What: A new trend on social media show that algorithms are not the only way for retailers to address customers.

Why it is important: GenZers value personal advice, efficiency and ability to go out of their comfort zone, in addition to being able to tap other people’s communities. This might be a way for department stores to create new relationships with them.

Despite economic uncertainty, Gen Z is embracing personal styling, particularly when it comes to secondhand fashion. The #stylebundle trend, where personal stylists curate secondhand clothing selections for customers, is gaining popularity on platforms like TikTok, creating a sense of community and uniqueness. Gen Z is drawn to the personalization and unique finds offered by stylists, as well as the opportunity to experiment with new styles. This trend is driven by the desire for thrifted fashion combined with personalized expertise. Brands and retailers looking to tap into this trend should focus on value, customization, altruism, and credibility to attract Gen Z customers.

Do you know #stylebundles?

What: J.C Penney announces its self-funded USD 1 billion reinvestment.

Why it is important: The plan, to be fulfilled by 2025, aims to fuel long-term growth, increase customer loyalty, and enhance the customer experience through digital upgrades and in-store improvements.

J.C. Penney's more than 650 stores will undergo updates to enhance the store look and feel, technology, and associate tools. The company is also upgrading merchandising tools and supply chain operations.

The new customer value proposition, called "Make It Count," aims to remind customers that J.C. Penney stands with them. The brand proposition is anchored in four core aspects: making fashion accessible, genuinely rewarding, standing with communities, and a commitment to doing for others.

J.C. Penney launches USD 1 billion reinvestment plan

What: Frasers Group sells a brand acquired a year ago to Shein.

Why it is important: It might say much more about Shein’s ambitions than Frasers Group’s woes Frasers Group bought Missguided out of adminitration for £20m in June 2022. The brand, founded in 2009, was under pressure with surging supply costs and waning consumer confidence. Details of the deal are to be announced.

Frasers Group to sell Missguided brand to Shein

What: OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT's capabilities, introducing voice and image-based interactions.

Why it is important: The new voice technology — capable of crafting realistic synthetic voices from just a few seconds of real speech — opens doors to many creative and accessibility-focused applications, as well as risks for malicious actors.

Users can engage in voice conversations with the chatbot, make voice requests like bedtime stories, and ask questions, receiving responses in spoken form. Additionally, ChatGPT will support image-based queries, where users can upload images and ask for explanations or instructions. The voice feature relies on a text-to-speech model, offering five different voices. Spotify is partnering with OpenAI to allow podcasters to translate their shows into other languages while retaining their original voice. These new features will roll out to paying subscribers, initially on Android and iOS for voice conversations.

OpenAI gives ChatGPT a voice for verbal conversations

What: Falabella launches its Talent Bank program for 2023.

Why it is important: Its "Talent Bank" program highlights the company's commitment to nurturing and retaining talent.

The in-store development initiative is aimed at improving customer service and fostering internal mobility by imparting technical knowledge, company culture, and leadership principles. This year, participants can aim for roles like sales manager and store manager, with 53 individuals already enrolled. Since its inception in 2015, the program has promoted 345 employees. The training, aligned with Falabella's four core values, is conducted in collaboration with the University of Chile and consulting firm Lifebox.

Falabella Retail launches the 2023 edition of its Talent Bank program

What: Shein has entered the luxury fashion market by allowing third-party sellers on its platform to list high-end products.

Why it is important: The unauthorized luxury listings on Shein have the potential to negatively impact the company's reputation, hinder its efforts to adopt a marketplace model like Amazon and Alibaba, and strain its relationship with well-known luxury brands, making it important to consider the implications.

Listings for luxury goods on Shein include brands like Stuart Weitzman, Coach, Lanvin, and Paul Smith. It is unclear whether these items are authentic or how they ended up for sale on Shein as luxury brands typically choose their retailers carefully and may not have authorized Shein to sell their products. However, legally, the brands have limited recourse as long as the third-party sellers acquired the merchandise legitimately.

While selling luxury goods can help Shein attract wealthier and older customers, it may pose challenges as the company aims to adopt a marketplace model like Amazon and Alibaba. The unauthorized luxury listings on Shein could adversely affect the company's reputation and relationship with well-known brands.

Dumping unsold merchandise with Shein may be one way that brands end up on the platform, but they are unlikely to talk about it due to Shein's association with low prices and criticism on social media. There is a "grey market" of new goods that were never authorized for resale, and tourists often take advantage of regional price differences and fluctuations to purchase these items.

How Shein wound up in the luxury fashion business 

What: Several major retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, are launching early holiday sales to coincide with Amazon's fall Prime member sale.

Why it is important: These early holiday sales come as retailers are looking to meet consumer expectations for convenience and savings.

Walmart's "Walmart Deals - Holiday Kickoff" event will run from October 9th to October 12th, featuring online deals on electronics, home, fashion, and toys. Target is bringing back "Target Circle Week" from October 1st to October 7th, offering deep discounts on thousands of items, with up to 40% off for Target Circle members. Best Buy is planning a 48-hour flash sale starting on October 10th, with deals on TVs, laptops, headphones, and smartwatches.

Retailers are starting the holiday sales early

What: Sephora announces the first-ever European Sephoria event to be held in Paris on October 6-7.

Why it is important: The immersive experience will offer customers a chance to consult with experts in the beauty industry.

The event will take place at 150 rue de Rivoli in central Paris across three floors. Sephora will showcase its makeup, skincare, haircare, and perfumery brands, as well as special offerings for Christmas 2023. Around 40 brands, including Fenty Beauty, Rare Beauty, Drunk Elephant, Manucurist, and GHD, will be featured at the event.

Visitors to Sephoria will have the opportunity to enjoy beauty treatments and attend masterclasses led by cosmetics brand founders and industry experts. Additionally, a café with DJ sets will be available for guests.

On October 6, admission will be limited to Sephora's Gold loyalty club members and the press, replacing their traditional pre-Christmas press presentation. On October 7, the event will be open to the general public from 9 am to 9 pm. Tickets, priced at €35 for Gold Club members and €45 for the general public, will include a free gift pack containing products from Sephora's featured brands. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on September 7 on Sephora’s ad hoc website.

Sephora’s immersive Sephoria event scheduled in Paris on October 6-7

What: Marks & Spencer has expanded its beauty offerings by introducing Estée Lauder Fragrance, with over 30 fragrances from the brand set to be launched in the coming month

Why it is important: The addition of beauty offerings will help increase sales, attract new customers, and diversify their product range.

The company is planning to add over 30 fragrances from Estée Lauder, including the Beautiful, Bronze Goddess and Pleasures collections for women and Aramis for men. There are currently 47 labels in total which account for over 40% sales in beauty.

M&S continues to expand third-party beauty brands

What: John Lewis is adding 20 new fashion brands for the autumn/winter season.

Why it is important: The fashion category was up in double digits for John Lewis last year and could grow even more with its investments into more brands.

The new additions will be launched next week and include Olivia Rubin, Sister Jane, Vivere, and Batsheva x Laura Ashley. The total offer of John Lewis post the additions will be 129 brands.

The company aims to offer something novel and different to the products that customers can find elsewhere.

John Lewis adds more new fashion brands to line-up

What: Luxury brands have understood that experience encompasses many areas of consumption, including food

Why it is important: we are getting to the point where even the most experiential brands, such as Gentle Monster, go the additional mile and open cafés to increase visit duration and customer retention.

Luxury brands are venturing into the restaurant business in Seoul to enhance their brand image and engage younger consumers. Gucci's restaurant in Itaewon boasts Michelin-starred dishes, and despite its premium prices, reservations sold out in minutes. Louis Vuitton and Swiss watchmaker Breitling have also launched eateries, while Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster opened a dessert cafe. The shift towards offering gastronomic experiences comes as brands recognize the limitations of purely digital interactions. Offering food and beverages allows customers to immerse in the brand without the hefty price tag of luxury goods, effectively broadening the brand's appeal, especially among millennials and Generation Z. This strategy emphasizes experiential luxury and lifestyle over direct profitability.

Gentle Monster opens cafes in Korea

What: Nordstrom has released its 2022 Impact Report, highlighting its progress in environmental, social, and corporate initiatives.

Why it is important: The report highlights significant progress in their ESG initiatives, particularly in environmental sustainability, supporting diverse businesses, and giving back to their communities.

The company expanded its beauty packaging recycling program, Beautycycle, to Nordstrom Rack stores and reclaimed almost 30 tons of packaging in 2022. Nordstrom successfully reduced single-use plastics by 50%, three years ahead of schedule, by replacing plastic shopping bags with paper bags at Nordstrom Rack.

The company aims to increase purchases from Black-owned or founded businesses by 10 times by the end of 2030. During Black Business Month in 2022, Nordstrom created Buy Black pop-up markets, driving USD 14 million in sales for Black-owned and founded brands in August alone. Nordstrom onboarded 37 new Black, Hispanic, and Latine brands in 2022, bringing the total to 250 brands. The company sold USD 245 million worth of products from Black, Hispanic, or Latine brands last year, surpassing the interim one-year goal by approximately 24%. Nordstrom has affirmed support for the LGBTQIA+ community by signing on to the Human Rights Campaign’s letter in support of the Respect for Marriage Act and its Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation.

In terms of corporate governance, Nordstrom also made donations of over USD 12 million to more than 350 organizations, getting closer to its goal of donating over USD 50 million in the communities it serves by 2025.

Nordstrom’s impact on people, product and planet

What: John Lewis Partnership is reportedly in talks to raise GBP 150 million through a sale and leaseback deal for 12 Waitrose supermarkets.

Why it is important: The potential sale and leaseback deal could help raise significant capital for the company's turnaround plan amidst challenges in securing additional funding.

The properties, predominantly located in the south of England, have 20-year inflation-linked leases. While CBRE is acting as the property agent, there is no certainty that a deal will take place. The news comes as John Lewis Partnership faces challenges in raising additional capital for its turnaround plan. Chairwoman Sharon White cited high inflation and the "cost-of-living crunch" as hindrances to the plan's progress.

John Lewis eyes GBP 150m sale of 12 Waitrose stores

What: Nelly Rodi has written a book called "Quelques saisons d'avance", chronicling the emergence of trend forecasting in the 1960s and 1970s.

Why it is important: "Quelques saisons d'avance" by Nelly Rodi preserves the memory of trend forecasting and educated future generations about its significant role.

The book explores the relevance and future evolution of trend forecasting in the fashion industry. Rodi shares her personal journey from Algeria to France, her internship at Prisunic, and her connections with fashion figures like André Courrèges and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

She aims to preserve the memory of trend forecasting agencies and their role in predicting fashion trends. She believes that the immediacy of influencers and fast fashion can disconnect from the true purpose of trend forecasting, which is to inform brands about societal trends. While acknowledging the possibilities AI offers, Rodi emphasizes the need for the human element in creating emotional connections.

The 286-page book, published by Bouquins, is priced at EUR 21 and will be released with a signing at the Première Classe trade show in Paris’ Tuleries Garden on Friday September 29th.

Nelly Rodi pens history of trend forecasting 

What: Ingka Investments, the owner of Ikea stores, plans to expand mattress recycling throughout Europe.

Why it is important: Expanding mattress recycling programs across Europe is important to promote widespread recycling and reduce the reliance on incineration as a means of waste management.

The company aims to expand its mattress recycling program across Europe, including Scandinavia, France, and Belgium. However, the company's managing director, Peter van der Poel, highlighted that incineration is still incentivized over recycling in many European markets, as it is cheaper, which could hinder investment in recycling efforts. Ikea piloted a "car boot sale" concept as part of its sustainability push, and if successful, it will be rolled out in Ikea car parks across the country in 2024.

Ikea owner eyes mattress recycling expansion 

What: The British department store is launching its own beauty brand, LBTY, which will debut a line of 5 high-end fragrances. Each perfume is inspired by a different print from the fabric prints the company is so well-known for. The 100ml scents will debut in October in Liberty’s London flagship and website, priced at GBP 225, or just over USD 285.

Why it is important: Fragrance is only the beginning of the company’s beauty ambitions as there are plans to build out a full beauty offering spanning skincare and makeup. They consider the brand as global and able to live outside of the department store model.

Building out a beauty offering is part of a broader strategy at Liberty as it finds new avenues of growth. The company has had success branching out into new categories like bags and swimwear, leveraging its signature prints. Beauty is more challenging venture but it is Liberty’s most significant category, accounting for just under 40% of total retail sales annually.

Liberty bets on building its own beauty brand

What: John Lewis is stalled in their sale of a part of its Oxford Street flagship store.

Why it is important: The hold-ups can impact the company's financial plans and potential real estate investments.

The company had chosen a joint venture between developer Hines and Korea's National Pension Services as the preferred bidder to convert the upper floors into offices. However, declining property values and rising interest rates have caused setbacks in finalizing the deal.

John Lewis GBP 150m Oxford Street redevelopment delayed

What: Reliance opens a Hamleys store in Milan.

Why it is important: After the Chinese expansion, Indian retail also goes outside its borders.

Reliance Retail's Hamleys has inaugurated its inaugural store in Milan, Italy, spanning 13,300 sq ft on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, through a collaboration with Giochi Preziosi, who holds exclusive rights to run Hamleys in Italy. The Milan store, showcasing brands like Lego and Barbie, introduces a revamped design and will be followed by a flagship outlet in Rome. Additionally, Build-A-Bear Workshop will debut in Milan within Hamleys, offering customized soft toys and enhancing the shopping experience for international visitors.

Reliance Retail opens a store for one of its brands in Italy

What: Macy’s renegotiates deals with carrier services to reduce their delivery expense.

Why it is important: After peak season surcharges harmed the firm's holiday profits, the company made cutting delivery costs a primary focus.

Macy's CFO and COO, Adrian Mitchell, announced in an earnings call that the department store retailer successfully renegotiated carrier contracts, resulting in a decline in delivery costs in Q2 compared to the previous year. In Q2 2022, delivery expenses accounted for 4.5% of net sales, but in Q2 2023, they fell by 50 basis points. The specifics of the renegotiated deals were not disclosed.

Macy's uses UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, and DoorDash for same-day delivery.

Macy’s renegotiates carrier contracts for lower delivery costs

What: Saks Fifth Avenue is marking the third year of its designer accelerator program called "The New Wave" by celebrating the latest class of participants.

Why it is important: The programme is designed to nurture and support independent brands with high potential then showcase the brands. By showcasing these brands through various channels, Saks is helping to elevate and promote emerging talents in the fashion world.

The eight brands selected for the programme will receive extensive exposure through Saks' digital channels and a dedicated window installation at the New York flagship store. The brands chosen for the program were carefully identified by Saks' leadership team, who recognized their potential for remarkable growth. The company aims to provide these selected independent brands with the tools, resources, and visibility needed to thrive in the competitive fashion industry.

The designers include Armando Cabral, Áwet, Bernard James, Elisamama, Interior, June 79, Renowned and Sorellina. The window installations are on display now until September 20th at the Saks Fifth Avenue New York flagship.

Saks highlights designer accelerator program graduates 

What: Shopify has invested in wholesale platform Faire in a global deal.

Why it is important: The partnership aims to make it easier for Shopify merchants to find wholesale buyers and for retailers to source products from Faire's network of brands.

Faire, valued at USD 12.59 billion, will become the recommended wholesale marketplace for Shopify merchants. Faire focuses on independent businesses and offers a solution for brands looking to switch to a wholesale model to reduce costs.

The specific details of the deal, including its value and Shopify's stake, have not been disclosed.

Shopify invests in wholesale platform Faire 

What: Zara’s Pre-owned platform will be available in France starting September 7th.

Why it is important: The platform aims to promote sustainability and a circular economy by extending the lifespan of garments, reducing waste, and lowering the consumption of new materials.

The service will offer French customers access to services like garment repair, online buying and selling of used items (online and in-store), and clothing donations. It is part of Zara’s sustainability strategic plan to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.

Zara’s second hand platform arrives in France

What: John Lewis Chairwoman asks the government for a call to action for the current state of town centres and retail crime.

Why it is important: Around 6,000 stores have closed down and there is hesitancy around opening a physical retail front due to high crime rates and antisocial behaviour.

Sharon White, chairwoman of John Lewis, suggests the establishment of a Royal Commission to assess the health of towns and explore strategies for revitalization, which would be the first such commission since the Victorian era. White also highlights additional challenges faced by high streets, including unfair business rates, outdated planning rules, and the impact of traffic changes and clean air zones.

John Lewis boss calls for government reform

What: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) sold Westfield Valencia Town Center to Centenniel Real Estate.

Why it is important: The sale of the shopping center helps URW reach its deleveraging target as the USD 199 million sale price overpasses the USD 195 million debt accompanying the mall.

URW will retain a 50% share in the property due to their belief its long-term prospects. The mall was only discounted by less than 3% compared to the previous independent appraisal which reaffirmed its strong market value. Westfield Valencia Town Center is rated A- and maintains an occupancy rate of 87%.

The group's plans to optimise its portfolio by carrying out several other transactions this year including Westfield Brandon, Westfield Mission Valley East and West, and Westfield North County.

URW sells Westfield Valencia Town Center for USD 199 million