What: Central Department Store Group has unveiled a new 19,000 sq m store in Westville, Bangkok's Ratchaphruek district.

Why it is important: The department store integrates sustainability, a pet-friendly approach, and a wide array of leading brands and dining options, making it a unique and attractive destination for visitors of all generations.

This expansive space is home to over 300 brands and 80 restaurants, featuring innovations such as a mid-shop escalator with a slide for a quicker descent and Kiztopia, a learning and entertainment area for kids from Singapore. The exterior boasts an airy appearance with significant greenery, contributing to its eco-friendly design. Efforts toward sustainability include 22 EV charging points and collaborations with eco-conscious establishments to minimize throwaway items.

There are various activities for visitors, including a swing challenge to generate clean energy, charging phones while cycling, and enjoying an outdoor running track.

Central's massive new department store, Bangkok

Central's massive new department store, Bangkok Article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit El Palacio de Hierro stores in Mexico. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

El Palacio de Hierro exclusive article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit Cencosud and Falabella stores in Chile. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Chile exclusive article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit Siman stores in El Salvador. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

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Siman exclusive article

What: Frasers Group has unveiled its new upmarket format department store in Norwich.

Why it is important: The opening of the new Frasers department store in Norwich expands the premium clothing and accessories offerings available in the area and demonstrates the continued growth and success of the Frasers format.

The 100,000 sq ft department store in Chantry Place offers premium clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. It features a beauty hall with brands like Chanel and GHD, as well as a homeware concept called Frasers House.

Three more Frasers flagships are planned to open in the coming months.

Frasers Group rolls out upmarket Frasers format to Norwich article

Frasers Group rolls out upmarket Frasers format to Norwich

What: Luxury department store, Flannels, opens in Nottingham.

Why it is important: The opening of the store in Nottingham is part of Frasers Group's commitment to investing in retail and expanding its luxury shopping destinations across the UK.

The 15,000 sq. ft store is located on Nottingham's high street and features two floors of curated luxury designer clothing and accessories for men, women, and juniors. The store carries brands like Gucci, Christian Louboutin, Saint Laurent, and Valentino. Frasers Group now has over 60 stores in the UK and Ireland, with plans for additional flagship stores in Leeds and Cardiff.

Flannels opens store in Nottingham article

Flannels opens store in Nottingham 

The IADS had the opportunity to visit the THAT Concept store in Dubai, UAE. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

That concept store exclusive article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit two Ahlens department stores in Sweden. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Ahlens exclusive article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit three De Prati department stores in Ecuador. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

De Prati exclusive article

What: The British luxury department store is investing GBP 200 million in storewide refurbishments, and has revealed its plans for womenswear, starting with the opening of its "Lingerie and Lounge Universe."

Why it is important: The refurbishment of its womenswear departments is focused on comfort, discovery, and engagement rather than hard selling as the department store aims to become a luxury destination for womenswear.

The new space features 47 brands across its lounge, lingerie, and sleepwear categories across 16,000 square feet, which is 50% larger than its previous space.

Designed by David Collins Studio, the renovated space is a true testament to the retailer's refurbishment plans and creates a space that is welcoming and inviting.

The space is laid out to make shopping easy, with brands being grouped by category and price point so customers can easily find what they want. Additionally, a certain level of privacy is conveyed and tills have more discreet locations.

Harrod's goal with the renovations is to become the ultimate destination for womenswear,  competing with luxury brands and providing an experience that meets consumers' expectations.

All 330 departments inside the store will be given a makeover as part of the department store's biggest overhaul in its 170-year history.

Two more womenswear rooms will be redeveloped this year with four more in 2024.

Harrod's unveils vision for future of multi-brand womenswear retail

Harrods' New Lingerie Space Is an Ode to Luxury, and Practicality WWD ARTICLE

Harrod's unveils vision for future of multi-brand womenswear retail Vogue business ARTICLE

What: John Lewis has revamped its childrenswear department at its Oxford Street store with a new kids trail design concept.

Why it is important: The remodeled department creates an immersive in-store experience that makes the store a destination for parents and children.

The new concept features a monster hunt, reading corner, and an interactive play corner in addition to an expanded range of children's clothes and toys.

Each department is linked together by a colorful path that leads to interactive displays.

The retailer is building on parents' trust with its bigger and better range as well as its immersive in-store experiences.

John Lewis's new kidswear concept in Oxford Street flagship 

John Lewis's new kidswear concept in Oxford Street flagship article

What:  Printemps unveils in its historical Deauville store a taste of its New York upcoming store

Why it is important:  The concept gets rid of brand-specific corners and instead promotes a coherent multi-brand concept applied to the whole store.

Printemps, a department store chain based in France, has transformed its store in Deauville, originally opened in 1912, into a concept store featuring mixed brands and environments. After five months of renovations, the store has done away with brand-specific corners and instead created a series of interconnected rooms styled like a "Norman house." The store claims 85% new brands and 85% exclusive products in Deauville.

The layout of the store has been revised, with ready-to-wear moving to the ground floor, and city shoes, sneakers, beauty products, jewelry, and home goods on the upper level. Decor items, which were previously absent but in high demand, have been added. The men's fashion area has doubled in size with brands like Palm Angels, Stone Island, Coperni, Ami, and Comme des Garçons. Women's section showcases labels like Rotate, Farm Rio, Jacquemus, Antik Batik, and Nanushka. There's also a section for vintage clothing and accessories.

The store no longer has brand corners with their own decoration, fitting room, and salespeople. All staff are employed by Printemps. The company anticipates a sales increase of at least 25% next year due to this transformation. The clientele consists of 43% tourists, 22% second home residents, and 35% locals. Printemps, owned by the Qatari fund Disa, plans to open a store in New York in 2024 with a similar 'product mix' strategy.

Printemps opens its new multi-brand concept in its historical Deauville store 

Printemps opens its new multi-brand concept in its historical Deauville store Fashion Network article

Printemps opens its new multi-brand concept in its historical Deauville store WWD article

What: M&S has opened its new megastore in Leeds, featuring a fresh market-style Foodhall, a clothing, home, and beauty department and an M&S Café across 97,000 square feet.

Why it is important: The store is a significant investment for the retailer in Leeds and is designed to make shopping inspirational and easier with its new in-store features and technology.

M&S' Leeds megastore, its 'best store yet'

M&S' Leeds megastore, its 'best store yet'

What: Hyundai Daegu has created an innovative cultural space for kids.

Why it is important: With this space, families with small children will likely be attracted to the store as the department store has created an interactive and innovative space for a customer segment that is not targeted very often.

Hyundai Daegu in South Korea has recently opened a new cultural space for children called MOKA+, which was designed by Seoul-based Design Studio Minwoo in collaboration with Spanish designer Jaime Hayón.

The space, which measures 145 sqm, features a Creative Lab for online art creation and digital recordings, a MOKA Library for indulging in picture books, an Art Lounge for interactive exhibitions, and an art material space for exploring various materials.

The design of MOKA+ aims to resonate with children's sensibilities by incorporating elements of playfulness, including a design featuring Hayón's Thinking Monkey character and a futuristic ceiling design.

The venue is part of the Hyundai Daegu's recent revamp and is affiliated with the MOKA Hyundai Museum of Kid's Books & Art.

MOKA+ at Hyundai Daegu

MOKA+ at Hyundai Daegu article

What: SKP has opened its park-like shopping complex in Chengdu which hosts more than 1,300 brands.

Why it is important: SKP is pushing the boundaries and challenging the expectations of luxury retailing, creating a one-of-a-kind shopping complex that is hidden underground by tapestry gardens.

After three years of construction, SKP has opened its new luxury shopping complex in Chengdu. The complex is unlike any other retailing experience in the world as it is one of the largest retailers and is almost invisible to the human eye.

SKP Chengdu is designed to look like a park, with tapestry gardens and landscapes hiding the 1,300 brands that are underground to honor Chengdu's nature and humanity. The complex is 500,000 square meters and divided into four areas where customers will find luxury shops and in-demand restaurants.

Earning the reputation of one of the most pioneering luxury retailers in the world, SKP continues to challenge the standards and expectations of luxury retailing as they set out to change how customers see and experience the world of luxury fashion.

SKP opens Chengdu shopping complex

SKP Chengdu Sybarite

What: Chinese retailers are accelerating to expand their reach on the market before the reopening of the country.

Why it is important: Hainan expect to grow its GDP by 10% this year, thanks to an increase of +20% of tourists, generating +25% revenue for the state.

Department store retailer Wangfujing has opened its first store in Hainan, a duty-free shopping haven in China where sales boomed during the pandemic. The store, named WFJ Duty Free, is located in Wanning City, southeast of Hainan, and has a total construction area of over 1.1 million square feet.

It's the first duty-free store for Wangfujing and it's being called "a starting point" for the company's dual tax + tax-free business. The store was designed by an Italian team and has a fantasy flower and plant theme, developed in cooperation with well-known artists. The store features nearly 400 brands across 9 categories, including health care products, food and coffee, and sporting goods.

The official opening of the Hainan store last week did not have much impact on investors, with Wangfujing's share price trending downwards slightly. In the nine months ending September 30, 2022, Wangfujing Group reported sales of $1.15 billion (Chinese yuan 8,466 million), compared to $1.3 billion in the same period a year earlier, while basic earnings per share from continuing operations were cut in half.

Beijing Department Store Wangfujing Opens In Hainan 

Beijing Department Store Wangfujing Opens In Hainan article

What: The Hyundai department store in Daegu, South Korea's third biggest city, first opened in 1978 and has since seen several transformations. Its latest, designed by Seoul-based architecture practice Betwin Space, sees the creation of its so-called U-PLEX floor, a separate in-house department store targeting a young, largely teen demographic.

Why it is important: Situated on level B2, the space measures 6,178 sqm. (66,499 sq.ft.) and is divided into five shopping zones, each with a distinct design and colour palette. The Hyundai's U-PLEX floor targets a savvy young generation. Infused with nifty hi-tech, it's a new space based on the virtual Meta platform, featuring appealing sensory elements, such as texture, light, and colour, and allowing shoppers to interact.

Hyundai Daegu renewal

Hyundai Daegu renewal Article

What: Materials and functionality are the pillars behind the 2050+ vision for Rome's Piazza Fiume store. The team iterated upon the original vision of Franco Albini and Franca Helg, who designed the retail destination on between 1957 and 1961. Their goal was to re-establish the building as an open space for citizens and visitors.

Why it is important: The 2050+'s vision for La Rinascente and the design enables the store to re-emerge as a tourist touchpoint and a landmark for locals.

New lighting, modular displays, surfaces and an ashlar wall on the sixth floor – an area for food retail – enhance the existing features. The level's terrace has been reopened for access, providing visual flow into the store's courtyard. Internal sightlines have also been improved with the newly built panoramic elevator – its form is a nod to the inaugural 1957 stairwell. Shop windows have been totally replaced, and a new glass surface inserted in the roof facing Rome's Aurelian Walls provides visitors with a sweeping city view from the sixth-floor restaurant.

Rome's La Rinascente refreshes exteriors and the sixth floor

Rome's La Rinascente refreshes exteriors and the sixth floor article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit the KaDeWe department store in Berlin, Germany. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Kadewe exclusive article

What: Kohl's has opened a 35,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar experience to test an experimental concept that aims to improve its retail performance.

Why it is important: Smaller than the typical Kohl's box locations, the Tacoma store is more open with modular fixtures, eye-level branding, an updated assortment focused on storytelling, mixed-brand merchandising, more mannequins and a cash desk that does not take away from the product.

The Tacoma concept store also has "Discover at Kohl's," a shop where customers can discover dozens of emerging, established, and diverse-owned brands new to the retailer, and already in 600 locations and on kohls.com. The home area has a product showroom experience with product vignettes that customers can shop right from their phone via QR code.

Kohl's concept store in Tacoma

Kohl's concept store in Tacoma article

What: The 60-square-metre shop, set in the department store Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, was designed to feel like a bedroom according to AMO, which is the research and design arm of architecture firm OMA.

Why it is important: It is the largest brand shop-in-shop opened in a French department store so far.

AMO previously designed another store for Jacquemus inside the London department store Selfridges. Much like the brand's Paris outpost, the shop was wrapped entirely in a single material – clay.

Jacquemus at Galeries Lafayette

Jacquemus at Galeries Lafayette

What: After closing its legendary flagship store at New World Tower the luxury retailer has inaugurated brand new premises at Pacific Place shopping centre.

Why it is important: Occupying a prominent corner unit on Level 2, the store measures no less than 11,000 sq. ft. (1,022 sqm.) and features an interior design by architecture and interior design practice COLLECTIVE. The store marks a brand new chapter in JOYCE's history, and the chosen aesthetic aims to reflect the retailer's adventurous spirit but also oozes intimacy and warmth.

Joyce initiated Only At Joyce, a series of exclusive and unique collaborations, capsule collections, and in-store activations with renowned designers and brands from across the planet. The new series kicks off with a showcase of A/W 2022 runway pieces from Thom Browne.

The offerings also include a global exclusive capsule collection in collaboration with Raf Simons, a Yohji Yamamoto exclusive capsule collection, a Paco Rabanne chainmail-centric collection, and more. The beauty section presents a selection of genderless, niche beauty and fragrance labels, such as 19-69, amala, Dr. Barbara Sturm, FOLIE à PLUSIEURS, Nonfiction, Terre de Mars and Byredo. The homewares section, dubbed Entertaining Curiosities, stocks a range of rare items and gifts by a similar range of niche quality brands.

Joyce new Hong Kong store

Joyce new Hong Kong store ARTICLE

What: Galeries Lafayette devotes an entire floor of 3,000 square meters to the world of care, holistic beauty and sport.

Why it is important: The department store is willing to benefit from the growing wellness market by offering a mix of gym, sports products and beauty services.

Massages, yoga and bootcamp classes, manicures, a sauna/hammam, cryotherapy, a piercing workshop, and even more are offered in the "wellness gallery" at Galeries Lafayette in the basement of the women's building. In addition to the classic hairdresser or nail salon areas, which can be found in other department stores, there is also a gym, with showers and changing rooms for clients looking for more than a shopping experience.

The decor is a luxurious seventies-inspired orange with organic shapes, wood tones, and soft lighting providing a relaxing and chic atmosphere. A cosy cocooning den with two orange and pink bubbles can be privatized for clients or groups.

Several international companies set up treatment areas or products within the "wellness gallery", with 800 square meters allocated to highlighting products. For beauty, there are sixteen brand corners and a large multi-brand space housing 170 different labels. With such an extensive offer of products and services, expert employees are at the ready to advise clients on purchases while a reservation platform has been put online to facilitate booking appointments.

Finally, a catering area entrusted to the DS Café completes the space. For clients looking to learn more about health and wellness, a range of books about personal development, alternative medicine, and sports are also part of the available products.

Galeries Lafayette's new wellness centre

Galeries Lafayette's new wellness centre ARTICLE

What: Jacquemus opens a permanent leather goods pop-up store in Selfridges

Why it is important: Occupying an 80 sqm. (860 sq.ft.) unit on the Duke Street side of the department store, it features a sinuous, tiered wall installation crafted from terracruda, a new ceramic material.

The installation not only comes with a number of matching displays, all designed by architects Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri of Rotterdam-based AMO, the research and design division of renowned architecture practice OMA, but the material also extends onto the floor, creating an immersive brand presentation. The new Jacquemus shop-in-shop exclusively carries the brand's range of coveted bags, small leather goods and other accessories.

Jacquemus in Selfridges

Jacquemus in Selfridges ARTICLE