What: Department stores are fewer in number, still downsizing, but not extinct.

Why it is important: Coming off recent restructurings, heady digital growth, channel integrations and a lot of introspection, the sector has turned a corner, and around the world department stores are in varying degrees of transformation.

A retail sector that’s resilient and getting progressive came across at the Global Department Store Summit, organized by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores, this month, where presentations and conversations centered on ESG, redefining the workplace, reinvention, and renewal, not recession. Retailers’ unwavering optimism was evident, leaving looming uncertainties for the near term more on the sidelines than center stage.

The event, held June 9 and 10, was themed “Retailing From the Outside-In” and drew some 250 leaders and senior officials from department stores, brands, suppliers and service companies.

Among the key takeaways from the event:

• Department stores have a future; perceptions of being “dinosaurs” are passé.
• Environmental, social and governance is good for business; retailers and brands must simplify the language of ESG so it’s less technical and consumers can readily understand goals and accomplishments.
• In a data and digitally driven world, retail is still about providing experiences.
• Companies are grappling with how to remake the workplace with a balance of office and remote situations to attract and retain talent and get the most productivity out of the workforce.

Sizing up department stores and the survival instinct