What: JD.com opens a department store format to make the most of its omnichannel capabilities

Why it is important: Along with Amazon, e-commerce giants need to have a physical interface to increase their interactions with their customers and make their ecosystem sensible.

JD.com, which presents itself as the “leading one-stop e-commerce platform and a technology enabler for retailers and brands”, has announced the launch of JD Mall, a brick & mortar department store to open in X’ian at the end of September 2021.

The store will span across 42,000 sqm and five floors, making the most of its omnichannel capabilities to sell 150+ brands. Customers will have the possibility to place orders through Wechat by scanning the products QR codes, and get their products delivered at home. It will also propose fully integrated services in areas such as home design (in the same spirit than what El Corte Inglés does) allowing customers to co-design their interiors and then buy the related products, delivered in 2 hours and installed in 24 hours. It will also feature immersive retail spaces, with 11 “experience zones” and 29 “product interaction zones” (beauty salon, audio experience, drone testing…).

This store format comes as a complement to the existing brick & mortar formats in JD.com’s offer, along with JD home appliance stores, JD computer and digital stores and retail experience shops.

JD launches five-storey JD Mall in China’s Xi’an Retail News Asia

JD.com Announces New Appointments for JD.com and JD Retail JD.Com, Inc.

What:  The Anyday value-focused brand from John Lewis is set to add fashion items following sales of almost GBP 60 million for the label since its launch in April.

Why it is important:  Prices on the offering will be much lower than the department store average to compete with some of the supermarket players.

The 2,400-product Anyday brand has included homeware/furniture, technology, and baby products, and now an additional 700 new products will be added spanning womenswear, menswear and kidswear.

John Lewis adds fashion items to Anyday value label

What: Retail dive discusses the new features brought by Bloomingdale’s new concept

Why it is important: More than its format, allowing to be out of malls and closer to customers, the most interesting features are the multitasking instore staff, the services desks which is a one-stop-for-all, and the capability to seamlessly connect both salespersons and customers with stocks and sales advisors from bigger central stores in capital cities such as NY.

Bloomie’s, the new format from Bloomingdales launched last 26 August]({{https://www.iads.org/web/iads/3658-what-bloomies-means-to-the-future-of-bloomingdales.php}}) and part of the [Polaris strategy to turn around the business, is seen to be an alternative path for retail in the US. It features a very curated selection of products and a wide array of services (personal stylists, return dropbox, in-store and kerb side pickup, alteration services) in a surface of only 2,200 sqm. Product discovery is also combined with entertainment with a local café and bar.

Following the strategies of Nordstrom (Nordstrom local), and Macy’s (Macy’s market), the goal is to stop being dependent on malls in terms of traffic and attractivity, while also be closer to specific consumers-types areas of living.

Retailers think that days spent at the mall with a lunch on midday are gone and customers are willing to be able to pop in and pop out stores (located closer to where they live) more easily and with more entertainment. This is why the smaller curation, which implies a more frequent rotation of products, is expected to attract customers more frequently, who will expect newness at each visit. Bloomie’s also expects to appeal at a younger demographic base.

Another interesting feature is the multiservice desk, able to answer questions, deliver online orders, take care of returns, wrap gifts, take care of alteration and deliver styling pieces of advice. It reminds somehow what Magasin du Nord and SM Retail are doing by increasing space dedicated to their services point on the sales floor. Also, a QR code on products allows to contact a Bloomingdale’s NY sales associate for more information. Also, all products can be customized according to customers’ taste.

The article mentions that sales staff went through a complete overhaul of their tasks in order to be more than sales persons and provide more services. This is not a new idea, the only question is how to achieve such a goal with the existing teams.

Is Bloomie's the future of department stores?

What:  Oxford Street in London has launched its first sustainability awareness campaign to draw attention to urgent environmental concerns as well as positive changes being made by some of the street's shops.

Why it is important:  The purpose is to educate shoppers on how brands are responding to the climate crisis and encourage them to make small changes in their consumption habits through the purchase of sustainable products and from companies that are responsible.

The “Beyond Now,” campaign will kick off Sept. 15th and will highlight 30 high-street brands with a presence on Oxford Street including Nike, The Body Shop, Selfridges, Lush and John Lewis.

Fronting the campaign is author and presenter Candice Brathwaite, who has also curated a 50-piece Beyond Now capsule.

Retailers will also host in-store events all aimed at educating shoppers around sustainable consumption: New Balance will be offering free sneaker cleaning workshops; Selfridges is debuting a pop-up with secondhand clothing charity Oxfam and fashion editor Bay Garnet; while John Lewis is planning a two-day Sustainable Festival to highlight all the conscious products in its offer.

London’s Oxford Street Debuts Sustainability Awareness Campaign 

What: Focusing on three “pillar” categories (kitchen and tabletop, home textiles and home décor) and not selling big-ticket furniture, beds or major appliances, Nordstrom's New York 57th Street flagship's new home shop gives a good indication of where the retailer is elevating the category.

Why it is important: Pre-Covid, Nordstrom didn't have a lot of authority in the home area but started gradually to build its home assortment, primarily sheets, towels, decor and cookware.

The new home store is a 2-level 5,520 square feet space located near the corner of Broadway and 57th Street. There are entrances from the street and inside on the second floor, with a staircase connecting the levels, creating a duplex-like store-within-a-store.

The home space formerly housed a Nordstrom x Nike concept shop and revolving shops for brand “takeovers.” Before, home was on a lower level in less space where kids has expanded into. The Nike shop shifted to a lower women’s shoe floor.

Nordstrom has established several partnerships with direct-to-consumer brands that previously never had a presence inside a brick-and-mortar store. A number of local New York City brands founded by women are also displayed. There are also gifts and novelty items, much of it targeting tourists. The space is a mix of independent small makers, established designers and renowned institutions rooted in the city itself to support local businesses, stressing the importance of connecting to local communities.

A full Nordstrom Home experience is not currently planned for all doors, however all stores will have some expression of home items, especially at key moments like Holiday and Anniversary Sale. In certain locations, home is getting greater square footage by taking space from “outsized” departments.

How Nordstrom Boosts an Underplayed Business

What: The department store has entered the resale/donation sector with initiatives for both womenswear and kidswear, the latter category being one that it has only recently added to its offer.

Why it is important: It has just opened The Drop Off, where consumers can drop off any pre-owned childrenswear. These items will then be collected and resold around the world via the peer-to-peer Kids O’Clock website. There’s an incentive for customers to take advantage of it with a GBP 20 voucher to spend in the store’s new kidswear department. It's only a three-month initiative for now.

It comes shortly after the store linked up with Reflaunt to allow customers to sell pre-loved adult clothing. Launched at the end of August, the service offers customers the opportunity to bring in pre-owned designer items, or have them picked up. Reflaunt is then responsible for the entire process including authentication of the items, creating and uploading imagery and pricing.

Harvey Nichols adds kidswear, adult resale initiatives 

What: Several sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabi’s Adia, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and also the Qatar Investment Authority, which already owns the Harrods department stores, expressed interest without a formal offer. Lane Crawford (based in Hong Kong) is also considered a potential buyer.

Why it is important: In June 2021, Selfridges was approached by an investor with an offer of more than GBP 4 billion (twice the amount of pre-pandemic sales, which reached GBP 1.97 billion in 2019). In 2010, the Qatar Investment Authority purchased Harrods with an offer of 3.2 times the turnover.

Gulf Sovereign wealth funds eye Selfridges 

What: Nordstrom’s new men’s  and women’s stores are attracting locals and tourists alike.

Why it’s important: Nordstrom is finding success in New York City with its first men’s-only unit and a two-floor women’s store.

Thanks to these new buildings, the stores were able to settle in as they wished and set up all they needed to be attractive, unlike their competitors, whose buildings are now old and out of date.

The men’s store set the tone as it opened 18 months earlier than the women’s store on 225 West 57th Street, and customer response has been strong.

Regarding the women’s store, it offers more than 100 brands and 16 shops, including a Lipstick Finder to try on 400 colours through augmented reality, a Fragrance Finder interactive quiz to narrow down the perfect scent, a Beauty Stylist Virtual Mirror to try out makeup looks, and more.

To celebrate their breakthrough, the store is planning a block party on Oct. 23

New Yorkers Embrace Nordstrom’s Women’s, Men’s Stores 

What: Macy’s is suing to keep Amazon from advertising right in front of its Herald Square flagship.

Why it’s important: If Amazon is looking to symbolically take a chunk out of Macy’s, the country’s largest department store, this would be a testament to the profound initiatives underway at the e-commerce giant.

Although, it turns out that the giant red shopping bag isn’t owned by Macy’s, but has been leased since 1963.

However, Amazon wants something more in fashion and is clearly willing to fight for it.

But this fight wouldn’t be a fair one, as Amazon has a market cap of $1.7 trillion, while Macy’s is valued at under $7.7 billion.

Whether or not Amazon could take the bag is now in the hands of a New York state judge

Macy’s Fighting to Keep Herald Square Billboard From Amazon

What: Increased spending is expected for this year's holiday, as consumers feel more confident about shopping outside their homes.

Why it’s important: Deloitte is anticipating a big holiday season for retailers this year thanks to the downturn of the pandemic : travelling, celebrating with family and treating ourselves is again possible.

Deloitte’s retail and distribution practice expects that holiday sales will total $1.28 trillion to $1.3 trillion between November and January. And e-commerce sales alone will likely reach between $210 billion and $218 billion this season.

Some other trends that will be prominent this holiday season will be purchasing food and beverage gifts as a way to reconnect with friends and family. As supply chains continue to be disrupted, consumers are aware that they will need to start their holiday shopping earlier to avoid delays.

Consumer behaviors such as buy online, pick up in-store, or BOPIS, and curbside pickup are also expected to continue to be strong this holiday shopping season, especially with concern for the Delta variant.

Deloitte Projects a Positive Holiday Season for Retailers 

What: The Chinese e-commerce giant has launched Jing Zhi, a new resale platform app.

Why it is important:  Earlier this year, Chinese Investment Bank Shenwan Hongyuan released a report estimating that China’s total 2020 resale market exceeded USD 154.78 billion, with the e-commerce resale market reaching USD 57.97 billion.

With the platform, sellers can host second-hand products on the site and pay Jing Zhi a 6% commission or sell their used goods straight to JD.com's AiHuiShou second-hand division.

Currently, the new platform's offerings are mainly oriented toward electronics, although there is a modest selection of luxury, fashion, and cosmetic items accessible.

The resale market is currently dominated by Alibaba’s Xian Yu, along with Tencent and 58.com’s Zhuan Zhuan, these two JD.com rivals combined currently have a 90.9 percent share of the e-commerce resale market.

Alibaba's Xian Yu's gross merchandising volume (GMV) for Q4 was more than USD 30.95 billion, up 100 percent year on year, with 30 million daily active users.

JD.com Launches New Resale Platform 

What: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail is looking to enter the premium department store segment by early next year.

Why it is important: The new department store format will take on incumbents in the space, such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle International.

The new department store chain is expected to house Reliance Brands- and Reliance Retail-affiliated brands, as well as the company’s private label brands and foreign and Indian and brands outside of the Reliance stable.

India’s Reliance Retail to Launch Premium Department Store Chain 

What: Matchesfashion, which has been without a chief executive officer since March, has picked former Printemps chief Paolo de Cesare for the top job.

Why it is important: Matchesfashion had focused its search within fashion and retail to find an industry insider who understands the business, the power of the brand, and the importance of differentiation in a crowded market where size and scale matter.

The retailer confirmed that de Cesare will succeed Ajay Kavan, who made a surprise exit from Matchesfashion after just 12 months on the job, and said he will take up his role later this year.

Maureen Chiquet, who has served as executive chairwoman of Matchesfashion since March, will return to her position on the board when de Cesare begins his tenure as CEO. A Chanel veteran, she has been running the operation during the transition period.

Matchesfashion Picks Paolo de Cesare as CEO 

What: The new location, called Shinsegae Art & Science, will consist of a department store and the Shinsegae Expo Tower, coming with an aquarium, science exhibition spaces, a multiplex cinema and an indoor sports theme park.

Why it is important: With a 284,224 sqm surface, it is the brand’s third-largest store in South Korea.

The tower will also feature a five-star hotel called “Onoma.” It is to be the first hotel launched by the department store. Local media outlets expect the complex to create more than 20,000 jobs.

Shinsegae to open new store in Daejeon

What: The department store has appointed Sam Archibald as general business manager of apparel.

Why it is important: The appointment is part of Macy's agenda to focus on elevating its contemporary fashion offerings and to appeal to a younger, stylish crowd.

The retailer indicated that Archibald, a veteran of Macy’s, will oversee all aspects of the brand’s apparel strategy across men’s, women’s and kids. Archibald will report to Nata Dvir, Macy’s chief merchandising officer. He most recently served as president of retail/outlets, North America, for Calvin Klein and began his career as a trainee in Macy’s executive development program.

Macy’s Appoints an Apparel Strategist

What: Frasers Group’s premium-to-luxury Frasers department store concept is to open in two former Debenhams units in the Republic of Ireland with a debut in Cork and Kildare in 2022.

Why it is important: With negotiated rent deals, vacant prime locations are a golden opportunity for a business like Frasers that’s in expansion mode.

The higher-end Frasers concept grew out of the firm’s House of Fraser chain that the then-Sports Direct acquired out of administration in 2018.

The move upmarket came as the firm also worked to give its Sports Direct chain a more premium image and added new locations for its high-end Flannels chain.

The company clearly sees potential for it, with the reduction in size of the John Lewis chain and the Debenhams demise adding to that potential in what’s clearly no longer an overcrowded department store market.

Upscale Frasers department stores to open in Ireland

What: The country has lost 83% of its main department stores since the collapse of the BHS chain in 2016, reflecting how hard the high street has been hit by the online boom and the pandemic.

Why it is important: Just 79 department stores remain open compared to 467 five years ago, data compiled in July from commercial property information firm CoStar Group shows.

Two-thirds of those shuttered buildings remain unoccupied. Some 237 have still to be taken over by a new business while just 52 have plans to transfer to another business or use.

The state of department stores in the UK

What:  Nike adds more digitally-enabled store concepts to its portfolio with Nike Rise in Seoul South Korea.

Why it is important:  Nike's approach has become characterized by an ecosystem of digitally connected stores, as the retailer shifts to a model that prioritizes its own stores and digital channels over wholesale.

Nike's neighborhood-focused, hyper-local Nike Live concept is already an important component of the company's retail fleet, with plans for up to 200 small-format stores in the future. The retailer's flagship House of Innovation concept, which includes lots of digital and customization features, has expanded to three locations: New York, Shanghai, and Paris (with Paris opening just last summer). Nike hopes to harness the technology and data to offer a personalized experience tailored to each city and each customer.

The retailer is launching a fuller expression of the Nike Rise concept in Seoul, South Korea, on 19th of August.

Nike doubles down on localization with Nike Rise concept 

Nike launching sustainable concept store in Seoul

What: Affirm, the growing payment system with accommodating conditions for consumers, will soon be widely available to consumers shopping on Amazon.com.

Why it is important: Thousands of retailers, including Walmart, Adidas, Peloton, Audi, Expedia and Neiman Marcus have partnered with Affirm. The partnership with Amazon reflects the growing popularity of buy now, pay later solutions for consumers.

After shoppers fill their online carts, they select Affirm at checkout and can split the total cost of any purchase over USD 50 into separate payments, with terms up to 48 months depending on the cart size. Approved customers are shown the total cost of their purchase up front and will never pay more than what they agree to at checkout.

Last June, Affirm disclosed that is it powering Shop Pay Installments, a buy now, pay later solution designed for Shopify merchants. In April, Affirm entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Returnly, which provides online return experiences and post-purchase payments.

Amazon.com Partners With Affirm 

What: After Sheffield, the British high-end fashion and beauty retailer owned by Frasers Group, opened a second regional flagship.

Why it is important: The opening is another sign of the belief that Frasers has in physical retail and this has made it one of the most active groups as far as store openings are concerned in recent periods.

The claim of the three-storey, 35,000 sq ft (3,250 sqm) store is to offer “world-class brand edits rarely available outside of London, across women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and accessories and beauty”.

The opening is part of a programme that will see the company adding a further 10 flagships in the next five years.

Frasers has been on a general elevation drive in recent years, upgrading its Sports Direct chain, adding more upscale Frasers department stores and expanding the Flannels concept to be a major player in British luxury fashion retail (and more recently, in premium beauty retail as well).

The next flagship to open will be in Liverpool.

Flannels opens Leicester regional flagship

What: As competition rises, South Korea’s three biggest department store operators have recently opened massive new shopping complexes.

Why it is important: More mega malls than department stores, they are completed with experiences such as indoor parks and lots of restaurants, sometimes accounting for half of the area.

Shinsegae opened its newest location, Shinsegae Art & Science, in the city of Daejeon. At the cost of KRW 650 billion (USD 555 million), it is the first new mega development for the company in five years. Services and restaurants occupy nearly half the area.

Lotte department store opened its new Dongtan branch on 20 August. Food is the location’s biggest theme, with more than 100 restaurants on site. Many of them are popular eateries that have set up shop in a department store for the first time.

Dongtan, a suburb of Seoul, is close to an area known as South Korea’s Silicon Valley where Samsung Electronics, Naver and other tech companies have sites. High-rise condominiums being built in Dongtan are bringing high-income earners in their 30s and 40s to the area.

But controversies rose regarding this new branch as it has so far failed to attract Louis Vuitton, Chanel or Hermes (only 7 department stores in Korea have all three brands), but also Dior, Bottega Veneta and Gucci. It has also been criticized for its similar interior design to Hyundai Hyundai’s department store The Yeouido opened in February.

Hyundai department store opened the largest facility in Seoul in February. Central to the project is an indoor park covering more than 3,000-square-metres. Operating results have been strong during the first six months. Hyundai Department Store says its new location will “easily” surpass an annual sales target of KRW 630 billion won (USD 541 million) in its first full year of operation.

Korean Retailers Open Spate of Mega Malls as Competition Rises 

Controversies rise regarding Lotte's new branch

What: Former Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées’ managing director Nadia Dhouib shares experience and advice.

Why is it important: The shift to virtual communications during lockdown presents an opportunity for retailers to deepen their customer relationships, Dhouib says.

When Galeries Lafayette opened in 2019, many features it introduced were fairly new to French retail. The store was designed to reflect the way people shop online, with products grouped by styles and trends, instead of brands, and a staff of 300 “personal stylists,” recruited via Instagram, acting as a mixture of style and trend experts, cultural influencers and high-end hotel concierges.

Since leaving her job as managing director of Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées in May 2020, after a 15-year career at Galeries Lafayette Group, she has founded her own retail consultancy, Rethinkretail Advisory, which helps brands, investors and start-ups in the retail and fashion industries to transform and develop new business models.

As repeated store closures have accelerated the migration of customers online, she recommends that retailers capitalize on the virtual customer relationships they were forced to develop during lockdown and double down on memorable experiences. Retail today is competing with: ‘Do I go to a restaurant or an art gallery, or hang out with friends?’” Dhouib says. “The stores that succeed are the ones that can recreate that feeling.”

She’s a little over ready-made Instagram corners. “I think people are past that now. They’ve become so expert at getting the shot, they don’t need you to set it up for them,” Dhouib reasoned.

One thing she doesn’t see going away is the trend for sales associates to act as personal shoppers. “A couple of years ago, people thought that if a sales adviser sent them a message, it was intrusive. Today, it’s become the norm. So the question is, how do you transform that and professionalize it so that this trend doesn’t fade away?” she asked. “This might also be an opportunity for retailers to give their teams both a framework, but also a certain amount of freedom,” she added. “It’s important to empower sales associates to make them enjoy what they do.”

It’s important to tailor the content and frequency of the messages to the target audience. “Knowing how often to contact your customer is a real balancing act. I would try to work on software that helps you to calculate how many messages on average a person is willing to receive.”

Going forward, Dhouib sees technology playing an ever bigger role in stores. She foresees more cashier-less stores where you scan your card at the entrance, and items are automatically deducted. Dhouib also expects growing use of facial recognition to secure payments and forecast foot traffic in stores.

A department store veteran shares vision and advice

What: Iconic green plastic shopping bag will be replaced by paper bags.

Why it is important: The department store is making a drastic reduction in waste, particularly for a business with over 4 million bags leaving the shop floor every year.

After remaining unchanged for almost 40 years, the iconic green shopping bag is being overhauled. From September 2021, all plastic bags will be removed from stores and replaced by 100% recyclable, and sustainably sourced paper bags, made from 40% recycled materials.

The FSC® label on paper bags means that the paper is responsibly sourced. To reduce the number of bags given to customers, Harrods is also aiming to cut consumption of shopping bags by 50%.

The decision will include the complete removal of all carrier bags from the Food Hall and Signature departments later this year when customers will be asked to bring their own bags or purchase a new bag for life.

Harrods removes plastic bags

What it is: SSG.com, the online marketplace operated by Shinsegae is planning to list on the local stock market.

Why it is important: The IPO could be a response to rival firms like Coupang listing or as a way to raise funds after a year of M&A spending.

SSG.com has started the process by asking local businesses to make proposals to act as the IPO's lead manager. The business didn't say when it will go public, but if everything goes well, it may do so in 2022, with the proceeds going toward logistics and technology infrastructure.

Shinsegae’s E-Commerce Arm SSG.com Plots IPO