of sellers, the vast majority of which are small or micro-enterprises. While the second focus will be e-commerce, particularly for retailers, as well as the launch of the marketplace in Peru and Colombia.

Falabella to strengthen digital growth strategy in Peru and the region 

What: June 1 marked a big day for Shanghai residents, after a two-month COVID lockdown SKP and other shopping destinations finally resume business.

Why is it important: Shopping malls in Beijing and Shanghai have gradually reopened as pandemic control measures lifted in both cities. Among those are Beijing's SKP Mall and World Trade Center. Luxury stores in these top shopping destinations, including Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Chanel, have seen long queues outside.

In the digital arena, e-commerce has also been steadily recovering as logistics improve in Shanghai, where many luxury houses' warehouses are based. Brands like Prada, Bottega Veneta, and Lanvin recorded positive sales performance on May 31, when Tmall Luxury Pavillion kicked off its 618 shopping carnival.

SKP opens as Shanghai ends citywide lockdown 

What: El Corte Inglés is preparing to go public by brushing off some stores and repaying a part of its debt and selling off three units including the Men's store in Madrid, calle Serrano.

Why it is important: The focus is on stores that the group owns, and debt will be at its lowest point in 15 years: those are strong arguments before going public.

El Corte Inglés has announced that 2 units in the Madrid region will be closed at the end of August 2022: Vaguada and Parquesur, following the non-renewal of leases concluded with the owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. As a consequence, 500 employees will be affected and affected to other retail units.

In parallel, the group will be paying off EUR 1,000M of debt following the deal with insurance company Mutua Madrilena which acquired 8% of the capital and 50% of the insurance branch company, for a total of EUR 1,105M. This move is perceived as a way to make the company more attractive prior to potentially going public.

El Corte Inglés will be closing the Serrano 52 store, which was open in 2015 to house a men's store, by the 1st of August 2022. The men's offer will be transferred to the store located in Calle Serrano n°47, and has launched the process of selling off the real estate.

Two other owned stores located in Cordoba and Sevilla are also to be sold and intermediaries have been solicited.

El Corte Inglés to close stores in Madrid region and pay off 1,000M€ of debt (Spanish)

: El Corte Inglés optimizes its retail presence in Madrid and closes the Serrano men's store

What: Eduard's by Breuninger in Stuttgart is celebrating 5 years of creative drinks and the finest cocktail classics.

Why it is important: From June 30 to July 14, 2022, visitors are cordially invited to celebrate the birthday of Eduard's Bar. Refreshing promotions and creative drink creations offer a well-rounded program.

Eduard's by Breuninger combines creative drinks, classic cocktails and snacks with a modern ambience. On the menu, connoisseurs will find seasonal and regional signature drinks as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage variations that are refined with homemade ingredients. This unique note can also be found in the spirits of the Eduard Breuninger series, whisky, gin, Willi pear, vodka and rum spirits.

With an inviting outdoor terrace and urban interior design, Eduard's has established itself as a place to enjoy and relax at any time of the year. Eduard's by Breuninger in Stuttgart laid the foundation for a successful lifestyle and bar concept with a strong character from Breuninger Gastronomy, which can now also be found in Düsseldorf, Nuremberg and Ludwigsburg.

Eduard's by Breuninger is celebrating 5 years

What: El Corte Inglés and its shareholder, Primefin, entered into an agreement whereby the retail company will repurchase half of Primefin shareholding, which until today stood at 11.07%.

Why it is important: The agreement reached between the parties values El Corte Inglés at around €7 billion, in line with recent M&A transactions, and acknowledges Primefin's contractual rights.

The repurchase of the shares held by Primefin, obtained because of a loan made in the past, falls under the scope of the company's financial streamlining process.

The transaction will be financed using available funds and will not increase debt. It comes just as El Corte Inglés has bolstered its financial position to present the lowest level of debt in 15 years. The Group will use the 5.53% stake bought back to reinforce its treasury stock.

El Corte Inglés buys back half of its shareholder Primefin's equity interest

What: Galeries Lafayette invites the picture-book heroine Martine to its flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris in an all-new hardback, 'Martine aux Galeries Lafayette.'

Why it is important: Galeries Lafayette is thrilled to invite picture-book heroine Martine to browse around the aisles of its flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris, in a new volume published by Casterman, Martine aux Galeries Lafayette.

This previously-unreleased book starring Martine will be sold exclusively at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and in the French network of Galeries Lafayette department stores, starting July 1, 2022. It will transport readers to Paris's most emblematic department store through its heroine's eyes, with an intimist perspective on entirely unknown areas in the store, which provide the backdrop for exciting historical anecdotes.

Martine at the Galeries Lafayette

What: El Palacio de Hierro remains in 1st place in the ranking of the 500 Companies vs. the corruption of Expansion Mx magazine.

Why it is important: The 500 Companies vs. corruption is an index to evaluate the existence, quality, publicity, and transparency of the integrity policies of the 500 most important companies in Mexico.

El Palacio de Hierro ranks 1st of the 500 Companies vs. corruption

What: After Falabella launched its 2021 report, the company detailed the achievements and challenges achieved in these four strategic pillars: environment, innovation, local talent and agile culture.

Why it is important: Falabella Retail launched its +Green strategy in 2021, which brings together the company's environmental efforts with a focus on conscious brands, sustainable operations and circular economy actions.

The report released good news on this matter, where the company highlighted its zero waste commitment, proposing to reduce its waste by 90% by 2035.

Through the Local Talent program the company has promoted the creative industries of its countries, for more than three years has promoted Latin American artists.

The social investment measures developed in the last year, mainly through its Making School Program (PHE), which turned 53 years old and provides benefits to students and their communities in Chile, Colombia and Peru.

The great milestone of 2021 was the inauguration of the new Falabella Parque Arauco in Santiago de Chile, the most modern department store in South America that has 25,000 m2 and offers its customers shopping experiences that combine technology with personalized services.

The company is committed to collaborative work, ensuring the professional growth of its workers. This through actions to strengthen diversity and inclusion, as well as those to promote gender equity. Of the more than 29 thousand collaborators of Falabella Retail as of 2021, 67% correspond to women, while in managerial positions this figure corresponds to 43%.

Falabella Retail Sustainability Report

Falabella AnNual report pdf.

What: Breuninger is expanding the range of services in all department stores, with the Personal Shopping 2.0 appointment service.

Why it is important: After a successful pilot phase, the appointment service Personal Shopping 2.0 is now expanding Breuninger's stationery range in all department stores.

Breuninger offers individual advice in a relaxed atmosphere. On the desired date, customers can have specially trained consultants create their individual outfits free of charge.

The offer is not tied to a fixed minimum turnover and can be used equally by all interested parties. Whether you are looking for new running shoes, a different look, or an outfit for a special occasion.

Breuninger adds appointment service for a personal shopping experience