What: Selfridges is opening a must-visit destination for its London flagship by creating what has been dubbed the biggest Christmas shop to date for the department store.

Why it is important: Located on the fourth floor of the Oxford Street store, the Christmas shop will be 20% bigger offering lights, ornaments, advent calendars, gift wrap and cards alongside personalization services.

According to the luxury department store, 50% of the decorations will be exclusive to this location and 60% will be part of the Project Earth label as more planet-friendly options.

Website analytics showed that Selfridges website searches for decorations rose 60% while advent calendar searches have risen 60%.

Selfridges biggest Christmas shop to date

What: Travel retail is experiencing strong momentum.

Why it is important: Lagardère Travel Retail (Aelia, Relay, Buy Paris, Duty-Free) saw revenues jump by 77% as tourists began travelling again.

This excludes tourism from China. Revenue soared in non-Asian zones, but the growth remained limited to +6.1% in Asia.

The company generated sales of 2.8 billion euros in the nine-month period against 2 billion euros at Lagardère Publishing, extending the airport retailer’s share of total company revenue and providing more certainty that the airport business has found its feet again.

In France, where Lagardère Travel Retail also has railway station stores, revenue grew by 63% as air and rail traffic rebounded, with both domestic and intra-European journeys increasing. The Americas had slower sales momentum of 33% driven by domestic travel in the United States and a long-awaited recovery in Canada.

This lift means that travel retail is again the star of the show after huge declines during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Travel retail is back after the pandemic hit hard

What: Asian tourists are coming back to Japan now that borders are reopened and they contribute to a surge in travel retail sales.

Why it is important: Chinese tourists are still unseen and they remain vital for the economy to fully recover.

The Japan Times reports that the duty-free sales have soared by twenty times compared to 2021 now that the border closure was lifted in October 11. Many overseas luxury shoppers are reported to be seen in the department stores floors, which, in order to be able to accommodate such a surge, have equipped their employees with a number of translation machines.

Tourists are coming mainly from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Mainland Chinese nationals are still scarce, however, which is a concern for the overall level of recovery, since the sales level, even though they improved, remain still far from the 2019 levels.

Duty-free sales soar in Japan following the borders reopening 

What: While the pandemic’s travel restrictions led to increased domestic luxury shopping in Asia, the recent loosening of travel constraints is likely to cause a dip as consumers begin buying abroad again with malls and department stores fearing a permanent loss of local customers.

Why it is important: Local retailers and Western brands are increasingly pushing for a greater presence in combination with added incentives to leverage the growing consumer power of Asian shoppers while attempting to mitigate the threat of returning international travel.

The reliance brands have established on this demographic necessitates a greater understanding of the new consumer behaviours to properly invest in different regions for local or intra-Asian travel. According to predictions, Asian shoppers are expected to account for over half of the global luxury goods market. The pandemic had accelerated the luxury industry’s efforts to serve Asian customers where they live, work and socialize across regions. The loss of international tourism also led many retailers to focus more heavily on local consumers.

Local Asian luxury shopping threatened by a return to travel

What: Stockmann has reported its results for Q3 and the nine months to the end of September with the company hailing its revenue growth and the Stockmann division reaching break-even.

Why it is important: Despite these results, margins and profits fell but the company kept its guidance unchanged, still expecting an increase in revenue and a better operating result compared to the previous year. This is based on the assumption that there’s no major change in consumer spending during the latter part of the year, as well as assuming that higher inflation and supply chain challenges will continue.

In the latest quarter, revenue rose from €237.8 million to €244 million, which was an increase of 4.2% in local currencies. That said, the gross margin fell to 56.8% from 59.5% and adjusted operating profits dropped to €22 million from €32.9 million. The overall operating result was €6 million, down from €32.7 million a year ago, and net profit fell to €0.6 million from €22.9 million.

In the nine months, revenue rose to €709.1 million, an increase of 15.4% in local currencies. The gross margin was down in this period as well, although less sharply with a drop to 58.1% from 59.1%. Adjusted operating profit rose to €53.7 million from €38.6 million and reported operating profit was up to €130.3 million from €31.5 million. Net profit rose to €84.1 million from €12.6 million.

Stockmann revenue rises but profit is dented in Q3

What: Falabella.com has sealed a deal with the Association of Entrepreneurs of Chile (Asech) to benefit small and medium-sized companies in the country.

Why it is important: Small and medium-sized companies can now benefit from Falabella.com’s channels to reach all of Chile and support its economic recovery.

In addition, more than 50,000 Asech member SMEs will have access to various training courses, logistics and marketing services, media campaigns and data analysis tools to develop their businesses.

Falabella promotes SMEs with the Association of Chilean Entrepreneurs

What: Sparks Pay has been launched with M&S Bank to roll out across M&S.com and the M&S app, allowing users to apply for a new digital credit account and borrow up to 500 GBP for purchases.

Why it is important: Shoppers will get up to 76 days of interest-free borrowing on their first order when they pay the balance in full and up to 45 days for later transactions with a potential annual interest rate could be 23.9%.

M&S launches Sparks Pay allowing members to borrow GBP 500

What: CommerceNext and The Commerce Experience Collective released a poll showing that inventory issues and consumer concerns over inflation will increase the cadence of markdowns.

Why it is important: Retailers are planning to step up the pace of promotions this year due to bloated inventories and consumer concerns over inflation.

After a year of repairing supply chains and staffing up warehouses, retailers are heading into the 2022 holiday season generally optimistic but facing new challenges that include inflation-spurred consumer attitudes and marketing ROI difficulties.

According to the report, 32 of the retail executives polled said they would increase the number of promotions. But markdowns are not the only worry this year. As Web3 rolls out with its cookie-less functions, changes in consumer privacy, which includes the implementation of California’s Privacy Rights Act and other laws, are also causing retailers anxiety.,

An omnichannel strategy will be essential for building customer loyalty that lasts especially in the upcoming competitive holiday season. For example, marketers can use SMS which ensures shoppers have a singular brand experience even as they shop across multiple channels, seamlessly connecting the buying journey.

Holiday promotions are expected as inflation affects consumer spending 

What: John Lewis has hired a new profile in order to revamp its collections and brand perception.

Why it is important: Even though the price point remains important (good quality at a very good price), no retailer is immune anymore to the need of showing customers fashionable and desirable offers.

The days when things could be at a very good price but did not have to follow the trends are over, and this can be felt across all department stores companies operating their own private labels.

John Lewis, which is still struggling to recover both from its initial difficulties and the Covid-19 pandemic (the company posted a net loss of £99m in H1 2022), has launched a turnaround strategy called the “Partnership Plan”, which aims to reach £400mn in profits by 2025. This plan includes the recruitment of a Director of design for fashion, Queralt Ferrer, who started in 2022.

Ferrer has been working for Massimo Dutti and Marks&Spencer before joining John Lewis, and therefore boasts the right experience for the challenge. She will have to deal with a long-standing, albeit diluting, affection from Bitish customers for a retailer brand which is now seen more as a national treasure than a company trusted for the trends it proposes.

According to the Financial Times, the first collection for women’s has generated sales growing +38% compared to the previous year, and new services have been launched: clothing and accessory rental, resale and recycling services.

Can John Lewis’ first fashion director deliver both style and sales? 

What: Frasers Group made a mandatory cash offer to acquire Mysale after becoming its biggest stakeholder in June.

Why it is important: Directors originally urged shareholders to refuse the offer but are now willing to accept what is still believed to be an undervalued offer at 2 pence per share.

The decision to back the offer comes after Frasers Group again upped its stake in the group at the beginning of October and warned it could delist the company from the stock exchange even if the takeover wasn’t accepted. Frasers Group continues to purchase partial or entire stakes in various companies and rivals throughout this and the past few years.

Mysale directors urge shareholders to support Frasers takeover

What: Real estate operator Simon Property Group is teaming up with Alibaba for a livestream 11/11 holiday shopping event.

Why it is important: Simon Property Group is expanding from a strict mall operator role into various directions, including the opening of pop-ups during the popular 11/11 Chinese livestreaming event by teaming up with Alibaba.

As part of 11/11, Simon will set up a pop-up studio at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets to livestream the events.

Simon and Shop Premium Outlets (SPO) have partnered with Tmall Global, opening the door for consumers in China to virtually shop SPO’s online inventory as well as buy direct from participating retailers.

The partnership involves SPO providing the back-end technology for Tmall Global to access inventory in real-time.

Simon Property teams up with Alibaba on liveshopping event

What: A Jungle Scout Consumer Trends surveyed 1,000 U.S. shoppers and found that 25% of the respondents are planning to purchase used items as gifts to reduce their holiday spending.

Why it is important: The trend of buying second-hand gifts for the holidays began before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the retail industry, but Jungle Scout’s research suggests that it has continued considering consumers’ inflation concerns.

Among the top ways shoppers are cutting back their holiday spending are paying less per person on gifts (54%), purchasing discounted items (47%), buying gifts for fewer people (38%), reducing their holiday decorating spending (36%) and cutting their holiday activities and travel (34%).

Jungle Scout’s report echoes previous research indicating that consumers are turning to used goods to combat rising prices.

A Morning Consult survey found that 79% of respondents were looking for deals, 77% had reduced their shopping and 85% said they are changing their habits due to inflation.

In a ThredUp survey released in May, 44% of respondents said they are cutting back their clothing spending, more than every other category except dining at restaurants.

Retailers also have to adjust to costs rising, for example, Target, Walmart and Best Buy have all cut guidance as they prepare for consumers to spend less in response to inflation.

Consumers turn to second-hand as inflation increases and the holiday season approaches

What: Harrods is back in the black thanks to sales jumping +35% in 2021.

Why it is important: Timing is key: communication about the CEO pay rise might be extremely controversial in these difficult times for the country.

Harrods has made a pretax profit of £51m in 2021 (ending January 2022) after a loss of £68m in 2020, with sales increasing +35% to £582m, thanks to more international customers coming to the UK, including from the Middle East.

The company benefited from furlough support of £23.5m in 2020 and £5.8m in 2021, and reduced its total headcount by 400 to 3.511.

Among controversial decisions taken, the CEO, Michael Ward, had his pay doubled, and the royalties paid to the controlling company (the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund) were increased from £23.2m to £33.5m.

Harrods is back to profits 

What: The traditional mall business is likely in trouble as is demonstrated by the 50% stake acquisition of Jamestown, a mixed-use developer, by Simon Property Group, a mall real-estate trust.

Why it is important: The acquisition hints at Simon Property Group accepting that they can no longer rely on a portfolio dependent on enclosed malls.

The group has stated that the acquisition will assist in accelerating future densification projects. Ultimately, the group has intentions to diversify and bring its enclosed malls up-to-date in order to remain dominant in the market.

Simon Property Group acquires 50% stake in mixed-use developer

What: A 14-piece exclusive collection designed by Ann-Kathrin Götze which will be available from November 9th online and November 10th in select P&C stores across Germany and Austria.

Why it is important: Department stores continue to target strong communities by collaborating with influencers particular to their location to tap into a devoted audience.

This will be P&C’s third “Talent Collection” this year. The collection of minimalistic staple garments is co-created with influencer and model Ann-Kathrin Götze.

Peek & Cloppenburg launch collection with Ann-Kathrin Götze

What: Shein launched a resale platform this month to offer American customers the ability to buy and sell their second-hand clothing through the app.

Why it is important: Shein’s move into resale demonstrates its continued pursuit of customer loyalty by reaching them through multiple new touch points and building engagement across channels.

Other fast-fashion resale apps have seen relative promise, with PrettyLittleThing’s second-hand marketplace app recieving more than 100,000 signups within the first weeks of its launch.

Shein joins the resale market

What: Located on the fourth floor of the Printemps Haussmann location in Paris, Le Studio is a space dedicated to media content creation equipped with high-performance technology aiming to provide rich programming from live shopping, podcasts, meet-ups and video shooting.

Why it is important: The space is an open area to develop a true eco-system for the co-creation of content in connection with partner brands, customers and teams. It will also be possible to attend certain performances live, making the place a point of animation.

Printemps presents ‘Le Studio’: a space for media content

What: Sebastian Manes is moving to Chrome Hearts after having worked at Selfridges since 2004.

Why it is important: Following the ownership change this year, more changes are happening at Selfridges as Sebastian Manes, buying and merchandising director for women’s, kids and accessories, steps down and new executives come on board.

Andrew Keith, managing director of Selfridges & Co., will replace Manes until a replacement is found.

As well, Laura Weir will be joining Selfridges as creative director to fill the role that had been temporarily filled by Linda Hewson, group director.

More changes at Selfridges: Sebastian Manes departs

What: Big spenders on the platform can now ask the service to find that one-of-a-kind item with the click of a button.

Why it is important: Farfetch started offering the concierge service in 2017 to the top tier shoppers spending at least USD12,000 annually. But now any of Farfetch’s private clients can submit requests to the “proprietary sourcing service” through the company’s app, receiving results via email and push notification.

People who use the concierge service haven’t shown any real reticence given the economy — with inflation, war and the threat of recession all bearing down.

Farfetch expands its concierge service

What: Shares plunged more than 20% in after-hours trading once Amazon reported the possibility of zero dollars in profit.

Why it is important: Amazon anticipates net sales to land between 140 billion and 148 billion dollars, for growth of between 2 and 8% year-over-year which disappointed analysts, who expected 155 billion dollars.

Uncertainty over its projected operating income also stood out as Amazon announced it would fall somewhere “between 0 dollars and 4 billion dollars.”

The company’s convenience and accessibility are expected to support them this holiday season as brands, retailers and customers face inflation and economic strain.

Amazon warns of 0 profit holiday

What: The Mall launches, The Emsphere which is part of THE EM District, a unique and progressive shopping experience creating the Epicentre of Bangkok and making retail history in Thailand.

Why it is important: The new retail district is modern, unique and utilizes world-class, never-before-seen innovation with a business centre and entertainment complexes.

The projects consist of business centres, trading hubs, luxury fashion destinations, art, technology, lifestyle, living, and dining from over 1,000 leading brands from Thailand and around the world.

The Emsphere is the latest piece of the puzzle that will fulfil the EM District to perfection, under the concept of “Future Retail” that will gather the latest trends, immersive experiences and futuristic lifestyle in an area spanning over 200,000 square metres and an investment of over THB15,000 million.

It will be the economic force to elevate Bangkok and Thailand to become the centre of retail businesses for the world.

The Mall Group plans on opening The Emsphere, a multi-billion baht retail project

What: The leather goods space remains on the ground floor in a 300-meter-squared space with merchandising inspired by Parisian newsstand codes.

Why it is important: The space has added services with a renovation workshop and customization through embroidery.

The space mixes historic brands with newer, trendier designers in backlit curved shelves with metallic structures.

Le Bon Marché redesigns its leather goods space

What: Expected to start operating in Q4 of 2023, L’Oréal’s second factory in the city sits in a 9.7 million-square-foot park.

Why it is important: Construction started this month for L’Oréal’s first global Intelligent Fulfillment Center in Suzhou, China, only 30 minutes from Shanghai by high-speed train.

The project aims to offer local customers more customized beauty products and services while also integrating digital technologies such as auto-picking systems and robots to boost annual direct-to-consumer parcel capacity. Sustainability has been considered in the construction by meeting LEED Gold certification standards and using eco-friendly materials and design for its ‘green parcels’.

L’Oréal unveils intelligent fulfilment centre in Suzhou, China

What: Isetan-Mitsukoshi is opening again international outposts, this time in Philippines

Why it is important: The conglomerate closed its entire Chinese operations during the summer of 2022 and announced its will to focus on the Japanese national market. Such an announcement shows that they are still on the hunt for opportunities.

Isetan Mitsukoshi will open in 2022 a first location in Bonifacio Global City, the business district in Manila. It aims to attract a young and middle class crowd, thanks to an assortment of Japanese cuisine, fashion and cosmetics offer. A whole floor will also be dedicated to wellness.

Isetan Mitsukoshi posted an operating loss of $191.9mn in 2021, and closed all of its Chinese locations earlier in July this year.

Mitsukoshi to open a Philippines location this year