IADS Exclusive: How Puerto de Liverpool helped the Nordstrom family to regain control
When department stores close, what takes their place?
When department stores close, what takes their place?
What: As David Jones enters voluntary administration, conversions in Melbourne, Gloucester, Rochester and Los Angeles show education, healthcare and research replacing department stores and malls as traffic anchors.
Why it is important: A David Jones retreat would put about 200,000 sqm across 17 Scentre Group centres in play, a scale that tests whether non-retail uses can replace an anchor.
Shopping-centre owners are looking beyond retail to bring people through their doors. CBRE's head of retail research, Kate Bailey, sees recreational and community uses turning regional centres into community hubs that encourage longer visits.
At Westfield Knox in Melbourne, the Myer store closed in 2021 after 44 years, making way for an A$355 million redevelopment. Its A$5.4 million library of about 2,000 sqm opened in March 2024. In Gloucester, the University of Gloucestershire bought the 20,000 sqm former Debenhams in 2021 and turned it into City Campus, with education, psychology and social work courses, an NHS-linked arts, health and wellbeing centre and a public library.
Near Rochester, New York, the University of Rochester's medical centre bought the former Sears at Marketplace Mall, then about 30% vacant. The resulting US$227 million orthopaedic facility opened its surgery centre in February 2023, with eight operating rooms and 144 examination rooms. In Los Angeles, UCLA bought Westside Pavilion in 2024 and expects to open a 700,000 sq ft research park on cancer immunology and quantum computing within two years of its February 2026 update.
Re-leasing such large spaces to retailers may prove difficult, while conversion carries its own costs.
IADS Notes: The prospect of empty David Jones floors follows a review of the retailer's 38-store network and supplier terms, as Vicinity reported department store sales down 6.5% over three months (7NEWS, October 2026). Re-leasing to retail has taken the form of subdivision in Vancouver, where Simons is taking 92,000 sq ft of the former Nordstrom store at Pacific Centre, one of four retailers sharing the premises (Vancouver Sun, April 2026). In the United States, the collapse of the department store anchor model has widened the gap between class A malls and class C/D properties, with weaker centres sold off or redeveloped for residential, entertainment or open-air retail uses (Financial Times, January 2026). Entertainment is one of the substitutes, from Netflix House venues in former mall department stores (Modern Retail, December 2025) to SM Prime's repositioning of its Philippine malls as entertainment and community hubs designed to raise footfall and dwell time (Inside Retail, May 2026).
When department stores close, what takes their place?
David Jones enters voluntary administration
David Jones enters voluntary administration
What: David Jones has collapsed into voluntary administration after a breakdown in rent negotiations with its main landlord Scentre Group, putting more than 6,000 jobs at risk.
Why it is important: Analysts expect closures to fall on outer suburban and regional malls while sparing CBD flagships, pointing to a smaller, flagship-led David Jones as the likely outcome of the process.
The board of David Jones appointed McGrathNicol as administrators on Thursday, and the retailer's main financier then installed FTI Consulting as receivers. FTI will run day-to-day operations while McGrathNicol seeks a buyer or a fresh injection of capital. Christopher Hill of FTI said the process would require hard choices, and receivers will try to keep the core network open.
Scentre, owner of Westfield, says David Jones has not paid rent since September and that Anchorage Capital Partners rejected an offer that would have allowed the business to keep trading. Anchorage, which bought the retailer from South Africa's Woolworths in 2023, could re-bid, while Solomon Lew, who controls Myer, may also become involved.
CEO Erica Berchtold says a detailed plan to reset the business is in place. The SDA retail workers' union says its priority is to save as many jobs as possible, arguing that a smaller David Jones is better than none. Creditors meet next week.
Unsecured creditors face substantial losses, with unpaid suppliers most exposed alongside customers holding unredeemed gift cards and Rewards discounts, which Finder's Angus Kidman warns will almost certainly be worthless if no buyer emerges.
IADS Notes: The administration follows a sequence of warning signs. A $74 million loss came with store closures, head office cuts and delayed payments to key suppliers, while owner Anchorage Capital Partners pledged continued investment (Sky News, April 2026). By late October, CEO Erica Berchtold was reviewing the store portfolio and supplier terms as the retailer sought a financial backer, amid reports that it had struggled to pay some suppliers and lost brands including Christian Dior, Gucci and Chanel (7NEWS, October 2026). Solomon Lew, now cited as a potential bidder, joined Myer's board in September with a stake of about 30%, as Myer reported its worst annual loss since 2018 (The Senior, September 2026). The breakdown with Scentre Group follows a pattern seen in Europe, where disputes with landlords preceded formal proceedings: BHV Marais entered receivership after landlord Brookfield disputed compensation owed under a space handover deal (Fashion Network, October 2026), and Galeria filed for insolvency a fourth time in six years after some landlords refused rent deferrals (DPA, October 2026).
David Jones enters voluntary administration
Higher smartphone sales, fuel prices lift Singapore retail sales in September
Higher smartphone sales, fuel prices lift Singapore retail sales in September
What: Singapore's retail sales grew 2.5% year on year in September on mobile phone and petrol demand but fell 1.8% from August, as haze kept shoppers away from physical stores.
Why it is important: September's decline in department stores follows a modest gain in August, so the segment's brief recovery did not hold.
Retail sales in Singapore, excluding motor vehicles, accelerated in September from the revised 1.7% growth in August, according to the Department of Statistics. Total sales were estimated at SG$3.6 billion (US$2.8 billion), of which 20.8% came from online.
Computer and telecommunications equipment retailers posted the strongest increase, mainly on higher mobile phone sales. Petrol service stations grew 6.5% as petrol prices rose. Cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods gained 6%, and furniture and household equipment 5.3%. Mini-marts and convenience stores fell 5.6%, and food and beverage services rose 1%, reversing August's decline.
Etoro market analyst Zavier Wong said haze was the likeliest reason for the drag, as September was the first time since 2019 that air quality turned unhealthy island-wide. Physical stores such as mini-marts, optical goods and books were most affected. The launch of Apple's new iPhones let the computer and telecom sector surpass that weakness, but he does not expect the bump to repeat in October.
Wong expects a similar pattern in October, with physical stores soft and online busy, as the haze lasted through much of the month. Last year's October and November both grew above 4%, leaving a high base for the annual rate.
IADS Notes: Department stores have lagged Singapore's retail growth this year. Inside Retail Asia, September 2026 reported a sixth decline in seven months for the segment in July, with online at 18.3% of sales. Inside Retail Asia, October 2026 showed department stores in a group of categories gaining 0.7–1.6% in August, when computer and telecommunications equipment rose 10.7% and online share was 18.2%. The pressure has reached store footprints: Inside Retail, July 2026 reported that Metro will close its Paragon and Causeway Point stores in favour of smaller multi-concept formats after a US$8.8 million net loss, while Inside Retail Asia, November 2026 described beauty brands taking large units at Tampines Mall a year after Isetan's closure, with rents edging up and e-commerce above 18% of retail sales. Petrol station sales have moved with pump prices, rising 14.4% in April according to Inside Retail, June 2026.
Higher smartphone sales, fuel prices lift Singapore retail sales in September
Hong Kong retail sales accelerate in September as local demand and tourism pick up
Hong Kong retail sales accelerate in September as local demand and tourism pick up
What: Hong Kong retail sales rose 6.4% in September to HK$33.4 billion, a 17th consecutive month of growth, while department store sales fell 4.1%.
Why it is important: The gains are concentrated in high-ticket categories and specialist retail, and department stores in Hong Kong are not capturing them despite the return of local and visitor spending.
Hong Kong's retail sales extended their growth in September, accelerating from a revised 5.6% increase in August. For the first nine months of the year, sales were provisionally estimated to be 8.3% higher than in the same period last year.
A spokesperson for the Census and Statistics Department attributed the growth to solid local consumption sentiment, a pick-up in visitor arrivals and the earlier timing of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.
Gains were broad-based across outlet types. Jewellery, watches and valuable gifts recorded the largest increase at 20.3%, followed by optical shops at 14.6%, apparel at 11.1% and electrical goods at 9.7%.
Several categories declined. Supermarket sales slipped 1%, fuels fell 3.1% and Chinese drugs and herbs dropped 3%, while sales of motor vehicles and parts plunged 34.7%.
The spokesperson expects sustained economic expansion and rising labour earnings to support local consumption. Upcoming mega-events, festive celebrations and continued growth in inbound tourism are expected to give the sector further momentum.
IADS Notes: The September figures extend a recovery that has been uneven by category. August sales rose 5.6% for a 16th consecutive month, led by jewellery and watches at +11.9%, while clothing and footwear slipped 0.3% (Reuters, October 2026), which makes September's double-digit apparel growth a reversal, although the two releases may not group categories identically. Department stores have stayed on the losing side of that split. Sincere is closing its 126-year-old Central flagship after lease talks with its landlord failed, with high rents and online competition cited as the underlying pressures even as citywide sales grew (South China Morning Post, October 2026); its first-half revenue fell to HK$44.3 million, and the company will be left with a single store in Mong Kok (VnExpress, October 2026). Visitor numbers have recovered faster than visitor spending, which last year remained 44% below 2018, while department store categories barely grew, a gap the Tourism Board is trying to close with a month-long Halloween programme (Inside Retail Asia, October 2026). Where visitor spending does land, it flows to destinations with a steady pipeline of new brands: K11 Musea's tourist spending rose 26% over Golden Week, with athleisure member spending up 279% after a string of openings (Inside Retail Asia, October 2026).
Hong Kong retail sales accelerate in September as local demand and tourism pick up
For year-end sales events, trust is the new currency
For year-end sales events, trust is the new currency
What: A BCG survey of about 10,200 consumers in ten markets across Europe, North America and Australia finds that 54% trust advertised prices at year-end sales events at least somewhat, while 20% actively distrust them.
Why it is important: Shoppers now check whether a discount is real, and department stores with established names hold an advantage over rivals competing on the size of the markdown.
Black Friday awareness stands at 95%, and intent among those aware rose two points to 81%, half of last year’s rise. Search starts earlier: 62% begin looking for deals in October or early November, and 76% of those planning to shop hold back purchases at least sometimes to wait for the events.
Trust in advertised prices varies by market: about two-thirds of US consumers trust them, against about a third in Denmark, the Czech Republic and Germany. Among shoppers planning to spend less or skip the events, 22% believe deals are available all the time. Retailer reputation and a money-back or free-returns policy earn 65% net trust each, and verified purchase reviews 59%. Real-time scarcity messages score 8%, AI-generated review summaries 4% and influencer recommendations 3%.
Among those planning to shop, 56% have used GenAI for shopping or plan to, led by Gen Z at 66%. They trust it most for comparing prices across retailers (39%) and product features (37%), and only 7% for buying. Social media as a source of shopping inspiration fell nine points to 46%.
IADS Notes: In beauty, overlapping promotions across Amazon, Sephora, Ulta, TikTok Shop and brand websites risk training shoppers to wait for deals, which is pushing brands toward selective, loyalty-led offers (BoF, July 2026). In Ireland, Brown Thomas Arnotts avoided a conviction after advertised Black Friday discounts on electronics and accessories did not reflect the lowest price of the previous 30 days, as the law requires (Breaking News IE, March 2026). Consumers use AI to research but not to buy: 81% of US and 53% of European consumers expect to use AI agents when shopping, yet only 4% would let an agent complete a purchase (BCG, October 2026), and 42% of US consumers would not trust AI to buy at all (a16z, October 2026).
For year-end sales events, trust is the new currency
Click here to view the slideshow
IADS Exclusive: How Puerto de Liverpool helped the Nordstrom family to regain control
IADS Exclusive: How Puerto de Liverpool helped the Nordstrom family to regain control
In May 2025, Nordstrom left the New York Stock Exchange after more than fifty years as a public company, following a deal with its second-largest shareholder (after the Nordstrom family), Mexico’s Puerto de Liverpool (which by then owned 9.6%), valuing the business at $6.25 billion. The move was then widely described as an acquisition by Liverpool: it is neither that nor an operational merger, but a family-led take-private in which members of the Nordstrom family hold 50.1% and control, while El Puerto de Liverpool holds 49.9% as a minority strategic and financial partner. In other words, Nordstrom continues to operate independently under the same leadership.
For the department-store world, the interest in this deal lies less in its size than in its shape: a legacy U.S. retailer buying itself time away from public markets, financed and de-risked by a Latin American group extending its reach north without integrating operations.
The convenient shorthand, “Liverpool absorbs Nordstrom”, misstates both the economics and the intent, and it proved persistent: although the official May 2025 press release (“Nordstrom Announces Completion of Acquisition by Nordstrom Family and Liverpool”) named the family as the first acquirer, the brothers were still correcting the record in the press nine months later, and the facts are clear: Liverpool did not take control, but the Nordstrom family did. On closing, the family holds a 50.1% majority stake, and the two co-chief executives who ran the listed company continue to run it privately. Liverpool holds 49.9% as the minority partner, having built its position from a passive 9.9% stake first acquired in September 2022 for about $294 million (5.9 billion pesos) — around 9.6% by the time of the offer — which already made it the second-largest shareholder behind the family.
The legal vehicle is a merger. The buying group formed an acquisition subsidiary, “Navy Acquisition Co.”, into which the listed company was folded. But the substance of the deal is a going-private buyout by insiders, not an industrial combination of two retailers. Nordstrom and Liverpool are not merging stores, banners, buying, or even systems.
Nordstrom: a service-led department store that became a multi-banner platform
Nordstrom was founded in 1901 in Seattle as Wallin & Nordstrom, a shoe shop opened by Swedish immigrant John W. Nordstrom and shoemaker Carl F. Wallin, whom Nordstrom had met prospecting for gold in the Klondike. Nordstrom had reached New York in 1887, aged 16, with five dollars and no English, and staked the partnership with the $13,000 he brought back from Alaska; under his sons and grandsons, the firm grew into the U.S.'s largest independent shoe chain.
The pivot came in 1963, when Nordstrom bought the Seattle clothier Best Apparel, carrying it from footwear into apparel and, by 1966, into the Nordstrom Best banner. The company went public in 1971, opened its first off-price Nordstrom Rack in the basement of its Seattle store in 1973 (the year sales passed $100 million, and the firm took the name Nordstrom, Inc.), and in 1978 opened its first full-line store outside the Northwest, at South Coast Plaza in Southern California. It became a national retailer in 1988 with a store at Tysons Corner, Virginia, and launched Nordstrom.com in 1998, giving it an early digital platform. It entered Canada in the 2010s and wound those operations down in 2023.
The business model is highly specific to the United States: large-format, multi-brand fashion retail with strong service, wide geographic coverage, and dependence on mall, suburban and urban destination-shopping patterns. The Rack format, in particular, reflects U.S. scale, logistics and a mature appetite for branded off-price fashion.
This implies that, while the operating logic behind Nordstrom's overall success (excellent execution of curation, differentiation through in-store service, and the seamless integration of physical and digital channels) is no different from that of other successful department stores worldwide, Nordstrom’s USP is hardly exportable. The specific store formats, the physical network built around American malls and suburbs, and the brand architecture layered across full-line and off-price banners are the product of distinctly U.S. conditions. In other words, the very features that make it strong at home are also what make it hard to export, limiting the opportunities for foreign investors willing to acquire a globally resonating brand. Liverpool itself, asked in October 2026 whether a Rack-style off-price format could work in Mexico, replied that it was not focusing on off-price for now.
Liverpool: a Mexican omnichannel ecosystem of retail, credit and real estate
El Puerto de Liverpool traces its origins to 1847, when French merchant Jean-Baptiste Ebrard sold fabrics in Mexico City and began importing goods through the English port of Liverpool, which gave the store its name. The 1936 opening of the Liverpool Centro flagship, home to Mexico City’s first escalators, marked its arrival among the capital’s modern department stores (the first one was El Palacio de Hierro, which opened in 1891 and was rebuilt in 1921 after a fire). From the 1960s onward, the group expanded geographically and through acquisitions. It acquired the Suburbia value-fashion chain from Walmart de México in 2016 (completed in 2017), doubling down on middle-income customers, and later folded its legacy Fábricas de Francia banner into the Liverpool and Suburbia formats. This ecosystem ambition continues with a 2023 foray into electric-vehicle distribution with BYD through in-mall showrooms and integrated credit (an alliance it exited in 2025), the 2022 minority stake in Nordstrom, and the 2024 agreement to take Nordstrom private. Since then, it has entered wholesale through a new division, G.L.A.M., which holds an exclusive long-term licence for Dockers in Mexico,xiv and in September 2026 it announced a franchise partnership to bring Primark to Mexico.
Today, El Puerto de Liverpool operates across three segments: retail (Liverpool department stores, Suburbia, boutiques and digital platforms), financial services (store-brand credit cards, loans, insurance) and real estate (Galerías shopping centres). In 2025, consolidated revenue reached 229,137 million pesos, up 6.7%, with retail contributing 201,635 million. EBITDA fell 4.7% to 35,801 million pesos and net income 25.9% to 17,150 million, weighed down by higher financial costs and the first acquisition-accounting charges linked to Nordstrom. Capital expenditure reached 10,654 million pesos, 40% of it in logistics and IT. The group ended the year with 25,265 million pesos of cash, though no longer in a net-cash position: with borrowings up 71% after a US$1 billion bond issued in January 2025, net debt stood at 0.52x EBITDA, against −0.04x a year earlier. Its financial arm passed 8.4 million cardholders, while Galerías centres closed the year at 94.2% occupancy. At the time of the deal, the group ran around 310 stores under the Liverpool and Suburbia banners, 119 specialised boutiques and 29 shopping centres. By September 2026, the group operated 321 stores under the Liverpool and Suburbia banners, 173 specialised boutiques and 30 shopping centres, with more than 8.8 million cardholders. It also holds 50% of Unicomer, a leading group in retail and financial services, active in more than 20 Latin American countries.xix The holding is led by group chief executive Enrique Güijosa, with Carlos Marín heading the Liverpool department-store division.
Liverpool’s ecosystem rests on three pillars:
- A trusted, aspirational brand,
- A pervasive proprietary credit system,
- Control of prime physical space through owned malls.
This triad is strongly shaped by Mexican conditions: widespread use of store cards and instalment payments to access durable and fashion goods, and a mall culture in which centres act as community hubs. In markets with deeper banking penetration or saturated malls, a retailer-driven credit-and-real-estate ecosystem may travel less well. In the case of Liverpool, the exportable ideas are the ecosystem logic, format diversification and real-estate integration, but the execution remains highly local.
The transaction
Navy Acquisition, the buying group, agreed to acquire all Nordstrom shares it did not already own for $24.25 per share in cash, valuing the company at about $6.25 billion on an enterprise basis and just over $4 billion in equity value.xx The price represented a premium of around 42% to the “unaffected” share price of $17.06 recorded on 18 March 2024, the day before the family’s intentions were first reported. Shareholders also received a special cash dividend.xxi The deal closed on 20 May 2025, and Nordstrom was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange the following day.
This was not a first attempt — the family had explored going private before, notably in 2018, when the board rejected the offer as too low. The current process opened in February 2024, when a special committee was formed after Erik and Pete Nordstrom signalled interest; former chairman Bruce Nordstrom died in May 2024, as the process was underway. Liverpool and the family first offered $23.00 in September 2024, then raised it to $24.25. Upon the committee’s unanimous recommendation, the board approved the transaction on 23 December 2024, with Erik and Pete Nordstrom recusing themselves.
The structure is notable for how lightly it burdens the business. Liverpool guided its investment to a range of $1.2–1.4 billion, later revised to roughly $1.7 billion. The package layered a direct equity contribution, a $367 million shareholder loan to a Nordstrom-family special-purpose vehicle (treating part of the commitment as debt rather than equity), an asset-based lending facility, and more than $1 billion of Nordstrom’s own cash (a tax-efficient, covenant-light arrangement, part pre-funded through the international bond market).
Our take on the logic on each side
It is tempting to read a deal of this size as a synergy play, which it is not: the principals have explicitly chosen not to integrate operations. The value on each side comes from ownership structure and capability exchange, not from combining two retailers.
Regarding the Nordstrom family, it was a way to escape the quarterly need to report results. Public-market sentiment on the department-store category had been persistently negative, and the take-private frees the business from quarterly scrutiny. In the words of GlobalData, private ownership lets the family take a long-term view, make necessary investments and changes free from short-term public-market pressure, and act on strategy faster than a listed company could. In other words, running the business as a retailer rather than a financial instrument.
On Liverpool’s side, Güijosa frames the deal as “an emblematic transaction” — a continuation of a strategy of diversifying across countries and currencies, begun in 2010 with Unicomer, alongside a company with the same core business. Liverpool’s own annual report states the aim as geographic and currency diversification plus the chance to share and adopt best practices in e-commerce, logistics, loyalty programmes and customer service. Crucially, Liverpool insists the deal does not come at the expense of its Mexican core (even though it is worth more than a billion USD), and Nordstrom continues to operate independently; the two teams exchange practices rather than merge functions. The governance reflects this: the post-closing board has seven members — Erik, Pete and Jamie Nordstrom, three Liverpool executives and one independent director, all of them retailers. So far, the cost to Liverpool has been mostly an accounting one: acquisition-related charges cut its third-quarter 2026 net income by 14.5%, which would otherwise have risen by about 5.8%.
Conclusion: a credible new financial route for the industry?
The take-private emerges here as a credible route to transformation, but only for department stores that can still afford it. Every element of this deal was a precondition rather than a detail: a committed family block, a partner in the same core business, a sound balance sheet and willing lenders. Freed from quarterly earnings pressure, a service-led, multi-banner retailer gains room to reshape its model on a multi-year horizon — a proposition we believe is worth weighing for any department store company whose listed status constrains its transformation.
Also, the deal offers a lighter template than classic M&A: cross-border capability sharing without operational integration. A partner can bring capital, balance-sheet strength and specific competences (in Liverpool’s case, e-commerce, loyalty and logistics) while each business retains its identity, management and market. For groups wary of the cost and cultural risk of full mergers, this “exchange, don’t absorb” model deserves attention.
Seventeen months after closing, the first evidence suggests the exchange remains thin: Liverpool’s chief financial officer describes the impact of the collaboration on the Mexican side as relatively low, limited to best-practice sharing in customer experience, loyalty programmes and cybersecurity, with no deeper integration planned in the short term.xxxii For now, the model reads less as a capability transfer than as a long-term financial partnership between two operators who chose not to interfere with each other’s business.
Finally, a Latin American group taking a near-equal co-stake in a U.S. institution inverts the usual flow of retail capital and expertise and suggests that headquarters geography matters less than the ability to bridge markets, capital and consumer insight.
The open question the deal poses is the one facing the whole category: can a service-rich, multi-banner, digitally integrated model generate enough differentiation and productivity to justify department-store cost structures in an increasingly fragmented, digital market, and does patient private ownership give it more room to prove it than public listing? Three markers will tell: where the freed-up cash flow is reinvested, whether the capability exchange materialises beyond the boardroom, and how the balance between Rack and the full-line stores evolves.
Credits: IADS (Selvane Mohandas du Ménil)
Gift card distributors turn into media platforms for retailers
Gift card distributors turn into media platforms for retailers
What: A Journal du Net column argues that gift card distributors have become audience ecosystems and advertising networks, making the gift card a media platform for retailers.
Why it is important: Gift card distributors sell paid visibility, a new media cost for any department store that sells gift cards through them.
Writing in Journal du Net, Clémence Mazars of Buybox says gift card distributors have stopped being simple sales channels. The move from physical to digital cards saturated retailers' catalogs, so platforms became advertising networks that monetize their audience and use users' purchase-history data. A retailer's goal shifts from being listed to holding a visible, consistent position in the distributor's catalog.
Mazars notes that retailers usually activate gift cards only at peak periods such as Christmas, Black Friday and Mother's Day. The column describes retailers planning around a brand calendar instead: mass exposure for awareness, a new product line launch, or acquisition when purchase intent forms.
Visibility is paid for in one of two ways, a dedicated media budget or, for retailers with fewer resources, a temporary higher commission to the distributor, similar to affiliate marketing. Mazars frames the spend as an investment aimed at undecided consumers, planned and measured over time.
The column ends by calling the gift card a brand currency that serves acquisition, loyalty and retention while offering advertising space, and says retailers should pick distributors able to activate the brand.
IADS Notes: Orange Advertising opened store screens and operator data to the sellers on its marketplace, so partner sellers can now buy visibility (Orange Advertising, October 2026). Selfridges set a rate card for its in-store and digital assets and approached non-endemic brands, starting with a Disney Christmas campaign (Mi3, November 2025). UK online retail media grew 32% to £2bn in the first half of 2026 as commerce data moved from conversion targeting to full-funnel brand building (Internet Retailing, October 2026). Retail media loses credibility when ad revenue outranks relevance (The Robin Report, August 2026), and brands hold back in-store budgets until effect can be proven (Journal du Net, October 2026).
How store CX can help US consumers feel the holiday spirit
How store CX can help US consumers feel the holiday spirit
What: Two CX experts say US stores can serve constrained holiday shoppers through localized preparation, supported associates and fast fixes when something goes wrong.
Why it is important: The article says holiday success comes from supporting shoppers' own objectives rather than standing out, with lines, stock gaps and pricing errors as the failures to fix first.
Nikki Baird of Aptos says financially constrained shoppers will be narrowly focused on keeping holiday traditions and gifting alive. She points to back-to-school, when cash-strapped consumers still bought outfits for their children while delaying their own wardrobe refresh. Stores should shape decor and assortments to regional traditions, for example Denver versus Chicago.
Shep Hyken says marketing brings customers in but the experience decides whether they return, and shoppers expect the same result in busy and slow periods. He recommends short pre-open meetings where associates share how they helped a customer, and managers who pull aside a frustrated associate. Baird adds that managers should be empowered to buy the team lunch on days when workers would otherwise miss it.
On problems, Baird says anything that costs a customer money, such as a mis-rung item or promotion, must be fixed immediately, with no rain checks or follow-up emails. Customers with too many items for self-checkout should be removed from that queue. For out-of-stocks, Hyken suggests free delivery or a hold at another location; Ace Hardware goes further by calling nearby competitors for the customer. He also urges personalised follow-up messages after a positive visit, a tactic brick-and-mortar stores underuse.
IADS Notes: NRF forecasts US holiday sales to grow 4.2% to \$1.013 trillion in November and December, with consumers prioritising the season while staying mindful of their budgets and retailers expected to hire 325,000 to 375,000 seasonal workers (NRF, October 2026). Target expanded its myDay app to prioritise store tasks so associates spend more time with customers, as part of a \$1 billion guest experience investment this year that adds labour hours (Customer Experience Dive, October 2026). Frontline retention is a separate issue: more than 60% of US workers hold a frontline retail job early in their careers, yet 72% leave retail within five years (The Robin Report, October 2026). On availability, Macy's is moving an AI forecasting overlay for inventory replenishment from pilot to broader rollout to improve in-stock levels (Supply Chain dive, September 2026).
How store CX can help US consumers feel the holiday spirit
New World Annual Report 2024
New World Annual Report 2024
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Block quote
Ordered list
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
Unordered list
- Item A
- Item B
- Item C
Bold text
Emphasis
Superscript
Subscript
Takashimaya Financial Statements 2024
Takashimaya Financial Statements 2024
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Block quote
Ordered list
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
Unordered list
- Item A
- Item B
- Item C
Bold text
Emphasis
Superscript
Subscript
Shoppers Stop Annual Report 2023-2024
Shoppers Stop Annual Report 2023-2024
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Block quote
Ordered list
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
Unordered list
- Item A
- Item B
- Item C
Bold text
Emphasis
Superscript
Subscript
J Front Retailing Integrated Report 2024
J Front Retailing Integrated Report 2024
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Block quote
Ordered list
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
Unordered list
- Item A
- Item B
- Item C
Bold text
Emphasis
Superscript
Subscript
Myer Annual Report 2024
Myer Annual Report 2024
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Block quote
Ordered list
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
Unordered list
- Item A
- Item B
- Item C
Bold text
Emphasis
Superscript
Subscript
Book Review: Après le chaos (After the Chaos)
Book Review: Après le chaos (After the Chaos)
Book Review: Seduced by Story, The Use and Abuse of Narrative
Book Review: Seduced by Story, The Use and Abuse of Narrative
What: In Seduced by Story, Peter Brooks examines the growing influence of storytelling in literature, politics, law, business and everyday life. He argues that while stories help us organise experience and make sense of complex events, their persuasive power can lead us to confuse a satisfying explanation with a truthful one.
Why it is important: For retail leaders, the book offers a useful warning against allowing compelling strategic and brand narratives to substitute for evidence. Claims about becoming an experience destination, delivering exceptional service or transforming customer relationships through AI may provide direction, but they do not demonstrate results. Similarly, a strong heritage story does not automatically establish present-day relevance, and sustainability messaging does not prove environmental performance. Brooks’s perspective encourages leaders to test their assumptions, consider alternative explanations and connect their communications to demonstrable capabilities. Although it is literary criticism rather than a retail strategy manual, the book can strengthen the judgment needed to distinguish a convincing story from a credible business proposition.
Book Review: Seduced by Story, The Use and Abuse of Narrative
Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention & Exhibition (APRCE) 2026
Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention & Exhibition (APRCE) 2026
Key Takeaways
- The Japanese department store decline is a share problem, not a market problem. Japan’s GDP has stayed between ¥500 and 600 trillion for 30 years, yet department store sales halved, from ¥9.7 trillion in 1991 to ¥5–6 trillion today, as supermarkets, convenience stores, outlets and e-commerce took a larger share of the same spend. Isetan Mitsukoshi’s Toshiyuki Hosoya puts the cause in the “business of buildings”: fill a building, advertise it, and leave sales to chance once customers walk in.
- An identified customer is worth 2x to 18x an anonymous one, and Isetan Mitsukoshi has more than quadrupled its identified base. Identified customers rose from a stable 2 million to 8.5 million after 2021. Against an unidentified customer, app users spend 2x, cardholders 3x, card-and-app holders 10x and private shoppers clients 18x. Sales from identified customers grew only moderately, but operating profit is on track for about ¥85 billion, against a previous record of ¥34.6 billion.
- Vertical integration has closed Nitori’s price-and-quality gap, and the founder rates his cross-category home curation at only 50–60%. Owning the chain from fibre to delivery cuts plant costs by 30–50%, and three Vietnamese factories run at a 0.1% defect rate, supporting 1,200 stores and a target of more than 2,000 across Asia. The gap Akio Nitori names, coordinating the whole home across categories, is the curatorial skill department stores have historically claimed as their own.
- Isetan Mitsukoshi makes the customer belong to the group, not the store, and rewired management accounting to match. When a Hokkaido customer buys at Isetan Shinjuku, the sale is booked in Shinjuku but the profit is credited to Hokkaido, and Hokkaido staff began bringing their customers to Shinjuku almost immediately. The rule behind it: “no customer should leave at checkout anonymous to the company”. Its supports are a 300-page manual, “the science of the department store”, that replaces buyer instinct with data, AI-driven next-purchase prediction, and an HR reform.
- Lumine replaced its markdown calendar with a value-led event and beat the old sales peak. “The Bargain”, Lumine’s seasonal sale, had peaked twelve years ago and declined every year since. Its replacement, the “Ethi-Carnival”, built on making ethical consumption enjoyable, has already exceeded the Bargain’s historical sales peak.
- In transit-anchored retail, relevance per square metre is displacing sales per square metre. At Pacific SOGO’s Garden City, open public space takes 55% of the project, and it runs 26% above budget. Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is cutting F&B at Taipei Main Station from 90% to below 70% of retail space, despite 600,000 daily commuters. Lumine’s NEWoMan Takanawa puts greenery and rest areas ahead of shop count and already reaches about two-thirds of Lumine Shinjuku’s sales, with station traffic expected to grow roughly fivefold.
Clicl below to read the full report:
IADS Conference report - APRCE.pdf
European American Chamber of Commerce: key findings of the 2026 Transatlantic Expansion Barometer
European American Chamber of Commerce: key findings of the 2026 Transatlantic Expansion Barometer
Key Takeaways
- The warning from the barometer is European, not American. European investment projects in the US held flat at 682 in H1 2026 (680 a year earlier), while intra-European investment fell around 30% between 2024 and 2026 and US investment into Europe keeps declining. European companies are investing less overall, and they cut in Europe first.
- Transatlantic investment now runs on expanding existing sites, not on new entrants. Close to 60% of H1 2026 European manufacturing projects in the US came from companies already operating there. In the reverse
direction, US manufacturing investment in Europe (down 7%) is also mostly extensions of existing sites, while business services are down 40%. Incumbents are reinvesting, but neither continent is attracting many newcomers. - US customers, more than policy, are pulling European production across the Atlantic. Manufacturing projects have risen four years running as European firms shift from selling in the US to producing there. The main drivers are supply-chain disruption, tariffs and US buyers requiring European suppliers to manufacture locally, with some suppliers told they would lose business otherwise. Investment is moving from the coastal states to the Midwest and the South.
- Tariffs are the top barrier, but instability costs more than the duties themselves. The effect depends on timing: tariffs slowed projects not yet committed and sped up committed ones, with one plant opening moved from end2026 to the start of the year. It also depends on sector: European automotive projects are being postponed, while chemicals projects are growing because gas is around three times cheaper in Texas than in Europe.
- In AI infrastructure alone, US capital flowing into Europe dwarfs the reverse flow. In value terms, US investment in European cloud, datacentre and AI infrastructure is roughly eight times the flow from Europe to the
US: few projects, very large tickets. The presenters framed the imbalance as a question of European digital sovereignty.
Click below to read the full recap:
Transatlantic Expansion Barometer 2026.pdf
Member News
John Lewis unveils its 20th Christmas advert
John Lewis unveils its 20th Christmas advert
What: John Lewis has unveiled its 20th Christmas advert, a Saatchi & Saatchi campaign with the tagline "Don't give up on giving", featuring Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and Paul Whitehouse voicing Pickles the dog.
Why it is important: John Lewis is building its golden quarter message around shoppers' confidence in choosing gifts rather than around product or price, the same theme as its Gift List vodcast and its early Christmas shop launches.
John Lewis has unveiled its Christmas advert for 2026, marking the 20th year of its high-profile seasonal campaigns. The ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, focuses on consumers' lack of confidence in choosing a Christmas gift and seeks to bring people together across generations in a spirit of seasonal joy. It centres on "rediscovering the joy in gifting" under the tagline "Don't give up on giving".
It features Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, with Paul Whitehouse voicing Pickles the dog, set to a Sam Fender soundtrack of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want".
Marketing and loyalty director Rosie Hanley called the advert a beloved tradition that the team wanted to feel extra special this year, with a storyline many customers will relate to. She said she has resorted to putting cash in an envelope for fear of getting a gift wrong, and hopes the campaign restores the nation's gift-giving confidence.
The ad first aired on John Lewis social channels, including YouTube and Instagram, from 7.30am on 3 November, and runs on TV during Coronation Street and The Great British Bake Off that evening.
IADS Notes: The advert follows an early start to John Lewis's festive season: the online Christmas shop opened more than 100 days before Christmas after searches for "Christmas" on johnlewis.com rose 33% week-on-week following the World Cup final (Retail Week, August 2026), and the in-store Christmas shops opened 93 days ahead of the day, with gift-wrap searches up fivefold (Retail Week, September 2026). The gifting theme also runs through the six-episode Gift List vodcast, hosted by Angela Scanlon with celebrity guests and framed as entertainment rather than promotion, which is distributed across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and johnlewis.com alongside social cutdowns (Fashion Network, September 2026). The campaign arrives as John Lewis holds 3.09% of UK fashion and retail brand searches, up 0.03 percentage points year on year, while online-first players such as Shein, Very and ASOS lost share (Retail Times, October 2026).
John Lewis unveils its 20th Christmas advert
El Corte Inglés names new Sfera managing director and reorganises fashion
El Corte Inglés names new Sfera managing director and reorganises fashion
What: El Corte Inglés has put a new managing director, hired four months ago from Karl Lagerfeld, in charge of Sfera, its fashion chain of more than 500 stores, while reorganising the group's fashion division.
Why it is important: El Corte Inglés is rebuilding its fashion organisation around executives from fast fashion and international brands, as fashion becomes the group's main growth driver.
El Corte Inglés has hired Paula Jiménez Tamayo as managing director of Sfera. She joined four months ago from Karl Lagerfeld, where she spent seven years and rose to vice president of sales. She started at Inditex, with more than seven years at Tempe, before moving to Mango and then Converse in the Netherlands.
Sfera turned twenty-five in 2026 and is the group's main fashion brand, the only one with an independent distribution network. At the close of FY2025 it had 547 stores: 167 owned, 309 franchised and 71 corners inside El Corte Inglés. It operates in around twenty countries, mainly in Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The appointment coincides with a reorganisation of the fashion area. Elena Lazcanotegui now leads external and own women's brands as a single unit. She reports to Laura Moreno, head of home and fashion purchasing, alongside the men's, children's, intimates and swimwear, and Sfera directorates.
Fashion sales reached €5,882 million in FY2025. The group posted consolidated revenue of €17,247 million, up 1.14%, and net profit of €628 million, up 22.8%.
IADS Notes: The Sfera appointment follows a run of management changes at El Corte Inglés under chairperson Cristina Álvarez. In March 2026 the commercial side was reshuffled: Enrique Hidalgo was promoted to sales management director, a new country manager was named for Portugal and the purchasing department was split (Modaes, March 2026). In June, Javier Catena returned as CEO, the seventh leadership change in recent years, with every business unit now reporting to him (Modaes, June 2026). Fashion is the division being reinforced. Fashion sales rose 3.1% in FY2025-26 and the segment is described as a key growth driver, alongside a €3 billion investment plan through 2030 (Press Release, June 2026). Sfera is the group's main international vehicle. It closed FY2024 with 529 stores, owned in core markets and franchised abroad, and was preparing to launch its renovated format in Mexico. Its store and expansion strategy has been led by Ángela Goitia since late 2023 (Modaes, November 2025).
El Corte Inglés names new Sfera managing director and reorganises fashion
How art, opera and fashion shape SKP
How art, opera and fashion shape SKP
What: SKP's founder Ji Xiao'an draws on his love of literature, fine art and opera to shape the luxury department store's design, programming and community, according to a panel of its architect and cultural partners.
Why it is important: As the group expands from Beijing to Wuhan and Guangzhou, a coherent design language and cultural programming give SKP a consistent identity across very different sites.
At a talk moderated by Kering's president of Greater China, Cai Jinqing, three speakers discussed how art, opera and fashion shape SKP: Sybarite cofounder Torquil McIntosh, iSing! Festival founder Tian Hao Jiang, and Wu Hongliang, president of Beijing Fine Art Academy and chief curator of Wuhan Biennale 2026.
Sybarite began working with SKP in 2012 on its logo, then extended that visual language across retail surfaces, interiors and architecture. McIntosh described the founder's original vision as transforming a mall into departments where brands sit comfortably. Each city has posed a different challenge, from an underground space in Chengdu to an existing building in Wuhan.
Tian's connection began when his autobiography, recounting his career at New York's Metropolitan Opera, led him to SKP Rendez-Vous, its in-house bookstore, and then to Ji himself. Their friendship brought the iSing! festival, which has recruited more than 400 young artists from over 38 countries in 15 years, to Wuhan. Tian argued that opera, like fashion, is about human stories.
Wu said the Biennale chose "walk and talk" as its slogan to bring art closer to the local community through chance encounters, inside the museum and beyond.
IADS Notes: SKP's developer-managed, experience-driven model is also delivering commercially: group turnover rose 15% in 2025, with SKP Beijing returning to growth and Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu opening mega-flagships at SKP Wuhan (WWD, February 2026). Wuhan keeps attracting first-time entrants, with Chanel choosing SKP's K Avenue promenade for its first store in the city (WWD, October 2026). Sybarite is designing the group's next project, a mixed-use complex in Guangzhou's Tianhe District that combines retail with residential, office and cultural spaces (WWD, March 2026). The architecture firm's own research argues that leading luxury retailers stay competitive through adaptability and immersive, personalised experiences (Sybarite, November 2025). In Europe, Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette are pursuing a comparable cultural strategy, using artist collaborations and partnerships with institutions such as the Centre Pompidou-Metz to turn their stores into cultural destinations (Le Figaro, March 2026).
How art, opera and fashion shape SKP
El Palacio de Hierro returns to profit growth with an 18% rise in third-quarter net income
El Palacio de Hierro returns to profit growth with an 18% rise in third-quarter net income
What: El Palacio de Hierro’s third-quarter net income rose 18.1% to 383 million Mexican pesos on revenue up 7.2%, after a year of declining profitability.
Why it is important: Digital sales are growing more than twice as fast as total revenue while the margin holds steady, so the group’s omnichannel investment is adding volume without eroding profitability.
El Palacio de Hierro, one of the largest department store groups in Latin America, returned to profit growth in the third quarter of 2026 after a year of declining profitability. Revenue for the quarter reached 13.957 billion pesos (666 million euros), and the margin was unchanged from a year earlier at 34.6%.
Operating income rose 6.5% to 838 million pesos (40 million euros), a slower pace than net income. Digital sales grew 17.5% year on year, according to company data.
Over the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached 42.606 billion pesos (2.0359 billion euros), up 5.5%. Retail sales, which make up the bulk of the business, grew 4.7%, while the margin was virtually unchanged at 34.5%.
Despite the stronger third quarter, year-to-date profitability remains below 2025 levels. Net income for the nine months totalled 1.648 billion pesos (78.7 million euros), down 4.22%, and operating income fell 5% to 3.156 billion pesos (150.8 million euros).
IADS Notes: The third-quarter rebound reverses the first-half trend, when sales rose 4.65% but net income fell 9.46%, with second-quarter net income down 3.56% (Modaes, August 2026). Across the region, the five largest Latin American department store groups grew combined first-half revenue by just 2.3%, against 7% a year earlier, with El Palacio de Hierro's profit down 3.5% while Liverpool's rose 25.3% (Modaes, September 2026). The third quarter turned that comparison around: Liverpool grew revenue by 2.2% and widened its gross margin to 42.8%, but its net profit fell 14.5% under Nordstrom acquisition accounting (as Modaes reported in October 2026). El Palacio de Hierro's digital growth has eased from the 22% recorded over 2025 (Modaes, March 2026) but still far outpaces total revenue. It is backed by an omnichannel programme that includes an e-concession model for digital luxury, fast delivery and new payment options (Fashion Network, May 2026).
El Palacio de Hierro returns to profit growth with an 18% rise in third-quarter net income
Department Stores
Beymen Tersane
Beymen Tersane
What: Beymen Tersane, located in Istanbul, is presented by the IADS (International Association of Department Stores) as a unique expert platform in the world of department stores. This presentation showcases a high-end retail space divided into 8 galleries (represented by the "G" prefix in the report) to guide the user through a curated luxury experience
Why is it important: This visit offers a window into a sophisticated retail model where historical industrial architecture meets modern luxury clienteling. The store is situated in a restored shipyard area, utilizing monumental stone arches, exposed brickwork, and vaulted ceilings to create a dramatic shopping environment that integrates heritage with high-end commerce.
The store's significance lies in its gallery-based operating system which segments the 33,000-square-metre logic into distinct zones. It houses a curated mix of top luxury brands, including dedicated sections for Alaïa, Bottega Veneta, Maison Margiela, and Chanel. Large-scale suspended art installations and the G9 Contemporary Gallery merge the shopping experience with cultural exploration. Furthermore, the G5 Beauty Gallery and Beymen Beauty Studio offer specialized services alongside premium brands like Xerjoff. The use of premium materials, such as veined marble pedestals and metallic spiral staircases, reinforces the store's premium positioning across all levels.
Galeries Lafayette Mumbai
Galeries Lafayette Mumbai
What: Galeries Lafayette Mumbai represents the iconic French department store's first major entry into the Indian luxury market. Located in the historic district of South Mumbai, the store is housed across two heritage buildings, including the former Philips Antiques building, which have been meticulously restored and connected. This flagship brings a distinct Parisian flair to India, offering a curated selection of international luxury houses alongside celebrated Indian designers.
Why it is important: The opening of Galeries Lafayette in Mumbai is a strategic milestone that highlights the growing importance of India as a global luxury destination. It demonstrates a sophisticated localization strategy where the "Art de Vivre" of Paris is adapted to the vibrant cultural context of Mumbai.
The store's importance lies in its architectural dialogue between neo-classical European styles and Indian heritage, creating a unique backdrop for premium retail. By offering exclusive services such as personal shopping and high-end gastronomy, Galeries Lafayette aims to redefine the luxury landscape in India. This project showcases how international retail leaders are investing in heritage preservation and local partnerships to build strong, culturally resonant brand identities in emerging markets.
De Bijenkorf Rotterdam
De Bijenkorf Rotterdam
What: De Bijenkorf Rotterdam is a flagship store located in the heart of the city, recognized as a historical and architectural landmark. Rebuilt after World War II, the store was designed by the architect Marcel Breuer and is a prime example of modernist architecture. The presentation highlights the store's evolution and its role as a premier destination for luxury shopping in the Netherlands.
Why it is important: This visit illustrates the successful integration of a heritage-protected architectural icon with a contemporary, high-end retail strategy. De Bijenkorf has navigated the challenges of a rigid structural layout by creating open, light-filled spaces that emphasize a premium customer journey.
The store's significance lies in its "premium experience" model, which combines exclusive luxury brands with a strong focus on sustainability and local community engagement. It features a diverse range of departments, from high-end fashion and beauty to home and gastronomy, all unified by a consistent elevated aesthetic. The focus is on creating an inspiring environment where retail meets culture, utilizing the building's unique Brutalist character to differentiate itself in the European market.
Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong
Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong
What: Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong, Seoul's first Hyundai flagship opened in 1985, was visited by IADS member CEOs during the Mid-year meeting in June 2025 — generating more questions than any other stop on the tour. The pic report is ready for you, enjoy!
Why it is important: This visit offers a rare window into the operating logic of Korean premium retail, where VIC economics are not a niche strategy but a market-wide system. With ultra-high spend thresholds, hard benefits and cross-partner reciprocity built into every major chain, Korea has quietly developed the world's most sophisticated VIC architecture — and Hyundai Apgujeong, small but razor-sharp, is its clearest illustration.
The 33,000-square-metre store spans six floors across B2 to 4F, housing a curated mix of approximately 60 top luxury brands on the ground and first floors — including Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Cartier — alongside a 6,750 sqm premium food hall renovated in 2023 ("Gastro Table"), a boutique cultural space (CH 1985), and dedicated VIC lounges extending to a rooftop garden with a private Atelier bar. Despite its modest footprint by Seoul standards, the store has exceeded KRW 1 trillion in annual sales every year since 2021, reaching KRW 1.2 trillion (€0.75bn) in 2024 — ranking 7th in Korea. The secret lies not in the lounges themselves, but in the operating system behind them: priority allocation of constrained luxury SKUs, appointment-based clienteling, and reciprocity platforms extending benefits abroad through partners such as Hankuku. At Apgujeong, qualifying for Jasmin status requires €42,000 in annual spend; Jasmin Black demands €94,000 — and in Korea, that bar is not exceptional. It is standard.
Check out the photos of Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong
Tech Insights
Partner Exclusive: How to build an effective client retention strategy
Partner Exclusive: How to build an effective client retention strategy
While many new customers may visit a department store during peak season, they might not become loyal clients right away. Many retailers wonder how to apply concrete methods to build meaningful relationships with customers and encourage them to return after peak season. This article offers a few tips to help convert new shoppers into long-term customers through scalable and tested engagement and loyalty techniques, ensuring sustained growth even during slower periods.
Building a seamless omnichannel strategy
During the low season, tracking sales and interactions without any blind spots becomes crucial in determining the effectiveness of specific operations. It also allows retailers to react quickly with targeted campaigns when certain strategies are not successful.
Many department stores face common challenges in tracking sales and communications across different departments and branches. Managing various divisions that cannot access each other's data can become a major obstacle to delivering a great customer experience and achieving growth.
This is why more and more department stores are implementing omnichannel solutions that:
- Track customer behaviour
- Measure the effectiveness of store operations
- Monitor inventory
- Facilitate data transmission between stores and branches
Implementing an omnichannel platform is a crucial first step in building an effective engagement strategy. It streamlines operations, enables data-sharing between branches, aligns different teams to work seamlessly toward results-drivengoals, and, most importantly, ensures consistent client services across all locations.
Anticipating customers' needs and wants
Once an omnichannel strategy is in place, one of the most valuable data points to record is individual customer information. This allows retailers to personalise their offerings and anticipate customer needs.
Personalisation is one of the most significant factors in enhancing client engagement. However, the challenge for most retailers is that personalising their offerings requires understanding individual customer preferences with a scalable method. They must also ensure this information is shared across branches and stores.
One effective solution is creating detailed customer profiles. By storing key client information—such as past interactions with sales representatives, purchase history, brand preferences, and average spending—retailers can better tailor their services to meet individual needs.
On a practical level, sales associates should have easy access to this information to deliver highly personalised recommendations during one-on-one interactions. Not only does this enhance the customer experience, but it also boosts employee confidence by removing the guesswork from the sales process.
Customer engagement is proportional to sales associates' engagement
Sales associates are the face of their company. Giving them more opportunities to engage with clients and rewarding them for doing so successfully is crucial for any retailer's growth. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. retail organisations experience an average employee turnover rate of 60%. High turnover is problematic for retailers, as
studies show that customers are 77% more likely to purchase a product when they trust the person recommending it. In this sense, customer engagement is directly linked to associate engagement and trust.
Empowering sales associates to take ownership of their roles as local experts and even micro-influencers has proven effective, especially when combined with an omnichannel strategy and a highly targeted, personalized approach. More companies are investing in solutions that provide sales associates with opportunities to engage through recommendation pages, social media, appointment scheduling, and direct communication with shoppers outside the store. By increasing touchpoints with customers, retailers can deliver high-quality service while also motivating sales associates to build lasting one-on-one relationships. Tracking successful interactions and rewarding individuals for their engagement has also been shown to boost associate morale and performance.
Building a scalable communication strategy
Nourishing 1-1 relationships with customers is essential to build loyalty, but how can department stores also grow customer engagement through a repeatable and scalable methodology?
It has been demonstrated that personalized interactions and recurring positive engagements drive customer loyalty.
Many retailers have found success by implementing the 3-3-3 or 2-2-2 strategy.
What is the 2-2-2 strategy?
The 2-2-2 strategy in retail communication is a structured approach designed to maintain consistent, personalised follow-ups with customers after a sale or interaction. It nurtures customer relationships and enhances loyalty, proving highly successful within various client bases.
Example:
- 2 days after the sale: Send a thank-you message and offer assistance if needed.
- 2 weeks after the sale: Follow up to ensure the product meets expectations and suggest complementary products based on the initial purchase or recent browsing history.
- 2 months after the sale: Reconnect with the customer to share updates on new arrivals, promotions, or loyalty programs.
The shift from manual to automated processes offers several benefits. Associates no longer need to spend valuable time identifying which customers to contact or tracking down past purchase details. This efficiency allows them to focus on high-value interactions, increasing productivity and optimising clienteling efforts.
Delivering the in-store experience online with AI
E-commerce has become a crucial aspect of the customer buying experience and changed shoppers' habits by providing round-the-clock shopping accessibility. With this new reality, providing personalised responses at any time of the day is becoming an expectation for customers.
While AI cannot replace human recommendations on an emotional level, it can bridge the gap by offering off-hours support and relevant product suggestions when a sales associate is unavailable. AI technology is increasingly tailored to specific retail use cases, making it an essential tool for retailers to consider.
In today's highly competitive market, incorporating AI has become a crucial part in implementing an effective customer engagement journey. A well-designed conversational AI becomes stronger and smarter over time, because it can be trained from your own retail intelligence, allowing it to deliver autonomous, human-like interactions, enhancing the shopping experience. Leveraging years of customer and associate interactions, AI-powered solutions can assist shoppers with visual browsing and personalised product recommendations. Advanced systems also integrate seamlessly with inventory, ensuring only available products are suggested. Additionally, retail-specific AI models can automate product tagging, identifying key features of new items to provide accurate and relevant recommendations during customer interactions.
Conclusion
The key to a successful client retention strategy lies in a retailer's ability to accurately understand their shoppers' needs and deliver personalised outreach. By incorporating automation, empowering sales associates, leveraging AI, and implementing a scalable engagement strategy, retailers can build a strong foundation for long-term success.
*Salesfloor stands as an award-winning clienteling and customer engagement platform, empowering retailers to foster meaningful conversations, drive recommendations, and boost sales. By offering innovative tools such as clienteling, virtual shopping, and conversational AI, Salesfloor enables seamless customer engagement across all channels.
Trusted by over 50,000 associates from leading retailers in apparel, beauty, jewelry, and beyond, Salesfloor is redefining the role of store associates in the modern retail landscape. Renowned brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Chico's rely on Salesfloor to achieve measurable results, including higher online conversion rates, larger basket sizes, and reduced return rates.*
Learn more about Salesfloor here
Protecting Customer Trust: The Role of Cybersecurity in Retail
Protecting Customer Trust: The Role of Cybersecurity in Retail
In the competitive world of retail, fostering strong customer trust is no longer a nicety, it's a necessity. Consumers entrust department stores with sensitive personal and financial information, making a secure shopping experience an absolute priority. However, the digital age has introduced a multitude of sophisticated cyber threats. From large-scale data breaches to targeted phishing scams, retailers face a constant uphill battle to safeguard customer information. This is where robust cybersecurity becomes the linchpin. By implementing strong data security measures, department stores can build customer confidence, cultivate lasting loyalty, and ensure a safe and secure shopping experience for all.
Unfortunately, the consequences of failing to prioritize cybersecurity can be severe. Data breaches, which occur when sensitive information like customer names, payment details, or addresses are compromised, can have a devastating impact on retailers. The financial repercussions are significant, with potential costs including hefty regulatory fines, expensive credit card fraud mitigation efforts, and a decline in sales due to customer churn.
Even more damaging, however, is the erosion of customer trust that follows a data breach. When consumers learn their personal information has been exposed, they may feel vulnerable and question the retailer's commitment to data security. This loss of trust can translate into a significant shift in shopping habits, with customers taking their business elsewhere and potentially sharing their negative experiences with others, further damaging the retailer's reputation.
Fortunately, there's a powerful tool at retailers' disposal to combat cyber threats and build customer confidence: cybersecurity. Cybersecurity encompasses a range of practices and technologies designed to safeguard data and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. By implementing robust cybersecurity measures, department stores can demonstrate their commitment to protecting customer information. This includes essential steps like data encryption, which scrambles sensitive data to render it unreadable in the event of a breach. Secure payment gateways further fortify the checkout process, ensuring customer financial information remains protected during transactions. Additionally, employee training plays a crucial role. Educating staff on cybersecurity best practices, including identifying phishing attempts and proper data handling procedures, strengthens the overall security posture. These proactive measures not only safeguard sensitive information but also send a clear message to customers: their trust and security are paramount. This commitment to data security fosters customer confidence, encourages continued patronage, and ultimately strengthens the department store's competitive edge.
However, building trust goes beyond just implementing strong cybersecurity measures. Transparency is equally important. Customers should also understand that a retailer is taking active steps to make sure their information is protected. Retailers can achieve this transparency by clearly communicating their cybersecurity practices. This includes readily available data privacy statements that outline how customer information is collected, used, and secured. Additionally, pursuing recognized security certifications demonstrates a department store's commitment to meeting rigorous industry standards for data protection. By maintaining clear and open communication about data security, retailers can address customer concerns, build trust, and foster a sense of security that keeps them coming back for a positive shopping experience.
By prioritizing robust cybersecurity and open communication, department stores can ensure a secure and trustworthy shopping experience for all. IADS has a partnership with the Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) to provide cybersecurity resources for all IADS members. To learn more, visit rhisac.org/IADS.
Partner Exclusive: Elevating Customer Experience through Employee Experiences in Department Stores
Partner Exclusive: Elevating Customer Experience through Employee Experiences in Department Stores
Over the last decade, department stores – once shining beacons of commerce and consumer culture – have found themselves increasingly under pressure. From the impact of the pandemic to the relentless rise of eCommerce, deepening labour shortages, and shifting shopper preferences, these venerable institutions are realising that they must adapt, or risk fading into irrelevance. Just look at Macy's – a retail icon that grew at an incredible rate in the early 2000s, now confronting mass closures to stave off the creeping threat of unproductiveness.
Set against this challenge, a new vision is emerging – one that views digitalization not as a threat, but as an opportunity to redefine the department store experience for a new omnichannel era. Around the world, forward-thinking retailers are leveraging innovative strategies and technologies to streamline operations, engage employees, and delight customers in ways that online commerce simply cannot match.
Why customers pick department stores in the eCommerce era
Department stores have a unique ability to turn shopping into a fun, social experience. They are vibrant hubs of activity with new collections and sales, especially during festive seasons, and deliver the experiential retail that customers crave. The presence of helpful and knowledgeable sales associates elevates this experience, providing the all-important human touch while facilitating easy, consumer-friendly policies. Great customer service is crucial not only for attracting shoppers to stores, but also for encouraging them to spend more –according to Alice POS, 42% of Americans will stop shopping with a brand after just two bad experiences, while 52% of consumers say they have made an additional purchase from a company after receiving positive customer service.
To deliver on the promise of experiential shopping, department stores must empower and motivate the people who bring in-person shopping to life: their frontline employees. Retail executives that invest in their customer-facing staff, providing them with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to excel, are better positioned to create the kind of personalised, memorable experiences that keep customers coming back time and time again.
Frontline tech delivers an outstanding shopper experience
This people-centric approach is exemplified by the partnership between Central and Robinson Department Stores (CDS), one of Thailand's largest department store chains, and YOOBIC, a virtual employee engagement platform designed for frontline teams. In 2020, CDS announced plans to merge the processes and support teams from its Central and Robinson brands to offer shoppers an unrivalled brick-and-mortar retail experience. The ambition was big – to create Thailand's first truly omnichannel department store – but so too were the hurdles: fragmented communication, inconsistent task execution, and a lack of accountability and visibility into store performance.
To overcome these obstacles, CDS turned to YOOBIC. Thanks to the platform's targeted, role-based communication tools, the retailer is now able to ensure the right operational information reaches the right employees at the right time, fostering greater consistency and compliance across its locations, like Visual Merchandising updates. YOOBIC's task management features provide Central Retail's leadership with real-time visibility into store execution, enabling them to track key performance indicators and hold teams accountable for results.
The benefits of the partnership extended far beyond operational efficiency, however. By creating digital communities within each of its 77 stores, CDS has fostered a greater sense of connection and belonging among its 4,000-strong frontline workforce. The platform's mobile-first learning and development system has also opened the door to bite-sized, on the-go training, empowering team members with the knowledge and skills needed to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
CDS's commitment to employee development is exemplified by their upcoming relaunch of training programs, which will offer regular incentives for top performers during the initial months, supported by in-person field coach teams who'll promote a blended digital and face to-face learning approach. The workforce's enthusiasm for professional development and digitised workflows is already evident in the impressive 85% Weekly Active Users (WAU) on the YOOBIC platform, sustained over the past 5 months, and the creation of 400,000 missions in the last year, which have had an impressive 87% completion rate. Effective employee training and development has also been crucial for attracting and retaining talent –according to a YOOBIC survey, 49% of frontline workers don't think that onboarding prepared them well for their jobs, while 64% want opportunities for career growth within the organisation.
Tapping into employees' creativity and passion
The lessons of YOOBIC and CDS's collaboration highlight the transformative impact of structured operational communication for store teams, moving beyond basic tools like emails, Whatsapp, or Line to a unified and intuitive communications platform. YOOBIC has not only enabled seamless communication among store staff, however, but has also provided a direct channel for the C-Suite to engage with frontline workers. This direct contact allows senior management to share their vision, provide guidance, and gain valuable insights from the employees who interact with customers daily. Throughout Southeast Asia – and indeed across the globe – department stores are waking up to the fact that their most valuable asset is their people. By giving frontline workers a voice, a sense of purpose, and the tools to succeed through advanced communication strategies, retailers can tap into a wellspring of creativity, passion, and customer-centricity that no eCommerce algorithm can replicate.
Of course, this transformation is not without its challenges. Shifting long-standing practices, investing in new technologies, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation requires vision, commitment, and resources. But for department stores that get it right, the rewards are immense – not just in terms of sales and market share, but in the creation of a more vibrant, engaging, and human-focused retail landscape.Today, CDS enjoys a more knowledgeable and empowered workforce, better equipped to deliver personalised and exceptional shopping experiences. The sense of community and purpose fostered among the company's employees is a huge part of this, not only improving job satisfaction and retention, but also promising a positive impact on customer loyalty and sales.
As CDS continues to invest in its teams and technology, it sets a powerful example for others seeking to thrive in an increasingly competitive and digital world. The success of the brand's partnership with YOOBIC demonstrates that by prioritising the human element in retail, department stores can create a more resilient, adaptable, and profitable future.So, to department store leaders around the world, the message is clear: embrace the power of your people, and let digitalization be the catalyst for a retail renaissance that will stand the test of time. The future of your industry – and the hearts and minds of your customers – depends on it.
Fabrice Haiat - CEO & Co- founder / YOOBIC
YOOBIC is the #1 frontline digital workplace, dedicated to addressing frontline teams' challenges. The platform provides communication, learning and development, operations, and HR teams with the app they need to drive operational excellence while drastically improving the frontline employee working experience.
YOOBIC was founded in 2014 by 3 brothers, Fabrice, Avi and Gilles Haïat. Together they created a unique digital workplace that helps businesses empower their frontline teams for success, wherever they are, through effective communication, mobile learning and, digitized task management - all in one place.
Digital luxury: Brands navigating the intersection of technology and high-end fashion
Digital luxury: Brands navigating the intersection of technology and high-end fashion
At the forefront of luxury retail, the convergence of technology and high-end fashion is redefining elegance and sophistication. In this digital era, luxury brands are leveraging innovative technologies to enhance the customer experience and stay ahead of evolving trends. From immersive virtual boutiques and augmented reality try-on experiences to blockchain authentication and personalized AI-driven recommendations, the fusion of technology and luxury fashion is creating unparalleled levels of engagement and exclusivity. Digital fashion shows offer global audiences unprecedented access to high-fashion runway events, while interactive experiences blur the lines between the physical and virtual worlds. As luxury brands navigate this intersection of technology and fashion, they are reshaping the retail landscape and redefining the standards of opulence and innovation.
Retail Hub, our partner dedicated to innovation, is constantly monitoring potential start-ups for IADS' members, including the latest brands bridging the gap between technological innovation and luxury fashion. Explore the initiatives of startups selected by the Retail Hub such as Beyond The Runway, Fringuant, and Emperia, BuyBuddy pioneering solutions to navigating the intersection of technology and high-end fashion and more by clicking below.
Cybersecurity
Your company needs a plan for the first 72 hours after a cyberattack
Your company needs a plan for the first 72 hours after a cyberattack
What:A global survey of 1,000 senior executives across 20 industries finds that 81% expect critical systems to be restored within 10 days of a cyberattack, while real-world cases average three to six months.
Why it is important: Only 43% of executives say cyber resilience is governed as a shared business outcome and only 35% regularly run real recovery exercises, so most organizations have not tested whether they can operate when systems fail.
A global survey of 1,000 senior executives across 20 industries in 13 countries finds that 73% still believe predict-and-control security is sufficient, and 81% expect critical systems to be restored within 10 days of a cyberattack. Analysis of real-world cases puts the average at three to six months, and business interruption accounts for more than half of all cyber claims. Attacks rose 89% year over year in 2025, according to CrowdStrike, and breakout time fell from 62 minutes in 2023 to 29.
The Accenture authors argue that the fastest recoverers define a "minimum viable enterprise": the smallest set of decisions, applications and processes needed during extreme events. They set out five steps: define the essential operating core by asking what must not stop if all applications were down for 72 hours; predefine decision rights and recovery sequencing; map hidden dependencies; build a clean recovery environment on validated, immutable backups, with 24 to 72 hours as the benchmark for vital functions; and test under real scenarios, which only 35% of organizations do regularly. A U.S. airline with predefined essential operations was largely operational the day after the 2024 global IT outage.
IADS Notes: The article's finding that shared dependencies can halt operations has several recent retail precedents. Muji suspended online sales in Japan after a ransomware attack on its logistics partner Askul (Bleeping Computer, October 2025), and a cyberattack on logistics partner CEVA exposed De Bijenkorf customer data and caused significant delays to orders, returns and refunds (nu.nl, September 2026). RH-ISAC attributes such exposure to vendor risk programmes that stop at direct suppliers, leaving fourth-party dependencies unmonitored, and recommends mapping critical dependencies and rehearsing the multi-day loss of a critical supplier (RH-ISAC, August 2026). The leadership cost of prolonged disruption is visible at Co-op, whose chief executive is stepping down as the costs and operational disruption of a major cyberattack mounted (Financial Times, March 2026), while Harvard Business Review has argued that traditional risk management is proving inadequate and that integrated, cross-functional resilience leadership, such as a Chief Resilience Officer, is needed (Harvard Business Review, May 2026).
Your company needs a plan for the first 72 hours after a cyberattack
You have an AI policy, but shadow AI is everywhere
You have an AI policy, but shadow AI is everywhere
What: Despite AI policies being nearly universal among retail and hospitality organizations, unsanctioned "shadow AI" use persists because approval processes move too slowly for employees' actual work needs.
Why it is important: Retail and hospitality employees routinely handle sensitive customer, loyalty, and guest data, making them especially exposed when that data is pasted into unreviewed consumer AI tools with unclear training and retention practices.
A joint RH-ISAC/IANS survey of 201 retail and hospitality CISOs found AI-related data exposure now outranks ransomware and phishing as their top concern. Three out of four cited company data leaving through public AI tools as their principal fear. Yet only 3% of surveyed organizations had no AI policy at all, and four in five had some governance framework in place — the policies exist, but shadow AI is happening anyway.
The article identifies three recurring patterns: employees pasting company data into personal AI accounts, AI features embedded inside already-approved vendor tools, and internal data teams experimenting directly with production datasets, including customer records and loyalty profiles. Traditional DLP and CASB tools largely miss this traffic, since prompts are retyped rather than copied and consumer AI services often have no OAuth footprint to detect.
Beyond security, the exposure carries compliance weight: unreviewed AI use can leave PCI DSS scope documentation and privacy disclosures (e.g. CCPA) inaccurate, and introduces unassessed third-party risk.
IADS Notes: Similar warnings have circulated in recent months. RH-ISAC, August 2026 argued that AI agents executing refunds, loyalty adjustments and access changes need clear ownership and auditability rather than technical guardrails alone. BCG's CISO survey, August 2026 found that nearly nine in ten organizations already report AI-enabled attacks, while most have adopted only minimal AI-specific security controls — pointing to a broader gap between AI-driven risk and organizational readiness. Journal du Net, June 2026 made a related point in a procurement context, noting that AI increases operational risk in the absence of governance frameworks and reliable, centralized data — reinforcing that the core issue across use cases is accountability and oversight rather than the technology itself.
You have an AI policy, but shadow AI is everywhere
When your vendor's vendor goes down: what a logistics incident teaches retailers about fourth-party risk
When your vendor's vendor goes down: what a logistics incident teaches retailers about fourth-party risk
What: RH-ISAC uses the attack to show that retailers' vendor risk programmes stop at direct suppliers, leaving fourth-party dependencies such as logistics providers largely unmonitored.
Why it is important: The article frames supplier cyber risk as business-dependency risk: the question for retailers is what stops operating when a supplier does, as M&S found when online sales were suspended for seven weeks.
In late July, a major global logistics provider operating more than 1,700 facilities in 170 countries was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted warehouse operations across Europe. The company told affected customers in early August that several European warehouses could not ship stored goods, and some reported that personal information used for home deliveries may have been exposed. Retailers, a major bank, a video game company and a professional sports club all issued statements on the impact to their own operations or customer data.
The article, quoting IANS Faculty member George Gerchow, describes the incident as a fourth-party breach: most vendor risk programmes stop at direct suppliers, while logistics providers often supply the supplier. He suggests asking critical suppliers for their contractual mean time to notify in hours and which sub-processors touch customer data, with security terms flowing down to them. IANS Faculty member Lisa Perdelwitz adds that third-party cyber risk is business dependency risk, so leaders must understand what happens when a supplier stops functioning.
It recommends four steps: mapping critical dependencies, setting contractual requirements for incident visibility, preparing supplier isolation and continuity plans, and running tabletop exercises simulating a multi-day loss of a critical supplier.
IADS Notes: A cyberattack on logistics partner CEVA exposed De Bijenkorf customers' contact details and payment-method descriptions and delayed orders, returns and refunds (nu.nl, September 2026). A similar third-party dependency sat behind M&S's £136mn profit hit and seven-week suspension of online sales, in an incident traced to human error at a third-party supplier (Financial Times, November 2025). M&S subsequently ended a technology partnership, with vendor oversight and contingency planning identified as the lessons (Retail Week, October 2025). Retail's exposure stems from combining rich customer data with interconnected omnichannel and supply chain systems, which attackers reach through weaker third-party providers (Retail Insight Network, July 2026). The customer-facing damage can also begin before any data loss is confirmed: Asos shares fell more than 10% after app notifications claimed a hack, with customers warned of follow-up phishing (Financial Times, October 2026).
The missing owner: why every AI agent needs governance, not just guardrails
The missing owner: why every AI agent needs governance, not just guardrails
What: Retailers and hospitality operators face growing risk from AI agents that can execute refunds, loyalty adjustments, procurement actions, and access changes without sufficient governance.
Why it is important: This development reinforces the need for retailers to treat AI agents as accountable identities, not just tools, as autonomous systems gain access to sensitive workflows.
Autonomous AI agents are becoming operational actors in retail and hospitality, capable of executing refunds, issuing room comps, adjusting loyalty points, creating purchase orders, or changing access rights. The article argues that the main risk is not simply poor prompting, but the absence of clear ownership, identity governance, and auditability once agents are connected to live systems.
Traditional security models govern employees, service accounts, and API keys through permissions, owners, and review processes. AI agents often lack the same discipline, even though they can authenticate, hold credentials, and act on behalf of the business. This creates a dangerous gap when agents evolve after launch through model updates, new integrations, or prompt changes that expand their effective reach.
For multi-location retailers and hospitality groups, the challenge is amplified by scale and operational complexity. Each agent needs a named business owner, documented scope, recurring permissions review, runtime monitoring, segregation of duties, and an incident-response playbook that preserves action logs while stopping further activity. Governance must be established before deployments become too large to trace.
IADS Notes: The governance risks described in this article are consistent with recent IADS coverage showing that agentic AI is moving faster than retail security and oversight models can adapt. RH-ISAC reported in March 2026 that AI adoption in retail and hospitality is outpacing cybersecurity readiness, creating new operational vulnerabilities as companies deploy autonomous systems across customer service, payments, and back-office workflows. Harvard Business Review argued in March 2026 that AI agents can behave in malware-like ways when manipulated or poorly contained, reinforcing the need for real-time monitoring, containment strategies, and governance frameworks. RH-ISAC further warned in April 2026 that autonomous AI agents expose retailers to risks traditional security frameworks were not built to address, making adaptive governance and tailored protocols essential. BCG added in June 2026 that agentic AI is rewriting data-risk management by merging privacy, cybersecurity, and governance concerns into one operational challenge. Journal du Net also noted in June 2026 that the real risk in procurement is not AI itself, but AI deployed without clear accountability and enforceable governance.
The missing owner: why every AI agent needs governance, not just guardrails
Department Stores
Beymen Tersane
Beymen Tersane
What: Beymen Tersane, located in Istanbul, is presented by the IADS (International Association of Department Stores) as a unique expert platform in the world of department stores. This presentation showcases a high-end retail space divided into 8 galleries (represented by the "G" prefix in the report) to guide the user through a curated luxury experience
Why is it important: This visit offers a window into a sophisticated retail model where historical industrial architecture meets modern luxury clienteling. The store is situated in a restored shipyard area, utilizing monumental stone arches, exposed brickwork, and vaulted ceilings to create a dramatic shopping environment that integrates heritage with high-end commerce.
The store's significance lies in its gallery-based operating system which segments the 33,000-square-metre logic into distinct zones. It houses a curated mix of top luxury brands, including dedicated sections for Alaïa, Bottega Veneta, Maison Margiela, and Chanel. Large-scale suspended art installations and the G9 Contemporary Gallery merge the shopping experience with cultural exploration. Furthermore, the G5 Beauty Gallery and Beymen Beauty Studio offer specialized services alongside premium brands like Xerjoff. The use of premium materials, such as veined marble pedestals and metallic spiral staircases, reinforces the store's premium positioning across all levels.
Galeries Lafayette Mumbai
Galeries Lafayette Mumbai
What: Galeries Lafayette Mumbai represents the iconic French department store's first major entry into the Indian luxury market. Located in the historic district of South Mumbai, the store is housed across two heritage buildings, including the former Philips Antiques building, which have been meticulously restored and connected. This flagship brings a distinct Parisian flair to India, offering a curated selection of international luxury houses alongside celebrated Indian designers.
Why it is important: The opening of Galeries Lafayette in Mumbai is a strategic milestone that highlights the growing importance of India as a global luxury destination. It demonstrates a sophisticated localization strategy where the "Art de Vivre" of Paris is adapted to the vibrant cultural context of Mumbai.
The store's importance lies in its architectural dialogue between neo-classical European styles and Indian heritage, creating a unique backdrop for premium retail. By offering exclusive services such as personal shopping and high-end gastronomy, Galeries Lafayette aims to redefine the luxury landscape in India. This project showcases how international retail leaders are investing in heritage preservation and local partnerships to build strong, culturally resonant brand identities in emerging markets.
De Bijenkorf Rotterdam
De Bijenkorf Rotterdam
What: De Bijenkorf Rotterdam is a flagship store located in the heart of the city, recognized as a historical and architectural landmark. Rebuilt after World War II, the store was designed by the architect Marcel Breuer and is a prime example of modernist architecture. The presentation highlights the store's evolution and its role as a premier destination for luxury shopping in the Netherlands.
Why it is important: This visit illustrates the successful integration of a heritage-protected architectural icon with a contemporary, high-end retail strategy. De Bijenkorf has navigated the challenges of a rigid structural layout by creating open, light-filled spaces that emphasize a premium customer journey.
The store's significance lies in its "premium experience" model, which combines exclusive luxury brands with a strong focus on sustainability and local community engagement. It features a diverse range of departments, from high-end fashion and beauty to home and gastronomy, all unified by a consistent elevated aesthetic. The focus is on creating an inspiring environment where retail meets culture, utilizing the building's unique Brutalist character to differentiate itself in the European market.
Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong
Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong
What: Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong, Seoul's first Hyundai flagship opened in 1985, was visited by IADS member CEOs during the Mid-year meeting in June 2025 — generating more questions than any other stop on the tour. The pic report is ready for you, enjoy!
Why it is important: This visit offers a rare window into the operating logic of Korean premium retail, where VIC economics are not a niche strategy but a market-wide system. With ultra-high spend thresholds, hard benefits and cross-partner reciprocity built into every major chain, Korea has quietly developed the world's most sophisticated VIC architecture — and Hyundai Apgujeong, small but razor-sharp, is its clearest illustration.
The 33,000-square-metre store spans six floors across B2 to 4F, housing a curated mix of approximately 60 top luxury brands on the ground and first floors — including Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Cartier — alongside a 6,750 sqm premium food hall renovated in 2023 ("Gastro Table"), a boutique cultural space (CH 1985), and dedicated VIC lounges extending to a rooftop garden with a private Atelier bar. Despite its modest footprint by Seoul standards, the store has exceeded KRW 1 trillion in annual sales every year since 2021, reaching KRW 1.2 trillion (€0.75bn) in 2024 — ranking 7th in Korea. The secret lies not in the lounges themselves, but in the operating system behind them: priority allocation of constrained luxury SKUs, appointment-based clienteling, and reciprocity platforms extending benefits abroad through partners such as Hankuku. At Apgujeong, qualifying for Jasmin status requires €42,000 in annual spend; Jasmin Black demands €94,000 — and in Korea, that bar is not exceptional. It is standard.
Check out the photos of Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong