What: Footfall for the UK dropped 15.3% compared to pre-Covid levels for this year’s Boxing Day.

Why it is important: Store traffic in the Southeast and London reflected the smallest footfall decline on Boxing Day compared to 2019 (-8.0%), but was up year over year (61.2%) for the day. From a category perspective, Clothing and Shoes attracted the highest traffic on Boxing Day compared to 2019 (-6.3%) and was up almost 71% over last year.

UK footfall drops 15.3% on Boxing Day

What: Allbirds CEO shares insights into the company’s success as a direct-to-consumer brand, highlighting the need for more than simply a storefront and social media as an online business.

Why it is important: The pandemic created an overcrowded online competition for brands that saw online as the future, but Allbirds is looking at physical stores as a centre for acquiring new customers, underscoring the importance of wholesale partnerships to bring products to where existing and prospective customers are.

The path to profitability, according to Allbirds CEO, is investing in infrastructure to build global channels that can support the brand.

Allbirds CEO shares DTC playbook

What: The e-commerce beauty platform recently covered in IADS’ exclusive, Thirteen Lune, is opening its first brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles sometime in early 2023.

Why it is important: As covered in this week’s exclusive, Thirteen Lune is taking its innovative and inclusive approach to beauty retail from online to in-store as it prepares to open in Los Angeles early next year.

Its first iterations of physical retail were accomplished through its shop-in-shop partnership with J.C. Penney. Now, Thirteen Lune looks to further its omnichannel approach with a flagship that goes beyond a traditional beauty store model.

Thirteen Lune to open first physical store

What: The Louis Vuitton brand is no longer just a fashion label, as the LVMH conglomerate has created a multitude of initiatives which expand into food, hospitality, the arts and new product categories.

Why it is important: The Louis Vuitton name has attained a level of power and influence that allows the brand to successfully expand into other markets and categories, such as jewellery, sneakers, perfume, chocolate and hospitality.

Some notable initiatives have been:

• An ephemeral tearoom installed in the brand’s Lille boutique with Meert waffles,
• Two ephemeral restaurants in Saint-Tropez and Seoul with the starred chefs Mory Sacko and Alain Passard, respectively,
• A presentation of furniture and objects in Shanghai,
• A yearlong installation of ‘LV Dream’ housed in the brand’s Paris headquarters which will exhibit the brand’s collaborations with artists, a café, chocolate factory and gift shop.

In 2021, Louis Vuitton accounted for 27% of the world's number one luxury sales, whose turnover then reached 64.2 billion euros.

Louis Vuitton is becoming more than a fashion brand

What: The Emirati retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) stated that it had raised 1.25 billion dollars a revolving credit facility linked to the company’s environmental, social and governance goals.

Why it is important: The loan aims to cut MAF's Scope 1 and 2 emissions and implement LEED certification for its malls.

First Abu Dhabi Bank led the fund raising, the conglomerate's second sustainability-linked loan, as sustainability coordinator and agent. In June, MAF raised USD 500 million with perpetual green bonds, refinancing existing hybrid bonds.

Majid Al Futtaim raises USD 1.25 billion linked to ESG goals

What: Neiman Marcus Group earns a score of ‘B’ for its first Climate Change disclosure to CDP, a global non-profit organization that operates the world’s leading environmental disclosure platform.

Why it is important: Neiman Marcus Group’s ‘B’ score recognizes the company’s management of climate issues across Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman retail locations, as it makes ESG a critical part of its growth and transformation strategies.

NMG reduced Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 31% in the calendar year 2021 compared to a 2019 baseline, demonstrating strong progress toward the company's goal of reducing Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 50% by 2025.

Neiman Marcus Group earns ‘B’ for climate disclosure

What: The cold weather in the UK is keeping Christmas shoppers at home resulting in increases in online shopping and declines in foot traffic.

Why it is important: Pre-Christmas footfall dropped 10.2%, down 20.1% compared to 2019 according to figures from Springboard.

The high street saw 15.7% fewer shoppers. Central London took a massive hit, seeing 31% fewer shoppers than the week prior.

Cold weather dampens UK footfall

What: The National Association of Large Distribution Companies Agned’s collective agreement is expiring at the end of 2022 which has opened negotiations for its renewal along with ‘historical’ salary increases.

Why it is important: Of the 234,000 employees that Anged brings together, the main union at El Corte Inglés, will request a total wage increase of 19.6% in four years (6% in the first two and 3.2% in the following), while Comisiones Obreras aligns itself with Fetico requesting an 18% increase in salaries during the term of the agreement.

The unions support their demands with the argument that wages in Spain have risen only 1% since the current agreement was put in place during the pandemic in 2020, and with inflation rising, workers are concerned.

Unions negotiate for historic salary increases in Spain 

What: The New York Times reviews the situation of luxury in the country.

Why it is important: China is not anymore the global growth engine for the industry, but this is only a temporary setback as it is expected that 40% of luxury shoppers will be Chinese by 2030.

2022 has been a difficult year for luxury retail in China, as shown by the new project Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai, which opened on 120,000 sqm at the end of 2021, but stood mostly empty throughout the year, due to mass lockdowns. According to the New York Times and Blomberg, China’s luxury goods market share might have been halved in 2022 due to store closures and customers’ reticence to come back once they reopened.

Only brands such as Hermes or Moncler posted growth in the country, the rest did not experiment the expected V-shaped recovery. While during the pandemic brands focused on opening new locations in second and their tier cities, as well as in Hainan, the New York Times reports that they now redirect their investments in the US, which is growing faster.

As a consequence, there is now a wait and see attitude in China, as, even though no one challenges the fact that the country still remains an important part of the business, players lack visibility on when the market will take off again. As Bain states it, “over dependence on China is risky, but not as risky of not being there at all”.

In China, Luxury shopping faces headwinds 

What: Half-year profits surged 53% to 284.6 million pounds as Frasers Group’s new acquisitions helped boost sales.

Why it is important: Frasers said UK sports retail revenue increased by 11.6% thanks to the acquisition of Studio Retail, premium lifestyle revenue increased by 24.7% thanks to the growth of Flannels and its online expansion, while sales across the group increased by 12.7%. Excluding acquisitions, Frasers Group revenue increased by 22.2%.

Frasers Group profits surge 53% from acquisitions

What: The two New York-based department stores, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s, are through extravagant Christmas celebrations with brand and celebrity guests to ring in the holiday season.

Why it is important: Bergdorf Goodman pays tribute to artisans and craft techniques through their Christmas windows, while Bloomingdale’s celebrates its 150th anniversary, but both department stores are using live events, gift packages and VIP partnerships to attract customers.

Bergdorf Goodman’s seven holiday windows honour artisans and their techniques, traditions and handiwork while exploring the notion of “extraordinary thinking” and creativity. The campaign also encompasses in-store and digital presentations, exclusive products, and first-class travel experiences. Each window focuses on a particular craft: paper sculpture, woodworking, paper mâché, dressmaking, etc. Limited edition gifts rooted in craftsmanship are also available as part of Bergdorf’s partnership with Sarabande and Gabriela Hearst. Each will “pop up” with activations at various times throughout the season. In addition, key brand partners are offering gift packages ranging from 15,000 dollars to 150,000 dollars, such as one gift offered by Schiaparelli which includes a trip to Paris with extensive cultural, fashion and dining experiences.

Bergdorf’s digital channels have also released a “Magic in the Making” film featuring a cast of store associates as well as Victoria Beckham, Pat McGrath, Marc Jacobs, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Luar’s Raul Lopez.

Bloomingdale’s on the other hand gets a jump on the holiday season with the unveiling of its Christmas windows with a performance by Billy Porter. The store has expressed the alignment of Porter’s personality and mission of diversity and inclusion with Bloomingdale’s ethos and “B [folo] The Change” social purpose campaign. An assortment of 150th-anniversary items is showcased in the store windows, while the Little Brown Bear, an icon the company sells to help support the Child Mind Institute, is featured in another window, in an oversize, gold-coloured version.

One of the many in-store highlights is “The Carousel,” where shoppers can find “The Greatest Gifts” that have been curated by Ayesha Curry. The assortment includes more than 16 diverse, woman-owned brands, including Curry’s lifestyle brand, Sweet July.

Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s go over the top for Christmas - Bergdorf Goodman

Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s go over the top for Christmas - Bloomingdale's

What: John Lewis Partnership chief operating officer Andrew Murphy is leaving the retail group after reaching his 30-year milestone with the group.

Why it is important: In response to the COO’s departure, there are considerations of devolving the supply chain responsibility back to the individual businesses, John Lewis and Waitrose.

As one of the most experienced retailers in the group his departure, his departure comes as a bit of a shock. Murphy rose through the ranks and eventually helped steer John Lewis and Waitrose through the pandemic.

His departure does coincide with supply chain issues within Waitrose stores following a poorly handled IT integration.

John Lewis COO exists at 30-year milestone

What: Amazon plans to lay off as many as 10,000 employees with a focus on its retail operations, human resources and device divisions.

Why it is important: Following Amazon’s announcement to halt company-wide hiring, the company now looks to lay off around 10,000 employees as it faces a potentially unprofitable year due to economic uncertainty.

According to a Times report, the scope of layoffs only represents 3% of its corporate workforce and less than 1% of Amazon’s global workforce. The focus on retail is unsurprising considering that its primary revenue growth drivers are advertising, subscriptions, logistics and cloud services.

Amazon plans 10k layoffs focused on retail

What: Nordstrom, like many other major retailers, lowered guidance due to decelerating consumer demand; however, the department store group was able to meet the renewed expectations despite declines.

Why it is important: Nordstrom Rack posted a 1.9% decrease in net sales, surprising analysts as its poor performance is contrary to expectations that off-priced retail should thrive in times of economic uncertainty. Nordstrom stresses the goal of adjusting Rack’s product mix to contain more premium labels, differentiating the concept from other discount retailers.

Overall, Anniversary Sale timing, with one week shifting from Q3 to Q2, had a negative impact of approximately 200 basis points on net sales compared with 2021. Core categories, including men’s and women’s apparel, shoes and designer, had the strongest growth this quarter versus 2021, as customers continued to shop for occasions, travel, work and holidays. Active and home categories showed a softer growth. Net sales decreased 2.9% to USD 3.43 billion, compared to USD 3.53 billion for the Q3 period of 2021.

While Nordstrom did meet its expectations, after-hours trading on Wall Street pulled the stock down 8.3%.

Nordstrom meets expectations despite Q3 declines

What: European retailers are looking to balance attracting customers with festive light displays while acknowledging the impact of the energy crisis.

Why it is important: Retailers are navigating the energy crisis by using more energy-efficient lights, switching them off earlier and heating shops less to show solidarity with consumers facing soaring utility bills.

In France, companies are moving to become entirely reliant on LED lighting and avoid outages or shortages this year by reducing water, energy and gas consumption due to supply shortages. Other European countries have implemented similar initiatives with retailers reusing lighting displays and shortening the duration of displays.

Energy crisis dims holiday light displays

What: The former CEO of Federated had organised the sale of the company to Campeau in 1988.

Why it is important: He has been one of the most instrumental person in the concentration of the US retail market during the 20th century.

Howard Goldfeder, who rose the ranks from the training executive program at Bloomingdale's to chairman and CEO of the former Federated Department Stores Inc, passed away at 96. He was instrumental in organizing the sales of Federated to the Canadian company Campeau Corporation in 1988, which won over Macy’s at the time for the bid.

During his 7-year-long tenure at Federated, the company grew from $7.6bn to $11bn in annual sales, and even considered Walmart for acquisition at the time.

Howard Goldfeder, US department stores veteran, passes away 

What: LVMH is launching Heristoria, an e-commerce site dedicated to the archive pieces from different houses of the group.

Why it is important: The LVMH ‘vintage’ e-commerce platform, Heristoria, sells archive products ranging from the early 1900s to 2010, which include a visit to an exclusive visit within an emblematic place of the house that created the product that is purchased.

A total of 29 exceptional pieces from 21 brands are currently available on the site, in the categories of perfumery, wines and spirits, fashion and leather goods, watches and jewellery.

LVMH launches e-commerce for archive pieces

What: Central Group and Signa have opened ‘Lamarr’, a luxury department store inside a landmark building in Vienna inspired by Austrian icon Hedy Lamarr.

Why it is important: The Lamar department store, set to open in 2024, will be the fifth department store of the KaDeWe group, joining KaDeWe in Berlin, Oberpolliger in Munich, Alsterhaus in Hamburg, and Carsch-Haus in Dusseldorf.

The building has been designed by architecture firm OMA and is in one of the most bustling shopping destinations in Vienna on Mariahilfer Straße boulevard. The department store will total 20,000 square metres of retail space across eight floors with memorable quotations from Hedy Lamarr decorating the walls and elevators. Along with international and local brands, service components will include medical services, a spa, events and art exhibitions.

In addition to the Lamarr, the Thompson Vienna hotel and the 1,000 square metre rooftop park are currently under construction, which will allow tourists to enjoy terrace seating in the gallery garden that connects the hotel to the store.

Central Group and Signa unveil luxury department store in Vienna

What: John Lewis might scrap for the second time in 70 years the annual bonus due to a complicated economic context.

Why it is important: Retail companies are struggling to attract new and younger talents. The economic pressure on them might increase those difficulties, which might in turn fuel even more their lack of attractivity.

The chairwoman of the John Lewis partnership, Dame Sharon White, has recently warned that the cost of living crisis could affect workers’ pay, and especially their annual bonuses (John Lewis works as a cooperative and employs 80,000 workers, or partners).

The payment of bonuses was already suspended in 2020 for the first time in 70 years, before resuming in 2021 with a 3% bonus (the equivalent of one and a half week’s pay).

John Lewis might not pay bonuses this year 

What: Sephora’s president of Europe & the Middle East shares plans for continued growth in the crowded and competitive beauty retail market.

Why it is important: Sephora plans to focus on expanding online and physical retail with accelerated global development by opening locations in the UK, Latin America and Asia.

The retailer is relying on the ‘lipstick effect’ to play on consumers’ predilection for small luxuries during uncertain times. Reports have shown that since restrictions were lifted post-pandemic, Sephora stores have seen foot traffic rise as high as 45% in some locations. This uptick aligns with competitors such as Ulta and Space NK. With more brand selection overlap in physical retail, Sephora will continue to push the in-store experience as an opportunity to discover brands. Sephora wants to raise its profile as a brand incubator for indie beauty startups and is looking for around 10 small companies to launch with the Sephora platform.

Social shopping is another aspect Sephora plans to develop with more live streams and affiliate links or sponsored content.

Sephora’s plans for growth and expansion

What: To attract Chinese millennials, Alibaba has used the “single day” occasion to celebrate five years of the Luxury Pavilion by expanding its metaverse and liveshopping initiatives.

Why it is important: With 67% of their customers being Chinese millennials, Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion has addressed the best ways to engage with this new generation by utilizing their virtual influencer Timo who will highlight products of various partner brands, along with 3D digital collectables.

Customers have access to the Pavilion’s Meta Pass which gives them priority on certain product releases and events. The Luxury Pavilion also incorporates various levels of liveshopping with some events open to all customers and other invite-only events targeted to select members based on platform data.

Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion has benefited from the strong repatriation of Chinese luxury consumption as it saw a 153% acceleration in the number of active customers between 2019 and 2021.

Alibaba’s Luxury Pavilion mixes metaverse and liveshopping

What: During WWD’s Apparel and Retail CEO Summit, Bloomingdale’s CEO reflected on the changes and events made during the 150th anniversary period and how they demonstrate the future of the department store.

Why it is important: The 150th anniversary of Bloomingdale’s was accompanied by live activities in-store, hundreds of exclusives, vendor & restaurant participation, special events for VIP customers, metaverse activations, pop culture references and a visit to the past with the full department store’s timeline.

Following the principle of “It’s not a moment. It’s a movement,” the 150th-anniversary strategy has carried on into the Thanksgiving period which will continue Bloomingdale’s gastronomic events. Through looking at the history, Bloomingdale’s social support stood out. The retailer will support food charities in Manhattan this Thanksgiving as well.

Bloomingdale’s plans to focus on its merchandise assortment to have a more exclusive curation with less duplication in products. The CEO told WWD during the summit that he’s cautiously optimistic about the holiday results with confidence in affluent customers and an increase in weddings.

CEO talks Bloomingdale’s 150th-anniversary initiatives 

What: John Lewis is starting Black Friday early and plans to hire 2,000 additional temporary employees as well as 4,000 staff across its distribution network to support the holiday season.

Why it is important: Following John Lewis’ extended Christmas return policy early this year, the retailer has also launched Black Friday sales earlier than in previous years with some promotional offers running up to 1 December 2022.

Customers have the option for monthly interest-free payments for selected items over 500 pounds and free delivery on orders over 50 pounds. All promotional offers and holiday-related services are intended to combat the cost-of-living crisis.

John Lewis starts Black Friday sales early

What: Ralph Lauren and Burberry continue to dive deeper into gaming through phygital activations through Fortnite and Minecraft.

Why it is important: Polo Ralph Lauren has designed in-game clothing for Fortnite which it will release as physical products in-store as well. Burberry is working in reverse as they transform garments into digital skins that are modelled on their physical capsule collection.

In Burberry’s case, a new virtual world will be accessible via the Minecraft marketplace. Ralph Lauren will host a virtual Fortnite tournament and a Twitch Livestream.

Ralph Lauren has also reimagined their logo by placing the brand’s polo player on top of the Fortnite llama logo.

Fashion brands continue to push phygital activations - Burberry

Fashion brands continue to push phygital activations - Ralph Lauren