What:  Fenwick, a former IADS member, appointed a new CEO early 2020. For the first time, he takes the opportunity to reflect on his achievements and ongoing issues.

Why it is important: John Edgars is the first non-family member to be appointed CEO of Fenwick, which has had a specific development in the past, with all stores being independent from each other (a feature that was dropped in the 2000s).

John Edgars, Fenwick’s CEO who was appointed early 2020, gave a lengthy interview to WWD, reviewing his achievements and concerns since he took the position, a few months before the pandemic. He is the first non-family member to hold the position in the 140-years-old organization.

For him, he started with a clear mission: to survive during the pandemic, until reaching some kind of stability in the summer of 2020, when he started to review the business model (with a focus on full price), products quality (including new brands), customer service and of course, online sales (95% of womenswear is now available online, through dropship, concession or wholesale). New brands allowed Fenwick stores to attract a new, younger clientele, which was also lured in with a new F&B offering, including a vegan restaurant in London.

Owning the real estate is, for him, a key feature which helped the organization to go through the pandemic and a point that is not questioned today.

Interview of John Edgars, CEO of Fenwick

What: Nordstrom soberly looks to the second half of 2022 with decreased guidance following their most recent report.

Why it is important: While Nordstrom has seen solid Q2 earnings, the decelerating consumer demand has led the company to lower its 2022 forecast.

The report is viewed by media outlets as more hopeful than Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s reports that showed inventory gluts and revised downward forecasts for 2022 overall. The Nordstrom offering of higher-end merchandise and apparel for office work, special occasions and going out has been seen as a benefit to operating at a stable level during the economic downturn.

Nordstrom highlighted capital investments, primarily in supply chain and technology capabilities, and priorities in reducing leverage and returning cash to shareholders. Net sales in the second quarter reached 3.99 billion USD, a 12% increase from 3.57 billion USD in the year-ago period.

Nordstrom revised its 6% to 8% revenue growth to 5% to 7% for 2022 overall.

Nordstrom reports 12% total company sales increase

What: Macy’s lowers 2022 guidance following their Q2 reports showing deteriorating consumer discretionary spending influenced by the macro-economic downturn.

Why it is important: Macy’s Inc., lowered its forecast for the overall year 2022 citing inflation’s impact on sales and consumer behaviour which caused top- and bottom-line declines.

Operating income dropped to 399 million USD last quarter from 597 million USD in the year-ago period. Net income for the quarter ended July 30 fell to 275 million USD (diluted earnings of 0.99 USD per share) from 345 million USD a year ago (1.08 USD per share).

The company has said it is well positioned to navigate the uncertain landscape as they have gained new customers and have continued strength in its luxury offer. The Q2 results still beat expectations.

Macy’s lowers guidance

What: Ryan Ross is appointed as Neiman Marcus Brand president to help accelerate growth strategy.

Why it is important: Ryan Ross, former president of William Sonoma with extensive omnichannel retail experience, is filling this new dedicated brand role.

Representative of Neiman Marcus Group’s ‘Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences’ strategy, Ryan’s contribution is expected to further the group’s positioning for sustainable growth. His experience optimizing customer-centric experiences and achieving rapid growth will be beneficial for accelerating growth.

Despite the new role, there will be no change to how Neiman Marcus operates or manages relationships with brand partners. However, David Goubert, Chief Customer Officer, Neiman Marcus, will depart the company for personal pursuits.

Neiman Marcus appoints new brand president

What: The beauty industry is beginning to find its place in web3 through experiential spaces and experimentation with virtual reality, DAOs, blockchain CRM and other community-building strategies.

Why it is important: Until recently, beauty brands relied on partnerships with esports and games to enter the metaverse, but now they are establishing their own virtual communities with growing sales.

According to a 2022 global survey by Accenture, 48% of respondents are interested in purchasing virtual makeup looks in the next 12 months, and 38% have already purchased virtual makeup. Some brands have released NFTs that grant access to physical products, while others have focused on virtual storefronts to connect and encourage shopping for physical products online or booking virtual consultations.

Brands are building on these experiential strategies to build communities in the metaverse and encourage connections through DAOs and Discord servers. Nyx Professional Makeup will release a whitepaper on its DAO later this month with the hopes that its transparency will encourage other beauty brands to reference it for their roadmaps.

Other applications of metaverse beauty include digital makeup for video calls, inclusive and fantastical beauty filters or beauty looks for avatars. Roblox’s head of fashion and beauty partnerships states that beauty plays a major role in identity and self-expression on the platform.

Virtual spaces are a key method of community engagement which can take place in stores or through experiences that promote the brands’ products. YSL is going beyond community-building and leveraging blockchain technology to directly message NFT holders about new offers and exclusive purchase opportunities.

Metaverse beauty expansion

What: Hotel turned shopping mall, JC Plaza has moved in across the street from rival retail location Plaza 66 with an aim of differentiating by offering new luxury labels and local brands favoured by GenZ.

Why it is important: The 215,000 square foot, five-story retail location is Chinese developer Baohua Group’s first shopping mall project.

Across the street is fierce competition, the Plaza 66 flagship mall of Hang Lung Properties which has been established as the most important luxury retail mall in Shanghai for over 20 years. JC Plaza sees the competition as being built around LVMH and French luxury houses which have guided their goal to become a “home to Italian luxury brands.”

Additionally, JC Plaza emphasizes its “exquisite Shanghai lifestyle” positioning by offering local Chinese designer brands in a shopping mall context as well as new names. The department store also houses Michelin-star hotel Moose, which serves local Huaiyang cuisine.

JC Plaza opens in downtown Shanghai

What: The change in the perception of off-price retailers and an influx of orders following months of delays have improved the beauty assortment for customers looking to save money.

Why it is important: Covid created an ideal environment for off-price retail stores to have a more complete assortment of beauty products, as well as normalized bigger brands using these distribution channels. Ultimately, as inflation shifts consumer spending habits, off-priced retailers are well positioned to meet customer needs.

Brands have begun adapting their strategies to create off-price channel-specific products. However, the longevity of this ideal environment for off-price retail is uncertain, with issues of product expiration and counterfeiting likely to increase.

Consumers flock to off-price retail for beauty

What: JCPenny has named Stephanie Plaines CFO, bringing her decades of experience in using data to improve performance and profitability.

Why it is important: Plaines brings over 20 years of having worked as CFO for other companies with a successful track record of high-performance strategic and financial leadership.

As the new CFO, Plaines will be responsible for the financial strategy, real estate, capital deployment, credit services, sourcing and procurement, treasury, and accounting for JCPenny. The company is hoping to utilize her strengths in data-forward financial planning and value creation in their mission to develop its digital capabilities and transform the company’s performance.

Stephanie Plaines named new CFO of JCPenny

What: Gucci has added ApeCoin and EuroCoin to the 10 cryptocurrencies they accept through BitPay payments.

Why it is important: While long-term gains remain uncertain and reports show declining interest, luxury retailers continue experimenting with crypto payments.

The Federal Reserve reported that only 3% of adults used cryptocurrency to make purchases or transfer funds while 19% of cryptocurrency users have paid for purchases with their coins. A majority do not use their digital tokens for shopping.

Gucci currently accepts crypto payments in 70% of its US store locations with plans to bring the remaining 30% of stores up to date. According to Gucci, their increased coin payment options come directly from consumer demand.

Gucci expands crypto payment options

What: Reports from The RealReal and Thredup suggest that customers crave constant newness and still overconsume resulting in consistent behaviour across resale, full-price and fast fashion.

Why it is important: Reports reveal consumers continue to overconsume and chase trends in the resale market, eliminating the supposed environmental benefits of secondhand.

Gen Z and millennials, who now represent 41% of the US-based luxury consignment website The RealReal’s user base, are growing: The RealReal reportedly attracted 5.3 million new users in the last year, bringing its total user base to 28 million. Its sales grew 44% in the last year as well.

Since the pandemic, re-consignment has grown, and many users are turning a profit on the site while maintaining a constant churn of clothes. Gen Z is flipping fashion faster than ever by using these platforms. Thredup reported its consumer base has also increased the rate at which it rotates clothes. In its latest report, 36% of Gen Z respondents said they now purchase apparel weekly or monthly which is the same rate at which they clear out or resell. The most popular resold items are from classic luxury brands.

The RealReal says it is trying to address the impact of this rotation increase by using more recycled and recyclable packaging, as well as creating carbon offsets. Thredup recently launched a hotline to curb overconsumption, particularly of fast fashion, but its hotline still promoted buying secondhand styles from the platform.

Consumers treat secondhand like fast fashion

What:  Best Buy tries to go away from the big box model, following other operators, such as Ikea in the first place.

Why it is important:  The articulation between offline and online employees makes the most of both world while keeping the customer at the center.

Best Buy is launching new spaces, usually 500 sqm (15% of the usual Best Buy locations size) advertising “new ways to shop”. Customers can use QR codes or the app to discover products, shop and proceed to self-check-out.

According to GDR, the most interesting is the articulation between on-site and off-site workers: on-premises staff are here to help customers understand the space, and then clients have access to remote specialists via virtual video chat for any question they might have.

Best Buy tries smaller and digital first store formats

What: New Concepts@Nordstrom is continuing a partnership between the retailer and the late designer Virgil Abloh, bringing a new concept store with exclusive products in-store.

Why it is important: Nordstrom’s latest upcoming New Concepts pop-up is a continuation of celebrating Virgil Abloh’s life and mission. The company continues to support the Fashion Scholarship Fund’s Virgil Abloh™ “PostModern” Scholarship Fund and the Brooklyn Museum’s celebration of his life through the creation of the Concept 018 pop-up.

The shop features a range of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories including anbexclusive Off-White Capsule, apparel capsules from Denim Tears x Canary Yellow and American skateboarder Sal Barbier and Off-White. Concept 018 also includes Off-White fragrance as well as apparel and accessories for adults and kids from Abloh’s “Figures of Speech” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.

Concept 018: Virgil Abloh Securities is available online starting August 11 through the end of October online and at select Nordstrom locations.

Nordstrom partners with Virgil Abloh’s estate

What: Neiman Marcus’ newest campaign “Live Your Luxury” seeks to demonstrate the different purposes and occasions for luxury in an inclusive campaign that shows designer fashion in different settings.

Why it is important: The fall 2022 campaign seeks to incorporate all media types and channels in a 360° approach which involves everything from store to connective television — window displays; store activations and merchandising; events; digital advertising media; digital content; paid social media; social content; email and print.

The idea of inclusivity goes beyond cultural or physical representation and seeks to eliminate the stereotypes connected with certain types of garments and brands. Images of elevated and traditional fashion imagery go alongside those that incorporate irreverence, humour and musicality. Some 250 to 300 videos, ranging from five to 30 seconds, were produced. Some videos show Neiman Marcus style advisers humorously interacting with diverse customers, telling different stories about what shoppers want. The videos did use hired actors.

The campaign’s “flagship” fashion story is “The Art of Fashion,” which features 418 brands across women’s, men’s, children’s, home and beauty. The Book features a section called “The List” covering style tips from executives and more. Another section called “The Refresh” examines emerging trends in both fashion and beauty and contains interviews with creative directors from luxury fashion brands.

The cover of The Book features Valentina Sampaio, making this issue the first time a transgender woman has appeared on The Book’s exterior further demonstrating Neiman Marcus’ commitment to inclusivity.

Neiman Marcus’ “Live Your Luxury” 360° campaign

What: ‘The Good Store’ is a sustainable department store focused on bringing a new retail concept focused on reuse and refurbishment to London.

Why it is important: The Good Store has a range of plastic-free and sustainably sourced products, plus educational events and services to guide consumers in reuse and repair to improve London’s circular economy while supporting social enterprises.

Opened on South Molton Street in Mayfair, London, The Good Store is a 6,000 sq ft department store that carries a selection of sustainable products and brands across clothing, accessories, health and beauty, furniture, homeware, tech and books. The concept was created by Groundwork London, part of a group of charities that work to mobilize practical community action to fight poverty and preserve the environment.

All profits are reported to be put back into the social reuse programmes so that the store can continue to bring waste back to life. More information can be found on the website: https://thegoodstore.uk/

Sustainable department store opens in London 

What: Richemont sells a majority stake in YNAP leaving the company without a majority stakeholder.

Why it is important: The deal aims to merge the Yoox Net-a-porter platform with Farfetch to create a neutral luxury platform to protect “the uniqueness of the luxury industry” and appeal to both clients and brands.

While Farfetch acquired 47.5% of the stake sold, Symphony Global’s Mohamed Alabbar acquired a 3.2% stake preventing the immediate merge of the digital luxury platforms. The agreement also sees Richemont and YNAP adopting Farfetch Platform Solutions, which means the companies will sell their merchandise using Farfetch’s digital expertise.

Richemont has been reported to be planning a neutral industry-wide platform by combining the complementary businesses. The YNAP business has been a drag on the Richemont bottom line which has further encouraged releasing their majority stake.

Farfetch is optimistic about the partnership to transform YNAP into a hybrid business model that drives growth and profitability by creating an “iconic portfolio of iconic luxury destinations, appealing to different demographics, price points and regions.”

Richemont sells majority stake in Yoox Net-a-porter

What: Saks Fifth Avenue has secured increased credit facilities as part of its e-commerce strategy.

Why it is important: While customers eagerly return to malls and stores as pandemic restrictions lift, Saks is using capital to invest in winning the e-commerce battle between Mytheresa, neimanmarcus.com, Moda Operandi, Net-a-porter, Farfetch and Matchesfashion.

Looking to grow its luxury e-commerce Saks raised its existing Bank of America arranged asset-based revolving credit facility from 350 million USD to 450 million USD. As well, the company closed on a 60 million USD “upsize” facility resulting in a total credit facility of 175 million USD. Securing the additional financing will be used to improve its technology, marketing, contact centers, customer acquisition efforts and to enhance its shopping experience with personalization, styling services and shipping and return options. The user experience through appearance and navigation has also been a point of improvement for the company.

In March 2021, the parent company, HBC, leveraged its new business model, equity partner and stronger balance sheet to split the Saks Fifth Avenue store fleet and Saks.com into separate companies. Some have speculated that the division of the Saks Fifth Avenue stores and e-commerce businesses into separate companies is a step to potentially turning the e-commerce operation into a public company, depending on market conditions.

Insight Partners made a 500 million USD minority equity investment in the Saks e-commerce business, valuing it at 2 billion USD.

Saks acquires more capital to grow e-commerce

What: Luxury brands continue to open flagship stores on the platform leading to positive outlooks for the Chinese e-commerce platform.

Why it is important: JD.com surpasses expectations and demonstrates omnichannel strength through continued luxury brand partnerships and the opening of offline stores in five major cities in China.

The second largest Chinese e-commerce platform after Alibaba, JD.com logged a 5.4% increase in net revenue beating analysts’ average estimates. Income from operations for the period was 3.8 billion renminbi, or 555.1 million USD, compared to 300 million renminbi for the same period last year. In comparison, JD.com’s rival Alibaba has reported a plunge of 53% in net income.

JD.com beats Q2 estimates

What: Multisearch allows users to combine photos and keywords to optimize their shopping searches.

Why it is important: Competition is likely to increase as Google’s visual search function connects users to alternative products and may facilitate a rise in counterfeit products and dupes. SEO strategies will need to change as image search surpasses the reliance on keywords.

Google’s ‘Multisearch’ allows users to search for products by combining images with text keywords that can refine their search for products. Consumers no longer have to memorize product names or request information from influencers or pedestrians who are wearing garments they wish to purchase. Simply uploading a photograph or screenshot and typing preferred colours and retailers will allow consumers to optimize their shopping searches.

Google reported that 68% have taken a screenshot of a product they were interested in, and 70% of these then proceeded to purchase it. However, 66% reported a desire for finding more variations of colour or print.

Experts warn that consumers may become reliant on advanced search functions that prioritise the appearance of a product over the brand or quality of the material leading to an increased demand for fast fashion imitations.

Successful brands and retailers will be investing in product imagery and training merchandising teams in order to create robust and compelling product visuals for the different SKUs they sell.

Google’s Multisearch function alters SEO

What: Kohl’s Corp. has expanded its self-pickup service to improve the customer experience by eliminating long checkout lines and creating an efficient alternative to traditional in-store pickup.

Why it is important: Kohl’s continues the expansion of convenient customer service through digital services to now include self-pickup for online orders.

Customers can access a link sent through email to acquire their “pickup pass” that guides them along the process. Once in the pickup area, customers begin by receiving a four-digit code to access the number of the bin that has their merchandise. All steps are completed by themselves by clicking buttons which are accessible through the email.

Kohl’s rolled out ‘buy online, pickup in-store’ across all of its stores back in 2015. The self-service pickup method was piloted for one year in 100 stores to ensure its success. Now, in-store pickup includes both self-pickup and pick-up from the customer service section

The self-pickup service will soon be available to customers at 1,100 of Kohl’s stores.

Self-pickup available at Kohl’s

What: Walmart and remote vacation company Getaway are launching mini-retail shops called the General Store by Walmart at select outpost locations.

Why it is important: The collaboration demonstrates Walmart’s mission of expanding its reach to more remote places through a retail format it has historically disrupted.

Despite criticism from its core audience, Getaway is moving forward with this partnership to offer necessary goods and seasonal products sourced by Walmart. Getaway will curate the assortment, selling hiking gear, leisure activities, film cameras, and iron skillets, among other products that guests might need on their remote vacation.

The selection will also be available online at a Getaway shopping page, and guests over the next six months will receive Welcome Kits from the partnership to make s’mores. The company is also offering extra benefits to extend the relationship it starts with Getaway Outpost guests, giving a complimentary Walmart+ trial to any guests over the next year.

Walmart’s partnership with Getaway follows its warning last week that profits are at risk as consumers focus spending on essentials instead of discretionary items. The retailer expects operating income to fall 13% to 14% for the second quarter, but raised that quarter’s net sales estimate to 7.5% growth from its 5% estimate in May.

Walmart partners with Getaway to open small general stores

What: Farfetch reported quarterly earnings that demonstrate strength and growth for the luxury e-retailer despite market uncertainty.

Why it is important: Despite industry-wide headwinds, inflation and market uncertainty, Farfetch has revealed quarterly earnings that showed an impressive three months of growth.

Following the announcement of its purchase of a large portion of YNAP’s stake, Farfetch’s stock jumped 21.05% when the market closed on Wednesday. It closed up at 0.32% (9.54 USD per share) on Thursday; and, would jump another 18% during after-hours trading due to the most recent quarterly reports showing the luxury platform’s boosted gains on both top and bottom lines.

High-value items like fine jewellery, watches, handbags and limited-edition sneakers were shown to have been performing well as the firm even beat out its record 2.4 million USD watch sale with an even higher sale during the quarter.

According to founder Jose Neves, high-net-worth families and earners will not swap their designer fashion purchases for fast fashion items simply due to inflation. The pandemic demonstrated that even when the economy was uncertain and people were not leaving their homes, the luxury e-retailer’s fashion sales were growing.

While the platform lost around 50,000 shoppers when it ceased its operations in Russia, Thursday’s reports also revealed that the platform acquired more than 500,000 new customers during the quarter. The restrictions in China also posed problems, yet full-priced selling grew 20% year-over-year. Gross profits grew to nearly 268 million USD as a result, up from 230 million USD the same time last year.

In addition, total revenues for the three-month period ending June 30 increased nearly 11% to more than 579 million USD, up from approximately 523 million USD a year ago. Farfetch ended the quarter with approximately 575 million USD in cash and cash equivalents.

Shares of Farfetch are down 76.4% year-over-year, but Neves has a positive outlook for 2023 remaining bullish on medium- and long-term prospects.

Farfetch’s outlook for luxury fashion remains strong

What: Bots, crashes, scams and digital counterfeiting are still rife in the early stages of web3 innovations and NFT releases.

Why it is important: The high visibility of luxury brands and the consumer expectations regarding their shopping experience are threatened by bots, scams and digital counterfeiting which ultimately could affect brand perception.

Nike’s Rtfkt and Gucci have both recently apologized to consumers after an inventory system overload and bot raids threatened the respective release for each of the companies. With the functionality and supply chain for digital assets still in the construction phase, established brands will likely face greater criticism when facing the same issues as smaller projects within the growing web3 industry as consumers hold them to a higher standard.

Ian Rogers, chief experience officer at crypto hardware wallet provider Ledger and advisor to LVMH, recommends brands don’t shy away from entering the space but ensure they understand the risks and prioritize security and ease of use.

While navigating high gas fees for minting remains a challenge, brands can actively address some of the other potential problems. Combatting bots can be accomplished by limiting mints to one per digital wallet, blocking access through a token-gate and keeping drop times secret. Brands should be transparent and honest about the completion of their digital projects to help address fraudulent minting or wallet phishing.

Opensea and Metamask are also actively addressing fake or ‘copyminted’ NFTs. Metamask now notifies users of potential scams when entering sites. And Opensea is working out a verification process for official accounts while also using image recognition to ensure authentic NFTs aren’t fraudulently replicated.

The perils of entering web3 for established brands

What: In an effort to stop a COVID-19 outbreak, Hainan Island has shut down business and transport for locals and tourists.

Why it is important: Following an outbreak, lockdowns threaten the island’s duty-free business which only recently began to recover this year.

As one of the only places Chinese citizens could travel to during the pandemic, Hainan saw China’s pent-up demand for travel retail skyrocket in duty-free spending over the past two years. According to data from the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province, duty-free revenue within the tropical island increased by 84% in 2021 to 60.17 billion renminbi, or $9.47 billion. Personal duty-free shopping allowances tripled from 30,000 renminbi to 100,000 renminbi.

Unfortunately, sporadic outbreaks across China have caused a 37% drop in visitors to the island for the first half of 2022. Hainan’s airports saw departing passenger numbers drop by 56 %, 79 %, and 66 % year-on-year in March, April, and May, respectively. And now with a large outbreak of COVID-19, 80,000 tourists are reportedly stranded on the island with 982 confirmed cases in the past week.

Although duty-free stores were forced to close August 4th, luxury and beauty players such as LVMH, Kering, Richemont and Burberry remain bullish on the future of duty-free on Hainan Island.

Duty-free suffers from Hainan Island lockdown

What: Meta is testing different social commerce methods across platforms.

Why it is important: Similarly to TikTok, Facebook has announced that it will end live shopping on its platform.

Meta cites the increasing inclination towards shorter video formats regarding customer behaviour. While live shopping will remain on Instagram per post, Meta is testing alternative social commerce methods such as its pay-in-chat function.

While users have complained about Instagram’s full screen ‘Reels’ test, Meta believes social media will continue moving towards a video format. Meta continues to develop its shopping channels and has also opened a physical retail store in California to sell virtual reality equipment.

Meta’s second quarter earnings report in July showed net income for the quarter dropped 36% to about $6.7 billion, total revenue fell 1% and operating income dropped 32% year over year. The company is reportedly also considering its first ever bond sale, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook shuts down live shopping