What: The Dutch department store has been hit stronger than expected during the Covid-19 pandemic

Why it is important: De Bijenkorf is part of the Selfridges group, recently acquired by Central Thailand and Signa. Analysts wonder if the new owners will solely focus on the jewel of the crown (the Selfridges London location) or if they will also helping the other ailing brand names such as De Bijenkorf or Brown Thomas.

The Dutch department store De Bijenkorf reported an operating loss of €33.3m in  2021, in spite of an increase in sales of +10%. Higher management attributes this poor performance to rising costs and Covid-19-related closures during the 2021 winter. However, they are confident that 2022 will be much brighter in terms of financial performance.

De Bijenkorf admits losses for the second year in a row 

What: L’Oréal is launching a global program called L’Oréal Boost aimed at supporting young people’s employment.

Why it is important: L’Oréal Boost follows last year’s announcement about the L’Oréal for Youth program and the more recent US division’s plans to open a new research and innovation centre.

The project aims to give 20,000 students a year of access to on-demand digital courses from Coursera to help them improve their employability in the early stages of their careers. In addition, 100,000 people are to be offered guided digital projects through the companies’ digital tools and software.

So far, the L’Oréal for Youth program has created 18,342 work opportunities, enrolled 59,000 people in masterclasses, career-coached 18,000 young people and mentored 13,000.

L’Oréal youth employment program

What: Sephora announced a new subscription-based membership that allows shoppers to get same-day eligible items delivered in as little as two hours.

Why it is important: The retailer responded to a survey showing that fast delivery was the top service shoppers wanted.

The subscription, which includes unlimited same-day delivery through the site or app, costs 49USD per year.

Same day delivery subscription at Sephora

What: Legislative action is picking up around brands and retailers falsely advertising products as sustainable.

Why it is important: The new legal action and legislation increasing around the world advocating for transparency and validity in sustainability claims, are a serious wake-up for retailers and brands to carefully navigate their behaviour and communication.

H&M has recently been hit with a class-action lawsuit filed in New York earlier this month regarding their sustainability claims. The suit focuses on the ‘Conscious Collection’ and the misleading imagery and communication the company makes regarding recycling. H&M’s claim to recycle clothing by collecting used clothes has been addressed as misleading customers when the technology either does not exist or does not reach the scale or pace of H&M’s production.

The H&M lawsuit as well as the UK’s investigation into environmental claims made by fast fashion brands are seen as a door opening for other similar legal action to be taken. Aside from any financial outcome from potential legal battles, brands and retailers are already facing a PR storm and deteriorating public perceptions.

Other initiatives that seek to eliminate buzzwords at the product level are seen as an important step but keep customers responsible for their choices, not retailers. The recent legislation is likely to affect marketing primarily; it is unclear if it will address production policies.

Speculators foresee increased, stricter regulations but customer shopping behaviour is not expected to change until legislation attacks the supply chain directly.

Lawsuits amid fashion greenwashing crackdowns

What: In celebration of its 150th anniversary, Bloomingdale’s has created a virtual store to showcase products from luxury brands and immerse visitors in digital attractions.

Why it is important: During New York Fashion Week, Bloomingdale’s is engaging clients will an omnichannel celebration that includes a virtual store and other physical events across the US that will include exclusive merchandise.

Visitors to the virtual storefront will have access to an exclusive anniversary-themed collection along with a video highlighting the history of Bloomingdale’s, video games and the ability to buy luxury products.

Bloomingdale’s virtual store for NY Fashion Week

What: New owners, Central Group and Signa have big ambitions for Selfridges, and more UK cities could see new branches opening.

Why it is important: The joint partners plan to take advantage of a possible upturn in regional cities once the cost-of-living crisis ends by opening new stores, something which Selfridges hasn’t done in the past twenty years.

There are no concrete plans for UK expansion, but the owners have expressed their intention to establish a physical presence in second-tier cities.

While the company believes they are the only solution for luxury brands in terms of distribution, competitor department stores such as Harvey Nichols and Flannels have retail locations across the UK.

New Selfridges owners debate opening new stores

What: Over 20 product categories and 400 new brands will be available to customers on the new marketplace.

Why it is important: Macy’s continues to expand its already growing digital business with a new digital marketplace offering emerging brands and trending styles in a curated assortment with the possibility of connecting customers with third-party vendors.

Macy’s new digital marketplace

Macy’s new digital marketplace - Source 2

What: China, the world’s leading producer of footwear has Vietnam right behind them in second place producing over 1 billion pairs of footwear each year.

Why it is important: New agreements between Vietnam and Europe (the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, EVFTA) have made importing easier and less costly, as well as a similar agreement with North America - The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) - has boosted Vietnam's footwear exports to Canada and Mexico.

New data from Research and Markets show Vietnam's footwear exports to the EU account for the largest proportion of total exports.

Nike and Adidas have both chosen Vietnam as their main production base because of lower costs. Nike with more than 100 suppliers in Vietnam and Adidas with 98% of its own-brand footwear produced in Vietnam.

#1 leader in footwear: China or Vietnam? 

What: Hwang-Judiesch, ex-Vice President of strategic initiatives at Ulta Beauty, replaces Wayne Drummond, who will be retiring from the company.

Why it is important: In this role, she will work closely with The Bay on the overall omni-customer, brand, and platform strategy. She will also help bring to life the Hudson’s Bay stores component of the strategy, including the execution of the company’s in-store digital selling transformation, customer experience and store optimization.

Hudson’s Bay names a new president

What: M&S employees will receive increased pay along with a 250-pound voucher as the retailer reacts to cost-of-living crisis stress.

Why it is important: The hourly pay increase will be ahead of both national and real living wage values.

The retailer is the latest in a string of UK companies launching support plans for its employees, and like John Lewis, food will also be given out along with sanitary products. In addition, M&S colleagues will have the opportunity to take part in free financial planning workshops.

M&S ups staff pay and hands out vouchers

What: Results show that wages and staffing are the top concerns for retailers.

Why is it important: Multimedia Plus survey reveals labour shortage is the main concern in finding good talent to hire for staff this upcoming holiday season.

65% of respondents said that recruiting is their number one issue, the better talent and the better they are trained, the better companies are able to grow and attract new customers.

The supply chain was a top challenge for 28% of retailers, 14% was onboarding new store associates, and scheduling was a top issue for 8%.

Retailers worry about lack of well-trained staff this holiday season

What: New owners, Central and Signa, are wanting to refurbish the underutilised space that could be a real asset to Oxford Street, as part of their plans to be the ultimate luxury online platform.

Why it is important: A plan for expansion will be put into place to be present in 11 countries, including Italy, Germany and Switzerland in order to bring promotion and awareness to their omnichannel services.

Their plan is to highlight the Selfridges global brand, its merchandise and brand curation, and specifically its exclusive collections. They will use data and technology to make the customer experience more personalized.

Selfridges is redeveloping underutilised space on Oxford Street

What: Entrepreneurs across Mexico are capitalizing on Shein’s cult following and cheap prices by creating networks of shops dedicated to bulk buying, warehousing and selling Shein products.

Why it is important: The lack of permanent physical Shein locations along with Mexico’s lack of trust in digital businesses and low connectivity rates in large parts of the country has made it possible for boutiques to sell the fast-fashion products despite lacking authorization.

While internet penetration has a rate of 75%, Mexico’s digital shoppers only account for 9% of the country’s formal retail purchases. Many of these boutiques instruct customers on how to order through them while selling products at the same price that appears online. The method for making a profit lies in the boutiques leveraging the gamified discount system. They receive a wholesale price by buying in bulk and receive points that can be exchanged for discounts from every purchase.

Mexico is a priority country for Shein as they have made repeat appearances of their travelling pop-up shops over the past couple of years.

Unauthorized Shein boutiques appear across Mexico

What: The parent company of Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, has adjusted its corporate strategy to meet the new expectations of younger generations.

Why it is important: From the top down, Neiman Marcus Group is committed to setting a standard that ensures people-driven partnerships and provides employees with an ideal work environment.

Released in early 2021, NMG remains committed to its mission to revolutionise luxury’s impact through environmental social governance (ESG) by making it a cornerstone of its growth and transformation strategy. ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Workforce Diversity’ are core pillars for the goals it has set out to accomplish by 2025.

Neiman Marcus committed to environmental social governance

What: Peek & Cloppenburg opened its newest store in the Metropole Zličín shopping center in Prague on September 15th.

Why it is important: This will be the retailer’s fifth P&C store in the Czech Republic; their newest store present a wide range of fashion for women and men on a sales area of 4,000 square metres.

Czech Republic welcomes fifth Peek & Cloppenburg store

What: Two years have passed since Selfridges launched its sustainability strategy and has now released its first report on its effectiveness.

Why it is important: The company aims to have 45% of all transactions generated by one of its circularity models: resale, rental, repair.

Rental still requires a push, although resale and repairs have been quite successful. The company will continue to promote circular shopping to answer the challenge of consumer adoption. As the company has little control over its Scope 3 emissions (accounting for 95% of its overall footprint), Selfridges is also taking a category-specific approach, working with concessions regarding material tracking and altering its assortment. Starting in 2025, the department store plans to no longer stock products that do not meet its material commitments.

Selfridges committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 64% by 2030. Scope 3 emission reduction is set to a 30% decrease by 2030. Of these emissions, 57% comes from purchased goods and services, followed by use of sold products at 21%, capital goods at 11% and transportation and distribution at 7%.

Internally, Selfridges has appointed 300 ‘Green Warriors’ from among its staff to champion sustainable change in their teams, from organising beach clean-ups to raising awareness of new initiatives internally.

Project Earth - Selfridges Press Release

Selfridges’ sustainability initiative: Project Earth

What: Overall spending on transport, energy, school supplies, food and more, the French shopper has altered their consumption habits.

Why it is important: Inflation trends are likely to continue throughout 2023 with shoppers reducing purchases, buying more durable products, selecting timeless designs and planning their buying to coincide with sales.

OpinionWay conducted a study which revealed that 73% of consumers have reduced their fashion consumption over the past two years, with only 12% stating that they have returned to their pre-pandemic buying habits. Some habits include carefully comparing prices between brands (80%) and simply making less frequent purchases (59%).

82% of respondents are looking for clothing that is timeless and 76% are looking for clothing that transcends fashion trends. 57% of respondents are waiting for the economic climate to be more favourable to renew their wardrobe, leading retailers and brands to believe the sales season will see greater purchases. This is backed by the study results showing that 69% of consumers will wait for sales to make necessary purchases and 44% will avoid shopping altogether to avoid the temptation of buying.

Second-hand platforms appear to be ideal alternatives in the eyes of French consumers with 41% using these channels for deals. New networks of hard discounters are also appealing, as 39% of respondents report shopping through these channels.

Inflation changes French shopping behaviour

What: John Lewis has released an advertisement that highlights the highs and lows of modern family life in connection with its renewed brand promise: ‘For All Life’s Moments.’

Why it is important: Following research on the shifting consumer habits, John Lewis has rebranded its retail endeavours to be focused on ‘moments’ that connect with each customer’s lifestyle.

In an attempt to connect with clients in a new way and to navigate the uncertain financial times, John Lewis’ newest film communication portrays the difficulties of parenting through moments shared between a father and daughter.

The ad was created by adam&eveDDB.

John Lewis launches advert for rebrand

What: At the Goldman Sachs 29th annual Global Retailing Conference Macy’s, Nordstrom, Shopify and Capri point to the opportunities and threats of the market right.

Why it is important: Macy’s sees occasion-based categories doing especially well right now and says promotions will be high this fall. Nordstrom continues to see a lot of strength in their core categories, like women’s apparel, while their inventory excess is going to take a couple of quarters to get through.

Macy’s is looking to new tools involving a more scientific approach to pricing, including markdown optimization , by style, category, store, and channel, as well as personalization.

Nordstrom’s private label business has been poor considering there has been a leadership change along with decreased inventory compared to the first half of the year.

Shopify says the e-commerce growth curve is back to where it was in 2019 but with a higher base, and projects hitting 7 million USD by 2025.

Nordstrom and Macy’s present challenges at Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference 

What: Prada, Tiffany & Co., RTFKT and other brands are using NFTs as a way to sell physical products to specific customers based on the NFT they hold.

Why it is important: Different strategies have emerged in the growing NFT market with fashion companies creating digital twins, using token-gating, and targeting specific NFT holders.

Tiffany & Co. recently announced their NFTiffs for CryptoPunks holders offering the ability to purchase an exclusive pendant costing 30 Eth or 50,000 USD at current conversions. Buyers of the pendant will receive an NFT resembling the physical item.

Many other brands like 9dcc, Dolce & Gabbana, and Prada are linking NFTs with physical products. This is seen as an opportunity to engage loyal customers and release physical goods. Buyers who receive a physical product are predicted to repurchase by receiving access to future sales through the NFT. Some criticize this release model as a pre-order program with unnecessarily complicated steps for the average consumer.

The reliability of blockchain in providing an open infrastructure for anyone to use is leading the argument against using emails and traditional records which could accomplish the same abilities as NFTs today.

Fashion using NFTs to sell exclusive physical products

What: Return of in-person events, such as weddings, are increasing menswear sales for occasion wear.

Why it is important: Despite inflation concerns, menswear retailers are reporting positive reports on men’s apparel sales for special occasions and work wear as the post-pandemic world begins to normalize.

A surge in in-person events caused a lot of men to update their wardrobe after lockdown restrictions have lifted and the shopping highs appear to be continuing in the special occasion categories as events such as weddings increase. Merchants are expecting strong sales to continue at least through the second half. Still, some are cautious after over-purchasing, leaving them with plenty of inventory to sell through. Consumer pull-back remains a concern because of the ongoing pandemic stress, inflation and tensions overseas.

Tailored clothing and neckwear categories have been performing well as men prepare for holiday events and weddings. The return to work has translated into increased sales around hybrid pieces such as sports coats and pants that can be worn with sports shirts or sweaters while remaining comfortable.

Another cause for an increase in professional wear has been demonstrated by recent graduates buying professional and sophisticated clothing for job interviews and new employment.

Positive outlook for men’s occasion dressing

What: 15-year-old fashion brand Cos will embark on a wholesale strategy for the first time partnering with Breuninger, Nordstrom, and Yoox.

Why it is important: As part of a push to expand brand awareness and presence in markets where Cos operates on a smaller scale, the brand is partnering with department stores and retailers through wholesale.

With only 12 US locations, Cos plans to leverage Nordstrom’s New York client base by placing a curated selection of products in-store during New York Fashion Week. In early October, Cos will begin selling on the Breuninger website to improve its availability across Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Poland. As well, the brand will become available across all Yoox’s live markets by stocking its products on the Net-a-porter Group member’s website starting in December. Each retailer is reported to be receiving a unique assortment based on clients and location.

Cos plans to continue growing its wholesale business with selective long-term partnerships, without compromising on its own brick-and-mortar expansion. Bringing Cos into other stores and websites will be a great indicator of demand in markets where the brand is underrepresented.

Cos unveils wholesale strategy

What: The Jing Daily reflects on the meaning of a retail icon closure in Hong Kong

Why it is important: Retail is not dead in the city, on the contrary, the current crisis provides some fresh air for a reset, even if this means that some iconic locations have to close (just like what happened in other markets such as the UK).

Joyce has announced earlier during the summer that it would close its iconic Central location in the heart of Hong Kong. For Jing Daily, this does not mean that Hong Kong is doomed as a retail destination. For instance, luxury brands have decided to seize the opportunity to invest in bigger flagships stores. Similarly, fashion operators have decided to open new stores in key locations while expanding their offering, such as Sweaty Betty and Whistles.

Analysts and observers believe that the low rents (they are at their lowest since 2003) provide a healthy correction and allows the Hong Kong scene to regenerate, in order to maintain its distinction with Mainland China as well as the rest of the world.

What the closure of Joyce Central means for retail in Hong Kong 

What: Adobe reports price drops for 14 out of 18 tracked categories, year-over-year and month-over-month.

Why it is important: While food prices continue to rise both online and in stores, online prices are dropping in major categories like electronics and apparel. The deflation of online prices is a welcomed relief for consumers who are pulling back on spending in response to the impending recession.

Consumers spent 73.7 billion USD online in July, down from 74.1 billion USD in June. On a year-over-year basis, however, e-commerce spending in July grew 20.9%. Online spending in July also decreased compared to May (78.8 billion USD) and April (77.8 billion USD).

Of Adobe’s observed categories, groceries, tools/home improvement, pet products, and non-prescription drugs experienced inflation last month. On a year-over-year basis, only seven of the 18 categories saw price drops: electronics, jewellery, books, toys, computers, sporting goods and apparel.

The price deflation online has been tied to retailers’ oversupply coupled with the need to address wavering consumer confidence and a pullback in spending.

Online prices drop