What: SM Investments Corporation reported its consolidated net income grew 27% to PHP12.0 billion in the January to March period from PHP9.5 billion in the same period last year.

Why is it important: SM Retail reported first-quarter revenues of PHP74.5 billion, higher by 6% compared to PHP70.0 billion in the same period last year. Notably, overall retail revenues are 94% of pre-pandemic revenues, indicating pent-up demand, especially for non-food items since the fourth quarter of last year with the easing of alert levels. Specialty stores performed well with revenues up 11% and net income higher by 52%.

Recently, the shareholders of SM Investments approved the acquisition of Philippine Geothermal Production Company (PGPC) at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. This is in line with SM's strong commitment to sustainability and in promoting renewable energy in the country.

The total assets of SM Investments stood at PHP1.4 trillion. Gearing ratio stood at 38% net debt to 62% total equity.

SM Investments Q1 net income grows 27%

What: During the first quarter of 2022, total revenues increased by 18%, while Ebitda and profits fell comparing to Q1 2021.

Why it is important: Falabella generated profits of 92 million dollars between January 1 and March 31. This figure is 47% lower than in the same period last year.

The Ebitda reached 371 million, which represents for the Chilean giant a slowdown of 17% compared to the same period of 2021. The fall is mainly explained by an increase in administrative and sales expenses.

The company's consolidated revenue rose 18% reaching 3719 million dollars, thanks to the home improvement, banking business and department store branches. Falabella sales reached about 4000 million dollars and a growth of 15.8%, compared to the first quarter of 2021.

Falabella's Q1 results

What: After Galeries Lafayette's decision to switch 11 of its provincial units to affiliation, the Société des grands Magasins (SGM) officially became the owner of seven of these addresses.

Why is it important: SGM now operates the points of sale in Angers, Dijon, Grenoble, Le Mans, Limoges, Orléans and Reims, which it continues to run under the Galeries Lafayette brand as part of a partnership.

Launched in 2018 by the Merlin family as a specialist in city center commercial real estate, SGM has acquired a total of around 80,000 square meters of retail space to be revitalized.

Renovation work will be carried out on each site in the coming months, while the assortment will evolve: SGM wants to develop a complementary offer in the catering, leisure, culture, or the world of children. Fashion will therefore be less central in these points of sale.

The installation of pop-up stores and ephemeral offers will also be multiplied, while new third-party brands will be set up on the walls.

To increase the traffic of these stores, the property intends to host events, by opening the associative and cultural environment, offering services, leisure, and meeting spaces. But also, by developing alternative offers such as second hand.

SGM takes over seven Galeries Lafayette stores (French)

What: DSquared2 lands in Paris with its ecological project "one life one planet".

Why is it important: A capsule collection with low environmental impact has just been launched on the market. It will notably be highlighted in a series of pop-up stores around the world. Starting with Paris.

The brand is set up at the entrance to the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées with a space of around 40 square meters, covered with a fake lawn, a skate track, and a long green tunnel.

There is a selection of accessories and basic pieces for men and women, including t-shirts and sweatshirts in certified organic cotton, jersey joggers made from a mix of organic and recycled fibers, bomber jackets in recycled nylon, or organic cotton denim made with an innovative "elasticized" yarn with 50% recycled and biodegradable content.

Galeries Lafyette Champs-Elysées, Dsquared2's green pop-up

What: The Mall Group, in collaboration with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), PPP Plastics, and the Alliance to End Plastics Waste (AEPW), organize a competition to create a business from waste Business Model to encourage new generations to continue to use plastics.

Why is it important: To support the BCG economic development approach, circular economy and green economy (Bio-Circular-Green Economy), which is an economic model for sustainable development. This activity is under the ALL-Thailand Sustainable Plastic Management Project which wants to create a Business Model in waste management and can be used to expand broadly It is beneficial to the society, environment, and economy of Thailand.

The Mall Group builds a business from waste business model

What: According to the latest report Brand Finance Spain 100 2022 El Corte Ingles has increased its brand value and is among the three most important in Spain.

Why it is important: According to the valuation offered, the company grew its brand valuation by 16.5%, rising 3 positions and becoming one of the Spanish brands that increased the most in 2022.

Thus, in the last two years, the company has maintained a positive growth trend with a boom of +30.2%. In addition, according to the ranking, the company is the most valuable brand in the distribution sector with a value of EUR 6,063 million.

El Corte Inglés is among the three most valuable Spanish brands in terms of financial value

What: The specialist in second-hand children's fashion, Kids O'clock, the platform dedicated to responsible hygiene and maintenance products Agua Blanca and the online flea market Selency take over the fifth floor of the BHV Marais.

Why is it important: Second-hand products are becoming more and more popular in the offer of department stores. Last September, the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann opened a space of 500 square meters, called "(Re)-Store" which welcomes young brands advocating circular fashion and players in second-hand sales. Its neighbor Le Printemps has completely rehabilitated the Binet dome and the Silver Bridge to install its new second-hand offer.

In the BHV space, which recreates a four-room family nest, the three companies offer a selection of clothing, accessories, toys, linen, and body products, as well as furniture and decoration.

Kids O'clock, the British second-hand clothing and accessories platform for children, is being tested here for the first time in physical format. It offers an assortment of brands such as Bobo Choses, Bonpoint, and The Animals Observatory.

Agua Blanca unveils a selection of hygiene and care products for babies and children.

Selency, composes decor highlighting the product offer. And while the parents are doing their shopping, the children can take advantage of the activities on Wednesdays: creation of bouquets of dried flowers, yoga classes etc.

BHV Marais hosts Kids O'clock, Agua Blanca and Selency platforms (in FRENCh)

What: Breuninger launches an innovative brand campaign and presents the latest fashion collections in virtual worlds.

Why is it important: With a contemporary, innovative and digital campaign production and story, Breuninger is once again positioning itself as the multichannel destination for premium and luxury fashion.

For the start of the spring/summer 2022 season, an integrated campaign with two different, target group-oriented versions for Germany, Austria and Switzerland was developed in one of the leading virtual production studios.

Inspiration, identity and connection are reflected in the two campaign strands "Beauty of Spring" and "Eternal Spring", represented by nine European talents.

Breuninger's spring inspiration & new designer looks

What: Galeries Lafayette Champs Elysées, celebrating 3 years, is showcasing the students of CASA93 and their upcycled collection of unsold merchandise.

Why it is important: The young and vitalized collection was inspired by the recent 50th anniversary of Smiley Brand campaign.

A young and vitaminized collection, inspired by the world of the Smiley Company brand, whose profits will be donated to the ModaFusion association that manages the training organization CASA93.

Galeries Lafayette's is celebrating the upcycled collection created by the students of the CASA93 school

What: 'The Latest's' product innovations are moving into Konen in Munich with a temporary experience space in the Breuninger world of experience.

Why it is important: The curated products and prototypes of international start-ups and established companies can be experienced live and in colour by consumers.

Until July 4, consumers can try out new innovations like inflatable exercise bikes, simultaneous translators for around 70 languages, pearl earrings with headphone function, vertical farms for the home or biomimetic skincare!

Breuninger's set to open 'the Latest' pop_up in Konen location in Munich until July

What: Henning Riecken becomes the managing director of the new Breuninger flagship store in Hamburg.

Why is it important: With the appointment of Henning Riecken as Managing Director for Hamburg, Breuninger is relying on a distinguished manager from its own ranks. Reicken has been with the company since 2018 and was part of the management of the flagship store in Stuttgart. In the last two years he held the same position and was responsible for the management of the Nuremberg office.

Breuninger will open its first flagship store in northern Germany in Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier at the end of 2023. The appointment of Henning Riecken also marks the start of building up the Hamburg management team.

Henning Riecken, new managing director of Breuninger flagship 

What: After testing the second-hand principle on the web and in some of its stores, Petit Bateau is pushing the sale of its second-hand clothes in a dedicated space within the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann.

Why is it important: This corner called "Change tomorrow" will take place on the 5th floor of the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, in the world of children, and will offer more than 1,600 second-hand Petit Bateau items. This pop-up will be the brand's largest space dedicated to second-hand in Paris.

For Galeries Lafayette, this is a further step towards more sustainable initiatives and second hand, after having opened a space dedicated to circular fashion, called (Re)store last year.

Galeries Lafayette introduces second-hand for Petit Bateau

What: Fnac opens the doors of its shop-in-shop at Manor Lugano.

Why is it important: Following Manors partnership with Fnac in the spring of 2021 providing for the installation by Fnac Suisse of 27 shop-in-shops in Manor department stores by mid-2022, Manor has thus far installed a Fnac in Basel, Zurich Letzipark and now in Lugano.

The following openings are also planned by mid-year:

• Balerna also on April 12
• Lucerne and Schaffhausen on April 26
• Lausanne early June

Manor opens Fnac shop in shop in Lugano store

What: The Mall Group has collaborated with BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) to launch "The First Bangkok Zero Waste Park".

Why it is important: This is Thailand's first prototype for a sustainable waste management public park.

This innovative and sustainable park is located at Benchasiri Park.

The Mall Group contributes to the first Bangkok zero waste park 

What: El Corte Inglés has launched an initiative to raise funds from customers and employees that will be channeled through UNICEF Spain. Additionally, El Corte Inglés will be donating medical and basic necessities to help those affected.

Why is it important: This collaboration is part of the strategic alliance that El Corte Inglés has maintained with UNICEF Spain since 2017.

With the money raised, UNICEF, which is present both in the conflict zone and in the neighboring ones, will be able to acquire and distribute essential products and necessary medical supplies at all times.

On the other hand, volunteers from El Corte Inglés are classifying food and basic material donated by the company itself with the aim of sending them to strategic points for later distribution among the affected population.

Specifically, this initiative responds to the commitment of El Corte Inglés to the needs of society and in line with the principles of the United Nations Organization (UN) of humanity, impartiality, neutrality in independence, as well as its vocation to participate in those actions aimed at helping the most disadvantaged.

El Corte Inglés Press Release (IN SPANISH)

What: Falabella's retail division has launched "Scan and Pay", a system with which customers can buy and pay from their cell phones, without having to go through checkout.

Why is it important: Users can scan their favorite products and pay for them using the Fpay application. This experience has become a testing laboratory, allowing the company to adjust and improvements, such as the option to remove the alarms from anywhere in the store, avoiding the customer having to go to checkout to conclude the process.

"Scan and Pay" is part of the range of solutions developed by Falabella in its goal of permanently optimizing the shopping experience of its customers, such as the implementation of self-service checkouts and the payment system with assistants through iPads. Both strategies make it possible to decongest traditional checkouts and make way for other transactions such as exchanges, returns, and cash.

Falabella launches "Scan and Pay" (in spanish)

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: Falabella Retail S.A won 1st place and was named the most valued brand in Chile.

Why it is important: Falabella has won the award in the Multistore category as the brand most valued by Chileans in the recognition given by CHILE3D.

There were more than 4,800 people who evaluated 312 brands belonging to 75 consumer categories and Falabella Retail S.A was recognized in 1st place!

Falabella has been named the brand most valued by Chileans in the Multistore category

What: With an improvement in the health situation in the past few months, foreign tourists have been returning to Paris and visiting department stores.

Why is it important: The only downside is the continued absence of Chinese customers, but Alexandre Liot, director of Galeries Lafayette states that Asia, apart from China is starting to travel again and as soon as people can go out, the Paris destination remains popular. As a result, activity will remain below-average levels for the department store this year.

The department store sector must now evolve, adapt to new consumption patterns, and seek to attract new customers in order precisely to qualify the dependency on this or that clientele. Galeries Lafayettes Hausmann has thus reorganized the store and will open a temple of well-being, a real novelty for the legendary address which aims to retain local customers and attract international customers.

Galeries Lafayette is seeing a return from international customers (in French)

What: Fnac Switzerland opens its shop-in-shop at Manor Schaffhausen.

Why is it important: Fnac will be present on the 3rd floor of the building in an area of 520 square meters. Various customer actions are planned for the opening, in particular discovery vouchers which will be distributed at the checkouts of the Manor store, a free Fnac membership card during the opening week as well as an exclusive Apple offer for the first 100 customers of the new shop-in-shop with AirPods at 99 instead of 139 Francs.

Fnac opens its shop-in-shop at Manor Schaffhausen.

What: El Palacio de Hierro is set to open a new store in the mixed Mitikha residential and shopping complex in the Coyoacán area in southern Mexico City

Why is it important: The unit comes as the chain continues to expand and refurbish stores, having recently spent USD 98 million to build the Mitikha store and remodel two of its Perisur and Santa Fe locations.

El Palacio de Hierro to open new Mexico City store

What: The space — home to products, services, a gym and a restaurant — will be situated on the minus-one floor of the department store's main building on Boulevard Haussmann and open in mid-July.

Why it is important: Galeries Lafayette has been carrying out widespread renovations over the past 18 months.

Galeries Lafayette's minus-one floor was formerly the shoe department, which was relocated to the fourth floor last year, making 32,290 sqf of space available. As part of its recent revamp, Printemps also open a new beauty space in its minus-one floor.

By curating products, brands and exclusive concepts, Galeries Lafayette's ambition is to become the reference for well-being and wellness in Paris — and even in Europe. The product and service offer will include dietary supplements, creams, hair products, treatment rooms for massage and alternative medicine (available for EUR 45 to EUR 400), a gym open before and after store hours. Athleisure is to be sold on this floor too, and there will be a restaurant serving food conceived with well-being in mind.

Galeries Lafayette to open a wellness department, WWD

Galeries Lafyette to open a wellness department, Press Release

What: Fnac Switzerland opens its shop-in-shop at Manor Lucerne

Why is it important: Fnac will be present in the basement of the building on an area of nearly 390 square meters. Various customer actions are planned for the opening, in particular discovery vouchers which will be distributed at the checkouts of the Manor store, a free Fnac membership card during the opening week as well as an exclusive Apple offer for the first 100 customers of the new shop-in-shop with AirPods at 99 instead of 139 Francs.

Fnac opens shop-in-shop in Manor Lucerne

What: Fnac opens the doors of its shop-in-shop at Manor Balerna.

Why it is important: As of 12 April, Fnac is now present on the 1st floor of the Manor Balerna location with a surface of 380 square meters.

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.

With the opening of Manor Balerna, the expansion of Fnac Switzerland's market presence is proceeding as planned.

Manor Balerna opens Fnac shop-in-shop