What: Retailers saw consumption growth slow more than expected in July as social distancing measures continued to constrain spending and local shoppers awaited the arrival of electronic vouchers the following month.

Why it is important: The Hong Kong government is distributing HKD 5,000 (USD 643) consumption vouchers to eligible residents to encourage spending.

Retail sales value was HKD 27.2 billion (USD 3.5 billion), up 2.9% from a year ago, according to a government report. That’s well short of the median economists’ forecast for 10% growth. Retail sales volume rose 0.9%, also short of expectations for a 6.9% advance.

“The electronic consumption vouchers that the government began to disburse in August have helped stimulate consumption sentiment and will render support to the retail business in the rest of the year,” the report said.

Hong Kong Retail Growth Slowed Again in July 

What: The Beijing Winter Olympics of 2022 will be held in a bubble from February 4 to 20, enabling citizen fans in the stands.

Why it’s important: The game’s organizers have given the first glimpse into the country's plans to hold the event: a strict zero-Covid strategy.

Athletes and other participants who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter the bubble without quarantine, unlike those who are not vaccinated and will have to spend 21 days in quarantine upon arrival. However, foreign fans will not be able to attend the games.

This is good news, knowing that during the Tokyo Summer Olympics of this year, Japan would not allow any fans in the stands, as the capital was placed under a state of emergency.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be open to fans -- if they live in China 

What: Lotte department store is offering its first-ever voluntary retirement since first opening 42 years ago.

Why it is important: The operator of the department store chain, Lotte Shopping, told employees that it will be accepting voluntary retirement applications. Around 2,000 staff members meet this qualification, the company said.

The restructuring program is particularly for staff members who have worked for the firm for more than 20 years. Voluntary retirees will receive a severance pay equal to 24-months of wage, KRW 30 million (USD 25,576) in compensations and another KRW 32 million as children’s university tuition payments.

Lotte Department Store offers first-ever voluntary retirement

What: Alipay might lose the ability to instantly evaluate its customers’ credit history and rating.

Why it is important:  Such a move might prevent Alipay from keeping a leading edge on the exploitation of 1bn+ customers’ data, which might impact its attractiveness to customers in the future, at a moment when worldwide retailers have all started to accept Alipay as a payment method.

Alipay, the 1bn user financial app part of the Alibaba ecosystem, and its mother company, Ant, are still under the scrutiny of the authorities, after having already been ordered to separate the back end of their two lending businesses (credit card and loans), from the rest of its operations.

Beijing is now ordering Ant to separate all credit activities operations (credit card and loans) from the rest of its businesses, in order to create a credit scoring joint-venture which would be partly state-owned.

Lending activities represented 35% of Ant’s business in 2019, and 39% a year after.

A crucial consequence of such a separation would be that Alipay would not have direct access to any user’s credit history and rating, and would have to apply to the newly created joint-venture to do so, leading to longer processing time for the users and a reduced margin for Alipay.

Ant’s Alipay to break up under Beijing’s order 

What: Another brand enters the subscription space with an offer aiming at teens and tweens

Why it is important: Even though product subscriptions might not be the easiest for department stores to implement, paid memberships and services subscriptions might be a realistic option to generate an additional revenue stream.

Claire’s, the teen and tween accessories retailer, launches a subscription service to Gen-Z customers with a quarterly accessories and jewelry box, shipped against a subscription of USD 30. There is no commitment into doing so, and there are 3 themes corresponding to different age groups. A one-time purchase is priced USD 32.

The global subscription box market is estimated to have reached USD 18.8 bn last year and expected to grow annually by 20%.

Such a model, including products (as also tested by brands such as On running shoes or Ralph Lauren) might prove difficult for department stores, as they involve a totally different logistic process and structure. However, retailers are also entering this space (Carrefour, Walmart, Best Buy, Shinsegae) and we are convinced that such a service, if it brings the appropriate perks to customers, could contribute to increasing the value proposition of department stores.

Claire's launches its first subscription service

What:  A new step in the improvement of the last-mile delivery

Why it is important:  Self-driving vehicles (cars, trucks or other) could help to arrange the financial equation when it comes to the last mile: retailers already know how to delivery efficiently and quickly, but this comes with a human cost.

Ford has teamed up with Walmart to test home delivery with self-driving cars in Miami, Washington and Austin, with a half-dozen wide fleet of vehicles. Ford is also planning to test with Lyft passenger rides in self-driving cars in Miami and Austin this year.

Walmart to Test Self-Driving Delivery With Ford and Argo AI 

What: Bringing relevance, soul and a sharper focus to its private labels, executive vice president Jen Jackson Brown gives a progress report on the program.

Why it is important: Having reduced the number of its private labels from 40 to 12, Nordstrom intends to grow this part of the business thanks to brands appealing to different lifestyles, age groups, communities and body shapes, and including ambitious sustainable goals.

NPG, which covers apparel and accessories for men, women and kids and home goods, calls its private brand portfolio “Nordstrom Made.” NPG has a team of about 350 people in merchandising, design, development and sourcing, and works with manufacturers in 25 countries.

Designed for young adults starting their career, Open Edit, available in men’s, women’s, kids, accessories and jewelry, has been the number-one brand launch. Nordstrom has been evolving its Halogen brand, targeting Millennials with “day-to-night essentials” with greater comfort and versatility in light of changing lifestyles and work situations.

The Nordstrom label, Nordstrom Made’s largest brand seen in home, kids, layette, men’s and accessories, is poised for further growth and reflects “timeless classic yet fashion” from different labels.

Other top Nordstrom-owned brands include Zella activewear, which was introduced in 2007 before the athleticwear boom. It’s offered in women’s, men’s and kids. There’s also BP for young adults, and Treasure & Bond which donates 2.5% of net sales to charity.<

“Probably a year and half ago, we said every single brand we have is going to have extended sizes. That was a bold move,” said Brown. “We hired people to help us understand fit for different types of body shapes.” BP + Wildfang (introduced last spring) has an inclusive approach, and challenges stereotypes and gender norms.

Henna and Hijabs x Nordstrom, geared for the modern Muslim woman, is another recent launch reaching different audiences.

This month, Nordstrom will launch Nordstrom x Christina Martinez to celebrate Latinx Heritage month and reach a largely underserved customer. Martinez is a Mexican American artist known for beautiful art prints which Nordstrom has adapted for apparel and home products.

Brown cited Nordstrom Made goals for 2025, among them that 50% of the products come from sustainably sourced raw materials and ensuring that 15% of the assortment qualifies for Nordstrom’s “sustainable style” program. The company is also shooting for 90% of its products to be factory traceable by 2025 and is on track to achieve that goal ahead of schedule. In 2020, 64% of Nordstrom Made product volume was produced in factories using the Higg Index Facility Environmental Module and it’s expected that it will reach 100% in 2021.

Bringing Relevance, Soul and a Sharper Focus to Private Brands 

What: The British company said supply chain complexities after Brexit made getting fresh food from Britain to France each day too difficult.

Why it is important: The post-Brexit trading rules have frustrated many companies with significant added costs. Rules of origin requirement have forced clothing retailers to move distribution centers to the European Union, businesses of all sizes have increased customs payments and food producers have to pay for health certificates.

Marks & Spencer, the large British retailer that has been battling Brexit costs and delays for months, said on Thursday that it would close its 11 food stores in France.

The stores were supplied with products made in Northampton, near the middle of England, and shipped across the English Channel each day. At the start of the year, once Britain began its new trading relationship with the European Union, the stores’ shelves emptied out in Paris as new customs checks and tariffs upended the retailer’s supply chain.

The stores in France that are closing by the end of the year are run by a partner in a franchise agreement. Nine other stores in France, located in transport hubs and operated by a different partner, will stay open. The website, which sells mostly clothes and home products, will keep running.

Marks & Spencer Blames Brexit as It Closes French Stores

What: The retailer is hosting a pop-up café and shop at Sotheby's on London's Bond Street until 9 September.

Why it is important: After Matches Carlos Place’s hybrid retail space, Net-a-porter’s initiative represents a new e-commerce venture into physical shopping.

The pop-up coincides with Sotheby’s “Life Is Beautiful” sale, celebrating all things luxury and craftsmanship. Its London edition includes rare sneakers, fine jewelry and watches, sought-after Chanel and Hermès handbags and original movie posters.

Net-a-porter has created a fashion exhibition-cum-shopping space next to the the “Life Is Beautiful” exhibition, featuring an edit of its fall 2021 collections, which embraces the same themes of timeless craftsmanship and feel-good luxury. The collection on show features mega brands like Bottega Veneta and Loewe but equally, plenty of pieces from independent British names, from Molly Goddard’s larger-than-life tulle skirts, to Simone Rocha’s ruffled leather jackets, and David Koma’s signature form-fitting cocktail dresses. The retailer’s new homeware edit is also on display.

To mark the launch and London’s social calendar coming back alive, Net hosted a cocktail at Sotheby’s and its fleet of personal shoppers will be setting up shop at the auction house for the week to welcome shoppers for physical appointments.

Net-a-porter Partners With Sotheby’s 

What: Walmart expanded its delivery pilot with Instacart to include parts of New York City, where there are no physical Walmart stores.

Why it is important:  The partnership takes advantage of Walmart stores located near the city to fulfill delivery orders via Instacart for customers in the metropolitan area.

The pilot, which started last year in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrived in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx in the expansion.

Walmart and Instacart's growing partnership intensify competition with Amazon, Target, and other stores fighting for consumers' online spending.

Walmart expands Instacart pilot to New York City 

What: A message from the CEO to brands to update on the plan execution

Why it is important:  The plan presented by Saks and later Hudson Bay surprised many analysts, as it decided to split into separate companies online and offline operations, at a moment when omnichannel is all about an increased cooperation between both channels.

Mark Metrick, CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue, sent a letter to its brand partners to reassure them on the fact that the plan, decided 6 months ago, was going well according to expectation. It was indeed decided and acted recently to split the company in 2: saksfifthavenue.com (online operations) and SFA, which owns and operates the Saks 40-wide store fleet.

This move was also followed later on by Hudson’s Bay Company and the outlet company Off 5th.

Given that the Hudson’s Bay Company does not report its quarterly earnings, Metrick also provided its suppliers with some financial information about the state of the business: on Q2, online sales increased by +82%, with a traffic up +80% (both compared to 2019), while comparable sales in stores increased +29% (attributed to an increased productivity among style advisers). A third fulfilment centre for the online business has been also announced.

CEO Letter to Vendors The Reengineered Saks Fifth Avenue Is ‘Winning’ 

What: Kohl's is expanding its partnership with Nextech AR Solutions Corp. to build "thousands" of 3D product models to enhance consumers' e-commerce experiences at the department store as more retailers use augmented reality technologies.

Why it is important: With its Nextech partnership, Kohl's joins a growing list of retailers enlisting 3D technology to enhance its online shopping experience. AR technologies have been implemented into digital sites like Etsy and Snapchat to allow customers to virtually try on products or visualize items in their homes.

Now that the COVID-19 epidemic has sparked a rise in e-commerce, businesses are resorting to augmented reality (AR) technology to simulate the in-store buying experience and, ideally, minimize returns.

As Kohl's focuses on improving its digital shopping experience, the retailer has also experienced an uptick in sales and is making changes to its physical stores and plans to open at least 850 Sephora shop-in-shop locations within its stores by 2023, beginning with more than 70 locations across the U.S

Kohl's expands Nextech partnership to create 'thousands' of 3D product models 

Nextech AR and Kohls Expand Augmented Reality Contract For (Press Release)

What: Xu Lei is the new president of JD.com and will lead the day-to-day operations of the company’s various business units. He has been replaced as CEO of JD Retail by Xin Liujin.

Why it is important: The changes allow more time to be devoted to formulating long-term strategies and contributing to the country’s call for revitalization of rural areas.

JD.com Has a New President, JD Retail Names New CEO

What: Pete, Erik, Jamie and patriarch Bruce turned to WWD to reflect on Nordstrom’s past and discuss its future.

Why it is important: Nordstrom management team discusses the renewed relationship with partners and brands, the business model evolution, the customer’s expectations and journey, the necessary integrated approach to both online and physical retail and how good service is often invisible.

Pete Nordstrom: the brand builder

The retail veteran marveled at how little the strategy had to change during his first decades on the job. Under the leadership of his father, Bruce Nordstrom, and the third generation of family leaders, the company grew quickly, enjoying a period of brick-and-mortar expansion. More recently, everything got harder, digital changed the game entirely, and Pete — together with his brother Erik and cousin Jamie — has kept Nordstrom at the forefront of the online revolution.

Amid a period of great change and challenge, the tight-knit Nordstrom team forged ahead with a number of attention-grabbing moves, such as the company’s minority investment in Topshop. It’s just one example of how Pete and his team have re-examined the idea of partnership and also reflects Nordstrom’s efforts to appeal to younger shoppers.

Nordstrom’s strategy is to be less transactional in the relationship with partners and understand more about their goals. Relationships are key to brand management. Brands become more selective and Nordstrom has to be top of mind and clear about its value proposition.

About business models: “There are a lot of different ways — everything from drop ship to wholesale to revenue share to a hybrid concession model to a full concession, where the brand owns the inventory, the space, it’s their people managing it. We become more like a landlord. But there are versions of that. All of those discussions are easier to have because they’re relevant to our current issues. I feel like all the walls have gone down.”

The most important lessons learned during the pandemic are the ones relating to communication, as there’s not a lot of serendipity happening through a Zoom call, so you’ve got to be very intentional about how you communicate with people.

Erik Nordstrom on the stuff Nordstrom is made of

The retailer has always been customer-centric and sees its Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack brands and digital expertise as opportunities for deepening engagement.

Now as chief executive officer, Erik’s guiding the family-run company through pivotal phase filled with opportunities cantered on Nordstrom’s new “Closer to You” long-term growth agenda: it calls for a massive expansion of the digital assortment from 300,000 items to potentially 1.5 million within three to five years; injecting lower price offerings into the Nordstrom Rack off-price matrix, and finessing the three-year-old market strategy, which revolves around linking Nordstrom full-line department stores, Rack off-price stores, Nordstrom Local locations and a variety of services.

Asked if it was important to have Nordstrom Locals in other major markets, Nordstrom replied that enabling Rack “gave us a lot more coverage, more quickly.…They still think there is a place for Locals as they’ve been very successful. There is still opportunity to add some more in the L.A. and New York markets, as well as in Seattle, the company’s third-largest volume market.

To dramatically ramp up the digital offering, to that 1.5 million item goal, “We think it’s going to take a different model with different products, different brands,” said Erik. “The traditional wholesale retail model won’t get us there. Drop ship has been the example we’ve had in the past. It’s a way of bringing more product choice and [complete] brand expression. We need to add flexibility.

Nordstrom said the company’s e-commerce operation is “moving to more of a hybrid commerce model,” though it wouldn’t be accurate to consider it a marketplace model. It’s generally believed that retailers make more money by selling an item in a store rather than online. But at Nordstrom, “It’s parity, profit-wise. Erik also said that sellers online don’t get commission, whereas store sales associates do, and that Nordstrom fulfills many of its online orders from stores, which makes deliveries faster and less expensive.

Some vendors and industry analysts have the perception that Nordstrom is investing in Rack, digital and technology at the expense of its full-line stores. “That is just not the case. Look at the investment in our Nordstrom stores, both in our remodels, in things like our pop-in shops, but you also have to look at our New York flagship store. It’s the biggest investment we have ever made. Having such a flagship reflects our belief in physical retail. We really feel great about the store. It’s a modern, world-class store.” It opened in October 2019, and cost well over the initial $500 million budgeted.

Jamie Nordstrom on service, synergies and the ‘Single View’

The cousin of Erik and Pete Nordstrom speaks to "the never-ending cycle" of listening to customers and delivering on their demands.

“There was a period of time for a lot of retailers like us when we were managing the dot-com and store businesses separately, with different teams and organizations. Across the company, in technology, accounting, finance, the supply chain, HR, we needed to transform our thinking,” said Jamie. “The real win would come from having a really integrated approach both online and in stores, for the merchandise, the messaging and all service touch points for our customers, be it buy online, pick up in stores, styling, alterations or returns.”

“It’s about getting our teams really focused on Nordstrom customers as opposed to the store customer or the internet customer,” said Jamie. “It’s one customer. Nobody exclusively shops in stores or online. More than 50% of customers who shop in store will have started their shopping journey online with us, and similarly a significant number of customers who buy from us online started their journey by seeing a product in-store.”

“Buy online, pick up in stores is one of the fastest growing parts of the company’s business,” said Jamie. “Having a big selection of merchandise ready for next-day pickup at local stores, using all the inventory available in that market, be it from local stores or from online, requires a lot of people to make that work.”

“Good service is not the absence of bad service,” Jamie continued. “Good service is often invisible. You don’t notice it. When we execute well the customer says, ‘that is just great.’ They don’t exactly know why we have been able to make it great. They don’t know all the tech and the people behind the scenes that deliver on this.”

In a broad sense, service is also about exposing customers to products other than those they may have come to the store or the website for. In the last 18 months or so, Nordstrom, as Jamie said, has been “unleashing the sales team through new tools and social media to engage with customers.” On the stylist chat, customers can ask a style question or get personalized outfit recommendations. More than 50% of Nordstrom’s salespeople are now utilizing these remote styling tools, a 10-point increase compared to the quarter before.

Nordstrom’s clienteling tools provide associates with stored information to keep track of what customers are asking for and buying. Through many surveys, “We have heard over and over again that shoppers want a salesperson who knows them, who can anticipate their needs.”

Bruce Nordstrom Untold Stories from the Patriarch

Erik Nordstrom on the Stuff Nordstrom Inc. Is Made Of 

Jamie Nordstrom on Service, Synergies and the ‘Single View’ 

Nordstrom through the years

Pete Nordstrom Nordstrom’s Brand Builder 

What: The South Korean retailer will close down off-site specialty arms including Electro Mart and PK Market to focus on its core offerings.

Why it is important: The move rounds out the firm’s ongoing efforts to shed unprofitable brands from its portfolio.

Korean Retail Giant E-Mart to Shutter Specialty Stores 

What: Macy’s executives share their forecasts for the company at the Goldman Sachs 28th Annual Global Retailing Conference.

Why it is important: The leadership team shared their strategy going forward and give a positive outlook based on the current momentum.

For the quarter ending on 31 July, Macy’s reported a net income of USD 345 million. The executives revealed that Macy’s is being driven by data-centric loyalty and personalization efforts, pricing science, inventory management, and agility (through the luxury to off-price offer). There was also an effort to add categories previously not carried such as home fitness, pets, outdoor recreation — as well as expanding in toys through the new partnership with Toys ‘R’ Us.

Macy’s three-year strategy centers on personalization and the loyalty program, expanding assortments, accelerating digital growth, closing 125 department stores, opening smaller scale off-mall stores, boosting some private brands into billion-dollar businesses, and reducing costs.

Going forward, Macy’s wants to be a one-stop-shop for the Millennial mom through the expansion of its off-price business and through the partnership with Toys’R’Us. The retailer is also looking to become more advanced in in live video shopping, enhancing the beauty category with site-lits, adding a fragrance finder in the first quarter of 2022 and “more robust beauty adviser interface.”

Macy’s Execs Talk Momentum, Handling Headwinds and 2022

What: The retailer has joined forces with Juicy Couture and launched the exclusive athleisure brand expansion “Juicy by Juicy Couture”.

Why is it important: By collaborating with the brand that pioneered the athleisure trend, J.C. Penney is hoping to improve its appeal to younger consumers.

The centrepiece of this first womenswear collection is a new spin on the brand’s iconic tracksuit, supplemented by joggers, leggings, cropped sweatshirts and hoodies in bold colours.

Moreover, Juicy by Juicy Couture will also be launching kids wear, shoes, sleepwear, watches, accessories and homeware collections before the end of this year.

J.C. Penney partners with Juicy Couture on new brand expansion 

What: The new format, to be first tested in 10 stores, will sell an inclusive mix of more than 170 masstige, prestige and mass brands from new, emerging and established companies. The offer will be available on jcp.com from 15 October.

Why it is important: JC Penney’s had to remake its beauty business due to the phaseout of its 15-year-old partnership with Sephora that expires in late 2022. The department store will now compete with both Kohl’s-Sephora and Target-Ulta. These new partnerships were disclosed in December 2020, when JC Penney’s emerged from seven months in bankruptcy proceedings.

Beginning in fall 2022, Penney’s will roll out the beauty shops to the rest of the 650-unit department store chain. The project is expected to be completed sometime in 2023. More brands will be added in the future.

Penney’s beauty shops will average approximately 2,000 square feet in size and be situated in the space vacated by Sephora. The beauty space is completely reimagined to be hyper inclusive.

Prior to Sephora, JC Penney’s stabs at the beauty business were generally unsuccessful. JC Penney’s salon business, on the other hand, has been consistently strong over the long haul. Consequently, the retailer is creating a synergistic connection between beauty and the salons.

The Strategy Behind Penney’s Beauty Redux 

What: The American Dream complex gives way to its luxury wing, The Avenue.

Why it’s important: After having encountered many problems and delays during the pandemic, the “street of dreams” comes back to life with Friday’s opening of Saks Fifth Avenue, Hermès, Dolce & Gabbana, Mulberry, Johnny Was and Carpaccio… and many more to come.

The luxury wing only awaits new names to be added so the dream becomes even bigger : In the days and weeks to come, Tiffany & Co., Saint Laurent, Anne Fontaine, Alexander Wang, Jonathan Adler, Gentle Monster, Zadig & Voltaire and a Brut Champagne bar will debut on the luxury site as well.

Noting that more moderate-priced retails like Zara, Uniqlo, H&M, Aritzia and Primark are also available.

Luxury at American Dream Gets Real 

What: The consumer behavior study revealed changes in comfort levels, the impact of the delta variant and increased expectations for store associates.

Why it is important: Even with the Delta variant to consider, new findings from NewStore, the omnichannel store solution, show that 42% of consumers will not change how often they shop in-store.

The survey also revealed that 45% of consumers even feel more comfortable shopping in-store now than they did a year ago. Interestingly, consumers age 65 and over were the most comfortable at 60%, compared to just 41% of consumers age 55 to 64 and 46% of those between the ages of 45 to 54. Just 36% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 24 and 39% of consumers 25 to 34 say they were more comfortable shopping in-store now than they were last year.

At the same time, nearly 30% of consumers said their expectations for store associates have increased since the pandemic. Among the growing expectations for associates was the demand for a more seamless checkout. Customers also want to be able to meet them for curbside pickup, and expect them to be equipped with a mobile device in-store.

Other expectations for store associates included being able to share store inventory without having to physically check, the ability to return or exchange an online purchase in-store without a receipt and the ability to sell a shopper something that isn’t available in-store and ship it.

Consumers also expect store associates to communicate with them outside of the in-store experience. This includes 22% of consumers saying they believe that store associates should meet virtually through video chat for a 1:1 shopping appointment and 37% of consumers also said they believed store associates should be able to text them about new arrivals, product availability, promotions and store events.

Consumers are Becoming More Demanding of Store Associates

What:  Retail and fashion executives share their outlook at Goldman Sachs’ annual retail conference.

Why it is important: Retailers have managed to navigate the pandemic surprisingly well and have used the disruption to retool.

While the Delta variant and supply chain disruptions continue to be vexing, the industry’s top executives are looking beyond the coronavirus with plans to win big in the new world.

Macy’s is attracting new customers, building confidence on Wall Street, and remains bullish on healthy gains for the rest of this year. They have been able to successfully reengage with the core customer through the pandemic while attracting new customers. (see more about what Macy’s had to say here)

Walmart: despite supply chain issues, the leadership team believes there is plenty of room to grow in the home, food and apparel categories, both online and in stores. (see how Walmart is creating a more seamless omnichannel here)

Capri: There was a lot of fear in the marketplace about the retailer’s ability to acquire companies, execute on those acquisitions and pay down debt. But the team feels like they will be in a strong position for additional acquisitions over the next two years.

Nordstrom is known for its obsession with customer service — and is finding now that keeping up with shoppers today requires some new tricks. Nordstrom understands that shopping preferences have changed and planned for this by focusing on serving markets with a cluster of locations that all serve a different purpose and complement one another, from mainstream stores to the Rack off-price store and the Nordstrom Local service concept.

Gap’s new CEO oversaw the launch into home with Walmart, teamed with Kanye West, and is expanding Old Navy in the plus-size area. Gap is doubling down on investing purpose-driven lifestyle brands.

CEOs at Walmart, Macy’s, Gap, Nordstrom and Capri Look to the Future 

What : Printemps has created a responsibility label called “United towards the beautiful responsible”

Why it is important : Implementation of the label makes it possible to promote brands that are taking on a responsible approach.

Printemps has decided to release their own sustainability label after discussions with brands showed that they are interested to improve. Brands will be evaluated on nine themes and twenty-two criteria where they must maintain a certain score to obtain the label. There are already 400 brands labeled for the launch.

The label is aimed to unify the communication on all offerings and segments so customers can find their way around the overall offer of the retailer.

How Printemps created its new responsible repository

What:  Ikea is considering purchasing a high profile building in one of the most efficient locations in the world.

Why it is important:  Even though Ikea decided to put a stop to its expansion in city centres through large stores (as shown with the cancellation of its latest large operation in West Sussex), it seems that the opportunity is to good to let it go. Interestingly, it might lead to the sharing of the space with 2 existing tenants, Nike and Vans.

Ikea is reported to be in talks with Apollo Global Management to acquire the former Topshop flagship in Oxford Street, which would give to the Swedish DYI operator a significant visibility and footprint in one of Europe’s busiest shopping street.

So far, Ikea boasts 2 big box concepts outside London and a series of smaller city centre stores, including its planning studio in Tottenham Court Central. Nike and Vans also have stores in the building located 214 Oxford Street, but will not need to exit if Ikea proceeds with the purchase.

Ikea in talks to buy former Topshop flagship store 

What:  Harrods has revealed its latest fashion campaign in the form of a new film, produced in collaboration with Iconoclast UK.

Why it is important: The film celebrates the unique product range offered in the Knightsbridge shop, showcasing the freedom of expression and creativity that fashion grants us.

The concept and direction come courtesy of Iggy London with the campaign conveying Harrods as a “space where anything is possible, and where fashion-lovers can be whoever they want to be and wear whatever they choose without boundaries or limits”.

Harrods unveils new campaign film, blends culture with fashion