What:  Oxford Street in London has launched its first sustainability awareness campaign to draw attention to urgent environmental concerns as well as positive changes being made by some of the street's shops.

Why it is important:  The purpose is to educate shoppers on how brands are responding to the climate crisis and encourage them to make small changes in their consumption habits through the purchase of sustainable products and from companies that are responsible.

The “Beyond Now,” campaign will kick off Sept. 15th and will highlight 30 high-street brands with a presence on Oxford Street including Nike, The Body Shop, Selfridges, Lush and John Lewis.

Fronting the campaign is author and presenter Candice Brathwaite, who has also curated a 50-piece Beyond Now capsule.

Retailers will also host in-store events all aimed at educating shoppers around sustainable consumption: New Balance will be offering free sneaker cleaning workshops; Selfridges is debuting a pop-up with secondhand clothing charity Oxfam and fashion editor Bay Garnet; while John Lewis is planning a two-day Sustainable Festival to highlight all the conscious products in its offer.

London’s Oxford Street Debuts Sustainability Awareness Campaign 

What: A year after launching, Amazon is taking Luxury Stores into the ultra-competitive European market.

Why it is important: Amazon will be entering the competitive European fashion and luxury landscape to attempt to extend its success of Luxury Stores beyond the U.S.

Amazon Luxury stores will debut in Europe later this year, just one year after rolling out in the U.S. Some brands on the platform have been reporting robust sales as they get exposed to even a fraction of Amazon’s large customer base.

The competition in the space is high in Europe given all the homegrown, multibrand fashion and luxury sites such as Zalando, Farfetch, Mytheresa, Net-a-porter, Matchesfashion and the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned 24 Sèvres.

The launch is rumored to happen in November, but this has not been confirmed by Amazon.

Amazon Luxury Stores Is Heading to Europe 

What:  Harrods has revealed its latest fashion campaign in the form of a new film, produced in collaboration with Iconoclast UK.

Why it is important: The film celebrates the unique product range offered in the Knightsbridge shop, showcasing the freedom of expression and creativity that fashion grants us.

The concept and direction come courtesy of Iggy London with the campaign conveying Harrods as a “space where anything is possible, and where fashion-lovers can be whoever they want to be and wear whatever they choose without boundaries or limits”.

Harrods unveils new campaign film, blends culture with fashion

What: The retailer has joined forces with Juicy Couture and launched the exclusive athleisure brand expansion “Juicy by Juicy Couture”.

Why is it important: By collaborating with the brand that pioneered the athleisure trend, J.C. Penney is hoping to improve its appeal to younger consumers.

The centrepiece of this first womenswear collection is a new spin on the brand’s iconic tracksuit, supplemented by joggers, leggings, cropped sweatshirts and hoodies in bold colours.

Moreover, Juicy by Juicy Couture will also be launching kids wear, shoes, sleepwear, watches, accessories and homeware collections before the end of this year.

J.C. Penney partners with Juicy Couture on new brand expansion 

What: Players will be able to buy virtual clothes and accessories with Fortnite’s in-game currency, while all customers will be able to buy co-branded physical products in stores and online. A marketing campaign that will appear on billboards in cities like New York and Tokyo, as well as in Fortnite itself.

Why it is important: After Gucci with Animal Crossing or Roblox, Balenciaga and Fortnite are bringing the physical and virtual worlds even closer together by offering both digital and real products. The giant in the gaming world has 400 million registered accounts.

The in-game clothing will include outfits for four of Fortnite’s popular characters inspired by real-world looks from Balenciaga collections. Fortnite players will be able to unlock some of the Balenciaga products by performing tasks in the game. Other items will have to be purchased using V-Bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency. The most expensive items cost 1,500 V-Bucks, roughly equivalent to USD 12.

One hoodie worn by Doggo, an anthropomorphised dog, bears both Balenciaga and Fortnite branding, and physical versions will be available for purchase in different colours through Balenciaga. The brand will also sell items such as T-shirts, hats, dress shirts and a denim jacket as part of its line with Fortnite.

The project isn’t the first time Balenciaga and Epic Games worked together. Last year, Balenciaga created a game called “Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow” to showcase its Autumn/Winter 2021 collection.

Balenciaga and Fortnite Are a Match Made in the Metaverse 

What: Retailers saw consumption growth slow more than expected in July as social distancing measures continued to constrain spending and local shoppers awaited the arrival of electronic vouchers the following month.

Why it is important: The Hong Kong government is distributing HKD 5,000 (USD 643) consumption vouchers to eligible residents to encourage spending.

Retail sales value was HKD 27.2 billion (USD 3.5 billion), up 2.9% from a year ago, according to a government report. That’s well short of the median economists’ forecast for 10% growth. Retail sales volume rose 0.9%, also short of expectations for a 6.9% advance.

“The electronic consumption vouchers that the government began to disburse in August have helped stimulate consumption sentiment and will render support to the retail business in the rest of the year,” the report said.

Hong Kong Retail Growth Slowed Again in July 

What:  Ikea is considering purchasing a high profile building in one of the most efficient locations in the world.

Why it is important:  Even though Ikea decided to put a stop to its expansion in city centres through large stores (as shown with the cancellation of its latest large operation in West Sussex), it seems that the opportunity is to good to let it go. Interestingly, it might lead to the sharing of the space with 2 existing tenants, Nike and Vans.

Ikea is reported to be in talks with Apollo Global Management to acquire the former Topshop flagship in Oxford Street, which would give to the Swedish DYI operator a significant visibility and footprint in one of Europe’s busiest shopping street.

So far, Ikea boasts 2 big box concepts outside London and a series of smaller city centre stores, including its planning studio in Tottenham Court Central. Nike and Vans also have stores in the building located 214 Oxford Street, but will not need to exit if Ikea proceeds with the purchase.

Ikea in talks to buy former Topshop flagship store 

What: Several sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabi’s Adia, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and also the Qatar Investment Authority, which already owns the Harrods department stores, expressed interest without a formal offer. Lane Crawford (based in Hong Kong) is also considered a potential buyer.

Why it is important: In June 2021, Selfridges was approached by an investor with an offer of more than GBP 4 billion (twice the amount of pre-pandemic sales, which reached GBP 1.97 billion in 2019). In 2010, the Qatar Investment Authority purchased Harrods with an offer of 3.2 times the turnover.

Gulf Sovereign wealth funds eye Selfridges 

What: Walmart expanded its delivery pilot with Instacart to include parts of New York City, where there are no physical Walmart stores.

Why it is important:  The partnership takes advantage of Walmart stores located near the city to fulfill delivery orders via Instacart for customers in the metropolitan area.

The pilot, which started last year in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrived in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx in the expansion.

Walmart and Instacart's growing partnership intensify competition with Amazon, Target, and other stores fighting for consumers' online spending.

Walmart expands Instacart pilot to New York City 

What: The truck has been touring in Hong Kong this summer to offer a very condensed version of Ikea’s experience

Why it is important: The truck is a mobile showroom, which isn't selling anything but is instead acting as a drive-to-store and data collecting mechanism.

If you’ve ever spent time in an Ikea on a weekend afternoon, you’ll know that finding what you dropped in for can, on occasions, be something of an endurance test, particularly if the item(s) in question is relatively small.

The selection gathered low-priced products including a range of everyday essentials, tableware, home cleaning, organisation accessories and more from USD 1 upwards, as well as an area for the Top 10 Ikea Products. There was even a chance to take home some complimentary gifts and Ikea vouchers. All you had to do is catch the truck, play the games inside, fill out a questionnaire, and download the Ikea app.

Ikea's Everyday Low Price Truck is now touring Hong Kong

What:  A new step in the improvement of the last-mile delivery

Why it is important:  Self-driving vehicles (cars, trucks or other) could help to arrange the financial equation when it comes to the last mile: retailers already know how to delivery efficiently and quickly, but this comes with a human cost.

Ford has teamed up with Walmart to test home delivery with self-driving cars in Miami, Washington and Austin, with a half-dozen wide fleet of vehicles. Ford is also planning to test with Lyft passenger rides in self-driving cars in Miami and Austin this year.

Walmart to Test Self-Driving Delivery With Ford and Argo AI 

What: Another brand enters the subscription space with an offer aiming at teens and tweens

Why it is important: Even though product subscriptions might not be the easiest for department stores to implement, paid memberships and services subscriptions might be a realistic option to generate an additional revenue stream.

Claire’s, the teen and tween accessories retailer, launches a subscription service to Gen-Z customers with a quarterly accessories and jewelry box, shipped against a subscription of USD 30. There is no commitment into doing so, and there are 3 themes corresponding to different age groups. A one-time purchase is priced USD 32.

The global subscription box market is estimated to have reached USD 18.8 bn last year and expected to grow annually by 20%.

Such a model, including products (as also tested by brands such as On running shoes or Ralph Lauren) might prove difficult for department stores, as they involve a totally different logistic process and structure. However, retailers are also entering this space (Carrefour, Walmart, Best Buy, Shinsegae) and we are convinced that such a service, if it brings the appropriate perks to customers, could contribute to increasing the value proposition of department stores.

Claire's launches its first subscription service

What: Retail dive discusses the new features brought by Bloomingdale’s new concept

Why it is important: More than its format, allowing to be out of malls and closer to customers, the most interesting features are the multitasking instore staff, the services desks which is a one-stop-for-all, and the capability to seamlessly connect both salespersons and customers with stocks and sales advisors from bigger central stores in capital cities such as NY.

Bloomie’s, the new format from Bloomingdales launched last 26 August]({{https://www.iads.org/web/iads/3658-what-bloomies-means-to-the-future-of-bloomingdales.php}}) and part of the [Polaris strategy to turn around the business, is seen to be an alternative path for retail in the US. It features a very curated selection of products and a wide array of services (personal stylists, return dropbox, in-store and kerb side pickup, alteration services) in a surface of only 2,200 sqm. Product discovery is also combined with entertainment with a local café and bar.

Following the strategies of Nordstrom (Nordstrom local), and Macy’s (Macy’s market), the goal is to stop being dependent on malls in terms of traffic and attractivity, while also be closer to specific consumers-types areas of living.

Retailers think that days spent at the mall with a lunch on midday are gone and customers are willing to be able to pop in and pop out stores (located closer to where they live) more easily and with more entertainment. This is why the smaller curation, which implies a more frequent rotation of products, is expected to attract customers more frequently, who will expect newness at each visit. Bloomie’s also expects to appeal at a younger demographic base.

Another interesting feature is the multiservice desk, able to answer questions, deliver online orders, take care of returns, wrap gifts, take care of alteration and deliver styling pieces of advice. It reminds somehow what Magasin du Nord and SM Retail are doing by increasing space dedicated to their services point on the sales floor. Also, a QR code on products allows to contact a Bloomingdale’s NY sales associate for more information. Also, all products can be customized according to customers’ taste.

The article mentions that sales staff went through a complete overhaul of their tasks in order to be more than sales persons and provide more services. This is not a new idea, the only question is how to achieve such a goal with the existing teams.

Is Bloomie's the future of department stores?

What: The Beijing Winter Olympics of 2022 will be held in a bubble from February 4 to 20, enabling citizen fans in the stands.

Why it’s important: The game’s organizers have given the first glimpse into the country's plans to hold the event: a strict zero-Covid strategy.

Athletes and other participants who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter the bubble without quarantine, unlike those who are not vaccinated and will have to spend 21 days in quarantine upon arrival. However, foreign fans will not be able to attend the games.

This is good news, knowing that during the Tokyo Summer Olympics of this year, Japan would not allow any fans in the stands, as the capital was placed under a state of emergency.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be open to fans -- if they live in China 

What: The South Korean retailer will close down off-site specialty arms including Electro Mart and PK Market to focus on its core offerings.

Why it is important: The move rounds out the firm’s ongoing efforts to shed unprofitable brands from its portfolio.

Korean Retail Giant E-Mart to Shutter Specialty Stores 

What: The retailer is hosting a pop-up café and shop at Sotheby's on London's Bond Street until 9 September.

Why it is important: After Matches Carlos Place’s hybrid retail space, Net-a-porter’s initiative represents a new e-commerce venture into physical shopping.

The pop-up coincides with Sotheby’s “Life Is Beautiful” sale, celebrating all things luxury and craftsmanship. Its London edition includes rare sneakers, fine jewelry and watches, sought-after Chanel and Hermès handbags and original movie posters.

Net-a-porter has created a fashion exhibition-cum-shopping space next to the the “Life Is Beautiful” exhibition, featuring an edit of its fall 2021 collections, which embraces the same themes of timeless craftsmanship and feel-good luxury. The collection on show features mega brands like Bottega Veneta and Loewe but equally, plenty of pieces from independent British names, from Molly Goddard’s larger-than-life tulle skirts, to Simone Rocha’s ruffled leather jackets, and David Koma’s signature form-fitting cocktail dresses. The retailer’s new homeware edit is also on display.

To mark the launch and London’s social calendar coming back alive, Net hosted a cocktail at Sotheby’s and its fleet of personal shoppers will be setting up shop at the auction house for the week to welcome shoppers for physical appointments.

Net-a-porter Partners With Sotheby’s 

What: Higher-end department store group Fenwick was hit particularly hard during the pandemic, its latest set of results to the end of January show. While stores were shut during lockdowns, the retailer couldn’t rely on an online platform to soften the sales blow.

Why it is important: Pre-tax losses rose to GBP 112 million from GBP 47 million in 2019. Sales plummeted to GBP 140.5 million from GBP 323.7 million.

Digital ambitions are now key to grow and around 80% of Fenwick’s ranges were now sold online but the core store ops continue to drive the business.

While the Bond Street store has suffered a slump in footfall because of a lack of office workers and tourists post lockdowns, Fenwick’s other stores have benefited from more people staying local.

Fenwick losses rise as lockdowns hit hard

What: Selfridges Group has committed to significantly accelerating its target to achieve net zero carbon across its business to 2040.

Why it is important: The Climate Pledge is a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to act on the climate emergency and meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early.

Last month, Selfridges marked the first anniversary of Project Earth by publishing a Progress Update that sets out its highlights and hurdles throughout the last 12 months. In early 2022, Selfridges will publish its first full Sustainability Report.

Selfridges set Science Based Targets (scopes 1,2 and 3) in 2020, which have been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative. The department store is committed to achieving net-zero carbon across its business by 2040. Selfridges’ stores are powered by 100% green energy (electricity and gas) and it is focussing on driving down waste and energy consumption year on year.

Selfridges signs the climate pledge to accelerate net-zero carbon target by 10 years

What: The largest recent retail development in New York is set to open in Q2 2022

Why it is important: The whole proposal is based on creating communities with either DTC brands or low-key retailers, and this does not include department stores, even with their new formats.

Brookfield Properties threw the Manhattan West opening party in September 21, as the first phase of this 700,000 sqm mixed used development, located between 9th and 10th avenues and 31st and 33rd streets. This new project is filled in with a new retail proposition spanned on 24,000 sqm, including:

• 2 anchors: a 650 sqm Whole Foods (already open) and a Peloton store
• Wellness and lifestyle mixed retail spaces: a 450 sqm wellness centre, a 140 sqm skin treatment centre, the first stores of New Stand (a retailer mixing a newstand with tech gadgets and fashion accessories), Public Rec (athleisure), OPR Eyewear (hand-crafted eyewear), a 900 sqm NHL store, a Rothman’s menswear store,
• A wide array of F&B offerings: a 4000 sqm Citizen New York food hall, Life Wine and Spirit shop, and restaurants such as Danny Meyer, Zou Zou, Starbucks and others.

While some stores are already in operation, the retail proposition is set to be fully up and running within Q2 2022. It also aims to include a bank and a boutique hotel, in addition to green spaces and parks, next to 844 residential units.

Interestingly, there is no mention of any of the large American retailers, including those who recently developed community-oriented store formats, such as Nordstrom Local, Macy’s Market or Bloomie’s. The way retail is mixed into new property developments is also quite far from what can be seen in other parts of the world, which is surprising in a capital city such as New York.

EXCLUSIVE - Who’s Coming to Manhattan West 

What: Increased spending is expected for this year's holiday, as consumers feel more confident about shopping outside their homes.

Why it’s important: Deloitte is anticipating a big holiday season for retailers this year thanks to the downturn of the pandemic : travelling, celebrating with family and treating ourselves is again possible.

Deloitte’s retail and distribution practice expects that holiday sales will total $1.28 trillion to $1.3 trillion between November and January. And e-commerce sales alone will likely reach between $210 billion and $218 billion this season.

Some other trends that will be prominent this holiday season will be purchasing food and beverage gifts as a way to reconnect with friends and family. As supply chains continue to be disrupted, consumers are aware that they will need to start their holiday shopping earlier to avoid delays.

Consumer behaviors such as buy online, pick up in-store, or BOPIS, and curbside pickup are also expected to continue to be strong this holiday shopping season, especially with concern for the Delta variant.

Deloitte Projects a Positive Holiday Season for Retailers 

What: Alipay might lose the ability to instantly evaluate its customers’ credit history and rating.

Why it is important:  Such a move might prevent Alipay from keeping a leading edge on the exploitation of 1bn+ customers’ data, which might impact its attractiveness to customers in the future, at a moment when worldwide retailers have all started to accept Alipay as a payment method.

Alipay, the 1bn user financial app part of the Alibaba ecosystem, and its mother company, Ant, are still under the scrutiny of the authorities, after having already been ordered to separate the back end of their two lending businesses (credit card and loans), from the rest of its operations.

Beijing is now ordering Ant to separate all credit activities operations (credit card and loans) from the rest of its businesses, in order to create a credit scoring joint-venture which would be partly state-owned.

Lending activities represented 35% of Ant’s business in 2019, and 39% a year after.

A crucial consequence of such a separation would be that Alipay would not have direct access to any user’s credit history and rating, and would have to apply to the newly created joint-venture to do so, leading to longer processing time for the users and a reduced margin for Alipay.

Ant’s Alipay to break up under Beijing’s order 

What: A message from the CEO to brands to update on the plan execution

Why it is important:  The plan presented by Saks and later Hudson Bay surprised many analysts, as it decided to split into separate companies online and offline operations, at a moment when omnichannel is all about an increased cooperation between both channels.

Mark Metrick, CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue, sent a letter to its brand partners to reassure them on the fact that the plan, decided 6 months ago, was going well according to expectation. It was indeed decided and acted recently to split the company in 2: saksfifthavenue.com (online operations) and SFA, which owns and operates the Saks 40-wide store fleet.

This move was also followed later on by Hudson’s Bay Company and the outlet company Off 5th.

Given that the Hudson’s Bay Company does not report its quarterly earnings, Metrick also provided its suppliers with some financial information about the state of the business: on Q2, online sales increased by +82%, with a traffic up +80% (both compared to 2019), while comparable sales in stores increased +29% (attributed to an increased productivity among style advisers). A third fulfilment centre for the online business has been also announced.

CEO Letter to Vendors The Reengineered Saks Fifth Avenue Is ‘Winning’ 

What: The department store has partnered with Hypebeast to launch the first-ever shoppable, virtual showroom featuring exclusive footwear from 11 luxury brands.

Why it is important: Neiman Marcus is experiencing growth in the luxury business overall with men's as one of the standout categories. Launching as part of its fall campaign, dubbed 'Re-Introduce Yourself’, the online campaign concept gives Neiman Marcus shoppers and Hypebeast readers access to an elevated e-commerce experience that reimagines remote shopping.

The virtual showroom is described as “a convergence of online shopping and editorial storytelling,” and features top brands in footwear: Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Balmain, Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Maison Margiela, Moncler, Off-White, Versace and Giuseppe Zanotti.

Each brand designed one-of-a-kind styles exclusive to Neiman Marcus for the initiative. For the launch, the 11 styles are set to be released exclusively on Neimanmarcus.com. Additionally, select styles will be available at all 37 Neiman Marcus stores, where style advisors will be prepared to offer their distinctive luxury sales services.

Neiman Marcus And Hypebeast Launch First Virtual Showroom

What: Kohl's is expanding its partnership with Nextech AR Solutions Corp. to build "thousands" of 3D product models to enhance consumers' e-commerce experiences at the department store as more retailers use augmented reality technologies.

Why it is important: With its Nextech partnership, Kohl's joins a growing list of retailers enlisting 3D technology to enhance its online shopping experience. AR technologies have been implemented into digital sites like Etsy and Snapchat to allow customers to virtually try on products or visualize items in their homes.

Now that the COVID-19 epidemic has sparked a rise in e-commerce, businesses are resorting to augmented reality (AR) technology to simulate the in-store buying experience and, ideally, minimize returns.

As Kohl's focuses on improving its digital shopping experience, the retailer has also experienced an uptick in sales and is making changes to its physical stores and plans to open at least 850 Sephora shop-in-shop locations within its stores by 2023, beginning with more than 70 locations across the U.S

Kohl's expands Nextech partnership to create 'thousands' of 3D product models 

Nextech AR and Kohls Expand Augmented Reality Contract For (Press Release)