What: At its Capital Markets Day, M&S set a medium-term ambition of mid-to-high single-digit sales growth, with profit growth ahead of sales.

Why it is important: M&S sets separate margin targets by business: around 5% in food and above 10% in fashion, home and beauty, in both channels. This gives a benchmark for retailers that combine food and general merchandise.

M&S set out targets by business at its Capital Markets Day. In food, it aims to double sales over time, having grown annual sales by more than 50% since FY22, while continuing to gain market share. In fashion, home and beauty, it is targeting online participation towards 50% with 180 highly productive stores, also while gaining market share. In its international division, it wants to build a more global brand presence through capital-light channels.

Delivering these ambitions will require continued investment in the M&S proposition and the transformation of its end-to-end operating model, aimed at productivity and operating leverage. M&S is on track for its £600 million ($807 million) structural cost reduction objective by FY28.

With free cash flow expected in each of the next three years, M&S says it can invest for growth while increasing shareholder returns. The full-year 2026/27 dividend will double to 8.4 pence from 4.2 pence, and dividends are intended to grow at least in line with earnings. Last week, M&S said first-half profit rebounded from last year's cyberattack-hit level but was down on a two-year basis as food earnings failed to fully offset clothing weakness.

IADS Notes: The targets build on moves M&S made over the past quarter. On fashion, its first London Fashion Week show put 57 looks on sale immediately in stores and online, and followed a 24% profit slump in 2025/26 tied to a cyberattack (Reuters, September 2026). A limited-edition capsule with Aries also revived the historic St Michael label for younger shoppers (Fashion Network, September 2026). In beauty, M&S is bringing Sephora's range and advisors into 100 UK stores and online from spring 2027 while continuing to invest in its own-label categories (Retail Week, September 2026). The capital-light international ambition is already visible in its Zalando logistics partnership, which covers online fulfilment in 22 European countries and has cut delivery costs by up to 58% (Retail Week, August 2026). On the cost side, M&S's chief executive and John Lewis Partnership's chair urged the chancellor to avoid new taxes on high street retailers ahead of the 28 October Budget, pointing to the pressure from the last two Budgets (Retail Week, October 2026).

M&S targets profit growth ahead of sales over medium term

What: Beymen Group expects 2026 revenue of €1.4bn–€1.5bn, up from €1.3bn in 2025, with growth driven by domestic luxury demand in Turkey, a new stand-alone beauty format and its Tersane store in Istanbul.

Why it is important: Beymen's growth rests on domestic rather than tourist demand, with tourism at 15% of revenue, which executives present as protection against the recurring swings in visitor flows in the region.

Beymen Tersane, the retailer's largest store, opened a year ago in a former naval shipyard on the Golden Horn, after an investment of nearly €20 million. The store relies heavily on VICs, whose tickets are much larger, while footfall to the district is building. International visitors account for 18% of store sales, against 10% across Beymen's other multibrand locations, and the store is expected to beat its first-year sales target by around 15%. Beymen expects Tersane to rival Zorlu Center and İstinyePark; an open-air luxury mall designed by Foster + Partners is due in September 2028, and almost all monobrands have signed up.

The Middle East conflict has had no direct impact on demand or logistics in Turkey, and Çapçı reports some traffic diverted from Dubai and a rise in Russian shoppers. She also points to a young population of more than 86 million, while credit cards offering instalments, used for most transactions, support consumer spending.

Beymen Beauty Studio has three Istanbul stores, with four more planned for next year and a target of 30 in a dozen cities. The July acquisition of Dilasima Group added Max Mara, Boggi Milano and Furla to its monobrand portfolio.

IADS Notes:  At its opening, Beymen Tersane was described as an OMA-designed sequence of galleries in a former Ottoman shipyard, and as an anchor for the redevelopment of the Tersane district into a residential, cultural and shopping area (Superfuture, June 2026). Boyner is investing in the same model. Its Communité concept opened a second store at Galataport, with more than 400 brands across fashion, beauty, wellness, art and design, and an Italian restaurant on site (PAUSE Online, October 2026). The Turkish market's momentum runs against the first-half 2026 trend at global luxury groups: Gucci's comparable revenue fell 5% and LVMH Fashion & Leather Goods declined 1% organically. Over the same period, Macy's and Dillard's grew sales by raising average spend per purchase rather than transaction counts (PYMNTS, September 2026). In beauty, Falabella is moving its Beauty F concept out of the department store into stand-alone units, to reach areas where it has no physical presence, with 12 locations planned in Chile (Perú Retail, July 2026). The stand-alone route carries risk outside core locations. Harrods closed its H Beauty store at Cribbs Causeway four years after launch, as Sephora, Lookfantastic and Boots Beauty reshaped UK beauty retail (Bristol Post, June 2026).

In Turkey, Beymen grows against the global luxury slowdown

What: UK food sales grew 3.2% in October while in-store non-food sales fell 1.1%, with big-ticket categories weak as customers waited for November deals, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Why it is important: October's delayed big-ticket spending makes November and December the real test, as retailers count on pent-up demand arriving while shoppers wait for deals.

Total retail sales rose 1.5% year on year in October, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. That was above the three-month average of 1.2% and in line with the 12-month average. Food growth was above its three-month average of 2.7% and its 12-month average of 3%, while overall non-food sales were flat, against a three-month average decline of 0.1% and a 12-month average growth of 0.2%.

In-store non-food sales fell faster than their three-month average decline of 0.7% and their 12-month average decline of 0.5%. Online non-food sales rose 1.8%, above the three-month average of 0.8% and the 12-month average of 1.5%.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that big-ticket categories such as furniture and white goods performed badly as customers waited for November deals. She said dreary weather helped online sales, cupboard staples received a modest boost after government advice to stock for emergencies, and Halloween falling on a Saturday lifted spending on snacks, costumes and decorations.

Dickinson warned that rising interest rates and energy bills add to pressures already pushing up prices, and called on the government to cut taxes and regulation.

IADS Notes: Weaker big-ticket demand was already visible before October: UK retail sales growth slowed to 0.7% in the four weeks to August 29, as shoppers tightened spending on big-ticket items such as furniture and household appliances while smaller health and beauty purchases held up (Retail Week, September 2026). Weather has also shifted spending between channels. In June, the heatwave pushed online non-food sales up 5.1% while in-store activity weakened and big-ticket purchases struggled (Retail Week, July 2026). Cost pressure has built in parallel. The BRC shop price index reached 1.5% in August, its fastest pace in over two years, with energy costs lifting food prices and AI-driven chip demand lifting electronics prices (Reuters, September 2026), and European retailers looked ill-prepared to absorb a new energy price shock back in March (Reuters, March 2026). As a reference point for the Black Friday period, Landsec's UK outlet centres recorded sales up 8.1% and footfall up 8.6% year on year in Black Friday week 2025 (Fashion Network, December 2025).

UK shoppers delay spending in October ahead of Black Friday

What: Harvey Nichols' Knightsbridge flagship is under threat as Frasers Group and landlord Cadogan Estates dispute a reported turnover-based rent of 5% of sales, with the lease due to expire in five years.

Why it is important: The Knightsbridge flagship is central to Harvey Nichols' appeal, as the Oxford Street store is to Selfridges, so the talks concern the brand Frasers bought, not just one store's costs.

Frasers Group, which bought Harvey Nichols earlier this year, is seeking a substantial rent reduction on the Knightsbridge flagship, with payments linked to the store's turnover. Landlord Cadogan Estates is believed to be unwilling. Turnover-based deals of this kind are more often agreed with distressed chains in regional malls and on high streets than with a major luxury retailer in one of London's leading shopping districts.

Sources close to the talks told The Times that Cadogan is concerned about the future of the property, while describing the negotiations as "positive and constructive". If no agreement is reached, the lease may not be renewed when it expires.

The 200,000 sq ft building has housed Harvey Nichols since it was built almost 150 years ago. Together with nearby Harrods, it is one of Knightsbridge's two key department store destinations for luxury shoppers from around the world.

Harvey Nichols used to own the freehold, which it sold to Cadogan 26 years ago for over £75 million. The chain's Birmingham store is already slated for closure.

IADS Notes: The Knightsbridge lease was an open question from the start of Frasers' ownership. It was flagged as uncertain when the business was acquired, alongside a regional estate whose rents, wages and stock costs were not matched by footfall or spend (Inside Retail, August 2026). In October, Frasers' CEO said the group was in talks with Cadogan, which owns the Knightsbridge freehold, and was prepared to invest significant sums in the flagship provided it secured the right terms, while UK trading would focus on Knightsbridge, Edinburgh and Manchester (Retail Week, October 2026). The Knightsbridge operating company had reported an 11% fall in turnover to £69.5m and a £177.6m loss after tax in the year to March 2025 (Retail Week, October 2026). Selfridges' London flagship faces similar trading conditions: its return to profit came from head-office cost cuts on sales that have been flat for three years, as international tourists stayed away (Glitz, October 2026). Restructured landlord deals carry their own risk. BHV Marais in Paris agreed to return more than half of its store to Brookfield in exchange for compensation, then filed for receivership when the funds were not paid, a debt Brookfield denies (Fashion Network, October 2026).

Frasers and Cadogan in rent talks over Harvey Nichols' Knightsbridge flagship

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?

What: Card transactions across London's West End rose 13% in the first six days after Oxford Street banned cars and buses, compared with the same period last year, according to Barclays data.

Why it is important: The early figures give the £150mn regeneration plan its first commercial evidence, as it faces opposition from Westminster city council, residents and transport groups over congestion and access for elderly and disabled visitors.

Barclays debit and credit card transactions in the wider West End rose between October 26 and October 31, the first six days after cars and buses were banned from Oxford Street. Steve Fergus, Barclays' head of retail, said an easier, more pleasant street gives shoppers another reason to visit town centres, which matters in the run-up to Christmas.

Separate Adyen figures show in-store transactions across 40 Oxford Street businesses up 19% on both the previous week and the same week last year. Regent Street, which has attracted higher calibre brands in recent years, grew by only 1%.

The scheme follows a difficult decade marked by the collapse of Debenhams and House of Fraser and the pandemic. Vacancies reached 13.7% in 2022, and western rents fell from an average £1,100 per sq ft in 2016 to £600 in 2021, according to Savills. The mayor's office said it was excited to see the plans become reality, while Westminster city council, some residents and transport groups fear diverted buses and taxis will worsen congestion on neighbouring streets.

IADS Notes: Oxford Street's pedestrianisation was expected to lift foot traffic and attract new flagships, and it already had the backing of major retailers when the mayor advanced the plan (Financial Times, February 2026). By the time the street closed to traffic, vacancies had dropped below 1% and western rents, at £850 per sq ft, remained more than 20% below their 2016 peak, while footfall was still under pre-pandemic levels (Financial Times, October 2026). The wider UK backdrop is weak: footfall fell 10.7% year on year in April on subdued consumer confidence, although London held up better than the other UK nations (Retail Insight Network, May 2026). Selfridges, at one end of the pedestrianised stretch, saw sales stay flat over three years while international tourists stayed away from its London flagship (Glitz, October 2026).

West End spending rises after Oxford Street bans cars and buses

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

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

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

What: BHV Marais has been placed in receivership, three years after Frédéric Merlin bought the Paris department store from Galeries Lafayette, with its revenue having fallen from about €300 million to €170.3 million.

Why it is important: The collapse shows the limits of applying a shopping-centre footfall strategy to a department store whose value depends on brand relationships, and the receivership will test whether a court-led process can attract a buyer for a historic Paris store after two changes of ownership and the separation of the business from its brand.

On 2 November, the Paris commercial court placed the company operating BHV Marais and its Westfield Parly 2 store near Versailles in receivership. About 660 jobs are affected, half the headcount at the time of the 2023 takeover. Unions hope it will bring in a new buyer.

In June, Frédéric Merlin sold the business, but not the BHV brand, to his deputy Karl-Stéphane Cottendin and senior managers. The new management officially sought receivership to negotiate with Brookfield, the Canadian fund that has owned the building since January, a move the columnist says came too late. The court document, cited by AFP, finds the company in cessation of payments due to a sharp fall in revenue, excessive liabilities and disputes with the landlord. BHV posted a €1.85 million loss in 2025.

Le Monde's columnist acknowledges the store was already struggling, with payments running late, when Merlin, a property specialist known for reviving shopping centres, took over. She argues that his focus on footfall led him to bring in Shein in November 2025, presenting cheap fashion as a defence of purchasing power against Parisian snobbery. The move drove away fashion brands and lenders and disappointed Shein shoppers, BHV customers and staff.

IADS Notes: The Shein bet carried a cost from the outset. Galeries Lafayette ended its affiliation with SGM over the plan to bring Shein into seven regional stores, citing the risk to its brand image (WWD, November 2025). By December, brands such as Dior, Sandro and Guerlain had pulled out, along with investors and public funding partners. That left SGM struggling to finance its purchase of the building and led Paris City Hall to consider stepping in (Fashion Network, December 2025). The regional rollout drew modest crowds, with shoppers disappointed by prices and a narrower range than online (Fashion Network, February 2026). In the first quarter of 2026, sales fell nearly 80% and more than 200 brands and suppliers left over unpaid invoices (L'Informé, May 2026). New management then presented its receivership request as a framework for a relaunch, while striking staff estimated the combined debt of BHV Marais and Parly 2 at €80 million (Fashion Network, October 2026). The court's ruling now moves the store's future from a relaunch plan to the search for a new buyer.

BHV Marais placed in receivership

What: In his first interview as chairman, Fernando de Peña sets out Falabella's growth strategy to 2030, built on simplified governance, a focus on Peru and the Andean region, and an integrated omnichannel ecosystem.

Why it is important: Falabella's chairman measures omnichannel success by how well stores, digital, banking and malls work together rather than by online share, a view backed by the group's recent results.

Fernando de Peña became chairman of Grupo Falabella in March, after the end of the shareholders' agreement, as a "unity" candidate. He says all board decisions so far have been unanimous. His first months were spent simplifying and professionalising subsidiary governance, with more frequent board meetings and greater accountability for each business's general manager, and designing a common growth strategy to 2030.

De Peña describes the group as optimally placed to grow, citing its recovered investment-grade rating, record operating results and low debt. Growth will focus on existing markets, especially the Andean region. Peru is singled out for its low formal retail penetration compared with Chile. A return to Argentina has not been evaluated, the United States is not a priority, and he made no commitment on Brazil.

Online sales reached 27.6% of total sales in the second quarter, but De Peña rejects that ratio as the measure of success, favouring an integrated, personalised omnichannel experience. He also dismisses the idea of a retail apocalypse. Under the same logic of specialisation, Mallplaza will take control of assets held by Falabella Inmobiliario in Chile. The 2027 investment plan, following US$900 million in 2026, is due to be announced soon.

IADS Notes: De Peña took the chair after 35 years building Mallplaza from a single centre in Chile into a regional platform of 37 operations across Chile, Peru and Colombia (Press Release, March 2026). Two months later, the group board was cut from nine to seven members. It now includes directors with backgrounds at Inditex, El Corte Inglés, Amazon and Apple, and meets monthly (Modaes, May 2026). His refusal to judge progress by online share rests on the group's own figures. In the second quarter, Falabella Retail's online sales grew 21% against 3% for physical stores, while record profit of US$242 million came from growth across retail, banking and shopping centres (Press Release, September 2026). The specialisation logic he applies to Mallplaza was set out in two memoranda signed the same month. One places six Falabella Inmobiliario assets in Chile into a joint venture valued at about US$200 million. The other creates a jointly developed mixed-use project in Lima's San Isidro district (Press Release, September 2026). Peru's priority status is also visible in format investment, with six new Glowbar beauty stores planned there by the end of 2026 (Perú Retail, June 2026).

Falabella's chairman sets out the group's growth strategy to 2030

What: Zalando launched Zalando Extended, an AI-agent shopping platform, on the day it reported third-quarter gross margin of 38.7%, below analyst expectations, and its shares fell 5% in early trading.

Why it is important: Zalando is taking the opposite path to Walmart and Amazon on agents: it routes shoppers to other retailers' products inside its own app, where Walmart opens its systems to outside assistants and Amazon blocks them.

Zalando, Europe's top online fashion retailer, launched its first AI shopping agent on Tuesday as concerns grow that artificial intelligence could disrupt online retail. Zalando Extended will let users buy products from other online shops through AI agents in the Zalando app, with a pilot run with home retailer Westwing.

The launch came with third-quarter results. Gross margin missed expectations partly because of investments, according to Jefferies and JPMorgan analysts. JPMorgan said the stock could drift lower given the lack of incremental positives and the structural risk from agentic commerce, in which autonomous agents handle the full purchase cycle from price comparison to payment.

Revenues grew 5.1% year-on-year to €3.17 billion ($3.55 billion), above the €3.15 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Gross merchandise value rose 7.5% to €4.54 billion. Finance chief Anna Dimitrova said the shift to a platform model is accelerating, with the partner business and retail media growing at a double-digit rate and B2B revenue up almost 28%.

IADS Notes: Zalando places an AI agent inside its own app to buy from other online shops, whereas Walmart has opened its systems to external assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini while keeping shopper authorization and payment data in-house, after suspending a ChatGPT Instant Checkout test in which conversion came in roughly three times lower than on its own site (Reuters, October 2026). The wider market is divided on the same question, with large etailers blocking agents to protect customer relationships, advertising revenue and returns exposure, while consumers use AI mostly between discovery and checkout rather than at the point of purchase (a16z, October 2026). Payment routing carries its own stakes: when a wallet pays with its own virtual card, the retailer loses sight of the customer, the card's rewards and the chance to sell a membership (an a16z analysis of agent wallets, October 2026). Zalando's platform shift builds on its standing in European fashion, where vertical marketplaces are major players that raise the bar for brands' own sites as margin pressure builds (Journal du Net, October 2026), and on a logistics business that already lets partners such as Marks & Spencer cut delivery costs by up to 58% through its ZEOS platform (Retail Week, August 2026).

Zalando launches AI shopping agent after third-quarter margin miss

What: Amazon says more than 400 million customers have used Alexa for Shopping in the last 12 months, up from 350 million at the end of July, and that users spend 50% more than non-users.

Why it is important: Amazon is leaning on its AI assistant as a growth lever at a time when its e-commerce segments are slowing.

On its fiscal third-quarter call, Amazon reported net sales of $201.9 billion, up 12%, with AWS up 39%. E-commerce segments slowed. Online Stores revenue rose 2%, against 10% a year earlier, third-party seller services rose 9%, against 12%, and advertising services rose 11%, against 24%. Much of the slowdown reflects Prime Day moving from mid-July to the end of June, which shifted its sales into the second quarter.

Amazon released the assistant as Rufus in February 2024 and rebranded it Alexa for Shopping in May 2026. Ahead of the holidays it announced more than 100 new capabilities, including creating and editing gift lists and registries and managing Subscribe and Save, such as pausing or canceling certain subscriptions.

Amazon has blocked ChatGPT and Meta's Muse shopping agent from scraping its site. CEO Andy Jassy hinted that this may eventually change, as he has said before, and said Amazon anticipates working with horizontal agents. He also said he believes Alexa for Shopping will be the primary shopping agent customers use to shop Amazon.

IADS Notes: Amazon introduced Rufus in beta to select US customers in February 2024, with Andy Jassy pointing to its potential to improve discovery (Retail Dive, February 2024). Users of Macy's Gemini-powered assistant spend nearly 400% more than non-users (Fortune, March 2026). Amazon restricted more of ChatGPT's web crawlers while investing in its own tools such as "Buy For Me" (Digiday, November 2025). Other large etailers are also blocking agent shoppers, while consumers mostly use AI for research between discovery and checkout rather than for the final purchase (a16z, October 2026).

Amazon says more than 400M customers have used Alexa for Shopping in the last 12 months

What: Ingka Group plans 20 smaller stores across Europe and North America as IKEA adds design-led collections, planning services and resale to its low-price flat-pack model.

Why it is important: IKEA is adopting levers familiar to department stores (smaller footprints, advisory services, shop-in-shops, resale) while testing how far a value brand can move upmarket without eroding its price positioning.

IKEA built its success on vast stores, room sets and flat-pack products, but is now adjusting its model with smaller stores, kitchen design services, second-hand furniture, designer collaborations and local manufacturing. The company describes market conditions as challenging, citing inflation and weak consumer confidence. IKEA U.S. reported $5.3 billion in 2025 sales, including $1.9 billion online, and its Family loyalty programme reached 25 million members, up 17%.

Design collaborations lift perceived value without luxury prices: Ilse Crawford's Halgatt lamps, the 96-product Stockholm collection and the revived Sontenas armchair. The new small stores carry over 2,000 products with planning services and in-store online ordering. Kitchens are among the most lucrative upselling opportunities, supported by planning shop-in-shops inside Best Buy, where IKEA designs the space and Best Buy supplies appliances.

In the U.S., Buyback & Resell gives Family members store credit for eligible furniture, resold in As-Is departments, while the IKEA Preowned marketplace drew more than 300,000 people and 95,700 listings between June 2024 and August 2026. Tariffs are pushing more U.S. sourcing, including SBA Home's $70 million North Carolina factory. The limit is the brand itself: premium ranges or costly services risk diluting its affordability promise.

IADS Notes: Ikea's move to smaller formats has been under way throughout 2026, starting with its first U.S. small-format store in Dallas, which offers more than 3,000 items for immediate purchase alongside online order pickup (Dallas News, March 2026). In Europe, seven smaller in-town stores opened from the start of the year as part of a €1.2 billion price-cut programme launched after two consecutive years of declining revenue (Reuters, September 2026). The store-in-store model works in both directions: Ikea kitchen and laundry planning shops operate inside 10 Best Buy stores in Texas and Florida (Chainstore Age CSA, November 2025), while Decathlon is hosted inside Ikea's Croydon store to lift footfall and better monetise the retailer's store network (Fashion Network, February 2026). On resale, Ingka extended its Ikea Family secondhand marketplace to the UK, Ireland and Germany, with preowned products selling on average 60% below new prices and a buy-back service under test in Portugal and Spain (Retail Week, October 2026).

IKEA opts for smaller stores

What: Delhaize confirmed an IT incident affecting the refrigeration and freezer systems of at least forty Belgian supermarkets, following the October attack on French stores and the recent outage at its parent company Ahold Delhaize.

Why it is important: Refrigeration controls sit outside the usual IT perimeter, and the French attacks exploited obsolete units that no longer received security updates, a risk shared by any retailer with food halls or connected store equipment.

Delhaize confirmed to the Belgian outlets HLN and VTM Nieuws that an IT incident occurred involving the refrigeration and freezer systems in some of its supermarkets. The hack reportedly affected the refrigerated and frozen food display cases of stores located in both Flanders and Wallonia, and the reported count is a minimum. RetailDetail states that no further information is available yet.

The news recalls the large-scale cyberattack on refrigerated display cases in French supermarkets in October, when hackers manipulated the electronic controls of refrigeration and freezer systems and at least 350 stores were affected. The damage from that attack amounted to tens of millions.

Ahold Delhaize, Delhaize's parent company, has only recently recovered from a major cyberattack in which many of its services were shut down for more than a week as a precaution. RetailDetail draws the link to the French case by comparison only and reports no confirmed connection between the incidents.

IADS Notes: The attacks of 12 October targeted obsolete Danfoss refrigeration controllers and spoiled stock across about 400 French supermarkets, while Ahold Delhaize took systems offline across five US banners and European services including Albert Heijn (The Robin Report, October 2026). A wider tally puts the number of French shops with remotely hijacked refrigeration controls above 500, and the websites and apps of Ahold Delhaize's US banners stayed down for at least eight days even though stores remained open (IADS, October 2026). Continuity then depends on a fallback that works in practice: Magasin du Nord kept all its stores and its webshop open by trading partly by hand after unauthorised activity on 18 October, in a market where only 5% of surveyed companies say they could largely run core activities without central IT (Magasin du Nord, October 2026). The price of lacking one is visible at Marks and Spencer, which forecast a return to profit growth only after investing in technological resilience following its attack (Financial Times, May 2026).

Delhaize refrigeration systems hit by IT incident in at least forty Belgian stores

What: German retail sales fell 2.0% month on month in September, against the 0.4% increase analysts polled by Reuters had expected.

Why it is important: A 2.0% monthly fall in Germany, Europe's largest economy, means weak September trading was not limited to the UK and France, where weather and the cost of living were already weighing on demand, so retailers should expect a cautious run into the holiday season.

German retail sales fell unexpectedly in September, according to data published on Monday 2 November. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast growth, so the result is a clear miss rather than a marginal one, and it reverses the modest expansion that was anticipated for the month.

The Reuters report is brief. It does not say which product categories or sales channels drove the decline, and it gives no year-on-year comparison. Nor does it quote analysts or retailers on the reasons for the weakness, or say whether food and non-food sales moved differently.

The federal statistics office publishes more details on its website, which is where the breakdown behind the headline figure can be checked. Until that detail is reviewed, the result is best read as a headline signal of softer consumer spending in September, not as an explanation of what caused it, and it should not be extrapolated to the months ahead.

IADS Notes: German retail sales fall in a month when other major European markets also posted weak September figures. UK retail volumes declined 0.4%, with retailers reporting that new autumn ranges sold poorly in unseasonably warm weather (Retail Week, October 2026). In France, textile and apparel sales dropped 15% year on year in the second-hottest September on record, with every channel down by double digits and department stores the most resilient at -11.3% (Fashion Network, October 2026). Weather is only part of the picture: cost-of-living protests spread across five European countries on 17 October, with an energy-driven rise in inflation and limited fiscal room for governments as the common threads (Le Grand Continent, October 2026). Ikea has responded with a €1.2 billion price-cut programme across Europe, including more than 1,500 products in Germany, its largest market by revenue, with the CEO of Ingka citing the cost of living as the reason (Reuters, September 2026).

In Germany, retail sales fall unexpectedly in September

What: Freezers at dozens of Ica and Coop supermarkets in Sweden and at Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour and Spar stores in Belgium overheated to as high as 55C on 2 November, weeks after similar attacks on French supermarkets.

Why it is important: The attacks have moved from France to Sweden and Belgium within weeks. The same refrigeration software is now a shared exposure for grocers across several European markets, not a single retailer's problem.

Freezers at dozens of supermarkets in Sweden and Belgium overheated, ruining food worth millions of euros. Company statements named six Coop stores and at least four Ica shops in Sweden. In Belgium, local media reported about 40 Delhaize shops, 15 Carrefour shops and five Spar shops. The head of an Ica shop in Sjöbo said staff could not adjust the temperatures while hot air blew into the freezers, destroying food worth hundreds of thousands of Swedish krona.

The incidents follow attacks on hundreds of French supermarkets last month, when one fridge reached 80C. The Paris public prosecutor's cyber crime unit and Anssi, the French cyber security agency, are investigating those attacks.

Many of the affected fridges and freezers ran software by Danfoss, the Danish industrial group. Researchers at Claroty reported multiple vulnerabilities in Danfoss systems in August, which the group fixed. Danfoss said last month that the affected fridge systems no longer received security updates and ran outdated firmware. Ahold said it was aware of an IT incident affecting refrigeration systems in a number of Delhaize stores and was assessing the situation. Experts have warned that poor IT security and outdated software expose critical infrastructure to such attacks.

IADS Notes: In October, attacks on obsolete Danfoss refrigeration controllers spoiled stock across about 400 French supermarkets, after Claroty had published flaws in the controller model in August (The Robin Report, October 2026). A wider tally puts the number of French shops with remotely hijacked refrigeration controls above 500, while the websites and apps of Ahold Delhaize's US banners stayed down for at least eight days even though stores remained open, and exploitation of disclosed flaws now follows within days (IADS, October 2026). Exposure also runs beyond the first tier of suppliers: a breach at a global logistics provider disrupted warehouse operations across Europe, while most vendor risk programmes stop at direct suppliers (RH-ISAC, August 2026). Continuity then depends on a fallback that works in practice: Magasin du Nord kept all its stores and its webshop open by trading partly by hand, in a market where only 5% of surveyed companies say they could largely run core activities without central IT (Magasin du Nord, October 2026). The price of lacking one is visible at Marks and Spencer, which forecast a return to profit growth only after investing in technological resilience following its attack (Financial Times, May 2026).

Freezers overheat at Swedish and Belgian supermarkets weeks after French cyber attack

What: Frasers Group's Sports Direct has entered Kenya with two large-format stores in Nairobi, operated with local partner Hudson Group.

Why it is important: Frasers is taking Sports Direct into Africa through a local partner, the same capital-light route it has used in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, while international revenue (up 59.2%) offsets a shrinking UK sports business.

Sports Direct has opened its first two stores in Africa, in Kenya's capital Nairobi, through a strategic partnership with Hudson Group. The stores are at the Sarit Centre, where the space is 10,000 sq ft, and at Galleria Mall, which exceeds 7,800 sq ft.

Both stores carry sports and lifestyle brands including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma and New Balance. They feature Sports Direct's Running, Football and Outdoor concepts and showcase its own-brand portfolio, including Everlast, Slazenger, Karrimor, Jack Wills and USA Pro. The retailer called the openings "a major milestone" in its global expansion and in its ambition to become the number one sports retailer internationally.

Hudson Group chief executive Chris Muscat said the openings change the landscape of sports retail in Nairobi, offering a large-format dedicated experience that combines leading sports brands with more accessible and affordable offerings. He attributed the proposition to Hudson's experience in the region and to Frasers' ambition to bring large-format retailing to Africa in sporting goods. Hudson plans to build on this momentum as it expands Sports Direct across Africa.

IADS Notes: Frasers' growth has come from outside the UK: in its first-half results, international retail rose 42.8% while UK Sports Retail declined (Fashion Network, December 2025). For the year to April 2026, international revenue grew 59.2%, helped by the Holdsport acquisition in South Africa and partner-store openings in Malta, Australia and the Middle East, against a 4.7% fall in UK sports retail (Retail Week, July 2026). The group is also leaning on local operators: it sold Sports Direct Malaysia to MAP Active for around $150m while keeping a long-term agreement and an ongoing income stream, with MAP already supporting the banner in five other Southeast Asian markets (Retail Week, July 2026). The model is not unique to Frasers: JD Sports is entering Mexico through a franchise in which Grupo Axo will operate more than 140 stores from 2027, and JD and Courir already run 75 franchise stores across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia (Retail Gazette, September 2026). The Hudson Group partnership in Kenya follows the same partner-led pattern.

Sports Direct makes African debut with two new stores in Kenya

What: Peek & Cloppenburg is leaving the Dam in Amsterdam at the end of February 2027, and its group-owned building will be redeveloped into smaller retail units.

Why it is important: A prime tourist location no longer guarantees a viable department store when local customers stay away and the building cannot meet current technical standards.

Peek & Cloppenburg is ending a 110-year presence in Amsterdam, a notable exit for a company founded in Rotterdam in 1869 by German merchants Johann Theodor Peek and Heinrich Cloppenburg. The building is held by the group's property arm, P&C Vastgoed. The retailer called the decision carefully weighed and plans to redeploy the store's staff within the organisation where possible.

The closure is part of a wider overhaul of the Düsseldorf entity, which sought protection from creditors in 2023 and then carried out an extensive restructuring programme. The Almere megastore, opened in 2022, had already closed in 2025 after disappointing results. Of a chain that once counted around 60 Dutch stores, three will remain: Rotterdam's Hoogstraat, The Hague's Wagenstraat, home to the Dutch head office, and Westfield Mall of the Netherlands in Leidschendam.

The Dutch business belongs to the Düsseldorf P&C group, part of JC Switzerland Holding AG alongside Anson's and Danish department store Magasin du Nord. The group operates more than 170 stores in 17 European countries with around 16,000 employees. A separate, fully independent Peek & Cloppenburg has been based in Hamburg since 1911.

IADS Notes: Peek & Cloppenburg's Dutch retreat comes amid a broader reorganisation of the Düsseldorf group, which merged its Düsseldorf and Vienna buying and merchandising organisations into a single group-wide structure from October (Fashion Network, August 2026) and appointed a new Managing Director Finance effective 1 November 2026, the third change in that role in roughly two and a half years (Stores+Shops, September 2026). Within the same group, Magasin du Nord took a different route, closing its Rødovre store when its lease expired while investing DKK 49 million in its Aarhus and Lyngby flagships and growing retail sales by 9% in 2025 (Nordjyske, April 2026). In the Dutch market, De Bijenkorf chose to keep all seven of its stores open while cutting 167 jobs, despite a profitable year (Retail Detail, January 2026). The planned subdivision of the Dam building into smaller retail units echoes Brookfield's project for BHV Marais in Paris, where 60% of the building is to become a hotel and self-contained retail units aimed at international tourists rather than local shoppers (Fashion Network, May 2026).

Peek & Cloppenburg to close its Amsterdam store

What: South Korea's three largest department store groups saw year-on-year luxury sales growth fall from about 40% in the second quarter to between 10% and 15% in October, with jewellery decelerating most sharply.

Why it is important: The Korean figures show in a major department store market what European and US data already indicated: brand price increases no longer pull demand forward, so luxury growth now has to come from volume, assortment and customer reach.

Growth slowed in two stages across the three groups. Lotte fell to 25% in the third quarter and 15% in October, Shinsegae to 23.3% and 10.2%, and Hyundai Department Store to 25.3% and 11.8%. In jewellery, second-quarter growth of 65.0%, 80.9% and 70.6% respectively shrank to 15.0%, 20.7% and 20.4% in October. The industry attributes the slowdown to fatigue from accumulated price increases and a shrinking wealth effect.

The pattern extends beyond Korea. LVMH's fashion and leather goods organic revenue fell 5% year-on-year in the third quarter and Gucci's revenue 6%, with weak Chinese consumption and slower high-end spending in the United States weighing on results. The average resale price of a Hermès Birkin 25 fell from 2.6 times retail in 2022 to about 1.7 times. Pre-announced price increases no longer prompt buying ahead of them, and Boucheron restored some prices raised in July to their previous level in October.

In September, L'Oréal overtook LVMH as the most valuable company on the Paris stock exchange, at €203 billion against €201 billion, a shift analysts link to the "lipstick effect". Some observers caution that Korean luxury sales remain above last year's level, which points to decelerating growth rather than contraction.

IADS Notes: Pricing fatigue had already surfaced in Europe and the United States before reaching Korean department stores. The Wall Street Journal in August 2026 reported that years of price increases had pushed middle-income shoppers away from Louis Vuitton and Gucci towards Ralph Lauren and Coach, and Bloomberg in October 2026 noted that 2026 price increases were set to be the lowest since 2019, with analysts expecting luxury demand to concentrate among top-tier clients. The earlier surge in Korea also drew on foreign shoppers: The Korea Times in October 2026 reported that Lotte's luxury sales to foreign customers had more than doubled, with Shinsegae and Hyundai also on course to pass ₩1 trillion in foreign sales this year. The shift towards lower-priced categories is visible on department store floors as well, where WWD in September 2026 reported a 20% rise in jewellery sales at Liberty driven by demi-fine and fashion-led brands, and Reuters in April 2026 attributed L'Oréal's sales growth to consumers turning to beauty as an affordable luxury.

In South Korea, department store luxury sales growth falls to the 10% range in October

What: In Singapore, CapitaLand is redeveloping Tampines Mall a year after Isetan's closure, adding 16 new health and beauty, jewellery and fashion brands, while Chinese and other Asian F&B chains expand across its malls.

Why it is important: Beauty brands are taking large units in a mall that once hosted a department store, while Chinese and other Asian F&B chains fill space elsewhere in the portfolio. The tenants who win space in Singapore's malls are increasingly specialist brands rather than multi-category department stores.

Singapore's retail sales rose year on year in all three months of the third quarter, peaking at 5.3% in August, and rents are edging up. New retail floor space will stay well below the historic average through at least the end of the decade, and the largest project due over the next five years, Phase 1 of Tanjong Katong Complex, adds only 180,000sqft of net leasable area.

CapitaLand's retail and office REIT reported 97.3% retail occupancy, positive rent reversions of 4.6% and 84% tenant retention by leasable area. Shopper traffic rose 2.3% over nine months and tenant sales per square foot 2.1%. F&B closures were more than offset by openings from Luckin Coffee, Mixue and Heytea, alongside higher-end concepts from Italy, Korea, Malaysia and Japan.

At Tampines Mall, the upgrade advanced further, with large units for Sephora and Meilleur Moment and additional boutiques for Goldheart, Chanel Beauty and YSL Beauty. Population reached 6.21 million, mostly through foreign residents, and e-commerce has climbed above 18% of retail sales, absorbing some of the excess demand for space.

IADS Notes: The redevelopment of Tampines Mall follows Isetan's exit after three decades, which left the retailer operating only at Orchard Road and Nex, as reported by Inside Retail in November 2025. Channel News Asia in December 2025 described the divide behind such closures: owner-operators with prime Orchard Road positions, such as Tangs and Takashimaya, stay profitable, while rent-paying tenants such as Isetan, BHG and Metro come under mounting pressure. Investor appetite for prime space is strong, with Inside Retail in April 2026 reporting the sale of Paragon Mall to CapitaLand for more than $3 billion. Inside Retail in July 2026 reported that Metro will close its Paragon and Causeway Point stores after a US$8.8 million net loss, while Paragon's new owner reviews how to reconfigure part of the mall, including Metro's current space. On the demand side, Inside Retail Asia in October 2026 showed August sales up 1.6% year on year, with cosmetics leading, F&B services down 1.6% and department stores up 0.7–1.6%.

Singapore mall landlords see rents rise as new retail space stays scarce

What: David Jones' CEO is reviewing the retailer's store portfolio and its trading terms with suppliers and brand partners, as store closures are floated across a network of 38 stores in Australia and New Zealand.

Why it is important: Shrinking the store network is becoming a condition of survival for Australian department stores, as David Jones and Myer cut footprints while consumer demand weakens.

David Jones, Australia's oldest department store, is reportedly close to collapse after 188 years and is looking for a financial backer with deep pockets, according to The Australian. The retailer is said to have struggled to pay some suppliers and to have lost brands including Christian Dior, Gucci and Chanel. A company spokeswoman confirmed that CEO Erica Berchtold is reviewing the store portfolio and the trading terms with suppliers and brand partners, and is in advanced discussions with key stakeholders as she accelerates the INSPIRE30 strategy. Berchtold took the role in June, when David Jones also announced a refinancing partnership with Hilco.

Trading conditions are dire as shoppers tighten spending amid rising interest rates and fuel prices. Retail property group Vicinity reports department store sales down 6.5 per cent over the past three months. Consumer analyst Barry Urquhart argues the issue is capital inadequacy and liquidity, and that a strong Christmas would only delay the outcome. Associate Professor Carol Tan of RMIT University believes the business can be saved with fewer stores. The chain operates in Australia and New Zealand and is believed to employ more than 5000 people.

IADS Notes: The review of David Jones' store portfolio and supplier terms follows a sequence of restructuring steps. The closure of the Castle Towers and Tuggerah stores in January 2026 was presented as network optimisation alongside omnichannel investment (Daily Mail, December 2025). A $74 million loss then came with head office cuts and late payments to key suppliers, while owner Anchorage Capital Partners pledged continued investment (Sky News, April 2026). Erica Berchtold's appointment as CEO came with a three-year asset-backed lending facility from Hilco Capital and the launch of the Inspire30 strategy (WWD, June 2026). The pressure is shared across the Australian market: Mecca's exit from Myer after 17 years removed a major beauty traffic driver, while David Jones was investing in premium flagship experiences (nine.com, July 2026). Myer's $276.5 million FY2026 loss, its worst since 2018, was attributed to higher fuel prices, three interest rate rises and a weaker housing market, with trading in the first eight weeks of FY2027 described as as challenging as, or worse than, the second half (The Senior, September 2026).

David Jones reviews store portfolio and supplier terms amid collapse reports

What: Chinese cosmetics brands hold more than half of China's market, worth almost Rmb1tn ($149bn), yet Proya, the largest, has only a 1.5% share against L'Oréal's 8.6%.

Why it is important: With the domestic market shrinking in 2024 and listed players under financial strain, Chinese beauty groups are looking to Western shelves, which gives beauty buyers a growing pool of new brands whose appeal rests more on branding than on origin.

The sector is extremely fragmented, and foreign groups still hold the top spots. Proya, the only Chinese company in the top five, became the first local player above Rmb10bn in revenue in 2024, yet its revenue fell 1.7% last year and rose 0.2% in the first half. Chando, whose revenue rose 16% to Rmb5.3bn last year, and Proya both depend heavily on flagship brands, which Morningstar says leaves them exposed to trend changes until they widen their portfolios.

Results are uneven: Mao Geping's first-half revenue rose 26% to Rmb3.3bn, while Yatsen has lost 98% of its value since its 2020 New York listing and is worth less than $225mn. Yatsen has bought Galénic, Eve Lom and mainland rights to Dr Wu, with research centres in Shanghai and Toulouse, while Proya opened a Paris laboratory in October. Flower Knows, now part of Proya, debuted at Boots, and Proya brings two skincare collections to Ulta Beauty in November. An industry source says Chinese brands do not yet speak to Western consumers in a branded way, and that overseas ambitions rely on consolidation at home as well as stronger branding.

IADS Notes: Reuters' coverage of Proya's move into 400 Ulta stores recorded that Chinese brands held 57.4% of China's cosmetics market last year, and that Proya's CEO put its brand awareness in Europe and the US at zero (Reuters, October 2026). The domestic backdrop explains the urgency: retail sales in China grew 0.4% in August as stimulus faded, and Chinese retailers expanding abroad are testing each market with a flagship and closing weaker sites instead of rolling out fast (Inside Retail, October 2026). The same pattern of local brands gaining share at home before convincing outside investors appears in luxury, where Laopu Gold grew sales 61% in the first half yet trades at about 6 times forward earnings, with doubts over whether its appeal travels (Financial Times, October 2026). Foreign groups have been repositioning around that shift: Estée Lauder is cutting up to 10,000 roles, over 70% of them point-of-sale positions in department and freestanding stores, as it moves toward digital and specialty channels (Retail Dive, May 2026). In the US, Shinsegae's Hyper Ground pop-up shows Asian beauty reaching shelves through curation while Olive Young, Sephora and Ulta compete for K-beauty, and its Paris experience taught it that international shoppers no longer buy Korean brands for their origin alone (WWD, September 2026).

Chinese cosmetics brands look abroad as pressure builds at home

What: Sincere expects closing its Central department store to cut sales but narrow losses, after first-half revenue fell 31% and a failed lease renewal left it with one store in Mong Kok.

Why it is important: Hong Kong's growing retail sales are not reaching its oldest department store, which shows that rent, rather than demand, now sets the limits for legacy operators in prime districts.

The Sincere Company said in a stock exchange filing that it had sought to renew the lease on its ground-floor store at 189 Des Voeux Road Central, which expires on December 31, but could not reach agreement with the landlord. The store will close in early December. Sincere is looking for new premises in Central or Sheung Wan but has not found a suitable site.

Until then, its department store business will run from a four-storey shop at King Wah Centre on Nathan Road in Mong Kok and an online store. Sincere closed its Dragon Centre branch in Sham Shui Po on January 4 after three decades.

Revenue fell to HK$44.3 million (US$5.65 million) in the first half of 2026, while the net loss narrowed to HK$21.4 million from HK$26.5 million. Directors expect lower sales once Central closes, though savings on rent and overheads may narrow operating losses.

The closure comes as Hong Kong retail sales rose 5.6% year on year in August to HK$32.1 billion. Economist Simon Lee Siu-po noted that sales remain below the HK$38.2 billion of August 2018.

Founded in 1900, Sincere pioneered fixed prices, sales receipts and female shop assistants in Hong Kong.

IADS Notes: The Central closure was first reported as a lease failure, with high rents and online competition identified as the underlying pressures even as citywide sales grew (South China Morning Post, October 2026). Visitor numbers have since recovered faster than visitor spending, which last year remained 44% below 2018, and seasonally adjusted retail sales fell 4.6% in the three months to August while department store categories barely grew (Inside Retail Asia, October 2026). Landlord terms have become decisive for legacy operators elsewhere. In Paris, BHV Marais filed for receivership after the compensation it expected from Brookfield for handing back more than half of the store went unpaid, turning a downsizing deal designed to halve its rent into the trigger for the filing (Fashion Network, October 2026). In Korea, Lotte and Hanwha Galleria are leaving branches ahead of lease expiry to concentrate capital on their strongest stores, where the top 10 of the five major operators' 65 stores already generate 49.8% of sales (The Chosun Daily, September 2026). In Singapore, Metro is letting its Paragon and Causeway Point leases run out and moving to smaller multi-concept formats after a US$8.8 million net loss, in a market where rent-paying department store tenants face more strain than destination operators in prime positions (Inside Retail, July 2026).

Sincere expects lower losses as it closes its Central store in Hong Kong