Articles & Reports

Category

Can Saks Global overcome its missteps and recover in 2026?

Inside retail

Dec 2025

Can Saks Global overcome its missteps and recover in 2026?

Inside retail

Dec 2025

What: Saks Global faces leadership upheaval and imminent bankruptcy as debt, vendor disputes, and declining sales threaten its future.

Why it is important: The company’s struggles highlight how weak vendor relations and financial missteps can rapidly erode even the most established retail brands, as seen in recent industry analyses.

Saks Global’s position as a leading luxury retail conglomerate is under severe threat, with the company experiencing significant leadership turnover and reportedly preparing for bankruptcy. Despite attempts to boost profitability through high-profile acquisitions, cost-cutting, and partnerships, Saks Global’s revenue has fallen sharply, and its debt load has become unsustainable. The acquisition of Neiman Marcus, financed by substantial borrowing, compounded existing financial pressures and led to widespread vendor payment delays, resulting in lawsuits and a loss of supplier trust. These operational failures have contributed to inventory shortages and a diminished customer experience, further weakening the brand’s market relevance. Analysts point to a lack of focus on retail fundamentals—such as curation, exclusivity, and service—as a key factor in Saks Global’s decline. The company’s predicament serves as a cautionary tale for the luxury sector, demonstrating how financial mismanagement and poor vendor relations can undermine even the most storied retail institutions.

IADS Notes: In January 2026, The Guardian reported on Saks Global’s leadership changes and imminent bankruptcy, reflecting deep challenges in the luxury department store sector. Retail Dive in December 2025 highlighted the company’s ongoing debt, inventory shortages, and declining sales, while WWD detailed the operational and reputational risks stemming from vendor payment delays and lawsuits. Financial Times in August 2025 discussed the impact of Saks’ acquisition debt and creditor negotiations, and Inside Retail in August 2025 examined the broader implications of layoffs, restructuring, and the urgent need for renewed brand differentiation.

Can Saks Global overcome its missteps and recover in 2026?

Open article in full page

Category

Forrester’s 2026 predictions for the payment industry

Forrester

Dec 2025

Forrester’s 2026 predictions for the payment industry

Forrester

Christine Montard

Dec 2025

PRINTABLE VERSION HERE

Macy’s story is that of an American institution. From a single store in 1858 to a nationwide banner, it became not only a retail powerhouse but a cultural symbol woven into American life. Unique in terms of national coverage and multi-banner operations, the scale that once secured its dominance is now put to the test.

In FY2024, Macy’s Inc. spanned 680 stores, including Macy’s, Macy’s Backstage off-price outlets, Market by Macy’s small-format stores, but also Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, Bloomie’s (Bloomingdale’s small-format stores), its international stores in Dubai (UAE) and Kuwait under license, and beauty specialist Bluemercury. FY2024 closed with net sales of $22.293 billion (down 3.5% YoY). The company reported a 38.4% gross margin (flat YoY). Digital sales accounted for 33% of net sales (unchanged from 2022), indicating a stabilised omnichannel mix after pandemic-era gains.

Despite a glorious past, today’s Macy’s financial picture seems gloomy for a department store as tightly intertwined in the country’s commercial and cultural landscape as it is. Macy’s mirrors the evolution of retail itself in the 20th century: a story of pioneering and relentless innovation. The fight for relevance is the question it needs to address to fully belong in the 21st century.

The making of an American star

From 14th Street to Herald Square

In 1843, Rowland Hussey Macy opened several dry goods stores in Massachusetts. All failed. Learning from its mistakes, he opened R.H. Macy & Company on NYC’s 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in 1858. He adorned it with a star, which has remained Macy’s logo to this day. Innovative from its inception, the store changed the retail industry. It was the first to institute the one-price system, advertise its prices in newspapers, and promote a woman to an executive position. Margaret Getchell started as a cashier and rose to become a leader in the company. She developed many ideas, including using illuminated window displays to attract customers. Macy’s also pioneered the use of an in-store Santa Claus as early as 1861, embedding retail into cultural rituals.

Macy died in 1877. The company remained in the family until it was acquired in 1895 by Isidor and Nathan Straus, who had previously held a license to sell china at Macy’s. The decisive step came in 1902, when the store relocated to Herald Square. Initially a single building, the store expanded through new construction, eventually occupying almost the entire block bounded by Seventh Avenue, Broadway, 34th Street and 35th Street, creating what was then the world’s largest store. The store seemed so far away from its original ground that the company had to offer a steam wagonette service to transport customers from 14th Street to 34th Street. Macy’s became a publicly listed company in 1922. Two years later, Macy’s inaugurated the Thanksgiving Day Parade, which soon became a cultural event and a form of brand equity independent of its stores.

Macy’s goes national: growth and the making of a middle-class brand

The company opened their second location in the Bronx in 1941. The interwar period was marked by expansion beyond Manhattan, acquiring local department store chains across the country, including Lasalle & Koch (Toledo), Davison-Paxon-Stokes (Atlanta) and L. Bamberger & Co. (Newark). Post-World War II, acquisitions resumed with O’Connor Moffat & Company (San Francisco) and John Taylor Dry Goods Co. (Kansas City).

Then, Macy’s opened mall branches in Miami’s suburbs, Houston, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, the Midwest, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore. From 1976 onwards, Macy’s cultural pull also included the 4th of July Fireworks over NYC’s East River and Hudson River.

Macy’s became an authority in bringing accessible style to the growing middle-class consumers, positioning itself between discount chains and luxury stores. It was neither elitist nor mass-market, but rather a “mass premium” brand long before the term existed. Soon enough, the flagship store functioned as both a commercial hub and a symbolic space for aspirational middle-class consumption.

From bankruptcy to a coast-to-coast powerhouse

By the 1970s and 1980s, Macy’s continued acquiring regional department stores. However, aggressive expansion financed by debt led to instability, a pattern Saks Global is currently experiencing. In 1992, Macy’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, underscoring the fragility of even the most iconic retail institutions and challenging the ‘too big to fail’ economic assumption. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1994, merging with Federated Department Stores, the owner of Bloomingdale’s, among other banners. This merger created the largest department store group in the U.S., providing Macy’s with capital, management expertise, and scale. In 1995, the group operated 355 department stores across 35 states, achieving $8.29 billion in sales.

Federated Department Stores’ strategy culminated in the $11 billion acquisition of May Department Stores in 2005 and the conversion of approximately 400 stores to the Macy’s nameplate in 2006. Indeed, Federated rebranded most of its regional banners, such as Marshall Field’s, under the Macy’s name. This controversial move erased long-standing local identities in favour of the Macy’s brand, totalling 853 stores, creating a truly coast-to-coast flag and a universal name recognition. The consolidation positioned the department store as the anchor in hundreds of malls nationwide. In practical terms, that nationalisation gave the company a distribution canvas that neither luxury-led peers nor remaining mid-market rivals match to this day.

Federated Department Stores re-named itself Macy’s, Inc. in 2007. Standing out among other U.S. department stores, Macy’s diversified its portfolio across price tiers and categories, including Bloomingdale’s in the upscale fashion segment and the 2015 acquisition of beauty retailer Bluemercury.

Reinventing the store: Macy’s between culture, localisation, and experience

When a store becomes a stage: Macy’s as a cultural institution

Macy’s emerged as a reference in American and global retail by pairing scale with cultural brand-building. The company treated the department store as a public theatre and then institutionalised spectacle through the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first Disney Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934, paving the way for subsequent cultural collaborations with Sonic the Hedgehog, Barney the Dinosaur, Snoopy, the Pink Panther, and brands like M&M’s. The parade became known nationwide after WWII, as it was heavily featured in the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which included footage of the 1946 festivities.

Also, Macy’s began the annual Independence Day show with the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, the start of the modern Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks tradition. That event, broadcast nationally on WPIX and later by NBC (which also broadcasts the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade), solidified the company as a household name and transformed a retail banner into an annual cultural tradition, reinforcing Macy’s “owned media” advantage at a national scale. This blend of retail and ritual helps differentiate Macy’s from peers whose brands are influential in their cities but may lack a countrywide cultural amplifier.

My Macy’s: central power, local touch

My Macy’s strategy was launched in 2008 under the leadership of CEO Terry Lundgren as a much-needed localisation programme, aiming to bring a more personalised flair to stores by moving day-to-day assortment and presentation decisions closer to the store. Macy’s expanded it nationwide in 2009 with a new structure of regional merchants and planners who tailored buys, sizes and presentations to local tastes, creating 1,200 new roles. Parallel to that, Macy’s consolidated regional divisions into a single national organisation for core functions (buying, marketing, finance, and HR) to reduce duplication, increase efficiency, and streamline decision-making.

The operating model consisted of 69 districts that could adjust roughly 10-15% of a store’s inventory mix to local demand, with national categories and seasonal statements still determined by central buying. Also, to make My Macy’s work, they automated customer tracking and segmentation, allowing for a clearer view of the consumer. Early results were positive as most of the top-performing markets in 2009 were My Macy’s districts.

By late 2011, Macy’s introduced “My Macy’s 2.0”, additional targeted, cross-functional initiatives designed to sharpen local relevance and tie it more tightly to the company’s emerging omnichannel model. Macy’s pushed more decision-making to district teams to fine-tune “by store,” not just by region. My Macy’s 2.0 was deployed alongside a ship-from-store/BOPIS scale-up strategy, with localised inventory serving digital orders nationwide. Tablets, tap-to-pay pilots and QR codes were rolled out to improve discovery and conversion. Finally, the “MAGIC Selling” training (Meet-Ask-Give-Inspire-Celebrate) was expanded to raise conversion and NPS.

My Macy’s improved sell-through and relevance while protecting scale. However, it fell short due to uneven, complex execution. Building and maintaining district-level merchant teams added organisational complexity, with outcomes varying by market and leadership depth. Localisation was necessary but insufficient to deliver the digital growth achieved by other platforms. Macy’s digital mix eventually stabilised around one-third of sales in the 2020s, requiring additional strategies beyond localisation.

That said, as a case of “localisation at scale,” My Macy’s was a smart hybrid of central scale and local empowerment. Its limits became apparent later: it could raise relevance, but it couldn’t fully overcome macro headwinds (mall traffic erosion, off-price, and online pressure) without broader reinvention in experience, merchandising authority, and digital. In Macy’s transformation arc, My Macy’s appears as the operational foundation that allowed subsequent strategies such as off-mall small formats, marketplace and fleet upgrades.

Moreover, My Macy’s illustrates a typical pattern: companies pursue centralisation and scale, then decentralisation in the name of localisation and personalisation, as neither strategy is 100% satisfactory. For example, Walmart, a champion of centralisation and standardisation, emphasised local tailoring via “Store of the Community” in 2001 with assortments adapted to local demographics, moving from a one-size-fits-all playbook toward more local customisation.

Turning stores into stories

In 2018, as retail was becoming less transactional, Macy’s invested in experiences to capture younger consumers, establishing a pop-up enterprise, dubbed The Market @ Macy’s, designed to emphasise in-store discovery of emerging brands and niche products. The ten pop-up stores were designed to offer customers a rotating selection of apparel, accessories, beauty, entertainment, experiences, decoration, stationery, technology, and gifts. The retail-as-a-service concept was described as a solution for brands looking to break into brick-and-mortar retail. Unlike traditional concessions, Macy’s staff ran the pop-ups. Offering more flexible lease terms, brands were paying a fixed fee but pocketing all sales. Ultimately, Macy’s evaluated sales and traffic. The duration was flexible, although a one-month minimum commitment was required.

Later in 2018, Macy’s acquired Story, a quirky New York City retail store that has partnered with big and small retailers and brands. Story defined itself as a storytelling retail model, adopting a magazine’s perspective, evolving like a gallery, and selling items like a store. Macy’s even hired Story founder Rachel Shechtman as brand experience officer. Finally, that same year, Macy’s partnered with b8ta, a company providing the technology engine to enhance and scale The Market @ Macy’s. With b8ta’s software platform and business model, product makers could go from solely selling online to launching their products with Macy’s in a few clicks. However, execution was uneven, and Macy’s struggled to balance its vast legacy footprint with the agility needed for such formats. When COVID hit and Macy’s closed stores in March 2020, the pop-up programme was effectively discontinued and did not return thereafter.

In transition: the state of Macy’s today

Why Macy’s lost its shine

In 2015, roughly 10 years after its massive expansion that led to a network of 853 stores, Macy’s told investors it would close 35 to 40 underperforming stores in 2016. In the meantime, analysts expressed confidence that Amazon would overtake Macy’s in apparel sales (even though Macy’s entered e-commerce early). In the years that followed, as Amazon grew its fashion business, Macy’s turnover decreased.

However, Amazon is not solely responsible for Macy’s downfall. The mid-century department store mall era’s promise to combine the best of the fashion world with the best of the discount world hardly works in the 21st century. As a mid-tier banner, Macy’s business was eroded by low-price retailers (as early as 1962 with the start of mass-market retailers such as Target) and discounters serving a shrinking middle class. By comparison, in 2006, Macy’s operated 853 department stores and a website, reaching $27 billion in sales, while Target operated nearly 1,500 stores and a website, notching $59.5 billion in sales.

In parallel, the department stores’ love story with malls came to an end. Macy’s, as a suburban mall anchor nationwide, didn’t react quickly enough as suburbanites grew pessimistic and anxious about the future, increasingly buying cheaper products at off-price stores outside traditional malls. Malls and their department store anchors were stuck together, but were no longer hangout locations for kids and teens. Meanwhile, speciality retailers such as Sephora in beauty or Best Buy in electronics took market share from department stores. In turn, unable to compete with these speciality retailers, Macy’s (and others) closed or reduced store sections, filling them only with apparel (in free fall anyway) and making the stores less and less relevant and attractive. Finally, as the U.S. middle class shrinks, the mid-price market is disappearing, leading Macy’s to compete with off-price retailers.

From Polaris to A Bold New Chapter: Macy’s strategic reset

Learning from the My Macy’s and Market @ Macy’s initiatives, the company launched the three-year turnaround Polaris strategy, announced in February 2020 by CEO Jeff Gennette. Meant to stabilise profitability and position the company for growth, it was primarily built around:

Optimising the fleet by closing roughly 125 lower-tier-mall stores while giving “growth treatment” to 100 stores and testing off-mall small formats, Market by Macy’s.
Accelerating digital/omnichannel (ship-from-store, BOPIS, marketplace).
Simplifying the organisation with a net 9% reduction in its corporate function headcount (approximately 2,000 positions) and one corporate HQ.

In practice, parts of Polaris worked. Macy’s built a balanced omnichannel mix, resulting in digital stabilising at ~33% of net sales by FY2024, while the marketplace expanded. However, some elements of the strategy stalled: the original 125-store closure cadence was disrupted by the pandemic and later re-scoped. Several pre-Polaris experiments (The Market @ Macy’s and the Story shop-in-shop) were wound down and not scaled post-2020.

Announced four years after the Polaris strategy, A Bold New Chapter plan, led by new CEO Tony Spring, builds on and accelerates Macy’s Polaris portfolio reset. The plan includes closing ~150 underproductive Macy’s locations by 2026 and investing in ~350 “go-forward” stores via remodels, service and presentation upgrades, while scaling small-format/off-mall concepts. In January 2025, Macy’s confirmed the first 66 closures as an initial wave, consistent with the multi-year target. Also part of A Bold New Chapter, Macy’s created the “First 50” cohort, the first wave of upgraded stores. 2024 third-quarter results highlighted that these locations delivered their third consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, up 1.9%. However, Macy’s First 50 locations, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury’s posted growth is more or less offset by softness in non-first-50 Macy’s doors. In the coming semesters, the plan’s credibility will rely on the pace of closures and the performance of upgraded doors. Overall, the plan acknowledges and builds on Macy’s reality: its strongest stores still outperform, but the weakest ones drag down the brand.

Macy’s next moves

So far, structural headwinds have outpaced wins. As a result, Macy’s has many challenges ahead to secure its future as a mid-tier department store:

Rebuild its fashion authority despite the sector squeeze. With the U.S. mid-market pressured by off-price, fast fashion, and platforms, Macy’s needs clearer category leadership (especially in women’s categories, its most prominent family) and a sharper brand image, less reliance on promotions, and more on curation and experience so that the remaining fleet feels “worth the trip.” This is still a question mark, as previous attempts have failed.
Grow e-commerce beyond 33% of the business without eroding contribution margins.
Finish the store fleet reset at pace and with proof, as the strategy only delivers if the upgraded doors consistently outperform the fleet.
While Macy’s credit card is an additional revenue stream, it fell to $537m in FY2024 as card income is sensitive to credit cycles.
In 2019, “retail prophet” Doug Stephens defined the company’s struggle: “Macy’s has two things, space and audience, and they’re not leveraging that space and that audience to find new ways of making money beyond selling apparel and linens, ways to monetise experiences within that space that are richer for the consumer.” It’s not entirely true anymore, as Macy’s has built Macy’s Media Network to monetise Macy’s audience and data through brand advertising on owned and partner surfaces. This additional source of revenue generated $176 million in FY2024 (+13.5% YoY).
Accelerate Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury growth, the best way to de-risk Macy’s overexposure to the mid-tier.
Keep control of the real-estate narrative. Macy’s must show that its own plan has more value than aggressive sale-leasebacks would, as suggested by activist investor pressure from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, which launched an unsolicited acquisition bid in 2023 to take the company private. They would have used every means to extract cash from stores while keeping them open under leases. They likely would have done a portfolio-by-portfolio review, selling some stores and leasing them back, placing secured debt on flagship or high-quality sites and pursuing mixed-use redevelopments on under-utilised parcels. Macy’s board ended talks in July 2024, saying the proposal lacked value and financing certainty.

The stigma of being labelled ‘old’ reflects deeply rooted attitudes in which ageing is equated with diminished worth, relevance and incompetence. Ageism manifests across various domains, from workplace discrimination, dismissal of health symptoms, to social interactions patronising or ignoring older adults. In the retail industry, this presents as the exclusion of workers over forty, glorifying ‘youthful’ energy and excluding age diversity in inclusivity strategies4 . Ageist attitudes are particularly pronounced on gender lines, creating an imbalance where women encounter these much earlier and more markedly than men, compounding the effects of sexism. Women in their forties and fifties are perceived as being ‘old’ or having past their reproductive or conventional beauty standards while men of this age are often seen as still being in their prime.

The beauty industry offers the clearest illustration, where anti‑ageing has long been a foundational theme, with products marketed to women starting as early as their twenties, and sometimes even before. According to the latest Vogue Business beauty standards survey, ageing is a primary beauty concern according to 97% of respondents. Recently, the beauty industry has seen the onset of a ‘pro-ageing’ movement which ‘advocates for self-care and wellness at every stage in life’. Several beauty brands have transitioned from using words such as ‘anti-ageing’ to ‘rejuvenation’, ‘revitalisation’ and ‘ageless’, in advertising, promoting linguistic inclusivity while still idealising youth.

On one hand, beauty brands are rewording narratives to performatively tackle these pervasive beauty standards while on the other hand, increasingly medicalising beauty products to enhance claims of ageing reversal—La Prairie Pure Gold Revitalising Essence claims ‘maximum cellular renewal for skin with visible signs of ageing especially those linked with hormonal disequilibrium’. Beauty products are increasingly medicalised to create a stronger backing for products claiming to reverse natural processes such as ageing. This follows the larger trend of increased consumption of medicalised beauty products and procedures including the rise of Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonist drugs.

In recent years, the inclusion of older supermodels and actresses in advertising and fashion campaigns has often functioned as a form of token representation rather than genuine inclusivity. While figures like Maye Musk, Isabella Rossellini, and Helen Mirren are celebrated for defying age norms, their visibility tends to reinforce selective ideals of “ageing gracefully” rather than embracing age diversity in all its forms. Pamela Anderson’s makeup-less appearance at Paris Fashion Week and El Palacio de Hierro’s campaign featuring Carmen Dell’Orifice are examples of inclusivity without challenging the underlying narrative yet. This controlled visibility serves commercial motives, targeting older consumers with spending power without truly challenging entrenched ageist beauty standards.

Beauty standards and hyper perfectionism are reaching unprecedented levels in the age of AI. AI-generated content is known to lack diversity and introduce bias as a result of training data; this is further demonstrated by the exclusion and replacement of elderly models and consumers by generated versions. Diesel’s usage of AI-generated elderly models that are conspicuously muscular shows the distortion of beauty standards that is fuelling the engagement of all generations with ageing trends in differing manners. Ageist ideals in society are reflected in the retail industry, not just in beauty but in fashion, luxury and other sectors.

Altogether, such practices highlight the persistent commodification of inclusivity in the beauty and fashion industries, where ageing becomes a marketable narrative rather than authentic inclusion. The normalisation of ageing is the first step to addressing the biggest consumer group of the future.

The rebranding of ageing: Longevity and nostalgia

Longevity’s emergence as a defining wellness paradigm in 2025 reframes ageing from an unavoidable decline into an optimisation programme. A significant share of younger consumers is prioritising healthy ageing by adopting preventive practices such as cellular supplements, wearables, and epigenetic testing to extend health span rather than merely lifespan. Within this context, Khloé Kardashian’s KHLOUD protein popcorn exemplifies youth-oriented and health‑conscious positioning that capitalises on recent widespread appeal for accessible nutrition. Concurrently, the mainstreaming of menopause care, accelerated by social media communities and emergent brands such as Respin serving women in their forties and fifties, exposes a historically underserved category for life-stage solutions in the beauty and health industry. In developing markets, younger generations’ early adoption of wellness and longevity products is reinforced by sustainability considerations, further integrating health optimisation with sustainable consumption.

Parallelly, nostalgia marketing from legacy brands such as Levi’s and Polaroid taps into younger consumers’ yearning for eras they have never experienced, reflecting deeper anxieties about uncertain futures and a desire for perceived authenticity and stability from the past. This convergence creates a unique opportunity where older adults become valuable cultural transmitters rather than obsolete demographics - their lived experiences of nostalgic eras gain currency with younger generations seeking connection to ‘simpler times’, while their embodiment of successful ageing aligns with longevity wellness aspirations.

The result is a reframing where age becomes a bridge rather than a barrier, with older consumers positioned as pioneers and cultural custodians rather than declining market segments, fundamentally reshaping retail’s approach to intergenerational marketing and product development. Rather than recasting ageing for younger consumers, embedding older adults in product, content, and experience design so that communication embodies participation, not proxy representation is key.

Department stores bridging generations

Recently, Le Bon Marché hosted a cultural exposition entitled Rock’n’Drôle curated by renowned French television presenter Antoine de Caunes. Transforming the store and windows into a comprehensive celebration of rock and roll heritage, it encompassed a selection of vintage clothes and accessories reminiscent of the genre’s golden era, limited edition souvenirs and rare concert merchandise, as well as a space dedicated entirely to music complete with jukeboxes and vinyl records in collaboration with brands such as Kiloshop and Gibson, and collaborations with artists and animators including a surprise performance by Patti Smith.

The most notable feature, however, was the Rock Motel on the second floor which had ten themed rooms, each one paying tribute to ten icons of the genre including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, David Bowie and Patti Smith among others. The experience was enhanced by sensor-driven technology that triggered contextual narration throughout different areas of each room, with commentary provided by de Caunes’ cult persona Didier L’Embrouille from the French channel Canal+.

Perhaps unintentionally but significantly, the exhibition created meaningful intergenerational connections. Grandparents and parents were observed guiding younger family members through the installations, sharing anecdotes and contextualising the cultural significance of these musical icons for younger audiences. This organic knowledge transfer, as part of a technological showcase, exemplified how curated experiences can serve as a bridge between generations, demonstrating the growing trend of cultural programming to foster deeper customer engagement. John Lewis’ Christmas advertisement for the new ‘Where Love Lives’ campaign, showcases a similar sense of connection and nostalgia, taking viewers on a journey between a father and son, transported by music back to the 1990s.

During the same period, Galeries Lafayette presented a fashion and accessories curation by Sophie Fontanel, a French fashion critic, writer and influencer. She has been an avid commentator on ageing and deciding to go grey, having released a book on this topic, and stating that ‘the real anti-wrinkle is not caring’. Her curation was displayed across the ground floor and womenswear section at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, however at the time of visit, there was negligible customer interaction. She is featured on the cover of the fall catalogue, and the photograph and her choice of products subvert age stereotypes by owning markers such as greying hair and wrinkles, despite the ironic advertisement for La Prairie’s Revitalising Essence promising ‘eternal youth’ in the catalogue. In an interview, she also discussed the impact of filters on younger generations and how wrinkles go beyond shaping one’s face to include every experience in one’s life.

Beyond youth targeting: the intergenerational dividend

The silver generation, comprising many grandparents, frequently assumes responsibility for the care of their grandchildren. This demographic generally enjoys financial stability and tends to indulge their grandchildren, prioritising expenditures on them over personal spending (in France, it is estimated that assets exceeding EUR 9 trillion will be transferred to the next generation by 2040 as the baby boomer cohort ages). Grandparents shop for their grandchildren and look for entertaining activities when they look after them, representing business opportunities for retailers. Department stores, in particular, should reflect on how shared experiences between grandparents and grandchildren might cultivate enduring customer relationships among younger generations. Furthermore, a fair part of Generation X remains financially prosperous and spends a significant portion of their resources on personal consumption, which is another business opportunity. Despite this, most visible marketing efforts among retailers usually focus on attracting younger generations. It is notable that two department stores simultaneously introduced substantial campaigns addressing ageing through distinct approaches. These examples show that retailers may begin to mainstream age inclusion as an engagement driver, with iterations likely to deepen intergenerational relevance by delivering participatory experiences across customer segments. By recognising the emotional and financial influence of older generations alongside the aspirational pull of younger consumers, programming that transcends age categories can strengthen intergenerational brand affinity if sustained strategically.

For the retail industry, this shift also represents a strategic imperative. As the majority of disposable income consolidates among older generations and wellness becomes a universal aspiration, retailers that prioritise healthy ageing and intergenerational engagement will be best positioned for long-term growth. Younger generations remain essential to sustained relevance; however, their engagement is most effective when embedded within intergenerational strategies that elevate the service, accessibility, and trust valued by older shoppers while integrating the discovery, wellness, and omnichannel expectations set by Gen Z and Millennials. Department stores have often served as settings for intergenerational traditions such as shared visits and gifting rituals between grandparents and grandchildren. These can be complemented by designing services that intentionally translate elder advocacy into younger loyalty, thus creating a continuum of influence across life stages. Department stores, in particular, have the spatial and experiential capacity to curate environments combining culture with commerce, strengthening brand loyalty beyond transactional relationships. By framing ageing not as an obstacle but as an opportunity for innovation, the retail industry can connect, include, and create enduring relevance in a world where longevity defines the future of consumption.

Conclusion: the next strategic mandate?

A future shaped by longer lifespans and shifting demographics demands a deeper commitment to normalising healthy ageing as part of everyday life, not just as a market trend. Rather than positioning older consumers as an isolated segment, department stores can serve as cultural and commercial hubs that integrate ageing into their narratives by highlighting wellness, vitality, and lived experience across all age groups. Embracing intergenerational programming, experiential retail, and nostalgic storytelling, these spaces can connect generations through shared cultural touchpoints, knowledge exchange, and collaborative participation. Such approaches move beyond the narrow ambition of attracting youth toward cultivating environments where the presence and participation of older adults are seen as enriching for everyone. In doing so, department stores retain their relevance as inclusive institutions capable of bridging generational divides, fostering community, and reframing ageing as a valued stage of life.

Credits: IADS (Anchita Ranka)

Open article in full page

Category

Patagonia 2025 Progess Report

Pantagonia

Nov 2025

Patagonia 2025 Progess Report

Pantagonia

Nov 2025

What: Patagonia’s inaugural sustainability report details the brand’s mixed progress in balancing environmental goals with business realities amid growing backlash against climate-conscious capitalism.

Why it is important: The report’s transparency and acknowledgment of setbacks set a new standard for accountability, reinforcing the need for collective action in the retail sector.

Patagonia’s first-ever sustainability progress report offers a candid evaluation of the brand’s journey to align profit with purpose over the past fifty years. While the company has made significant investments in conservation and supply chain improvements, it openly acknowledges that its environmental impact still outweighs its remediation efforts. The report highlights both achievements and persistent challenges, such as the difficulty of decarbonizing supply chains, managing product end-of-life, and scaling circular initiatives. Patagonia’s leadership recognizes that shifting political and cultural climates, including skepticism toward “woke” capitalism and regulatory rollbacks, have complicated its mission. Despite these headwinds, the company remains committed to transparency and urges the industry to move beyond competitive advantage toward collective action. By sharing its lessons and supporting tougher regulations, Patagonia aims to inspire broader change, even as it admits that no single company can solve the climate crisis alone. This honest self-assessment sets a benchmark for the retail sector, emphasizing that meaningful progress requires ongoing adaptation and collaboration.

IADS Notes: Patagonia’s report arrives as retailers like Falabella and Peek & Cloppenburg demonstrate how comprehensive sustainability strategies and experimental formats can drive both environmental and commercial success, as seen in May and January 2025. The growing demand for transparency and innovation, highlighted in February 2025, is matched by new regulatory requirements outlined in March 2025, while the April 2025 analysis underscores the importance of pragmatic adaptation amid political and operational challenges. These developments frame Patagonia’s efforts within a retail landscape increasingly defined by accountability and collective ambition.

Patagonia 2025 Progess Report

Patagonia’s CEO on selling ‘the unsexiest thing in the world’

Open article in full page