What: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is collaborating with Authentic Brands Group to offer a 12-piece capsule collection called “Marilyn Monroe by JCPenney.”

Why it is important: This collaboration is reflecting the retailer’s plan to rev up revenues and differentiate and sharpen the identity of key in-house labels, like St. John’s Bay, Xersion and a.n.a., and add greater exclusivity to the business for the past three years.

ABG has become a key part in offering  J.C Penney’s new merchandise concepts and labels, including Forever 21 and Juicy Couture, which are part of the group’s portfolio of brands associated with both living and deceased legends including Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham, Dr. J and Thalía, as well as Sports Illustrated, Reebok and other brands.

The collection was launched on the 28th of April in 300 J.C Penney’s locations and on their online platform jcp.com. The capsule collection offers capri pants, shirtings, full-skirted sundresses cinched at the waist; a color palette of black, white, coral and navy blue; classic stripes and floral patterns, and an inclusive range of sizes from XS to 3X. There’s also a special edition of Keds with Marilyn Monroe-inspired design details that will be sold at the retailer in late May.

J.C. Penney Launches styles inspired by Marilyn Monroe

What: Google introduced a Retail Search tool to provide customers with more precise search results when shopping online. The tool also prevents retailers from losing sales stemming from poor search results.

Why is it important: The tool has been tested by Lowe’s, Fnac Darty and Casas Pernambucanas, with each company reporting an uptick in sales conversions, bigger basket sizes, and better customer engagement.

Google created the Retail Search feature to address inadequate searches that lead to cart abandonment on e-commerce sites. The tech giant conducted a survey with the Harris Poll indicating that 94% of U.S. consumers quit a shopping session due to inaccurate search results. The company also said that retailers lose USD 300 billion in sales annually because of search abandonment in the U.S.

In addition to Retail Search, Google has released other tools to assist retailers with their e-commerce tech and make the shopping experience easier for customers. Last May, the company expanded its partnership with Shopify, enabling sellers to easily showcase their products to customers on its mobile browsing tools. It also released a Shopping Graph tool, which tracks products, merchants, brands, reviews and inventory information using artificial intelligence. In September, the company introduced Google Lens, which allows shoppers to search and shop using images and videos on a given webpage.

Google releases Retail Search tool to improve shopper discovery

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What: Space NK is looking to stand out by partnering on standalone pop-ups with promising brands.

Why is it important: In a crowded and ultra-competitive beauty market, pop-ups are considered an exceptional tool for building connections with new customers. Space NK is making the process of organising a pop-up in a new country much easier, offering both local knowledge and connections as well as a slice of financing.

While brands benefit from the financial support and local expertise, established retail players, such as Space NK, strengthen new business relationships and lock in exclusive deals with buzzy, hard-to-secure brands. Their first pop-up was for Drunk Elephant, helping the Shiseido-owned skincare brand when it entered the UK in 2018. Queues stretched around the block, also in Covent Garden, to visit the pop-up, dubbed The House of Drunk.

Space NK supports its partners with location scouting, staffing, store training and event hosting. They have over 70 retail locations across the UK and Ireland but believe it’s important to host pop-ups separate to its existing stores.

“We are evolving with our customers who are looking for things they’ve not been able to find before. They want more and more innovation when it comes to their products and services, so we are trying to exceed those expectations. The bar keeps getting higher. I think that will only accelerate.”

Space NK emerges pop-ups for emerging beauty brands

What: Macy’s best-in-class retail development program for underrepresented brands enhances programming with new classes, a digital pop-up shop, business grants for participants and more.

Why is it important: The Workshop provides up-and-coming businesses with the tools, knowledge and access to resources to drive their enterprises to the next level, achieve business objectives and sustain growth.

This year it returns with 25 new entrepreneurs and a five-week program, taking place virtually and in-person in New York City. To further strengthen the program, it will introduce exciting enhancements, including new classes, Strategic Sourcing and Pitching for Funding, to improve the Supply Chain and Financial Management curriculum.

There will be a digital Pop-up Shop that will launch on macys.com providing the participants with the unique opportunity to sell their products on macys.com, further fueling business growth. In addition, the participants and their brands will be featured on macys.com live shopping episodes.

The Workshop will also introduce a Vendor Pitch Competition for participants to present their product, business opportunity and funding proposal. The competition winner will receive a USD 100,000 business grant; a partnership with Macy’s sourcing team; buy now, pay later services from Klarna and marketing support from Spark Foundry, among other prizes. Additionally, upon completion of the five-week program, every participant will receive a USD 5,000 business grant.

The Workshop at Macy’s returns

What: Shanghai’s current lockdown will eventually end but a new outbreak in Beijing and no end to the country’s rigid pandemic strategy suggest retail disruptions are likely elsewhere.

Why is it important: People are feeling both weary and anxious from a lockdown that was initially slated to last just four days. More frustrating for some than the inability to leave home for weeks on end has been the breakdown of logistics and delivery services, leaving people struggling to access food, medicine, and basic necessities. In such an environment, the thought of shopping for fashion has either been impossible or undesirable for many residents.

With consumer spending down, retailers are feeling the pinch. In March, which coincided with a week-long lockdown in China’s tech capital Shenzhen, there was a decline in national retail sales of 3.5% compared to a year earlier. The decline is likely to be even more apparent in the soon-to-be-released April figures as tourists who usually flock to Shanghai from around the country to shop for fashion and other discretionary goods have been unable to do so.

The world’s largest luxury conglomerates and brands reported that the Shanghai lockdown’s closure of stores had dented sales in their China units, though they expect the impact to be short-lived.

Prior to the new round of lockdowns, Euromonitor data showed China’s personal luxury market reached a market value 90.76% higher in 2021 than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, boosted by restored spending from luxury consumers unable to shop abroad, with additional growth of 14.67% tipped for 2022.

If Shanghai’s lockdown lasts for two months, and other large cities are also affected, China’s 2022 GDP growth would slow to 3.8%, and in a worst-case scenario where the economy suffers a similar shock to that experienced in the first quarter of 2020, it would grow by only 1.3% this year.

China’s ‘Zero-Covid’ policy poses disruption to luxury

What: Saks, the luxury e-commerce platform, has appointed Cara Chacon as its first senior vice president for ESG.

Why is it important: Saks wants to develop a "cohesive, thoughtful approach" to strengthening environmental, social, and governance efforts across all functions.

Chacon has more than two decades of experience in corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability, including more than 10 years with Patagonia Inc., where she served as vice president, social and environmental responsibility.

Saks appoints first ESG executive

What: Bergdorf Goodman promotes Cheryl Han senior vice president of bergdorfgoodman.com and customer strategy and Melissa Xides senior vice president of stores and brand operations.

Why is it important: President of Bergdorf Goodman, credited both women with developing teams and creating strategies that bring momentum to the business.

In their new roles, both women will continue to drive the Company's strategic vision to set the new standard in luxury.

Bergdorf Goodman promotes from within (Press Release)

Bergdorf Goodman promotes from within (WWD Article) 

What: Spectators will have 150 minutes to unravel a mystery based on a 19th-century novel by French author Émile Zola, itself inspired by the department store.

Why is it important: Shoppers will have the opportunity to find out on Friday and Saturday nights starting Sept. 2, as the department store plans to offer a cycle of immersive theatrical productions in honor of its 170th anniversary.

Within 45 minutes of the store’s 7:45 p.m. closing time, 250 spectators will be welcomed into the store for a celebratory cocktail that will soon take an unexpected turn that will take them back to 1862 and the fictional department store.

The musical score will be performed live, as 40 actors live out 12 tableaux throughout the 150-minute playtime. Guiding the audience through the story — and the store — will be French journalist and radio host Fabrice Drouelle.

Le Bon Marché celebrates 170 years with immersive play

What: Central Group Europe CEO believes food and hospitality are only some of possible future developments at Selfridges.

Why is it important: The closing of the deal between Thailand’s Central Group and Signa to buy Selfridges Group under a 50/50 partnership is expected by the end of June, but the wheels have already been set in motion, with several projects in the pipeline that are sure to shape the future retail scene.

The transaction will see Selfridges Group become part of the combined Central and Signa portfolio of luxury department stores, which includes Rinascente in Italy, Illum in Denmark, Globus in Switzerland, and The KaDeWe Group which operates in Germany and Austria, for a total of 40 stores.

Shopping is no longer the sole attraction of these stores, which offer entertainment experiences, Rinascente was transformed from a traditional store into a luxury destination through an important restructuring of existing stores, closures, and openings, as not all could stand as department stores for the future.

The group plans to add additional opportunities in the food area and offer more high-quality foods, they plan to redevelop the Selfridge Hotel which has been closed, they will also reduce the amount of space decided to a parking lot nearby for either more retail space or to develop a residential project.

The group does not rely only on established labels and he noted that it is costly for smaller brands to open in key, central streets in cities such as Milan, Berlin, or London. Department stores offer the quality of service, the environment, and the foot traffic that can help them grow their businesses.

Selfridges’ opportunities ahead

What: On April 6th, Selfridges unveiled their new four-week pop-up that imagines the earth-conscious shop of the future.

Why it is important: The space allows customers to watch products of tomorrow being made up close, as the 2.3 meters tall 3D printing machine ABB IRB 5700 and to discover how innovative products made from atmospheric carbon, mushroom and pineapple leathers are created.

This supermarket of tomorrow is the latest manifestation of British upmarket retailer’s Project Earth sustainability strategy, which was introduced in 2020. It aims to “examine future shopping habits” and open “a conversation around consumption and physical ownership,” according to their creative director Emma Kidd.

This pop-up will also include a series of shoppable laser-cut corset belts and made-to-order dresses made with recycled ocean plastic from Iris Van Herpen, 3D-printed shoes by Jean Paul Gaultier and real-time tailor-made designs by artist Tejumola Butler Adenuga in collaboration with Crocs, as well as diamonds made with repurposed atmospheric carbon by Sky Diamond.

Selfridges is giving ‘The Corner Shop’ a spring update 

What: Investors seemed to wonder about the upside to the $200 million minority investment that Farfetch plans to make in Neiman Marcus.

Why it is important: This deal gives Farfetch a much stronger footing in the key U.S. market and an opportunity to push more goods through its platform.

Farfetch has, at times, been a tough company for investors to understand however analysts have estimated that the partnership with NMG would contribute about $20 million in profits to Farfetch in fiscal 2023 and about $100 million over the medium term.

The partnership will start with the “re-platforming” of Neiman Marcus’ Bergdorf Goodman website and app. But the deal will eventually also bring Farfetch’s high-tech approach to Bergdorf’s New York flagship and plug the whole Neiman Marcus business into the Farfetch ecosystem.

Analysts are trying to get their head around Farfetch-Neiman Marcus Deal 

What: A new study suggests virtual malls may bring good news for real ones.

Why is it important: Among those who do spend time in virtual worlds, there’s a healthy appetite for shopping the metaverse for physical products, with virtual malls being of particular interest.

The metaverse survey polled 557 online shoppers of different age groups and, nearly half of the respondents said they hadn’t heard of the term. Less than one-fifth said they were familiar with virtual worlds or participated in them. The researchers drilled down into this group to glean insights into their interests. That’s when they saw that a significant portion want their avatars to hit the mall, particularly older consumers.

The interest breaks down to 29% of 18- to 29-year-olds, 35% of 30- to 39-year-olds, 35% of 40- to 49-year-olds, and 37% of 50- to 59-year-olds. The generational difference could come down to who even remembers the time when the mall was the social and cultural touchstone for communities.

The shopping orientation could be influenced by the nature of this sample as well, as more than half, at 5%, happened to be women. The study also looked at other contexts, inside and outside the metaverse, including virtual events, social commerce, and livestream shopping, the latter of which hasn’t latched onto the mainstream consciousness either.

Can the metaverse save malls?

What: Products that play on their scarcity both in the metaverse and the real world.

Why it is important: Such an approach could be interesting for department stores when designing special collaborations with brands, or even for their own private labels.

Luxury Italian brand Another-1 has launched a limited edition pair of sneakers that can be worn in the metaverse (under the form of a NFT) or in real life. 5,555 pairs will be made available and are available in 34 colour combinations.

When customers are buying the NFT, they do not get to chose the design, but they can swap the colour for another one on a dedicated platform. This project aims to make the most of the collection frenzy that has been hitting the sneakers market, with many customers buying and never wearing their products, in order to let them grow in terms of value.

An Italian luxury brand releases sneakers wearable both in the metaverse or IRL 

What: Neiman Marcus Group is advancing its sustainability journey by installing two, 500-ton water-cooled Trane chillers at the Bergdorf Goodman’s Women’s Store, located in the heart of New York City’s retail district.

Why is it important: Implemented in partnership with Trane by Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, this environmentally friendly makeover of the historic, 94-year-old building utilizes innovative, energy-efficient, decarbonizing technology, enabling the retailer’s elimination of natural gas use and electrification, transition to renewable energy use and carbon footprint reduction.

The installation of these chillers will result in an annual reduction of 642 metric tons of carbon – equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 138 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year. Along with nearly USD 61,000 in annual energy cost savings.

The elimination of natural gas use in the facility is especially noteworthy when considering in April 2021 the NYMEX natural gas price was USD 2.854/MMBtu, compared to USD 5.336/MMBtu in April 2022. Natural gas pricing is rising quickly, increasing savings for the Neiman Marcus Group even more significantly, and mitigating their price risk.

Bergdorf Goodman’s commitment to sustainability 

What: This offer expands Prime shopping benefits to provide merchants the opportunity to grow their online platforms.

Why it is important: The Buy With Prime expansion will offer millions of US-based Prime members to shop directly from merchants’ online stores with the same kind of advantages they get when shopping directly from Amazon, such as free returns on eligible orders, fast and free delivery, and easy checkout.

In the beginning, participation will only be available by invitation for merchants using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and will progressively be rolled out through 2022 as more are invited to take part, including those not selling on Amazon or using FBA.

Amazon has unveiled its new Buy With Prime offer for third-party websites

What: Neiman Marcus Group CEO, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, honored at the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) Live Event supporting the next generation of industry leaders.

Why is it important: CEO, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, was honored at the Fashion Scholarship Fund 85th Annual Awards Celebration: FSF LIVE for his support of The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation's partnership with the FSF, dedicated to promoting diversity in the fashion industry by mentoring and preparing the next generation of industry talent.

As a long-standing partner of the FSF, NMG donated over USD 550,000 to the organization with funds raised through the generosity of corporate giving, brand partners, technology and marketing partners, and customers. Additionally, NMG hosted this year's FSF Scholars for programming at the Bergdorf Goodman flagship in New York City.

Neiman Marcus CEO honored at the FSF event 

What: From altering products to buying materials in bulk, brands and retailers are adapting to a volatile market.

Why is it important: Brands and retailers are struggling to preserve cash at a time when everything from labour to materials to energy is becoming costlier daily.

Raising prices alone won’t be enough for businesses to maintain healthy margins. Managing inflation could also mean negotiating better rates with suppliers, using deadstock, introducing lower-priced products and more.

The first step in preserving capital is being efficient, brands should look at small measures, such as ordering fewer samples, along with bigger solutions. Also, look to alter products in small ways, such as hang tags, zippers and packaging, for instance, are subtle enough to change without eliciting too many complaints from customers.

Optimizing production costs by powering factories by solar energy or exploring new production partnerships with vendors who could make the same product for cheaper.

Purchasing a larger-than-usual quantity of materials is an easy way to negotiate lower prices with suppliers, especially when those prices are changing daily also seeking partnerships with other brands in order to build up negotiation leverage.

Finessing the price increase with loyalty programmes and encouraging customers to buy in stores, where margins per purchase are higher. Also, introducing a new assortment of low-price, low-cost products.

How brands adapt to rising costs

What: Walmart is making moves to expand its roster of private label brands and announced the launch of Love & Sports, its new activewear and swim brand created in partnership with designer Michelle Smith and cycling instructor Stacey Griffith. Starting with activewear, the collection is rolling out 1,500 Walmart stores, with swim slated to arrive in the next few days and footwear and accessories slated for the fall. All items in the collection are priced between USD $12 and USD $42.

Why it is important: The launch into women’s activewear marks Walmart’s latest effort to expand its roster of private label brands, an increasingly popular move among major retailers.

Women’s private label activewear brands made up 40% of the market in 2021, according to Matt Powell, NDP’s VP and senior industry advisor for sports. And private label activewear was 28% of the activewear market, representing the largest share in this category.

Walmart launches activewear collection 

What: Next has opened its first department store-style location with an upsized in Watford.

Why is it important: It comes at the same time as M&S is moving towards a department store model, selling more third-party brands, after UK retail lost Debenhams as a physical stores business due to the impact of the pandemic.

Next in Watford brings together its regular clothing and homewares offers, all well as including the beauty ranges that it has been diving deeper into in recent years and adding a Victoria’s Secret to the mix as part of its UK licence deal for the giant US lingerie brand.

The new ‘department store’ covers almost 95,000 sq ft across three floors with an extra 4,500 sq ft Victoria's Secret branch that has its own entrance as well as being accessible from the Next branch.

Next opens new department store

What: After closing physical stores, Amazon doubles down on one-day delivery.

Why is it important: Prime members will love an increasing number of Prime shipments delivered in just one day. The company may need to justify this year's USD 20 Prime fee spike, as well as the doubling of fulfillment capacity in the last two years, which was necessary to meet demand during the pandemic.

Having largely abandoned brick-and-mortar retail outside of grocery, with traditional retailers mastering digital and omnichannel commerce and consumers returning to shop in stores, such swift delivery may be an important differentiator. Amazon lost market share to physical retailers during the holidays.

The company does plan to open a clothing store later this year, which may or may not be what rumors of its department store ambitions were about. But so far, Amazon hasn't proven adept at physical retail.

Amazon’s brick and mortar lacked a real purpose, they were designed for people to pop in and browse rather than as destinations where people would head on a mission to buy something. Ultimately, this wasn't great for driving footfall especially in an era where people are visiting shops less. The other issue is the assortment which, in many outlets, was disjoined and unfocused.

Amazon doubles down on one-day delivery

What: Retail's next frontier promises infinite possibility but won't be for everyone. Moves made today will decide retail's leaders versus laggards.

Why is it important: With the Covid-19 pandemic the world leaped five to seven years in the digital revolution. Stores are no longer the default shopping channel, but 72% of consumers still rely on stores as part of their primary buying method. Over the next five years, leaders are buying into the prospects of digitization of the physical world.

The universality of smart devices and the pervasive acceptance of digital tools has created an evolved consumer who no longer sees online and offline shopping as distinct experiences. The team at ChangeUp identified three key themes that should frame up next moves:

Liminal Defiance

Today, people drift in a fluid state of always-on consumerism, not chained to any specific journey or destination. As such, perspectives must evolve from in-store or online to non-spaces: brands thriving in an undefinable and malleable existence. There must be an acceptance of and appreciation for liminal brand experiences that are not built as physical or digital but rather created to achieve a certain objective – tools and tactics agnostic.

Cognification Commerce

The way in which data from devices is being collected, analyzed, and used is evolving. Increasing the "smartness" of the store speeds up the time between gathering insights, making decisions, and seeing results, ultimately driving a synergistic and multiplying effect across all channels over time. Armed with of-the-moment intelligence, proactive retailers will be able to make stores as responsive and addictive as the algorithm that controls their shoppers' TikTok feeds, transforming the store experience at the speed of a swipe.

Untethered Experimentation

The unknowns of XR, including AR and VR should be seen as the melding of worlds, not as a hypothetical outskirts idea to be ignored, but rather a bold expansion of our universe and in turn, expansion of profit. Taking full advantage of an experimentation mindset retailers should see this as an opportunity for creative exploration, data collection, and ultimately, growth.

With the world changing, understanding what trends to pay attention to, what technology will be most prevalent, or what move to make next can be overwhelming for physical retailers. Leaders, however, will see the maze of unknowns as pathways to discovery, of brand opportunity, consumer loyalty, and ultimately, business growth, if they are willing to step across into a new retail frontier.

Physical retail’s endless opportunities

What: George has partnered with the streaming giant Netflix for a major product tie-up, an interesting partnership for this private label.

Why is it important: The partnership in 50 George at Asda locations and online under the ‘George x Netflix’ banner. It includes a wide range of fashion and lifestyle products. As part of the initial collaboration, 12 Asda stores will offer a wide range of clothing and general merchandise products and a further 38 will stock Netflix clothing and accessories.

The partnership will also see George launch a number of exclusive Netflix ranges throughout the year.

There will be a ‘flagship’ concession within Asda’s Milton Keynes store too, where George has worked with Netflix to offer customers a more immersive experience. This includes branded changing rooms, dedicated product areas, and access to the full range of licensed products.

George at Asda sells Netflix merchandise

What: Retail veteran Walter Loeb on the latest Macy’s CFO announcements at the JP Morgan Retail Roundup.

Why it is important: All IADS also report the same trend, with customers keeping on spending but directing the money towards other categories or even industries.

Walter Loeb reports Macy’s CFO’s vision for 2022, as he sees this year as a remarkably uncertain one. While there is no doubt that customers plan to spend, the challenge lies in knowing where they will spend (in shopping, experiences, leisure…?) leading to a difficult planning. In order to prepare for this unpredictability, Macy’s plans to:

• Test new product categories thanks to their marketplace,
• Fine-tune CRM to re-engage customers,
• Increase the number of smaller locations (Bloomies, Market by Macy’s, Backstage),
• Use geopricing to give stores more leverage,
• Monetize both real estate and the retail media network,
• Base buying decisions on predictive demand,

These actions are expected to generate a 38% gross margin in 2022 (in spite of a single digit growth) vs. 35% in previous years.

Walter Loeb expresses reserves in his post-scriptum, especially in terms of execution of the plan.

Macy’s prepares for an unpredictable future 

What: The new Zara store in Madrid, concentrates all the innovations of the brand: make-up simulator, application to book your turn in the fitting room or even QR code to make an order.

Why is it important: Take a dress, pants and sweater in store, scan the label yourself with your phone using the app, unlock the lock with a QR code and get out. No more checkout at the new Zara store in Plaza de España, Madrid.

The largest Zara in the world offers over 7,700 m 2 of surface all the latest innovations of the Spanish brand. No more queuing in front of the fitting rooms: you can book your turn with the application, which sends a message when your turn comes or simply take a ticket.

Customers can now test the make-up from the new Zara Beauty line with a simulator that sends an image back onto a screen with the eyeshadow or lipstick in question.

To return an order placed online, download a QR code on the application, pass it under a scan which automatically opens a mailbox and drop it there. Just opposite, another mailbox allows you to leave your used clothes, recycled thanks to a partnership with the NGO Caritas. The withdrawal of packages purchased on the site is also robotized and allows you to withdraw your package in eight to twelve seconds. And rather than wandering around looking for an item spotted on the site, the application locates it in the store and indicates it on a map.

A true “pilot” store , it represents what will perhaps be the store of the future, a space that blurs the differences between online sales and in-store purchases. Nearly 150 million people have already downloaded Zara's app and 230 million follow the brand on social media. A collection was even created especially for the metaverse called Lime Glam, that can be worn both on the street and in the virtual world.

News Zara opens largest store in the world in Madrid (En Français)