What: The celebration places playful pop-ups throughout the store that use the signature orange colour and which are filled with limited edition products.

Why it is important: Through fun store animations, limited edition products, experiences in beauty, F&B and even a theatre event, Le Bon Marché is celebrating its 170th birthday with an unconventional and immersive celebration for its customers.

Brands including Acne Studios, Roger Vivier, Cartier, Chloé and Moynat have designed orange ready-to-wear, bags and shoes, especially for the anniversary event. The spirit of celebration spreads throughout the store with a banquet table of colourful tableware designs, a La Fabrique Popcorn stand, a coffee bar run by Le Café Nuances, a maze and tombola, a Kure Bazaar nail art bar, a Kevin Murphy hairstyling station and a makeup bar.

The highlight of the celebration is the weekly immersive theater performance staged across the store on Friday and Saturday nights from Sept. 2 through Dec. 30. Some 30 actors will recreate the story of founders Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut, who famously helped inspire French author Émile Zola’s 19th-century novel “Au Bonheur des Dames."

Le Bon Marché’s 170th anniversary: ‘Orange You Glad’ pop-up

What: Fashion for Good and the Dutch Circle Economy foundation researched to provide insight on the value of investing in scaling up their sustainability efforts.

Why it is important: The study of six European countries looked at the textile volume of post-consumer waste, the composition of recyclable textiles, and the capacity to sort and store the textile waste.

The research found that 494,000 tons of post-consumer textiles are available and usable for recycling. The study was conducted in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. Despite the varying volume of textiles collected across these six countries, the research concluded a connection with the local sorting capacity.

Fashion for Good calculated the potential price per kilo for the recycled material equaling 74 million euros in total. There remains a need to invest financially in improving recycling technologies and the automation of sorting.

Textile recycling could bring 74 million euros to EU countries

What: Neiman Marcus is taking their partnership with Brunello Cucinelli to another level with a 360-degree campaign called “Muse of the West” which launches Monday.

Why it is important: The campaign is part of the company’s strategy called “retail-tainment” where they come up with more imaginative and complex experiences and presentations for shoppers that goes above and beyond the usual retail experience.

This collaboration with Brunello Cucinelli is a full-blown collection across women’s ready-to-wear and accessories- 30 different styles, and not a constructed capsule collection.

The Muse of the West collection draws inspiration from the American West with an Italian twist, blending classic imagery and elements of the West (plains, ranches, and horses) with Italian landscapes and autumnal colours.

Marketing initiatives include a lookbook and a first-time video with Carolina and Camilla Cucinelli. The video shows a dinner and fashion presentation for VIP customers and influences spending a day at the 100-acre RoadRunner Ranch in Dallas, mingling with Neiman’s executives and the Cucinelli sisters.

“Muse of the West” campaign by Neiman Marcus and Brunello Cucinelli

What: H&M and Decathlon were found to have used unclear and insufficiently substantiated sustainability claims.

Why it is important: The two retailers have pledged to inform their consumers more clearly in order to minimize the risk of misleading practices, as well as donating a total of 900,000 euros to different sustainable causes as compensation.

H&M and Decathlon were offering products under general terms, such as “eco-design” and “conscious.

H&M and Decathlon forced to stop sustainability claims

What: To help customers with the cost of holiday shopping amid rising inflation, the retailer has changed its return policy and minimum spend threshold for click-and-collect orders.

Why it is important: This is the first time the retailer has launched such an initiative in September, answering new customer shopping behaviours caused by inflation concerns.

Customers who make purchases now have until January 28th to make returns. As well, the minimum spend for orders to qualify for click-and-collect has been lifted until October 19th.

John Lewis extends return policy & removes click-and-collect minimum

What: The Economist takes stock of the new standards in the Beauty category and how DTC brands are performing.

Why it is important: DTC are attractive on paper: they are smart, lean, digitally-native and able to talk to the younger customers. But their model, adapted to a pre-Covid context, might not be able to pass the test of time without the support from older companies.

The Economist reviews how the $500bn beauty market has evolved in the recent years, with well-established groups, which have a time-honored marketing strategy and often in-house production capability in addition to a dual sales channel (wholesale, retail), are being challenged by Direct to Consumer brands.

They have been the cool kids quite for a while, as they came in with a new business model: direct online sales, lower margins, better knowledge of the customer, leaner organizations. However The Economist suggests that this might be a model adapted to a context only, and might not be relevant in the “new normal”: influencer-based marketing strategy works well to encourage initial purchases but not to repeat them, outsourced production capability might prove difficult in a world with inflation and supply-chain difficulties, and physical stores remain the place where customers purchase their products.

This might explain why new brands are being purchased (or sold to) beauty giants, who find in them interesting and cool brand names, while the brands themselves find a way to continue their expansion which might be otherwise difficult.

The truth about young beauty brands’ business model 

What: To reward environmentally friendly behaviour by producers, the French government is working to establish a system which supports sustainable companies.

Why it is important: The proposal is set for review by industrialist representatives NGOs and the public to decide on the future of textile production by setting aside 600 million to promote the repair, reuse and recycling of clothing and textile waste. 350 million has been set aside for benefiting eco-designed products via bonuses.

The government is proposing five avenues: bonuses for more ‘virtuous’ products, reducing the cost of repairing textiles, developing new solutions for collecting used textiles, financing the sorting and repair of textiles and setting up a French recycling sector.

French government proposes sustainable fashion bonus system

What: South Korean retail giant Lotte Group has revealed plans to build an eco-friendly ‘smart city’ complex, along with a separate ‘smart logistics’ hub in Vietnam.

Why it is important: Along with plans for retail centres and residential spaces, the group intends to provide digital healthcare services using big data analysis and artificial intelligence.

The project will have a total floor area of 680,000sqm, five basements and multiple towers. The complex includes a shopping centre, cinema, office space, hotel, residences and apartments. Local sources stated that Lotte also plans to build an “Integrated Smart Logistics Center” in Dong Nai Province to improve logistics capacity and support Lotte’s business development in Vietnam. As for the promise of digital healthcare services, some examples of capabilities will be home care and IoT telemedicine, including remote diagnoses.

The group announced its plans to invest around 900 million USD into the project during its ground breaking ceremony in Thu Thiem on September 2nd.

Lotte Group plans futuristic smart city in Vietnam

What: OpinionWay and IloveRetail.fr conducted surveys listing the main expectations for website and marketplace portals that consumers prioritize.

Why it is important: The surveys list the highest ranking features for customers ranging from the possibility to return in-store to the possibility of a ‘one-click’ payment, generating a ranking of the best store portals for fashion, beauty and accessories.

Un-surprisingly, 87% of respondents said that security of payments comes first, ahead of costs, delivery times and methods, return conditions, store list and preferred store memorization. The option for a one-click payment was only considered useful by 63% and 31% of respondents.

The top sites ranked per their categories were: Kiabi, Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Decathlon, Histoire d’Or, and Marc Orian.

Most popular beauty & fashion ecommerce features

What: Bloomingdale’s reflects on 150 years of business and its history of propelling menswear brands as it finishes renovations on the 59th Street men’s store flagship.

Why it is important: Keeping the evolving menswear market in mind, the Bloomingdale’s team reconceptualized the space to provide increased space and a wider offer. IADS has also recently held a meeting regarding menswear which can be accessed through this link: https://www.iads.org/web/iads/5067-iads-merchandising-meeting-6-mens-fashion.php

A 13,000-square-foot shoe department that is 70% bigger with a more varied assortment of casual and dress shoes from designer to performance brands is only the beginning. That floor includes accessories, select fragrances and a gallery of hats. As well there are new areas for denim and advanced contemporary vendors.

The re-imagined store reflects the emerging post-pandemic trends for men’s fashion and shopping habits by adjusting the flow and assortment to meet the new customer demands.

Home and cosmetics are two other categories that Bloomingdale’s is looking to grow.

Bloomingdale’s modernizes menswear

What: European, US and UK shoppers are pulling back on vacation plans due to inflation as reported by First Insight.

Why it is important: Data has shown that inflation is a key driver of deflating consumer confidence as shoppers from the EU, US and UK report increased cost of living expenses causing many customers (40%) to cut back on name-brand products.

Entertainment spending, alcohol and spirits, meat and seafood are other categories in which consumers are pulling back spending. Many respondents have stated that they are staying home to avoid spending on ‘nightlife’ related expenses. In addition, vacationing less has been a way consumers reported how they save.

92% of all respondents are concerned about the recession yet one-third are saving less.

Shoppers pull back on vacations and entertainment

What: Klarna saw its losses more than quadruple to 502 million pounds in the first quarter, blaming consumer slowdown.

Why it is important: Despite a 21% rise in the number of goods it helped to sell with revenues jumping 24% to 816 million pounds, the BNPL company pointed to higher credit losses in new markets, global expansion efforts and a rise in employee costs as the reason for not having recorded a profit in the last four years.

A slowdown in consumer spending amid soaring inflation and a looming financial authority crackdown in the UK to attempt to regulate BNPL products have significantly affected the environment in which Klarna operates.

Klarna’s value has fallen from 39.2 billion pounds in June 2021 to 6 billion pounds this quarter, following the company being caught in a technology stock sell-off due to market panic about its growth prospects.

Klarna losses quadruple

What: Fast-fashion e-tailer Shein continues to cement its brick-and-mortar strategy with its most recent pop-up in London’s West End that will house a curated collection of its seasonal lines, wardrobe staples and partywear.

Why it is important: Despite continued criticism around health and safety violations, plagiarism accusations and sustainability concerns, Shein focuses on targeting its young audience of teenage girls who are attracted to its on-trend designs at affordable prices.

The pop-up will open just in time for London Fashion Week. Younger shoppers can purchase Shein’s curation of styles from September 16th to the 18th.

Shein opens pop-up in London

What: The Korean government is lifting quarantine restrictions for tourists leading to sales recovery for department stores and retail centres.

Why it is important: Since the lift of COVID travel restrictions on tourists visiting Korea, the number of visitors jumped from 80,000 to 260,000 at the start of 2022, to now 400,000 just in September.

While the pandemic caused a 70% drop in tourist shopping, the Hyundai Department Store has seen a 198% year-over-year increase between July and August. In the second half, the department store saw a 129% increase year-over-year for tourist shopping.

To capitalize on the increased traffic, Hyundai is collaborating with local entertainment firm HYBE to host a K-pop event at its Yeouido brand. Lotte Department Store is also taking steps at its main store in Myeong-dong to prepare for the increasing number of international shoppers.

Reports from retailers have shown that foreigners mainly purchased cosmetics and fashion items. Theirs in each category increased 218% and 233%, respectively, in July.

Korean department stores recover as tourism returns

What: Nike’s shares went down due to weaker margins, a build-up of inventory, and fallen revenues in China.

Why it is important:  It became clear to Nike that the conditions in North America are shifting again.

Nike’s inventories were valued at 9.7 billion USD at the end of the quarter, up 44% from a year earlier. However, revenues in Greater China fell by 13% to 1.7 billion USD as the country continued to struggle with COVID-19 restrictions. Gross margins declined which raised concerns about just how promotional the market could become as the fashion industry and consumers muddle through a weakening economy.

Nike shares decreased by 9.2%, resulting in investors’ skittishness thanks to a dicey market complicated by supply chain troubles, inflation and the threat of recession.

Nike shares are impacted by economic turmoil 

What: For the 2022 holiday season, Dior will strengthen its relationship with Harrods with a multi-pronged event lasting from November 10 to January 3.

Why it is important: Dior traditionally stages a summer pop-up in the London department store but is set to take over Harrod’s iconic Christmas displays, showcasing 44 windows, staging events on every floor, displaying the Dior compass rose in lights on the façade, along with a pop-up café.

Dior will launch a dedicated app for visitors to book slots for their exhibition that features small-scale reproductions of their Paris flagship, founder Christian Dior’s childhood home and Château de La Colle Noire. Harrods will carry exclusives and pre-launches alongside the 15-minute immersive Dior walkthrough attraction.

Dior to take over 44 windows at Harrods

What: The new Jown Lewis slogan (for all life’s moments) is not as disconnected as it seems.

Why it is important:  Every retailer is revamping its positioning and brand perception as the competition in the online space increasing, forcing retailers to capture an “audience”, or, as the FT suggests between the lines, inventing such an audience.

No more experience: with its new slogan, John Lewis aims to be the first “moments-based retailer”. What does this mean? If in the past customers were spending on holidays and festival, now John Lewis addresses customers who want to spend more on everyday moments to make them special.

The slogan change (the previous one was “never knowingly undersold”) was a strategic move, as it forced John Lewis to align with lower prices from the competition including online. But the FT argues that such a change is also a way for John Lewis to sell more small products more often. This is smart at a moment when inflation and consequences of the Brexit are making UK customers more price-conscious, but still willing to enjoy their moments. The FT wonders if such a strategy can work out.

What John Lewis gets right about British shoppers 

What: Following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8th, the UK will enter a morning period that is expected to cost the country billions.

Why it is important: London Fashion Week is still expected to take place from the 16th to the 20th of September, with Burberry bowing out as a mark of respect and the British Fashion Council ceasing communications during the ten-day mourning period.

The funeral is expected to take place on the 18th or 19th which would mean store closures across the country as well as fashion show rescheduling. Prior to the news of the Queen’s death, London was preparing for its biggest fashion week since before the pandemic.

Selfridges has closed its doors since the announcement of the Queen’s passing and will reopen this weekend. It is likely that the other major UK department stores will follow their lead.

The ten-day mourning period will cause serious business delays and closures leading to lost revenues and logistical hiccups that may cause a cascade of issues for Fashion Month and British department stores.

UK business to halt following the Queen’s death - Source 1

UK business to halt following the Queen’s death - Source 2

What: Pinduoduo, a popular Chinese e-commerce enterprise, has released a new app intended to leverage its supplier network and compete with Shein in the fast-fashion market.

Why it is important: Temu has already been downloaded over 400,000 times, making its threat to Shein even greater.

Backed by the Chinese retail giant Pinduoduo, success will be easier for the newly released platform. The company allows groups of users to purchase goods at a lower cost, connecting merchants directly with buyers while sellers bear the shipping costs. The company’s newest app, Temu, is primarily focused on apparel, home goods and electronics. Like Shein, Temu hosts thousands of new products daily at an unbelievably low price.

Parent company Pinduoduo helps Temu through its existing relationships with suppliers, making it easier to upload new and of-the-moment styles that rival that of Shein.

Temu: Shein’s new rival

What: Deloitte expects holiday retail sales to have lower growth this year.

Why it is important: Retail sales are set to increase as a result of higher prices, which will allow for the potential to further drive e-commerce sales as consumers will look to online deals to maximize their spending.

As inflation increases, retailers can expect consumers to continue to shift how they spend their holiday budget this upcoming season; inflation will help raise dollar sales, but retailers will see less growth in sales volume.

Deloitte’s holiday shopping season predictions

What: Cost inflation across grocery and general merchandise has greatly affected the retail group’s profitability with a decline of 99-million-pounds compared to its 69-million-pound profit last year.

Why it is important: Despite the loss, John Lewis will continue to support its full-time staff with a one-off cost-of-living payment of 500 pounds on top of the free food promised to employees during the holiday season.

The pandemic had artificially inflated shopping basket sizes which have since plummeted as consumers’ behaviour has shifted due to inflation. Waitrose sales dropped by 5% and operating profit fell by 93-million-pounds. Fashion however performed well over the first half driven by a return to in-store shopping, growing 25% compared to the previous year. The group’s bargain value own brand Anyday saw a 28% rise in sales as customers began to look for better deals during the later part of H1.

John Lewis is prioritizing its partners by doubling financial assistance and increasing entry-level pay by 4% which will cost 10-million-pounds in the second half. Overall, the retailer plans to invest a total of 45-million-pounds to help partners this year.

John Lewis sales did increase over the first half due to a return to in-store shopping post-pandemic, maintaining an operating profit of 295-million-pounds compared to last year.

John Lewis sees a 99-million-pound loss in H1

What: The Mexican high-end department store has utilized a surplus of cash to diversify assets geographically by purchasing 293.8 million USD of Nordstrom stock.

Why it is important: Nordstrom has enacted a 'Poison Pill' plan to make a hostile takeover more difficult and expensive by allowing current shareholders to buy at an extreme discount ultimately diluting the pursuer's stake.

Liverpool is now one of the top shareholders with the largest shareholder being the grandson of Nordstrom’s founder who reportedly holds 15.86% followed by his sister who holds 9.68%. The department store chain has seen its shares rise 10% since the start of this year with double-digit revenue growth across its business lines in Q2. On the other hand, Nordstrom has seen the value of its shares drop close to 19% since the start of this year due to the economic pressures that customers have been facing.

The Nordstrom family offered to buy shares at 50 USD in 2018 but the board refused. Now the store shares are trading between 19 and 20 USD per share. Nordstrom has set in place a plan of action to protect the company from an unplanned takeover due to a company or individual acquiring more than 10% of shares, yet denies its connection to Liverpool's recent stake in the company.

The 'Poison Pill' plan demonstrates the department store's desperation to prove that its strategies are working despite time running out in the minds of shareholders.

Mexican high-end retailer Liverpool acquires passive stake in Nordstrom

Mexican high-end retailer Liverpool acquires passive stake in Nordstrom - Source 2

Mexican high-end retailer Liverpool acquires passive stake in Nordstrom - Source 3

What: The activewear giant will be opening their first ever permanent brick-and-mortar store that will include a sweat room, fitness advice experts, a Joe & the Juice, and more.

Why is it important: Not only will this store be a place to buy apparel, but also a place for their customer to be a part of a community and experience the essence of Gymshark.

The company is going alongside a lot of other direct-to-consumer brands who have begun opening stores or going into wholesale, which continues to confirm the trend.

The retailer says that they will be offering around 30 classes per week in their ‘Sweat Room,’ which doubles as a “stage” for bigger events like their Sunday Brunch events featuring a professional guest.

‘The Pro Bench’ section will be available to anyone wanting to book an appointment with in-store professionals who can advise on topics from personal training to mindset. ‘The Hub’ will be a space for the community to come together for workshops, panels, and more.

Gymshark Regent Street will open next month

What: After over two years of shuttering its stores and moving into Saks stores, the Barneys New York brand will return as beauty and wellness products, including bottled water.

Why it is important: Barney’s New York is joining the wellness and beauty trend with a four-product skincare line and artisanal water offering.

The skincare line-up, consisting of a cleanser, a serum, a day cream and a night cream, costing from 48 to 168 USD will launch alongside the debut of Barneys New York bottled water, which is sourced from Norway and will be available for 5.50 USD per 11-ounce glass bottle.

In a post-bankruptcy return, the brand is expanding into a different kind of product assortment: skincare and bottled water.

Barneys New York is back, as a beauty brand