What: The global Thai operator is renewing with growth on all three markets.

Why it is important: Vietnam and Thailand are widely reported in the article, however no detail is given about Italy. During our meeting with Coin (La Rinascente competitor) in March, the picture in Italy was not as rosy as the article suggests.

Central Retail has reported improved sales across its 3 global markets during Q1 2022, leading a group sales raise of +16%, to USD 1,6bn and USD 38mn net profit.

Omnichannel has increased +44% during the last quarter 2021, and the group has plans for expansion on all three markets.

Central Retail reports growth in Thailand, Vietnam and Italy 

What: European shopping malls are rebranding to become closer to their customers.

Why it is important: Working out the retail branding is key to create awareness, generate trust and drive traffic.

Unibail Rodamco Westfield, owner of Westfield shopping malls, is rebranding 3 flagship destinations in Spain (Parquesure, Madrid), Sweden (Taby Centrum, Stockholm) and Poland (Galeria Mokotow, Warsaw). The goal is to drive new revenue through media advertising and brand experiences across its destinations.

It is also a way to catch two birds with one stones: make the most of the resilient European market, and also position these malls as local, an increasingly valued feature by end customers.

Westfield rebrands three European malls 

What: Hospitality is following suit to retail and monetizes the customer data it can gather.

Why it is important: Media Network is not anymore limited to retail: any significant player in the world with enough transaction points with customers can enter the game. As a consequence, retailers will need to make sure that their brand is clear and attractive to advertisers to stand out.

The American hotel chain Marriott has decided to launch into Media Network with the support of Yahoo, offering to advertisers the possibility to reach targeted customers through its apps, websites and room TVs. Anonymized customer data from past searches and reservations will be used to enable brands to display ads relevant to travelers. However, customer or loyalty member data should not be used.

Yahoo will be a supporting partner for the technological part. This move is a direct consequence of Apple’s privacy efforts, which has pushed the whole industry to question how to use first party data and monetize it.

Marriott to debut Ad Network 

What: The German online fashion retailer’s first-quarter sales fell by 1.5 percent , to EUR 2.2 billion (USD 2.33 billion), after posting a 46.8 percent increase in the same quarter last year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it is important: As pandemic restrictions have eased, people are returning to in-store shopping, which is why online retailers like Zalanso are only able to increase their number of customers slightly.

Zalando now sees 2022 sales growth coming in at the lower end of the forecast range. For the three months from January to March, the company reported an adjusted operating loss of almost EUR 52 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of EUR 93 million.

“The main issue is that people just aren’t into buying fashion,” said co-chief executive officer Robert Gentz with a view to high inflation and the war in Ukraine.

Zalando has posted a decline in sales for the first time since being founded

What: Target revealed earnings, increasing top-line revenues but falling short on profits due to continued pandemic-related headwinds.

Why is it important: Total revenues for the three-month period ending April 30, were USD25.1 billion, up from USD24.1 billion a year ago. Comparable sales grew 3.3% during the quarter, year-over-year, on top of 22.9% growth last year, while guest traffic rose 3.9% during the quarter, thanks to strength in food and beverage, beauty, and household essentials. Same-day services, which include buying online, pick up in stores, drive-up, and Target’s delivery service Shipt, accounted for more than half of digital sales growth.

Excess inventory and higher freight and transportation costs lead to reduced earnings per share. Target’s first-quarter GAAP earnings per share fell 48.2% to USD2.16, down from USD4.17 the same time last year. The company logged just over $1 billion in profits, as a result, down from USD2.09 billion during 2021’s first quarter.

Target ended the quarter with 1,933 stores, in addition to its e-commerce business, USD1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and roughly USD13.3 billion in long-term debt.

Target’s declining profits

What: Shein is both customer-obsessed like Amazon, and data-obsessed like China. The combination lures customers and keeps them constantly engaged as well as operating with ruthless efficiency.

Why it is important: It demonstrates that low prices are as attractive as ever to young shoppers, even though surveys suggest that reducing their environmental footprint is a primary concern. And this is the result of formidable efficiency.

Shein the Chinese online fashion company is one of two Chinese firms to be valued at $100 bn or more (the other is ByteDance, TikTok’s owner). Its success is built on three elements:

• Supply chain: it taps into thousands of suppliers whom it pays on time generating trust. This in turn allows it to put in smaller orders. Last year Shein offered 1.3 million new styles compared to 35 000 at Zara and 25 000 at H&M. And prices were 40-60% cheaper.
• It connects suppliers together with its own software allowing updates, output adjustments, and detailed up-to-date knowledge of any market.
• Shein has become a master of “gamification”: customers browsing Shein’s app is like walking through a store with excitement, random discounts, micro-influencers and more.

In the first three months of 2022, Shein accounted for almost a third of fast fashion in the US, against H&M (17%) and Zara (10%).

Shein: fastest fashion online

What: Backstage launches on the 8th floor of Macy’s Herald Square, furthering the footprint of Macy’s burgeoning off-price format.

Why it is important: Backstage is growing rapidly. From April through June this year, Macy’s is bringing Backstage off-price departments to 37 of its department stores, so by the end of June, Backstage will be inside 300 Macy’s stores across the country. Last year, Macy’s brought Backstage into 45 of its department stores.

In Herald Square, Backstage has taken more than 15,000 square feet of space on the eighth floor. It feels like a store within a store, with its own entranceway; distinct blue and white signage and myriad T-stands on wheels for flexibility with the merchandising and display.

The off-price sector is among the most consistently profitable in retail, and actually growing in appeal in light of soaring inflation and consumers being desperate to save money by bargain hunting. Backstage is part of Macy’s efforts to diversify its brick-and-mortar portfolio, from being mall-based with large department stores to also having a significant off-mall presence by layering in smaller, specialized formats such as Market by Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet and Bloomie’s.

Backstage departments range in size anywhere from 11,000 to 18,000 square feet. Eighteen percent of those visiting Backstage also visit the full-line departments at Macy’s, and spend 29% more.

Macy’s Backstage opens at NYC Herald Square flagship 

What: Hong Kong’s retail sales plummeted 13.8% in March due to the string of heavy virus restrictions.

Why it is important: The February-March period was the first time since the end of 2020-into-2021 that retail sales declined for two straight months.

The city has recently imposed strict social curbs — including a ban on dining in restaurants after 6 p.m. and closing gyms and beauty salons — to contain a deadly Covid outbreak.

Things are now looking up for Hong Kong, which is accelerating plans to ease curbs by reopening beaches and swimming pools and extending dining in-hours, among other measures.

The government has started handing out consumption vouchers to help growth. A similar program last year helped boost monthly retail sales by double digits.

The damage to the economy in the first quarter was still far deeper than many economists anticipated, suggesting a potentially lengthy road to recovery.

Hong Kong’s retail sales continue to fall

What: Leading luxury names are joining a group of UK businesses to support employment charity Refuaid helping refugees from Ukraine.

Why is it important: Harrods and Mulberry are among the latest supporters of the UK Ukraine Business Consortium Network. The companies involved will each sponsor a set number of refugees through Refuaid’s education and employment programme.

The consortium is hoping to create long-term infrastructure to benefit any refugees coming to the UK. In the three years since its foundation, Refuaid has supported over 800 people with access to language tuition, finance, and employment.

Harrods supports Ukraine refugee scheme

What: Saks Off 5th has remade its loyalty program in a bid to capture a wider audience, encourage repeat shopping and simplify the process of compiling and using points for purchases.

Why is it important: The new program reflects more aggressive marketing at the upscale off-pricer and greater awareness of what customers want.

Off 5th Rewards, launched Wednesday and was made to capture a wider audience, encourage repeat shopping, and simplify the process of compiling and using points for purchases. It’s tender-neutral, designed with a tiered structure that executives say is easy to understand, and replaces the “More” loyalty program that was phased out.

Through the tender neutral Off 5th Rewards program, customers earn points for every dollar spent at saksoff5th.com, on the Saks Off 5th mobile app, or at 100 Saks Off 5th stores, with points earned per dollar increasing with tier status. Once a customer accrues 500 points, they receive a USD 5 reward, redeemable in-store or online. They also get free shipping and access to members-only sales and events. The launch of the loyalty program is being supported through in-store and online marketing, including email, organic and paid social, display, and site advertising.

Saks Off 5th remade its loyalty program

What: John Lewis Partnership has been diving deep into digital and has announced that it’s recruiting for more than 150 roles as part of a big new investment in digital.

Why is it important: The specialist roles will help keep John Lewis and Waitrose the go-to brands for customers who want omnichannel access to quality, value, and sustainability.

Its Software Engineer and Delivery Lead roles will help to deliver customer-facing projects on both of its brands’ web stores that between them attract more than 55 million visits each month.

John Lewis was being held up as a pioneer for the fact that 40% of its department store sales happened online. But e-sales now contributes to almost 70% of John Lewis chain sales and nearly a fifth of Waitrose sales. That 40% figure for the chain is a distant memory from two years ago, while Waitrose at the same point in time saw only 5% of sales happening digitally.

The new roles will support the growth and development of the Waitrose and John Lewis apps, which now account for almost a quarter of sales for the two brands.

John Lewis launches digital recruitment drive 

What: Kohl’s has boosted its Kohl’s Rewards benefit by 50% in a move to lift sales and traffic.

Why is it important: The retailer said members of its Rewards program using the Kohl’s store card on purchases will now earn Kohl’s Rewards at a 7.5% rate. Previously, Kohl’s Rewards members would earn 5%, regardless of payment method. Kohl’s Rewards members also receive personalized deals, perks, and a birthday gift.

In the stores that already offer 7.5% rewards, Kohl’s saw an increase in Kohl’s Rewards membership, an increase in shoppers getting the Kohl’s card and using it, and an overall sales lift, motivating the company to roll out the enhanced benefit.

The retailer also stages periodic promotions where Rewards customers receive USD10 Kohl’s Cash for every USD50 spent on qualifying purchases. Shoppers can use that Kohl’s Cash during designated redemption periods. During key selling periods, Kohl’s occasionally gives USD15 Kohl’s Cash for every USD50 spent.

Kohl’s enriches its rewards benefit

What: Saks has launched the second year of its emerging designer accelerator programme, ‘The New Wave,’ featuring eight new brands.

Why is it important: The accelerator programme was launched last year to develop and support high-potential independent brands in accelerating their growth at the designer retailer, as well as across the fashion industry, with an emphasis on BIPOC talent.

Saks has selected six designers that are Black, Indigenous, or people of colour, as part of its diversity, equality, and inclusion roadmap to increase total sales of Black-owned, -designed, or -led brands by nearly 100 million US dollars by 2023.

Each designer taking part in the accelerator will be eligible to receive a 10,000 US dollars grant to support their business operations and growth, alongside dedicated marketing support from Saks. The retailer also added that the programme will also offer an onboarding bootcamp, cross-functional advisory sessions with leaders from across the Saks business, roundtable sessions with industry experts and designers and access to workshops to support brands with small business know-how.

Saks’ accelerator program ‘The New Wave’

What: Reliance is preparing to separate its e-commerce activities from its marketplace.

Why it is important: China has already enforced such a measure, and now India is moving forward. Is this a new legal measure that should be expected in the rest of the world too?

The Indian retail giant Reliance is moving accordingly to the new regulations the Indian government is setting up, as it seeks to prohibit marketplace operators to have their related parties or associated enterprises as sellers on their platforms. As a consequence, Reliance’s platform, JioMart, is encouraging third-party sellers to join a specific part of its structure which is expected to separate at some stage.

Even though the branding remains to be defined, the new platform will be parallel to JioMart which will keep on being the retail arm of Reliance Retail and will offer categories of products that JioMart does not include.

Reliance to build separate online marketplace for third-party sellers 

What: As Shanghai and other Chinese cities continue their weeks-long lockdowns, fashion and beauty brands are having to adapt the way they do business.

Why is it important: From Hong Kong to Shenzhen and Shanghai, businesses in cities that play a key role in the fashion economy have been halted or hampered by the pandemic one after the other.

Shenzhen, along with Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, has formed the front rank of China’s fashion industry, becoming an important symbol and contributing to the improvement of the country’s fashion image on the global stage, marking its progress toward becoming comparable to Europe and America. Meanwhile, Shanghai, as the city with the country’s largest economic output, is the window of Chinese fashion to the world and the center of the supply chain for the domestic market.

At this critical moment, fashion companies headquartered in Shanghai have strategic layouts. For example, K-Boxing menswear has done research and development into a product called the “Angel’s Armor,” which can accommodate all kinds of nucleic acid testing sampling items in a timely manner.

Department store group Lane Crawford provided free outdoor electronic advertising screens for charity promotion, prepared fresh vegetable gift packs for Shanghai customers who are self-quarantining at home, provided gift boxes for customers containing Protector Daily masks with professional-level filtration and elegant designs and protective spray sets from Bondi Wash, an antibacterial plant brand from Australia. It also enhanced training for staff on communication with customers remotely during the closure.

These actions are similar to what occurred in the West in 2020 and 2021 during its various lockdowns as a result of COVID-19. Luxury, fashion, and beauty groups from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to Clarins pivoted their operations to producing sanitizer or personal protective equipment, while retailers including Walmart Inc., Target Corp., Macy’s Inc., and Costco saw their online sales boom.

For customers who are unable to visit stores, Lane Crawford provides personalized services through online channels such as live streaming and online communication with style consultants. To provide customers with a convenient and diverse shopping experience, it continues to improve its online services by launching initiatives such as holiday wish lists and membership of WeChat apps.

How Chinese fashion companies adapt to three years of the pandemic

What: JD.com Inc, beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Tuesday, as more people shopped on its e-commerce platform following lockdowns in mainland China to fight a fresh Covid-19 outbreak.

Why is it important: The company reported revenue of 239.66 billion yuan for the quarter ended March 31, compared to analysts’ estimates of 236.66 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders stood at 2.99 billion yuan, compared with a profit of 3.62 billion yuan a year earlier.

JD.com beats quarterly revenue estimates 

What: EBay is opening a pop-up store dedicated to sneakers on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.

Why is it important: “Wear ’Em Out Store,” offers lower pricing for customers who wear purchases out of the store.

EBay previewed the Wear ’Em Out Store’s inventory at the Sneaker Con in Anaheim, California, and has collaborated with rapper Offset to help curate the offering.

The store is set to open for the duration of the Memorial Day weekend, from May 27 through May 29.

EBay to open sneaker pop-up 

What: The electronics retailer is adding electric transportation, outdoor living, and health and wellness products to its in-store assortment.

Why it is important: Best Buy is moving beyond its core product offerings with this latest assortment expansion.

Following the acquisition of Yardbird in November 2021, which signaled the retailers pivot away from inside living spaces, Best Buy has partnered with Traeger, Weber and Ooni to showcase cooking and grilling products in stores.

Best Buy also kicked off its electronic transportation push last year as it started selling products like bikes, mopeds and scooters online featuring brands such as Super73, Unagi and Segway-Ninebot. Now this category will also be offered in stores.

As mentioned in the 2nd IADS CEO Exchange of 2022 with former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly, in March 2021, the Best Buy teamed up with Apple to release health and safety tools for elderly consumers via the Apple Watch. Best Buy acquired Current Health, a home care technology platform, last October for an undisclosed sum, which came about three years after its acquisition of connected health and emergency response provider GreatCall.

Best Buy has also expanded its skincare technology assortment from brands like Foreo, Vanity Planet and PMD Beauty to nearly 300 stores, including electric facial cleansers and products that use LED light therapy.

Best Buy expands in-store assortment of beauty and e-transportation products

What: Coca-Cola has opened its first European flagship store in London where fashion and experiences will share the limelight.

Why is it important: The all-new “fashion hub” is in Covent Garden and is the first of its kind in Europe, offering a range of limited-edition fashion collections and exclusive designer collaborations, plus gift items alongside unique drinks creations.

The London store features exclusive clothing collections that include sportswear, workwear, and a sustainable apparel and accessories collection made from recycled plastic.

In addition to a wide range of fashion accessories, the store's assortment includes limited-edition collectibles and special collections, such as for Pride in June.

Coca-Cola opens fashion hub store in London

What: Walmart is testing its new store concept prior to rolling it over its home territory.

Why it is important: They are making the most of the learnings made during the pandemic ( in terms of social distance and feeling of comfort) and taken a new approach to merchandising and store organization. This might bring a new approach in physical grocery stores that could expand over the US.

Walmart released the first of its 50 remodels it is planning in Texas, in the Dallas Fort Worth area where it owns ¼ of the grocery market share and 35% when including Sam’s Club.

The new concept is all about improving navigation and ease of usage:

• Simpler titles and numbering to have alleys better identified,
• Wider aisles, with improved brand signage,
• Shopping carts with phone and drink holders,
• Grab-and-go section with individual snacks at the entrance of the grocery section,
• Dollar shop section at the entrance of the general merchandise entrance,
• Electronic section reorganized along long display tables, including proximity stocks to avoid having customers waiting for the products to come,
• News services such as free barbecue assembly at home,
• More checkout personnel and self-checkout lanes, including a Walmart-plus dedicated one aiming to convey the advantages of being a member of the loyalty program.

Walmart releases its new concept in Texas 

What: Paris is slowly returning to its pre-pandemic touristic activity.

Why it is important: Paris department stores and other touristic players have ween waiting for such news for months. It might also trickle down to the rest of the country and Europe as Paris can also be an entry door for many tourists looking to stay longer and to have a variety of experiences.

Paris tourism is bouncing back: the city is the second-most sought-after destination worldwide this year after London,  (Prepandemic, Paris held the first place, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was relegated at the seventh position). Hotel revenue is currently up 20% compared to the past weeks and occupancy is on par with May 2019 at 80-90%.

It is expected that the trend should follow, and this will be a welcomed relief for the country, as the tourism industry represents 7% of the total economy.

Paris tourism rebounds thanks to Europeans and Americans 

What: Nordstrom will be closing its personalised clothing service and will instead focus its efforts on e-commerce styling

Why is it important: Subscription box service models have recently been questioned. Nordstrom acquired Trunk Club back in 2014, for a reported USD350 million. The startup was created during the initial wave of subscription box services, where stylists would ship clothing to customers once they had fashion consultations.

Nordstrom bought the business to update its personal styling but failed to make Trunk Club profitable. In 2016, Nordstrom took a USD197 million write-down on the business.

Over the years, Nordstrom expanded Trunk Club into womenswear and also opened retail locations, but shuttered Trunk Club stores back in 2020.

Nordstrom to close the Trunk Club

What: Ulta Beauty unveiled a retail media network that leverages data from a rewards program with 37M rewards members.

Why is it important: The new UB Media platform draws on consumer profiles linked to the brand’s Ultamate Rewards. Advertisers using UB Media can tap into that data to inform campaigns spanning display, video, social media and influencer marketing, along with on-site sponsored product placements on Ulta-owned properties.

Ulta is also providing “closed-loop” campaign reporting services that share insights into how advertising efforts are resonating. Retail media networks continue to gain traction, including with specialty retailers that can offer brands a more tailored audience and potentially greater marketing precision.

The digital ad market has had an impressive run of growth that’s been bolstered, in part, by the retail media explosion. Brands are flocking to the concept as they contend with the deprecation of third-party cookies and try to align their marketing messages closer to the point of sale using first-party shopper data.

Ulta unveils media network powered by data 

What: In March, Steen & Strøm exceeded its best monthly sales on record by as much as 20%. It followed the end of Norway’s Covid restrictions during February.

Why it is important: The sales jump came after major investments, including a repositioned main entrance that fronts Norway's busiest shopping street, plus the introduction of a new atrium and last year’s launch of its major new beauty hall.

The 225-year-old retailer enjoys over 2 million annual visitors and executive director David Wilkinson said: “We are encouraged by the recovery of footfall and sales revenue following the major investment made in the new entrance, escalator core and beauty hall. Oslo continues to develop as Scandinavia’s focus for leading luxury and premium brands. Our customers and teams are incredibly loyal and, combined with international tourists returning, we look forward to delivering a record summer season.”

Norwegian Retail overall has proved resilient during the pandemic and Steen & Strøm reported double-digit growth last summer.

Steen & Strøm beats sales records