What: The John Lewis Partnership has announced the appointment of Lisa Cherry as its executive director for people.

Why it is important: Cherry will be tasked with developing and delivering the people strategy for the Partnership’s partners, with a proposition that rewards and develops their position.

Currently serving as group chief people officer, Cherry has also previously worked in senior roles within Sainsbury’s, WHSmith, and Wyevale Garden Centres. Cherry’s early career was spent in customer facing operational roles before joining the Sainsbury’s Graduate Scheme.

She will be succeeding Nikki Humphery, who will be leaving the company to rejoin Virgin as the group’s chief people officer.

John Lewis appoints new executive director for people

What: J.C Penney has announced that John Aylward will take on the chief marketing officer position on June 6.

Why it is important: Aylward is being brought in to help further the company’s omnichannel strategy and “lead the marketing strategy, creative, visual merchandising and store design, and customer engagement teams,” according to their press release.

The department store last month launched a marketing campaign with the theme “Shopping is back!” The retailer is attempting yet another reset after high turnover in the C-suite, a bankruptcy and new ownership.

 J.C. Penney’s new marketing chief

What: Kohl’s has boosted its Kohl’s Rewards benefit by 50% in a move to lift sales and traffic.

Why is it important: The retailer said members of its Rewards program using the Kohl’s store card on purchases will now earn Kohl’s Rewards at a 7.5% rate. Previously, Kohl’s Rewards members would earn 5%, regardless of payment method. Kohl’s Rewards members also receive personalized deals, perks, and a birthday gift.

In the stores that already offer 7.5% rewards, Kohl’s saw an increase in Kohl’s Rewards membership, an increase in shoppers getting the Kohl’s card and using it, and an overall sales lift, motivating the company to roll out the enhanced benefit.

The retailer also stages periodic promotions where Rewards customers receive USD10 Kohl’s Cash for every USD50 spent on qualifying purchases. Shoppers can use that Kohl’s Cash during designated redemption periods. During key selling periods, Kohl’s occasionally gives USD15 Kohl’s Cash for every USD50 spent.

Kohl’s enriches its rewards benefit

What: In March, Steen & Strøm exceeded its best monthly sales on record by as much as 20%. It followed the end of Norway’s Covid restrictions during February.

Why it is important: The sales jump came after major investments, including a repositioned main entrance that fronts Norway's busiest shopping street, plus the introduction of a new atrium and last year’s launch of its major new beauty hall.

The 225-year-old retailer enjoys over 2 million annual visitors and executive director David Wilkinson said: “We are encouraged by the recovery of footfall and sales revenue following the major investment made in the new entrance, escalator core and beauty hall. Oslo continues to develop as Scandinavia’s focus for leading luxury and premium brands. Our customers and teams are incredibly loyal and, combined with international tourists returning, we look forward to delivering a record summer season.”

Norwegian Retail overall has proved resilient during the pandemic and Steen & Strøm reported double-digit growth last summer.

Steen & Strøm beats sales records 

What: Shopify is acquiring Deliverr for approximately USD 2.1 billion in a bid to create an end-to-end logistics platform and expedite the development of its fulfillment network.

Why it is important: Deliverr offers e-commerce fulfillment and order storage services, shipping more than 1 million orders per month in the U.S. from thousands of merchants. The company’s software and asset-light network of warehouse, carrier and last-mile partners will complement Shopify’s large-capacity, self-operated warehouse hubs.

For Shopify merchants, the acquisition will reduce fulfillment complexity and increase access to next-day and two-day delivery services.

Shopify buys Deliverr for USD 2.1B to accelerate fulfillment network expansion

What: Liberty London has linked up with Future Workforce to support the rollout of robotic process automation tech from UiPath, meaning that the e-commerce team will get products launched on the webstore more quickly.

Why is it important: The automated robots can gather images from brands, find product codes and rename images quickly to make them ready for publishing on the site.

The partnership has been a great way to improve the speed and efficiency of some legacy, manual processes, and they will use the time saved within the Trade teams to create and promote new customer offerings that will increase revenue and improve conversion.

Liberty London uses robotic process automation 

What: For many consumers, the endless feed of new styles offered by online retailers like Shein, The RealReal and Grailed is as much about entertainment as shopping.

Why is it important: The age-old ways brands have drawn shoppers back to their sites and apps is with email prompts, promotions and, most importantly, new stuff people will want to buy. Fast fashion was built on this operating model, and it’s a key ingredient of some of the most-addictive shopping experiences.

Shein, regularly uploads thousands of new items daily. But this sort of hook isn’t only found at Shein or even just in fast fashion. Resale sites and apps like The RealReal, Grailed, Poshmark and others have a similar appeal. Theirs is a slower but nonetheless steady stream of novel items to browse multiple times a day for some users.

Fast fashion keeps getting faster, more consumers are buying clothes online and they’re increasingly doing so through handheld computers we call smartphones that allow them to shop whenever and wherever they like.

The boom in online resale has added a curious dimension to the situation, since buying used is arguably one of the more effective ways to counter fashion’s overproduction. But resale sites can still tap into the desire to see new items all the time.

Non-tech trends are contributing. Drops and collaborations provide a regular drip of hyped goods and fashion’s pop-culture appeal has only broadened, fuelling the appetite for clothing.

The result is more shopping sites and apps you can visit daily, or sometimes repeatedly in a day, from your couch or wherever you are. It’s much like scrolling through Instagram and just looking at the clothes, to relax, to avoid work, to kill time during commercials, is almost as good as buying them. More than just physical products, they’re digital media too.

Key to e-commerce success: treating clothing as content

What: Live shopping is among the most popular sales techniques during the pandemic, which allows the buyer to interact directly with the seller-influencer and encourages impulse purchases.

hy is it important: With the lockdowns after two years of Covid 19, different digital sales formats emerged highly prized by the youngest consumers. Especially rooted in China, is beginning to develop in Europe, notably in french department stores, with varying degrees of success.

China live shopping has experienced unprecedented growth in the country, around 280% per year until 2020. It weighed more than USD 300 billion in 2021 against half in 2020 and should reach USD 423 billion this year, with 900 dedicated platforms and more than 500 million followers.

It is mainly cosmetics brands, multi-brand stores, and merchant sites that have ventured into the field for the moment. Like the French platform of luxury accessories Monnier Paris, which is a pioneer, resolutely committed to this path for two years. For the vice-president of the Ecommerce Europe confederation, live shopping is nonetheless a new symbol of digital transformation, it's not just videos, it's interactive so you have the best of both worlds.

Monnier Paris organized a few sessions with online payment specialist Klarna in the US. The one made in December around the theme of Christmas worked particularly well. The important thing is the way in which the brand or company presents itself and manages the event, where two levels of communication are superimposed. The first is like a classic ad, where the company addresses a large audience by presenting its product as it sees fit via a monologue prepared and thought out by its communication teams. The second generates a direct dialogue with a customer, as happens in a store, where you must know how to communicate and react very quickly.

It took several attempts at Printemps to find the right formula and the right tone. In short, the right balance between a classic format of teleshopping and a moment of entertainment, friendly and playful capable of seducing the Internet user. Since the department store launched its live shopping format "En mode Printemps" last June, broadcast every other Wednesday evening, it has produced around twenty episodes, each around thirty minutes and a theme.

Printemps has chosen the Swedish start-up Bambuser as its service provider. Beyond the site, they broadcast live shopping sessions on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contrary to popular belief, the main results in terms of sales or appointments are made after the live broadcast.

Galeries Lafayette is in the consideration phase for live shopping. Finding the right equation in terms of return on investment is essential for fashion and luxury players because, despite its apparent simplicity, live shopping requires resources. They chose to focus on the "one to one" video sale initiated from the first confinement. The pandemic has accelerated this distance-selling format, which was struggling to materialise, ultimately proving to be very successful for premium and luxury brands, as well as for designer brands.

Live shopping is also slowly attracting some retailers and big brands since the onset of the pandemic. Particularly in France where the practice of live streaming has crossed the symbolic bar of one million daily visitors on the Twitch platform.

China’s live shopping phenomenon is rising in Europe

What: SSG.com will sell over 9.6 million fashion, beauty and food items on Gmarket Global’s English and Chinese online malls, as part of the first collaborative project following Shinsegae’s acquisition of eBay Korea, since renamed Gmarket Global.

Why it is important: International shoppers from over 80 countries including the US and Hong Kong can purchase bestselling Korean products.

SSG.com offers bundled shipping services, charging shipping fees only once for buying products from different sellers. Delivery takes seven to 10 days on average.

Shinsegae’s SSG.com to launch in 80 countries

What: Harrods is continuing the fast rollout of its H Beauty chain and opened its latest branch, in Bristol. It’s the fourth standalone for the chain in the UK.

Why it is important: Coming in the same week that Farfetch and Browns launched their own giant beauty offers, it underlines the importance of the category to premium and luxury retailers.

The new store is in the The Mall Cribbs Causeway and covers 25,300 sq ft. The space includes a diverse portfolio of products and services from over 86 international beauty brands. The store is an experiential playground, where beauty novices and experts alike can discover some of the industry’s most forward-thinking and vibrant brands as well as stock up on their favourite product.

There’s also “blow-dry product and salon phenomenon” Drybar, make-up demonstrations and experiential product testing, bespoke skincare consultations and treatments. And it has a 34-seat Champagne Bar with a menu of cocktails and patisseries created by Harrods’ food and beverage team.

Keeping up with H Beauty store openings 

What: Lisa Aiken, Neiman Marcus’ fashion and lifestyle director swung by Neiman’s San Francisco flagship for an in-store luncheon for clients on Thursday, complete with a fashion presentation.

Why is it important: Neiman Marcus plans on evolving as a luxury lifestyle platform. Part of that mission is to unite its physical stores, online shopping, and remote sales via its clienteling technology.

Aiken described it as “one business, one ecosystem that our customer lives in,” she has exclusive projects and collaborations that stretch across digital and stores, including an upcoming project for private clients in San Francisco, in collaboration with Prada.

Neiman Marcus’ Lisa Aiken stops by San Francisco

What: Amazon is handling a rapidly growing number of returns that are causing a massive problem for the e-commerce giant and the planet.

Why it is important: An NRF survey revealed that a record USD 761 billion of merchandise was returned to retailers in 2021.

U.S. returns generate 16 million metric tons of carbon emissions during their complicated reverse journey and up to 5.8 billion pounds of landfill waste each year, according to returns solution provider Optoro. In the case of reverse logistics, most of the merchandise cannot be resold as it was originally, leading to massive amounts of waste.

Amazon shared that it does not send items to landfills, but rather relied on energy recovery, which means they burn the items to produce heat which will then be used to produce energy.

Amazon offers easy returns to customers, but now they are left with the problem of what to do with these goods on the back end. The boom of second-hand markets has helped provide new options for returned items with Amazon dedicating specific spaces to articles that have been used, refurbished, or that were overstock.

How Amazon plans to fix its massive returns problem

What: Macy’s to spend USD 584 mn on fulfillment center that will account for nearly 30% of Macy’s digital supply chain capacity, serve customers nationwide, and employ nearly 2,800 workers.

Why it is important: Macy’s is spending big to strengthen its supply chain, by opening its largest at 1.4-million-square-foot fulfillment center in China Grove, N.C., in 2024.

For retailers, modernizing the supply chain for speed and efficiency is important to support their ongoing digital growth and meet customer demand for speedy deliveries, and help offset macro issues such as the pandemic, port bottlenecks, and labor shortages impeding the movement of goods.

Macy’s has a new, three-year, USD 3 bn cap-ex budget that’s pumped up from recent prior budgets. It’s largely devoted to growing the digital business by launching a marketplace next August, which will get the retailer into additional categories and stock-keeping units from what is on the website currently.

Considering the United States’ tight labor force, Macy’s could face challenges filling all of the positions at the center. However, the company said it offers career opportunities, competitive pay, a bilingual work environment, merchandise discounts, flexible scheduling, and access to a new debt-free education program for part-time and full-time colleagues.

Macy’s also recently invested in automated technology in the existing Portland, Tenn., and Martinsburg, W.Va., distribution centers to increase speed and capacity for digital sales growth.

Macy’s invests in new fulfillment center (Press Release)

Macy’s invests in new fulfillment center (WWD Article) 

What: Target opened a 30,000 square-foot store in New York City's Time Square to continue its efforts to experiment with store sizes.

Why it is important: In March, the retailer said that it would add 30 stores to its footprint in 2022 to reach new markets and to utilize their brick-and-mortar locations that also serve as hubs for fulfillment.

In the company's latest earnings call, it was discovered that the average sales per store have risen 30% in the last two years.

Target's decision to further penetrate New York City is also a move that is different from big-box competitors. For example, the big box store Walmart currently does not have locations within Manhattan.

As of March, Target stated that it would be adding 30 additional stores to their footprint to help reach new markets such as mid-side stores in suburban areas and small-format locations in urban cores. Additionally, there is a plan to renovate 200 stores and open additional Ulta shop-in-shops, to make up part of the larger goal of investing USD 5 billion to scale their operations this year.

Target opens a new location in New York City's Time Square 

What: Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management have pooled their resources to bid USD 68 per share for Kohl’s, which would value the department store at some $8.6 billion.

Why is it important: Simon and Brookfield have teamed up previously, buying Kohl’s rival J.C. Penney and fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 in 2020, and teen retailer Aeropostale in 2016, all out of bankruptcy.

Brookfield two years ago announced it aims to put USD 5 billion toward revitalizing struggling retailers, focused on those with USD 250 million or more in normalized revenues.

Simon Property Group CEO David Simon has previously touted those investments as an opportunity to rescue retailers that would otherwise fade from the landscape.

The plan would have one entity run both J.C. Penney and Kohl’s, capitalizing on synergies that would help reach a goal of slashing USD 1 billion in expenses at Kohl’s, according to the Post’s report.

Kohl’s is mainly found at strip centers, so it’s possible that these mall REITs are interested in expanding their reach in those locations, and they would benefit from moving Kohl’s to fill empty spaces at their indoor malls.

J.C. Penney owners prepared to buy Kohl’s for USD8.6B

What: The state of consumer behaviors has shown to be incredibly susceptible to change throughout the pandemic, so what does this growing inflation mean for how people will shop in the months ahead?

Why is it important: Half of U.S. consumers say that rising costs of goods and services are making it hard to afford things. When asked about what the most important purchase criteria are right now, 58% of respondents cited price while 64% said that price will be the most important purchase criteria in the next three years.

In another study to understand how inflation is affecting consumer spending habits, 66% of U.S. consumers are concerned that rising costs will prevent them from paying for the things and experiences they had planned for the year. For Millennials and Generation Z, the number was 73%.

When it comes to price sensitivity, consumer research found that gas, fresh food, and packaged food are less susceptible to experiencing a change in how consumers purchase compared to nice-to-have categories. In fact, while consumers are bracing themselves for higher prices, they will continue to pay them. 65% of consumers say they haven’t changed the way they are consuming gasoline and 59% say fresh food is still important. However, 38% of consumers say they’re purchasing less apparel and 29% say they’re purchasing fewer beauty products.

An area that consumers are struggling with seems to be in planning to pay for experiences where they are taking note of rising prices in conflict with the desire to travel and plan activities after spending most of the last two years in pandemic lockdown.

With an increase in priority for sustainability in mind, despite inflation costs, 40% of consumers said they will only buy from brands that align with values, even if that means switching from brands they know and trust. This finding was true for 53% of Millennials, 46% of Gen Z and 26% of Baby Boomers.

With saving money in mind, consumers said they will try to stay home. For 38% this means prioritizing purchases for the home as a top priority. More than half of consumers said they will deprioritize going out to restaurants, while 47% said they will deprioritize entertainment and 34% said they will deprioritize beauty as a spending category.

At the same time, 23% of consumers said they are likely to use a buy now, pay later option like Affirm over the next month as a result of rising prices. At 41%, Millennials and Gen Z were almost twice as likely as consumers overall to choose to use BNPL due to inflation.

Notably, these studies revealed more than half of consumers are interested in using pay-over-time solutions this year. In doing so, consumers get the items that they need, in a way that fits their budget.

Inflation’s Impact on Consumer Behavior

What: Shein has just conducted mega-fundraising and made them bigger than Inditex and H&M combined globally.

Why is it important: Shein has raised between USD 1 bn and USD 2 bn from investors including General Atlantic, Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital China. This puts its valuation higher than USD 100 bn and beats the combined valuations of Spain’s Inditex (USD 68 bn) and Sweden’s H&M (USD 20 bn).

It was the most downloaded shopping app in the US last year and is now the biggest fast-fashion retailer in the US, as well as in many others.

Embracing disposable fast fashion in the way it does has drawn criticism in a more sustainability-focused world, as has its use of data, although the company has defended its data storage policies and also said the Chinese Government has no stake in nor control of the company.

Shein raises new funds

What: Fenwick tapped the architect Ben Mailen, and the hot London design firm Sybarite, to refurbish and expand the store as Fenwick marks 140 years in business.

Why is it important: Fenwick is investing 40 million pounds over the next five years in the refurbishment of its Newcastle, England flagship, adding two new atria and renovating the beauty hall and accessories area.

The retailer has already begun work to upgrade the historic facade of the building. The 40 million pounds earmarked for the Newcastle unit are part of a broader program of investment being made by Fenwick at its nine stores across the country, and online.

The architect Ben Mailen has been commissioned to work on the exterior, including new entrances and frontages with open views into the store. He will be working alongside Sybarite, the London architecture and design firm with a client roster that includes SKP, Ferrari and Uniqlo.

Fenwick plans to run anniversary events through the end of the year. At the Newcastle store, it is hosting a public exhibition featuring works by Northumbria University fashion students inspired by the retailer’s archive and brand story. It is also opening Cafe 140, a café inspired by the archives.

The retailer has introduced a podcast series titled “The Woman Who…” narrated by the actress Zawe Ashton.

It is meant to highlight women past and present who embody female empowerment. Launched last month, it consists of 10, 10-minute weekly episodes featuring inspirational stories written by the scriptwriter and author Hannah Jewell.

Fenwick makes investment in Newcastle flagship

What: Target has quietly started reselling its products via a partnership with ThredUp.

Why is it important: The retailer operates a landing page on the ThredUp website, which features a variety of apparel, accessories, and shoes. Target confirmed that it launched the ThredUp landing page in March. The page features Target’s private-label items as well as some limited-time designer collaborations.

ThredUp has recently added a slew of major brands to its growing roster of clients utilizing its Resale-as-a-service program. It powers resale for PacSun, Crocs, Madewell, Vera Bradley, and Adidas along with powering a resale arm for Walmart with a landing page on the big-box retailer’s website.

Target teams up with ThredUp 

What: Retail war is heated in India, which is considered as the market with the biggest ROI perspectives.

Why it is important: Reliance is heading towards a retail domination with a omnipresent retail footprint linked to a “super app” similar to what we see in China (and other Asian markets). Amazon which has been investing heavily in the market is making everything possible to remain significant on the market.

India’s top retailer Reliance has called off a $3.4bn deal with Future Group. This deal was already in difficulty after Amazon, Future Group’s partner, blocked it in 2020 citing violations of certain contracts.

Future Group, one India’s second-largest retailer with 1,500+ stores in the country, faces bankruptcy now that its lenders have also pulled off. The company was already in trouble earlier in the year, as Reliance seized control of hundreds of Future stores, based on non-payment of rent.

Indian group Reliance call off deal with Future Group 

What: Shein and Klarna are opening a short-term pop-up with a debut for the e-tailer in London’s Covent Garden.

Why is it important: The experience will take visitors into Shein Spring Sensation and give shoppers a chance to browse the upcoming spring collection in person.

This is a different development for the pure-play online retailer and reflects the increased visitor traffic being seen in London’s tourist hotspot.

The focus is on getting involved, with a big beauty aspect. That means how-to sessions like how to create the perfect updo, free massages, make-up masterclasses, yoga sessions, manicures, and even a calligraphy class.

Happenings such as this are also important for giving payments specialist Klarna greater exposure to the consumers most likely to use it.

Shein and Klarna open a pop-up

What: CFO Adrian V. Mitchell discusses Macy's advancements, opportunities and challenges in a wide-ranging presentation at the JP Morgan Chase Annual Retail Roundup.

Why it is important: The major challenge that Macy’s is facing is understanding where demand is going to come from.

Despite the unpredictable retail climate, the CFO outlined several growth opportunities:

• Developing new categories through marketplace formats
• Engaging and retaining newer customers through personalized efforts and loyalty programs
• Expanding off-mall formats such as Bloomie’s, Market by Macy’s, and Backstage
• Location-level pricing so stores can maintain their own degree and depth of promotional activity
• Macy’s media network
• Increase monetized real estate (turn parking lots into restaurants or office space)

Mitchell sees 2022 as the year of events now that weddings and other gatherings can be scheduled as well as travel, which bodes well for several merchandise categories.

How Macy’s Inc. Is navigating the unpredictable retail climate

What: Digital fashion and 3D creation studio, which Nike acquired in December, revealed a collection of co-branded digital sneakers on Discord and Twitter.

Why is it important: The shoes, called Nike Cryptokicks, are modelled after the Nike Dunk sneaker and mark the brand’s long-awaited entrance into digital clothing.

The sneakers are available to people who own Rtfkt’s Mnlth, a mysterious digital box NFT that was airdropped, for free, to anyone who owned a Clone-X in February. Clone-X is the PFP project that Rtfkt created with artist Takashi Murakami in November. People could elect to sell their Mnlth NFTs or keep them. Now, those who held onto it have been rewarded, can burn their current Mnlths in exchange for a Mnlth that holds a Cryptokick.

Trademarks filed by Nike for Cryptokicks offered clues about its future roadmap. It filed for downloadable computer software for use as a cryptocurrency wallet, services for a marketplace for digital currency assets, services that provide a digital currency or token for an online community, electronic bulletin board services, blogs in crypto-collectibles, online scavenger hunts, and technology that enables members to receive crypto assets.

This Cryptokicks launch could be the first of many digital launches from Nike. The brand has previously filed seven metaverse-related trademark applications, indicating an intent to make and sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel.

Nike and Rtfkt create the digital “Cryptokick” sneaker

What: Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus join the Farfetch Marketplace as a partner.

Why is it important: Farfetch is taking a stake in Neiman Marcus Group as part of a broader strategic partnership that will see Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus join the Farfetch platform.

The initial focus will be on re-platforming the Bergdorf Goodman website and mobile application to expand its global capabilities and services. Farfetch said it will make a minority common equity investment of up to USD 200 mn in NMG, joining existing investors including PIMCO, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Sixth Street.

As part of the deal, NMG said it will use Farfetch Platform Solutions to re-platform the Bergdorf Goodman website and mobile application. Bergdorf Goodman will introduce its digital customer experience and curated offering to customers globally, integrating seamlessly with the iconic New York City flagship.

Both Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus will join the Farfetch Marketplace as a partner, adding participating brands in key global geographies.

Farfetch invests in Neiman Marcus Group