What: Marks & Spencer is set to open a new store in Liverpool One, a retail park in the city’s centre.

Why it is important: Scheduled to open in mid-2023, the store is in a former Debenhams unit, spanning 100,000 square metres over two floors.

The signing completes the evolution of the former Debenhams unit and follows the announcement that Gravity Active Entertainment is creating a 10-million-pound entertainment experience on the remaining upper two levels.

Marks & Spencer to open new store in Liverpool city centre

What: Frasers Group has announced the acquisition of several premium fashion brands in which JD Sports Fashion has stakes.

Why it is important: The company has snapped up 15 of the group’s retailers via shares held by JD including Tessuti, Base Childrenswear, Missy Empire, Choice, Clothingsites, Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Scotts, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear.

All of the indebtedness is to be transferred to the subsidiaries of Frasers Group. Frasers said the amount payable for the acquisition of the shares and indebtedness amounts to 47.5 million pounds, which will be funded by the group’s existing cash resources and completed in 2023.

Frasers Group acquires JD Sports’ premium fashion brands

What: Falabella Retail opens a location of its express format store in Chile, exclusively focused on fashion.

Why it is important: The 2,000-square-metre establishment, already operating in the Power Center Open complex in Puente Alto, offers the Falabella fashion portfolio including the group’s private labels in a specialized format that utilizes QR codes, virtual assistance and self-checkout payment options.

Falabella opens express format store

What: Advancing in its sustainable commitment, Falabella Retail is launching the +Green Seal, which is a system of evaluation and qualification of the environmental, economic and social performance of its stores.

Why it is important: Developed by the Chile Green Building Council (GBC), Falabella’s +Green Seal is the only seal focused on sustainability for retail operations.

Falabella Retail began the evaluation of 16 stores and all managed to access the +Green Seal, which consists of a total of 28 points across 7 categories: sustainable environment, operations, water efficiency, energy efficiency, material selection, the health and well-being of collaborators, and social responsibility.

Falabella launches +Green Seal

What: Meta group has indicated that brands and creators can create and sell their NFTs directly from Instagram with the initiative initially reserved for a selection of American creators.

Why it is important: The platform is using the Polygon blockchain to provide buyers of NFTs on Instagram a gas-fee-free transaction with a positioning that is intended to rival other NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea, Magic Eden and Rarible.

Instagram will not claim any commission on NFT sales until 2024, yet these transactions will still be subject to the 30% claimed by Apple for transactions made via the App Store. It was already possible previously for creators of works to connect their NFT portfolio to Instagram in order to present their gallery there.

Instagram begins transformation into NFT marketplace

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

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

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

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

Nordstrom meets expectations despite Q3 declines

What: Harvey Nichols has unveiled a new shop-in-shop for Jacquemus with architecture inspired by Provençe through the materials and structures.

Why it is important: Harvey Nichols launched the first UK-based Jacquemus shop-in-shop two years ago and has now expanded the concept to cover 900 square feet making it the largest retail space for the brand in London.

The new immersive space designed by architecture practice OMA/AMO replaces the former, smaller Jacquemus shop-in-shop in the Knightsbridge store.

Harvey Nichols unveils Jacquemus shop-in-shop

What: Zak Milan will join the John Lewis Partnership as the group’s first chief of transformation and technology officer.

Why it is important: As part of the group’s five-year ‘Partnership Plan’, Joh Lewis will welcome its first executive-level role focused solely on transformation and technology as they work to improve digital capabilities.

Zak Milan has over thirty years of experience leading business transformation and technology teams having most recently world as transformation director at Lloyds Banking Group.

John Lewis hires first chief of transformation and technology

What: As part of its birthday celebration, KaDeWe held a party for the reopening of converted areas of the Berlin building.

Why it is important: KaDeWe celebrated extravagantly the reopening of and the 115th anniversary of the store which has been marked by a party and Christmas shop windows designed by Dior.

2,000 guests celebrated on three floors with multiple guest DJs who performed in the department store. As well, the in-house pastry shop made a 6-tier birthday cake, 2 metres long, 1 metre wide and 2.20 metres high featuring the new escalator at KaDeWe as the design.

KaDeWe celebrates 115th anniversary

What: Showfields is bringing its distinctive retail format to Brooklyn, New York with an 11,500-square-foot, tech-enabled store.

Why it is important: Playing on the concept of a house, Showfields also aims to target a younger demographic through a storytelling-based merchandising strategy that rewards brand discovery by leveraging data and technology.

Customers can scan and learn about products as they enter rooms focused on different parts of a house. The app through which customers shop unlocks a lower price only available at the store which is always 10% lower than anywhere else. This is intended to be a reward to the customer for coming in-store and discovering more about the products. The reward to customers is also an opportunity for brands to understand which customers saw their products and interacted with the brand’s website. Sensors and POS software gather figures on sales, traffic, customers’ gender and whether they touch and engage with products or just pass by, among other types of data.

Showfields also doesn’t operate using a wholesale model but intends to democratize retail through lowered costs for displaying items based on the number of SKUs.

House of Showfields opens in New York

What: Close to 2,400 luxury shoppers participated in the “Saks Luxury Pulse” survey sharing their holiday shopping plans.

Why it is important: Saks executives are feeling confident with survey data revealing that 76% of respondents plan to spend the same or more on holiday shopping this year, only 3% less than data from 2021.

65% plan to start holiday shopping before Thanksgiving and 43% plan to shop mostly online. Saks’ aspirational consumers which are marked by incomes of USD 100,000 or less have shown a little less enthusiasm as Saks’ typical consumer, yet the outlook remains strong.

Analysts project smaller gains for the 2022 holiday season due to the threat of a recession, but Saks does not expect much change in sales between 2021 and 2022. 61% of survey respondents plan to shop for formal attire with 32% planning to dress up in formal attire this holiday season (doubled compared to 2021 results).

Gifting results ranged from gift cards at 69%, clothes at 64% and hobby-related items at 51%.

Saks online survey reveals consumer spending plans

What: M&S has launched a plea to the UK Chancellor to help the high street face the expected energy bill price increases threatening retailers.

Why it is important: Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin wants Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to slash business rates, another significant burden on retailers which will also rise 10% next year along with energy costs.

M&S CEO highlights the deterioration of the Oxford Steet and the importance of retailers for employment as reasons for the rates to be reduced. The retailer has also been navigating the weakening consumer demand as households face similar economic pressures.

Other UK retailers, such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Greggs, and Iceland, have also called on the Chancellor to freeze business rates.

Marks & Spencer faces energy bill increase of 100-million-pound 

What: Google has announced that it will be possible to use augmented reality in Google Maps to assist in locating any establishment or service within its application.

Why it is important: Google will project an overview of surrounding addresses using augmented reality and its users’ smartphone cameras to help people better navigate and discover stores and services on its Map application.

This new experience will be deployed from the end of November 2022 in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in the United States, but also in Tokyo, London and Paris, on both Android and iOS.

Google Maps adds augmented reality to locate businesses

What: As the resale site seeks to position itself as an eco-conscious player in an increasingly competitive market, Vestiaire Collective bans fast fashion leading to the removal of roughly 5% of listings.

Why it is important: The company is targeting profitability, focusing on bigger-ticket items which could more commission per sale.

Over the next three years, Vestiaire Collection plans to extend the brands banned from its platform, working with an external consultant to establish a robust set of criteria, including metrics like product quality, carbon footprint and supply-chain working conditions. The resale company is also working on a policy position paper with The Or Foundation, a charity working in the Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana, one of the world’s largest secondhand markets and the destination of millions of discarded clothes.

Vestiaire Collective bans fast fashion

What: Central Retail expects the Thai demand to continue supporting the positive 2022 trend.

Why it is important: Optimism is based on a positive situation in Thailand, but no mention is made of the other markets where Central is present.

Central Retail corporation projects its revenue will grow by 20% in 2022 for the full year, after 9 months of continuous positive performance in every channel (online, offline, omnichannel). The main reason for this renewed optimism is a positive situation in Thailand, with Covid-19-related consumption boosters helps local Thai consumers, in addition to welcoming tourists again now that borders are reopen.

Central Retail forecasts 20µ revenue growth FY 2022 

What: The Shanghai government’s announcement Tuesday of a policy that requires new arrivals in the city to stay away from public places for five days is likely to put even more pressure on the local luxury retail market.

Why is it important: According to a report published by Barclays, the latest round of restrictions in one of China’s most important luxury hubs will bring an additional headwind to China luxury sales in the fourth quarter.

Starting Thursday, people entering Shanghai will be barred from public venues, including restaurants, pubs, shopping malls, department stores, supermarkets, indoor gyms and internet cafes for five days upon entry. They must take three nucleic acid tests three days in a row, the last test on their fifth day in the city, before being allowed to travel freely with a green code.

Shanghai’s announcement is particularly relevant for the luxury sector, as it effectively prevents non-local luxury consumers from making short to mid-length shopping trips into the city.

According to an earlier report published by Barclays in September, non-local clients can contribute up to 50% of sales to malls in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

After the new rules were introduced in Shanghai, cities such as Shenzhen, Nanchang, Xi’an, Sanya, Zhengzhou and Harbin followed up with identical policies. Travel restrictions for new arrivals ranged from three to five days. Local governments also urged residents to cancel travel plans if possible.

China reported more than 29,700 new cases on Wednesday, topping a record high since the Shanghai outbreak in April. Shanghai reported nine confirmed COVID-19 cases and 58 asymptomatic cases on Wednesday.

According to a Goldman Sachs report published on Nov. 6, China is likely to exit its “zero-COVID-19” policy in the second quarter of 2023, after the second Congress of the Party next March, when President Xi Jinping will renew his presidency.

New Shanghai Covid-19 restrictions put pressure on luxury market

What: Hong Kong no longer has the world’s most-expensive retail district after rents plummeted due to Covid curbs and restrictions on visitors.

Why it is important: Hong Kong is struggling with a downturn after some of the world’s strictest Covid measures and the closed border with mainland China slashed the number of visitors. The city received just 250,000 arrivals in the first nine months of this year, compared with almost 56 million for the whole of 2019.

Manhattan’s Upper Fifth Avenue is now the priciest street globally for shopping, according to a survey by commercial property firm Cushman & Wakefield Plc. Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district comes second, followed by Italy’s Via Montenapoleone in Milan. The previously annual survey is the first since 2019.

Annual rents for Upper Fifth Avenue shops averaged $2,000 per square foot, up 14% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the report. Rents in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon fell 41% to $1,436 per square foot in the period, while those in Via Montenapoleone rose 9% to $1,380.

London’s New Bond Street slid one place to fourth, with average rents down 11%, while the Avenue des Champs Élysées in Paris came in fifth after they fell an average 18%, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Hong Kong loses top ranking for luxury shopping to New York 

What: Macy’s is using space within 35 of its stores to function as mini distribution centers as the retailer positions its e-commerce network to handle an expected influx of shipments ahead of the holidays.

Why is it important: The move gives Macy’s distribution network a presence closer to customers, allowing the retailer to better service demand during the holiday season, but also creates more space at other facilities for new products down the line.

The mini distribution centres are semi-automated and expected to save shipping costs, speed deliveries and reduce the need for split shipments.

The retailer has maintained strict inventory discipline, as well as made investments in data and analytics that has laid the foundation for continued inventory control and is now in the position to buy more product if demand calls for it.

Macy’s establishes mini distribution centres

What: Cos is set to open a flagship store in Mexico City during the summer of 2023 as its first presence in the country.

Why it is important: Cos continues to scale the business globally through new markets as it announces its 2023 plans for a Mexico City flagship store.

The brand’s environmental focus will also be reflected in the design of the store with bamboo wardrobes, recycled acrylic vitrine display cases and a rail system made from recycled aluminium. The concept is also designed to be maintained, repaired and repurposed.

Cos has expanded across Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and the Middle East since its launch in 2007. The brand now has an established presence in 48 physical markets, 39 online markets and select wholesale partners.

Cos enters Mexico

What: Louis Vuitton announced the opening of a home furnishing and interior design store in Shanghai, a first for the French luxury brand.

Why it is important: The brand is looking to expand the range of products it offers to its wealthy Chinese customers. The store will be accessible by appointment only, making it a new attempt in private retailing.

The store is located in a building near Nanjing Lu, the city's main high-end shopping street.

Louis Vuitton plans a trial period of a few months before making a decision on whether to make the store permanent.

Louis Vuitton tests its first home store in Shanghai

What: In collaboration with its National Business Involvement Group, Marks & Spencer has introduced changes to provide M&S Retail Managers more flexibility in their scheduling to support employee work/life balance.

Why it is important: Following a trial across 100 stores, 75% of managers that participated reported positive impacts on family life by compressing their hours and 73% reported a positive impact on their time for themselves.

In addition to managers being able to compress hours, extend, and opt for part-time or full-time scheduling, M&S has launched ‘Job Share Finder’ which allows for staff to job share. Part-time managers have also been able to access a version of compressed working offers.

Marks & Spencer launches changes for better work/life balance

What: Business of Fashion brings the Happy Returns director and a consumer psychologist together to discuss how companies can transform customer pain points in the return process into growth opportunities.

Why it is important: Competition around having the cheapest and most convenient experience is now conflicting with CSR efforts and the financial and logistical costs of facilitating returns which has led many retailers to consider restructuring their return process.

While many customers report the importance of free returns (87% according to research by PayPal and TRC), the importance of convenience demonstrates greater importance with over 50% of customers have abandoned carts due to a lack of convenient return methods. According to consumer psychologist, Kate Nightingale, the simple act of touching a product increases the sense of ownership by over 20% which influences satisfaction when customers encounter difficulties in the return process. The sponsor of the discussion, Happy Returns, expresses the importance of in-store, package-free returns to provide a convenient and more environmentally friendly method. The stores do not have to be brand owned, however, if customers return to the store, they are more likely to purchase something.

Returns are a pain point for both retailers and customers, thus, gamifying the process for consumers can encourage loyalty and improve attitudes and thinking around returns. For retailers returns should become part of inventory management through processing returns in-store, ultimately eliminating many troublesome steps from receiving packages directly from consumers.

The benefits of improving return processes can be seen through studies and reports that show how customers who frequently make purchases tend to have the highest rate of returns and are likely to increase order frequency when the experience is efficient and positive.

Reimagining returns to drive growth

What: Dillard’s third quarter retail sales and revenues increased 3% over the period with net sales for the quarter reaching 1.5 billion dollars compared to 1.48 billion for the previous year.

Why it is important: Despite facing many of the same economic and supply chain-related issues as other retailers, Dillard’s has managed to maintain growth with their seventh consecutive quarter of gross margin over 40%.

For the entire first part of 2022, Dillard’s reported a retail sales increase of 8% and a comparable store sales increase of 8% as well. Net income is up 11% over last year’s performance with earnings per share up 32%.

The strongest performing categories for the department store group during the third quarter include cosmetics, men’s apparel and accessories, home and furniture and shoes. Juniors’ and children’s apparel were the weakest performing categories.

Dillard’s posts increased sales and earnings in Q3

What: Louis Vuitton has opened ‘The Hall’, its first restaurant in China which is part of the Louis Vuitton Chengdu Maison, opened at the Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li shopping mall.

Why it is important: As part of the restaurant launch, a local rapper was invited to create an original song for the event to help engage with Gen Z, and an interactive game on Wechat was released the morning of the opening.

Chengdu Maison is Louis Vuitton’s third location in China and spans over 2,000 square metres. Giant panda figures and hat air balloons decorated the courtyard of ‘The Hall’ with images of the sculptures having already gone viral on Chinese social media leading up to the opening. The restaurant serves a seasonal bistro-style menu with pan-European flavours created by rotating Michelin-star guest chefs along with wine from the Jura, the birthplace of Louis Vuitton himself.

Louis Vuitton’s restaurant ‘The Hal’ is located across the street from the three-story flagship story in Chengdu, a major retail hub in China. In addition, The Hall is furnished with furniture and objects from the luxury house’s Objets Nomades collection.

Louis Vuitton opens restaurant in China