What: Amazon is eliminating 27 of its 30 private clothing brands in an attempt to reduce costs and address antitrust scrutiny. Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection and Amazon Aware will be the 3 brands left.

Why it is important: Amazon has been often criticized for allegedly favouring its own products and disfavouring outside sellers on its platform. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated several big tech companies for allegedly breaking antitrust law: Amazon has been discussing an exit from the private brands business as a concession to the FTC.

Amazon also is scrapping private-label furniture, phasing out its Rivet and Stone & Beam brands once their stock runs out.

Amazon scraps 27 own-label fashion brands to cut costs

What: Kohl’s cuts down its stock levels by 14% year-over-year to USD 3.2 billion in Q2.

Why it is important: The reduction in inventory beat the company’s expectations as 2022 stock levels were “out of control” and resulted in discounting which affected the profits.

The inventory shift brought multiple advantages to the company in the quarter that consumer spending is under pressure due to the economic environment. In addition to stock management, Kohl’s also wanted to keep buying budgets open to respond quickly and benefit from trends.

Kohl’s cuts inventory by 14% as it prioritises discipline 

What: Dior opens multiple pop-ups at Harrods to display the fall 2023 women’s collection.

Why it is important: The pop-ups will attract many visitors to the department store.

The collaboration continues Harrod’s tradition of inviting Dior to create a special installation in August when there are big-spending tourists from the U.S. and the Middle East.

After a Blockbuster Christmas Takeover, Dior Opens Summer Pop-ups at Harrods

What: Nordstrom’s CEO, Erik Nordstrom and CFO, Cathy Smith will participate in the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference.

Why it is important: It will be beneficial to conference attendees to gain imput from the exceutives of a leading company in the retail industry.

The event will take place on September 13th at 9:35 a.m. EDT and will be webcast through the Events & Presentations section at investor.nordstrom.com.

Nordstrom to participate in the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference

What: John Lewis announces a deal with Google Cloud to provide customers with a more tailored and personalised experience.

Why it is important: The partnership will make the company more efficient and use better data insights to help curate products and services.

The deal with Google Cloud is a five-year partnership that will give John Lewis access to advanced AI technology as well as machine learning (ML) offerings.

John Lewis aims to be a 60-70% online retailer by 2025 and focus on the expansion if digital, virtual, and delivery services to keep up with consumer habits.

John Lewis continues digital push with GBP 100 million Google partnership

What: Falabella announces its new project at Mall Espacio Urbano 15 in Vina del Mar to add a new Falabella store.

Why it is important: The new opening of the store is a strategic decision to attract tourists to Vina del Mar and contribute to the development of the area.

The store, reported to open in 2025, has an investment of USD 11.5 million, will cover two floors in the Vinamarino complex, and offer fashion, beauty, home, and decoration. It will include “Workshop F”, a personalisation space for garments, digital kiosks, a “Scan and Pay” system, as well as Click&Collect machines.

Falabella will invest more than USD 11 million in a new store in Vina del Mar

What: Stockmann Itis is Helsinki has been renovated in both concept and floorplan and will celebrate its grand opening on September 2nd.

Why it is important: The redesign of the store adds elements of omnichannel shopping and a circular economy to the company therefore making it more sustainable and pleasant for its customers.

The store will have a showroom concept in which extended and seasonal selections are presented and can be easily ordered and delivered directly to customers’ homes.

Stockmann Itis will also offer more circular fashion services such as a range of sorting and recycling services as well as a sewing service. There is also a playground and rest areas for families along with the possibility of fiting online purchases which would go with it advnacements in omnichannel shopping.

Renewed Stockmann Itis offers omnichannel shopping opportunity 

What: Amazon now offers buy now pay later solutions to its card holders on third party sites.

Why it is important: Who controls the payment process, and the credit visibility, has the best knowledge of the customer profile.

Amazon is expanding its "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) offering beyond its website and app, making it available through the Amazon Pay tool on other retailers' sites. Customers can use Amazon Pay's equal monthly payments option for online checkout purchases of $50 or more and split payments over six or twelve months with 0% interest.

This BNPL option is currently only accessible to customers using Amazon's Visa credit cards. The offering is now available at tens of thousands of online stores, allowing customers to split payments and make purchases more conveniently.

Additionally, Amazon plans to introduce its palm recognition and payment system, Amazon One, to its Whole Foods grocery stores.

Amazon expands BNPL to other retailers’ websites

What: Qatar expands its investments and looks into Indian retail.

Why it is important: The Indian market is evolving fast and chances are that Reliance might feel eady to go beyond the borders very soon, just like what happened in China 10 years ago.

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will invest USD1 billion for a 1% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures, the retail branch of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, increasing its valuation to approximately USD100 billion.

Reliance Retail, the largest retailer in India, has been forming global partnerships with brands like Burberry and Tiffany to grow in India. In 2020, the company raised USD 5.72 billion from investors such as KKR, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and the UAE's Mubadala. Headed by Isha Ambani, the retail unit includes international collaborations, consumer goods, e-commerce, and numerous outlets.

Recent valuations placed the company between USD 92-96 billion, hinting at a potential initial public offering. Mukesh Ambani has expressed plans to list the retail division, but details remain undisclosed.

This move aligns with QIA's evolving investment focus on sectors like retail (Harrods), tech and healthcare, moving away from assets like London's Shard skyscraper. QIA's past investments in India revolved around online retail ventures like Swiggy and Flipkart. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were the financial advisors for the transaction.

Qatar takes a $1 bn stake in India’s Reliance Retail

What: The new collection of Gap sleepwear, loungewear, underwear and intimates for men and women is being sold only at Macy's and marks the first collaboration between the two retailers.

Why it is important: The collaboration raises questions over whether Macy’s would consider expanding its exclusive arrangement with Gap into other categories. Also, Gap could use a lift to its business, which has been reporting sales declines for several seasons: by featuring Gap products on Macy’s different channels, Gap hopes to encourage Macy’s shoppers to visit Gap stores and e-commerce.

Prices range from $12.50 to $79.95. The collection is being sold on macys.com, Macy’s mobile app and in select Macy’s stores around the U.S.

Macy’s partners with Gap on exclusive line

What: Manju Malothra resigns after 25 years at Harvey Nichols.

Why it is important:3 years after the end of the pandemic, and after the replacement of Stockmann’s CEO, who also had to weather the Covid-19 crisis, crisis leaders are now being replaced in order to reconnect with growth.

Harvey Nichols CEO Manju Malhotra, who served for 25 years at the luxury department store, has resigned. She will step down at the end of the year. Pearson Poon, executive director and son of owner Sir Dickson Poon, will take over as vice chairman until a permanent replacement is found.

Malhotra highlighted her successful tenure and collaboration with talented individuals. The retailer faced challenges due to the pandemic, resulting in a £30 million loss for the year ending May 2022 despite a 58% sales surge to £192 million.

Harvey Nichols CEO resigns 

What: Walmart’s AI strategy focuses on personalisation for customers, associate operations, and supply chain optimisation to make shopping easier and more convenient while also fostering a more satisfying and productive work environment.

Why it is important: This quarter, the company exceeded Wall Street earnings expectations thanks to a 24% year-over-year growth in internet sales and will continue to invest in technology.

Retail businesses are focusing on how emerging technology can improve customer experiences. Walmart is currently using AI to run simulations of customer patterns on Black Friday to anticipate bottlenecks and boost its supply chain.

The company launched an augmented reality tool named Vizpick to help workers move products from the backroom to the sales floor more efficiently. Additionally, it joined GenAI Playground, an internal hub for employees to learn about the technology.

Walmart’s AI push prioritizes customer experience, personalisation 

What: Neiman Marcus Group is reviewing its structure and organization to boost profitability.

Why it is important: Although the Covid-19 pandemic has forced organizations to radically reinvent themselves, for some the job is not entirely done and they still need to dynamically adapt to constantly changing conditions.

Neiman Marcus Group has made unspecified cuts to its corporate roles, impacting less than 1% of its workforce. This move is part of a strategic realignment announced in February, with the company aiming to boost cross-functional collaboration, which has led to redundancies.

This comes after the company's bankruptcy in 2020 and its subsequent efforts to revamp its e-commerce and brick-and-mortar operations.

While the exact financial performance of Neiman Marcus over the past three years remains unclear due to it being a private company, the recent downsizing is aimed at supporting its customer-centric retail model and key capabilities in areas like supply chain, technology, and store renovations.

Neiman Marcus cuts staff and favors cross—functional collaboration

What: Printemps plans to open a flagship store in New York City’s financial district.

Why it is important: The store will be situated in the financial district in which luxury retailers have struggled to draw sufficient shopper traffic as there isn’t a habit of shopping in the neighbourhood. This will not be Printemps’ first attempt at the US market; its 1984 storefront near Denver only lasted three years before closure.

Printemps New York will be located at the base of One Wall Street in a smaller format of 55,000 square feet compared to its Paris store which is ten times the size. The New York store plans to offer brands that are new to the market. The assortment will include wholesale buying with a mix of big brands and newer labels for fashion, jewellery, beauty, gifts, home, and décor. In addition, there will also be a food and beverage offer: a champagne bar, a coffee shop, a cocktail bar, and a brasserie.

The store will not need to pay rent as One Wall Street is owned by the Royal Family of Qatar, which also owns Printemps. This will give the store time to adjust and find its way. Additional Printemps locations in the US are being considered as well.

Printemps’ New York City venture

What: Brands are getting creative in their window displays to capture people's attention and represent the brand image in less literal terms than just showing the products.

Why it is important: The window displays increase customer engagement with the brand as it elevates the experience. This trend of contemporary displays can be seen across brands from entry-level to premium to luxury.

Two brands at the frontier of innovative displays are Jacquemus and JW Anderson who regularly amaze customers with abstract creative displays that bring an experience-oriented dimension to the shopping experience.

According to visual merchandising professors, window displays are used as a powerful communicator rather than just to promote popular merchandise or to shift underperforming products.

Window dressing in 2023? Clothing is strictly optional 

What: Over 400 former Debenhams staff who lost their jobs when the company went into administration have won their legal battle against the company.

Why it is important: The value of the claim is calculated to be around GBP 860,000 for the ex-employees affected by the redundancies in 2020.

The judge ruled that Debenhams failed under UK employment law legislation to properly inform employees of the risk of redundancies, and the retailer will have to payout the plaintiffs in the form of a protective award. The former employees will receive up to 90 days of gross pay capped at GBP 4,304.

More than 400 ex-Debenhams staff win redundancy legal battle 

What: Nordstrom reports that losses from theft are at a historic high.

Why it is important: Major retailers are facing the same problem as executives are becoming more familiar with the rise in shrink.

According to executives, industry organisations, and law enforcement agencies, criminals are progressively stealing millions of dollars worth of merchandise and reselling it illegally.

Nordstrom says losses from theft at historic high 

What:  Reliance Retail is predicted to lead the retail industry in the next decade due to India’s growing retail sector.

Why it is important: India’s growing GDP per capita will push Reliance Retail to the front of the retail industry.

Reliance Retail crossed 1 billion transactions in 2023 and the company’s financials have seen an upwards trend- operating revenue growing 30.4% YOY and EBITDA jumping 44.7%. The business has added over 3,300 new stores making the total store count 18,040 across India.

The per capita GDP of India has passed the USD 2,000 threshold which is promising for the retail industry as discretionary spending is also likely to trend upwards. Paired with Reliance Retail’s customer base of 249 million people, the company is the largest retailer in the country and is set to expand even more.

Reliance Retail operates stores in the electronics, fashion apparel, beauty, grocery, footwear, food, jewellery, toys, and e-commerce industry as well as luxury and lifestyle.

Reliance Retail says it is set to lead the retail industry in the coming decade 

What: Amazon introduces generative AI tech to summarise reviews from verified purchases so that shoppers can see common product themes.

Why it is important: The AI review will give customers an overarching summary of products as well as allow them to surface reviews that mention specific product characteristics.

Amazon reported that 125 million customers left 1.5 billion reviews last year and they have blocked more than 200 million reviews. The company utilizes investigators and Lachine learning models to spot fake reviews.

Amazon deploys generative AI to summarize reviews 

What: Japanese department stores’ sales significantly rebound towards 2019 levels.

Why it is important: Isetan Shinjuku and Hankyu Umeda are doing particularly well thanks to luxury sales and personalized advice. At Isetan, 1/3 of sales are now made via personal shoppers and advisors.

Japanese department stores are experiencing a recovery from the pandemic's impact, with fiscal 2022 seeing a 16% increase in total sales. This growth is attributed to robust spending by young high-income earners in metropolitan areas.

Sales across 167 stores operated by 66 companies reached JPY 5.1 trillion (USD 35 billion), representing a second consecutive year of growth and recovering to 88% of the level recorded in fiscal 2019 before the pandemic.

Well-off shoppers, including young entrepreneurs and investors, are driving this trend, and luxury department stores like Isetan Mitsukoshi and Hankyu are benefiting from increased spending. Additionally, the resumption of group tours from China is expected to boost duty-free sales further.

Japan's young urban rich drive department store sales

What: Lotte Group is considering selling its non-operating real-estate assets to improve its financial position amid poor business performance.

Why it is important: The company is in the review stage of possibly divesting its real estate holdings as it could be heading towards further loss due to their recent acquisition, Hanssem’s stock price dropping.

The possible proposed assets for sale are currently owned by Lotte Shopping and include its logistics centre in Bundang (valued at KOR 68 billion in 2022 but Lotte wants to sell for KOR 150 billion), a production facility in Ansan, both in Gyeonggi Province and a culture centre in Gwanak, Seoul. The sought-out total sale price for all the properties is KOR 250 billion (USD 186.7 million).

Lotte Shopping’s financial performance has declined since its acquisition of Hanssem in 2021. The company’s consolidated sales decreased by 7.2% and operating profit dropped 30.8% year-on-year.

Lotte Group seeks to sell real estate to cope with losses 

What:Madison Avenue revives itself post Covid-19 by increasing new store openings, relocations, and expansions of fashion brands, restaurants, and galleries.

Why it is important: Madison Avenue is reclaiming its reputation as a luxury fashion destination.

The appeal of Madison Avenue is being restored by several anchor locations such as the Armani complex, Sotheby’s headquarters, Valentino, and a Hermès flagship store. The Madison Avenue Business Improvement District cited 25 businesses under development.

The opening of the Sotheby’s headquarters cements the neighbourhood as one of the most significant places in the world to buy art.

Richemont has also heavily invested in the street with the Panerai expansion this year, A.Lange & Sohne relocating and expanding, Jaegar-LeCoultre doubling, IWC expanding, Pater Millar relocating, as well as Chloé opening on Madison Avenue.

The 13% vacancy rate is slowly decreasing as luxury businesses are recognizing that it is now a good time to reinvest in the avenue especially due to rent being lower than the peak prices. The current average asking rent is USD 834 per square foot which is an 8.5% increase year-over-year but a 9.8% decrease from fall 2022.

Visitor traffic has increased by 9% in the first half of 2023 from last year and is expected to increase through the events that the BID has been using to encourage more visits. These include a festival in October with the Metropolitan Opera and a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House. Also, increasing stores are staging evening events to appeal to younger clientele.

On Madison Avenue, it’s year two of recovery

What: Sogo & Seibu department store labour union to notify Seven & i Holdings management of strike due to the proposed sale of Sogo & Seibu to U.S fund Fortress Investment Group.

Why it is important: The deal has been postponed because of the workers’ opposition. The management meeting to decide on the sale had also been cancelled.

Seven & i department store unit to announce strike

What: John Lewis experiences growth in its menswear department with its in-house labels such ad Anyday, Kin, and John Lewis & Partners.

Why it is important:  Sales for John Lewis’ private brand labels have increased by 13% as the company accommodates trendy styles, great quality, and classic fabrics.

The drivers behind their sales have been knitwear, outerwear, and tailoring.

The company’s 2022-23 annual report showed that sales decreased by 2% in the John Lewis and Waitrose group, but the men’s category rose by 20% year-on-year while womenswear increased by 17%.

John Lewis sees growth in menswear with own label brands