What: Allbirds will offer shoe resale with “Rerun”, an integrated resale platform as part of its push to reduce its carbon emissions.

Why is it important: US customers will be able to trade their slightly imperfect and gently used sneakers for $20 in-store credit by dropping them off at one of three retail locations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.

Sneakers will then be refurbished by Trove re-commerce service, before being resold on the Allbirds ReRun for around two-thirds of the original retail price.

While the resale platform will focus on sneakers for now, the brand will consider expanding it to new categories in the future.

Allbirds is entering the secondhand sneaker market

What: Flannels plans on crafting regional retail strategies to drive growth outside of global cities.

Why is it important: Flannels is continuing its expansion, by opening a total of 15 experience-oriented flagships across the UK by 2025.

Flannels opened more than 10 stores in cities that have been typically underserved by traditional luxury players in 2021. With international tourism facing continued disruption in 2022, repatriated luxury spending represents a significant growth opportunity for well-positioned retailers.

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Flannels to open experience-oriented flagships to drive growth

What: Nordstrom introduces its first podcast hosted by, president and chief brand officer, Pete Nordstrom. The Nordy Pod is a way for Nordstrom fans to stay up to date and have an inside look behind the scenes.

Why is it important: Podcasts have taken off in recent years. Their appeal is their convenience as they are easy to access and users can listen to audio episodes while running, cooking, cleaning and tackling other tasks. Nordstrom’s podcast comes as brands are increasingly facing pressure to take a stand on social issues, and consumers are seeking to purchase from brands that align with their values. In May 2021, El Corte Ingles also launched a series of podcasts covering cultural topics.

The first episode features lengthy, unscripted interviews at Nordstrom’s New York City store with legendary merchant Mickey Drexler covering his beginnings and career ups and downs as well as advice. As well as an interview with a veteran Nordstrom stylist and a customer whom Nordstrom helped after her daughter had a “potty training” accident in the store.

More interviews are promised with employees, customers and “prominent industry voices.”

Nordstrom’s podcast: “The Nordy Pod”

What: The German department store now combines content, products, and services on kadewe.de.

Why it is important: The goal is to offer customers the same digital diversity and experience as in the store. To that end, new product categories will be added to the online offer. The luxury concession partners will be connected to the website to become an omnichannel luxury platform.

In June 2020, The KaDeWe Group launched its online shop with about 250 brands in the women’s, men’s, and kids’ fashion categories. Last Spring, the offer expanded with beauty. Toys, travel, and home & living have recently been added. More categories will come this year such as food.

KaDeWe relaunches omnichannel

What: Lifting off Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions has concrete and immediate effects on footfall and retail.

Why it is important: The observed pattern is the same in most of the countries where the Covid-19 restrictions have been the most complete.

The British government has decided to lift all restrictions related to Covid-19, and this move has concrete effects on the business. In the first full week after the rules were loosened, footfall reached 79% of prepandemic levels in the West End part of London.

From 27 January to 2 February, daily footfall was up +10% week on week and morning commuter footfall was up +9% on average.

This is also a phenomenon that has been observed in other countries where the Covid restrictions are totally lifted, such as Denmark.

London: West End footfall rises again 

What: Selfridges has been testing out livestream shopping experiences in Cantonese.

Why is it important: In 2021, Chinese consumers were expected to spend $300 billion on products featured in livestream shopping. As a result, Selfridges is learning firsthand about the potential and benefits of livestream shopping. A more immersive experience should lead to higher engagement, higher conversion and happier customers.

Selfridges’ first live in Cantonese 

What: The travel retail hotspot in the world is now Hainan.

Why it is important: Now that Chinese customers are accustomed to shop at home with a generous duty free cap, questions about their return in the international circuit are raised, all the more that we still lack visibility about the reopening of the borders.

Due to the international tourism disruption related to the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese customers have been enticed to shop at home, which helped Hainan soar as a popular destination and a hotspot for travel retail. As a consequence, the revenue increased +84% in 2021 to reach $9,47bn, knowing that the business already posted a +83% increase in 2020.

This represents a traffic of 9,67m customers, all allowed to spend up to $15,500 free of duty, which is the most generous offshore duty-free spending cap in the world. The market in Hainan is dominated by China Duty Free Group, CNSC, Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co, Hainan Development Holdings and Shenzhen Duty Free.

China's Hainan Duty Free revenue hits 9,47 bn USD in 2021

What: Aldi is testing a new technology, different from facial recognition, to estimate the age of customers willing to buy restricted products.

Why it is important:  If such a new usage becomes widespread and accepted, especially by the younger generations, other usages, especially on cosmetics, might be coming soon.

The German grocery chain Aldi is testing a new technology in its no-checkout Greenwich store in the UK. In this store, called Shop&Go, which is app-assisted, customers can pick up products and walk-out without going through a cashier. A novelty compared to similar Amazon’s just-walk-out stores is the introduction of an age recognition technology to help sell alcohol and cigarettes.

It is based on a machine-learning algorithm scanning photos of faces to estimate their age, and is not based on facial recognition. Images are deleted straight after the process. According to Yoti, the start-up behind the technology, the age estimation has an accuracy of 2.2 years.

Aldi uses age-estimation to sell alcohol 

What: Givenchy’s JD.com mini programme officially launched, making it the latest in a raft of brands from luxury conglomerate LVMH to join forces with the Chinese e-commerce platform.

Why it is important: Even brands notoriously adverse to partnering with third-party e-commerce platforms, such as Louis Vuitton or Dior have signed on to JD.com’s mini programmes over the past year in order to better reach China’s young, digitally-native luxury consumer base.

“What we are offering LVMH, is the most tailored and customised business models, based on the brands’ needs,” Kevin Jiang, president of international business, JD Fashion and Lifestyle, with brands able to choose from a wholesale model, a marketplace flagship model (similar to that offered by rival Tmall Luxury Pavilion) and the newer mini programme option.

“The brands can completely control the customer experience, the user journey, the layout,” Jiang said of the mini programmes, which can be virtually identical to the brand’s own WeChat mini programmes.

Jiang says luxury sales on the platform have seen annual growth of over 200% year-on-year since 2019 and he expects a similar result in the year ahead.

LVMH double down on JD.com 

What: Lojas Renner, Brazil’s largest clothing retailer, announced former Unilever executive Daniel Martins dos Santos as its new chief financial officer.

Why is it important: Lojas Renner’s newly appointed CFO has extensive experience in the consumer goods sector and will hold both the position of CFO and of investor relations officer.

Lojas Renner appoints new CFO

What: From October through December, seasonal retail jobs, transportation and warehousing jobs dropped.

Why it’s important: The onslaught of Covid cases, the difficulty for parents to arrange childcare, and the sheer availability of jobs have prevented many from entering the retail business.

Department stores have had to learn how to cope with this staff shortage: Walmart temporarily closed down some stores during the omicron wave, and Macy's has reduced store hours.

Holiday hiring in retail dropped 7%

What: Having stopped running its store at Lotte Duty Free Jeju in December, Louis Vuitton will close three more (at the Shilla Duty Free in Jeju, Lotte Duty Free in Busan and Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul) in March.

Why it is important: The brand’s planned withdrawal from downtown duty-free shops in Korea suggests that local duty-free stores may no longer be profitable as Chinese consumers don’t spend abroad anymore.

Louis Vuitton also plans to pull out from the three remaining downtown duty-free stores (Lotte Duty Free, the Shilla Duty Free and Shinsegae Duty Free in Seoul) between October this year and March next year. The Louis Vuitton store at Incheon Airport Terminal 1 is unaffected by the phasing out of downtown operations in Korea. The company plans to open a second store at the airport’s Terminal 2 by 2023.

The decision to close comes as the French brand seeks to focus on airport duty-free shops, especially those in China’s domestic flight airports.

In mainland China, Louis Vuitton plans to have five airport stores open by the end of this year, including its existing stores at Beijing Capital International and Shanghai Hongqiao.

Louis Vuitton to shut downtown duty-free shops in Korea

What: Obé, a digital fitness platform, has partnered with Bloomingdale's offering a series of free classes that are found on the Bloomingdale’s website as part of the retailer’s virtual “On Screen” events.

Why is it important: The On-Screen platform gives clients the flexibility of enjoying Obé fitness classes remotely, whether it be in real time or on their own. As well as the opportunity to discover top activewear brands showcased in the classes, that they can discover at Bloomingdale’s.

Bloomingdale’s Launches Digital Fitness Classes to Customers

What: Harrods has confirmed that 2 new stores of its H Beauty chain will open in the spring of 2022.

Why is it important: Two new stores will open, one in Bristol and one in Newcastle's Gateshead Metrocentre in the former House of Fraser store.

Harrods will now account for 5 H Beauty stores up and running including those in the Lakeside mall, Essex, Milton Keynes, and Edinburg.

The H Beauty expansion comes as premium beauty has remained resilient during the pandemic, despite the setback in work-from-home orders, mask-wearing and the cancellation of social events made in sales of make-up and fragrances. Expansion focused at the moment; H Beauty helps Harrods gain market share within the beauty industry.

Harrods confirms Bristol’s H Beauty opening in the Spring 

What: The Korean conglomerate double downs on local convenience stores in the country

Why it is important: The convenience store channels take a new meaning in the times of omnichannel operations and ultra-fast delivery when you are a department store company.

Lotte Group, the Korean conglomerate which also operates Lotte department stores and malls and 7-Eleven in the country, has acquired the Korean division of Ministop from its Japanese owners, for an amount of $263m.

Ministop represents 2,600 POS in the country as well as 12 logistic centres, and those stores will add to the 11,750 7-Eleven stores Lotte already owns and operate.

The Japanese mother company, Ministop, will also sell its stake in Robinsons Convenience Stores, the operator of 460 Ministop stores in the Philippines.

Lotte Group acquires Ministop Korea

What: Sidney Baillieu (Bails) Myer who followed in his father’s footsteps into the retail trade, passes away at 96 years old.

Why is it important: Myer is Australia’s leading department store operator. After several years of closing unproductive locations, its network currently has 59 department stores.

Bails took the reins in 1956 when father and then brother died, and quickly became a key player in Australian retail. After opening the Myer Emporium in Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre in 1960, he led an aggressive expansion of Myer department stores across Australia.

Australian Retailer Sidney Baillieu Myer Dies, Aged 96

What: Selfridges was hit hard by the pandemic due to the store closures, Brexit and lack of tourism.

Why it is important: The extent of the losses gives also an idea of what is going on for the rest of the London-based department stores (Harrods, Liberty, Harvey Nichols) and one can wonder if the shopping spree is over in the UK.

Selfridges filed its full accounts for the year 2020 until 31st of January 2021 and it was a tough year: revenue fell -40% to £508.5m due to the 8 month closure of stores in the UK during the year. As a consequence operating result was negative, at -£136.7m compared to a result of £113.8m the year before (leading to a net loss of -£163.2m compared to a profit of +£20.6m in 2019).

This led to a net cut of 500 jobs during 2021, prior to being sold to Central Group and Sigma at the end of the year.

Selfridges UK stores saw revenues falling 40% in first pandemic year

What: A New York coalition made waves last week with the proposal of the Fashion Act, which aims to hold all major brands accountable for their environmental and social impacts.

Why it’s important: The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act would require all fashion companies that do business in New York and generate more than $100 million in revenue to map at least 50% of their supply chains and disclose impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint and chemical use.

The bill does not specify who these 50% are, but calls on brands to focus on areas of greatest social and environmental risk. Brands would be required to report the total volumes of materials they produce, a notable measure that will highlight the overall impact of the sector that is typically hidden; most brands boast about reducing the impact of individual materials while increasing their production and total footprint.

On the labour side, brands will also be required to disclose median worker wages and measures in place to integrate responsible conduct into policies and management systems.

This ambition could reshape the way fashion behaves given that it would affect virtually every recognizable fashion brand, from American companies such as Gap, Ralph Lauren and Tapestry to international mass market and luxury players such as Shein and H&M, Prada and LVMH.

California had passed a legislation that would hold brands accountable for wage violations occurring in their California-based supply chains. And while a growing number of fashion companies are setting science-based targets to align their emissions with the Paris agreement goals, this remains voluntary and lacks industry-wide participation, and comes with little oversight or enforcement to ensure compliance.

In whole, these laws need further refinement and strengthening. Much of the bill’s criticism stems from who was at the table when it was created.

Deconstructing New York’s Fashion Act 

What: The shop, unifying “fitness,” “health & nutrition,” "rest & relaxation” and “sexual wellness" goods.

Why it is important: As Sephora and Ulta Beauty duke it out for dominance in the specialty beauty sector, department stores are increasingly devoting more space and money to wellness in a bid to differentiate themselves and increase their relevance. The shift comes at a critical time for department stores, whose market share in many key areas of beauty has been eroding for the last years.

Data shows that the bet is well-placed. According to the Global Wellness Institute’s 2021 “Global Wellness Economy” report, wellness grew to be an estimated USD 4.4 trillion market in 2020. The sector is due to grow by 8.2% annual growth through 2025, to reach USD 1.4 trillion.

Wellness at Saks

Found under the newly added “wellness” category at the very top of the homepage (listed alongside options like clothing, beauty and home), the drop-down menu includes “fitness,” “health & nutrition,” “rest & relaxation” and “sexual wellness.” With over 1,000 products and 50 new brands, the online wellness shop combines categories and goods — traditionally merchandised separately — dedicated to self-care. So far, among the consumers that are shopping wellness, about 25% are new customers to Saks. Depending on the results online, the wellness store could become an in-person experience.

From bath products to a range of home goods, apparel and accessories including aroma diffusers, humidifiers and sound machines, the “Rest and Relaxation” section is a “favorite” with the highest traffic, with new customers penetrating around 30%. But to date, fitness has done “incredibly well,” as the largest area of product growth.

To showcase some of their new products, Saks has been hosting live digital events: fitness classes with a celebrity trainer and choreographer, online seminars with brands to discuss crystal charging and “energetic” fragrances for instance.

US department stores’ take on wellness

Bloomingdale’s, too, which kicked off the new year by partnering with digital fitness platform Obé for series as part of the retailer’s virtual “On Screen” events. Bloomingdale’s began selling workout related tools like the Theragun, the handheld massager, while also expanding clean beauty with the “Wellchemist”. Now, Bloomingdale’s latest focus is on “sexual wellness,” a largely online-only selection (found under “beauty”).

At nordstrom.com, “wellness” can be found under the “beauty” category, with items like silk pillowcases by Slip and body products by Nécessaire. But they also sell both female sexual wellness and menstrual health goods.

Macy’s strategy has been on unifying gadgets under what it calls “wellness at home” online, bringing together massagers, aromatherapy, men’s grooming, dental care, hair care and air purifiers at different price points.

Bergdorf Goodman is offering highly curated, luxe wellness.

JCPenney is unveiling its full beauty rollout (which currently includes the Thirteen Lune partnership — an online platform focused on Black and brown-owned beauty products) this fall. The chain (which currently has an “active & wellness” category online for activewear, healthy sleep and eating) is exploring how to restructure wellness merchandise online and in stores.

Saks opens a digital wellness shop 

Department Stores Ride the Wellness Wave

What: The ‘Style Not Size’ exclusive capsule for Jenni Collection is a +size loungewear collection designed by social media creators Denise Mercedes and Maria Castellanos.

Why it is important: The size 14 and size 6 friends have grown a large following for their body positive videos on TikTok and Instagram, where they show off the same outfit on two different body types, under the ‘Style Not Size’ motto.

Social Media Creators Partner With Jenni for Exclusive Macy’s Collection

What: Amazon is to open a physical clothing store called Amazon Style, where they will sell clothing, shoes and accessories in Los Angeles, next to Nordstrom and JC Penney.

Why is it important: Although Amazon has become the largest clothing retailer in America, they have decided to expand to a physical store since in-store purchases make up more than 85% of US retail sales.

Amazon Style, which is expected to span over 3,000 sqm, will allow their shoppers to physically see how clothes look, feel and fit before they buy. With a mix of hundreds of well-known brands (although the list is not disclosed yet) and its own private-label brands, Amazon will be able to reach customers who want to shop in person and also drive growth of Amazon's more profitable, lesser-known private labels.

Amazon hopes this will make shopping quicker and more personalized for customers. The clothing will be kept in the back of the store and a sample of each item will be displayed on the sales floor. To purchase items, customers can scan a QR code using a mobile Amazon shopping app and then pick them up at a special counter. If they want to try it on first, they can get it sent to a fitting room, which has touchscreens where customers can request different sizes or colors.

Concretely, this means that customers will be able to scan a QR code whenever they see a product in store, which will give them the sizes, colours, ratings and additional product details. This also means that the racks will not be displaying all sizes of the same clothes. Once the QR code is clicked, customers will have the possibility to try the selected item in the fitting room or pick it up directly at the sales counter for purchase.

Of course, this will also allow Amazon to gather even more data in terms of customers’ preferences and tastes, and therefore make more personalized recommendations, as Amazon's algorithms will recommend other items customers may be interested in as they browse the store and scan items.

Other advantages to the physical store are that customers can drop off their Amazon returns at the store, or order online and pick them up there.

This is not Amazon’s first venture in physical retail as they already operate brick and mortar stores, 4-star stores and Amazon Go convenience stores in the US and other markets. Analysts are cautious about this venture: even thought this will for sure alter customers’ behaviour and bring new technologies and new usages, the difficulty for Amazon will not lie in execution but in getting the right line up in terms of brands.

Amazon is opening a clothing store next to Nordstrom and JC Penney 

Amazon Style 

What: Walmart is reportedly considering launching its own cryptocurrency and NFT collection.

Why it is important: More than the move, which is bold (but with a ROI and scalability that remain to be verified), Walmart is also patenting names that could very well become extremely lucrative in the events these new brands become everyday words.

Walmart is preparing the launch of its own cryptocurrency and NFT collection, as shown by its recent filling of new trademarks patents. This follows a strategic initiative launched in August 2021 to explore the possibilities offered by the Metaverse, and which could, according to Bloomberg, lead into initiatives called “Verse to Store”, “Verse to Curb”, “Verse to Home”, which are self-explanatory.

It also follows prior, and lower-scale initiatives, such as the pilot program launched in October 21, allowing customers to buy Bitcoins at Coinstar counters located into Walmart stores.

Walmart Filings Reveal Plans to Create Cryptocurrency, NFTs

What: With the turmoil caused by Covid, will retail change in 2022 as we slowly return to a version of normalcy?

Why is it important: After reaching out to retail founders, we can conclude that physical stores aren't going anywhere. However, their purpose will change. It is also more important than ever to focus on community and developing closer client relationships.

Retail founders believe changes such as, physical stores being regarded less as just a distribution channel for products and more as a cost-effective experiential media channel for customer acquisition. As well as lessening their retail footprint, while deepening their investment into the functions and services that each space has to offer. Focusing on things like hosting events and encouraging community. Along with using more eco-friendly production and materials, upcycling, diversifying collections as well as many other changes.

The evolution we see this year is going to have a lasting impact.

Shilpa Shah, co-founder of Cuyana; Dan Schoening, Vice President Strategy at Nordstrom; Matt Alexander, co-founder and CEO of Neighborhood Goods; Alyssa Wasko, founder and designer of Donni; Tal Zvi Nathanel, co-founder and CEO of Showfields; Jennifer Bandier, founder of Bandier; Heath Wells, co-founder of NuOrder and general manager of NuOrder by Lightspeed;  Julie Bornstein, founder and CEO of The Yes; Max Bonbrest, co-founder of AYR and Doug Stephens, retail consultant are part of the article.

What will fashion retail look like in 2022?