What: Matchesfashion, which has been without a chief executive officer since March, has picked former Printemps chief Paolo de Cesare for the top job.

Why it is important: Matchesfashion had focused its search within fashion and retail to find an industry insider who understands the business, the power of the brand, and the importance of differentiation in a crowded market where size and scale matter.

The retailer confirmed that de Cesare will succeed Ajay Kavan, who made a surprise exit from Matchesfashion after just 12 months on the job, and said he will take up his role later this year.

Maureen Chiquet, who has served as executive chairwoman of Matchesfashion since March, will return to her position on the board when de Cesare begins his tenure as CEO. A Chanel veteran, she has been running the operation during the transition period.

Matchesfashion Picks Paolo de Cesare as CEO 

What: An interview of the largest Thai supermarket chain e-commerce and digital director.

Why it is important: In addition to the numbers, 2 elements seem interesting: they are maximizing the profitability of their fulfilment centres by opening stores in the warehouse allowing to decrease waste and sell products on site, and, since they are not satisfied with their Information System, they plan to build one in-house and sell it to other retailers afterwards.

Central Food Retail represented in 2020 a turnover of €2.1 bn achieved in more than 1,000 stores of 1,400 sqm on average. E-commerce now represents 10% of this turnover, achieved in e-commerce only (no marketplace). They sell online more than 40,000 skus (25,000 from stores and 15,000 from their 2 dedicated warehouse).

On average, orders represent €33 with 20 items in the basket, significantly above the market average, and occur twice a month. Central Group retail is able to fulfil from stores (62%) or from its 68 online hubs (38%) and deliver within 25 minutes. Once stores have to fulfil a level of more than 250 orders a day, fulfilment is then performed from the online hubs.

Regarding their 2 fulfilment centres, since they are dealing with fresh goods with limited time life, they are now testing a small store located at the front of them to maximize profitability and reduce waste.

Thai market has some specificities:

• Their fulfilment model works mainly manually thanks to the cheap cost of labour. As a consequence, automatization would be difficult to be made profitable,
• Deliveries are charged €1.6 for orders less than €23 and €2.2 for 1 hour express ones. Interestingly, the express delivery fee is the same independently of the amount. They also offer a 25 mn super express delivery, which is fulfilled only with stores and delivered through third parties.

For the CDO, challenges are:

• How to increase NPS and reach a target of 70
• How to technically stay on par with the volume of activities. The current systems are not adequate with their needs, and Central plans to build its own in-house solution (and sell it)
• Increase scale and capacity now that the online model is profitable (again, thanks to the cheap labour costs in Thailand).

The Thai example of Central Food Retail - Understanding the elements of online profitability

What: The consumer behavior study revealed changes in comfort levels, the impact of the delta variant and increased expectations for store associates.

Why it is important: Even with the Delta variant to consider, new findings from NewStore, the omnichannel store solution, show that 42% of consumers will not change how often they shop in-store.

The survey also revealed that 45% of consumers even feel more comfortable shopping in-store now than they did a year ago. Interestingly, consumers age 65 and over were the most comfortable at 60%, compared to just 41% of consumers age 55 to 64 and 46% of those between the ages of 45 to 54. Just 36% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 24 and 39% of consumers 25 to 34 say they were more comfortable shopping in-store now than they were last year.

At the same time, nearly 30% of consumers said their expectations for store associates have increased since the pandemic. Among the growing expectations for associates was the demand for a more seamless checkout. Customers also want to be able to meet them for curbside pickup, and expect them to be equipped with a mobile device in-store.

Other expectations for store associates included being able to share store inventory without having to physically check, the ability to return or exchange an online purchase in-store without a receipt and the ability to sell a shopper something that isn’t available in-store and ship it.

Consumers also expect store associates to communicate with them outside of the in-store experience. This includes 22% of consumers saying they believe that store associates should meet virtually through video chat for a 1:1 shopping appointment and 37% of consumers also said they believed store associates should be able to text them about new arrivals, product availability, promotions and store events.

Consumers are Becoming More Demanding of Store Associates

What: The half-year report showed an improvement on the prior-year period but its results were still far below some of the figures it produced just a few years ago.

Why it is important: John Lewis said that including exceptional items, the Partnership made a loss before tax of GBP 29 million. This was a “significant improvement” on last year’s loss before tax of GBP 635 million. However, on that basis, the result was significantly down from the 2019/20 profit before tax of GBP 192 million.

For the first six months of the year, its profit before exceptional items was GBP 69 million. That was GBP 124 million up on the 2020/21 year, when the Partnership made a loss of GBP 55 million.

On a two-year comparison (2YoY) against the pre-pandenic period, it also showed an improvement as the first half of 2019/20 had seen it making a loss of GBP 52 million. It was helped by the cost reductions it has been driving through and it made savings of GBP 66 million in the first half, as well as receiving business rates relief of GBP 58 million. But while that rates relief boosted it artificially, it also faced exceptional costs of GBP 98 million in the half as it settled lease obligations due to shop closures and dealt with major redundancy costs.

It saw a 6% increase in sales across the Partnership (but gave no monetary figures) and the John Lewis department stores chain and its webstore saw “strong sales growth” in the first half, up 12% on last year (and up 13% like-for-like). This was slightly up (by 1%) on 2019/20 but was 11% higher like-for-like. Almost 75% of sales were online in the first half, broadly the same as last year, and significantly up on the pre-pandemic 40%.

Margins also “rebounded strongly against last year as we returned to a more balanced pattern of trade”, it said. That meant it shifted “fewer laptops, [but saw] more lamps and linen sales”. In fact, Technology sales were flat year-on-year while growth was strong in Home (up 23%), Fashion (up 22%) and Nursery (up 18%).

John Lewis sales improve but profits remain muted

John Lewis unaudited results for half-year ended 31 July 2021

What: The discount retailer is leaning heavily on omnichannel capabilities to reach more customers and introduce them to the Nordstrom experience.

Why it is important: The off-pricer significantly boosted its digital capabilities when its website transitioned to the nordstrom.com platform, increasing its processing power from five orders a second to at least 500 a second. This will be crucial to accomplishing its stated goal of boosting its incremental revenues to USD 2 billion.

This past year, the Rack introduced a next-day buy online, pick up in store service for transactions on its own website and on nordstrom.com. And consumers are taking full advantage of it, according to Rack president Geevy Thomas. “During our Anniversary Sale — which the Rack is not a part of — 40% of our next-day BOPIS orders for Nordstrom were picked up in a Rack store.”

The retailer also created a shared inventory that allows brick-and-mortar stores to fulfil online orders and it introduced a ship-to-store option. Additionally, the Rack has long accepted returns for any Nordstrom purchase. “But now you can get your Rack returns processed at Nordstrom, so we’re really making it seamless for customers,” he added.

Digital also can help the retailer make deeper in-roads with Gen Z and Millennial customers. Indeed, the Rack continues to serve as an access point for new customers, who often graduate to the full-line store. That’s one reason the company continues to position the two banners in close physical proximity.

Compared to others in the off-price channel, Nordstrom Rack has one of the smallest store counts, but it has a unique advantage in how it can work with brands. Competitors don’t have a full-price business. The majority of Nordstrom’s buyers buy for both the full-price channel and the off-price channel. So when they’re talking to a designer in the showroom, they’re talking about how to maximize this product in full price and how to get another bite at the apple in off-price.

Rack facts:

• 80% of the brands at Nordstrom are carried in Rack stores.
• USD 350 million+ in returns from Nordstrom were processed in Rack stores.
• 2.2 million+ Nordstrom Rack apps have been downloaded since 2019.
• 80% of Nordstrom managers started as Rack managers.

Nordstrom Rack Rides the Digital Wave

What: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail is looking to enter the premium department store segment by early next year.

Why it is important: The new department store format will take on incumbents in the space, such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle International.

The new department store chain is expected to house Reliance Brands- and Reliance Retail-affiliated brands, as well as the company’s private label brands and foreign and Indian and brands outside of the Reliance stable.

India’s Reliance Retail to Launch Premium Department Store Chain 

What: Macy’s Media Network (MMN), the company’s in-house retail media agency, has expanded its offering to include Bloomingdale’s for its advertising partnerships.

Why it is important: The addition of Bloomingdale’s to MMN further solidifies its positioning as the nation’s premiere retail media advertising destination for aspirational goods.

Following a successful launch on macys.com, the in-house media company has recently expanded to Bloomingdale’s. Within the first few months of launching, more than 50 on-site advertising campaigns have been featured on bloomingdales.com. Bloomingdales already represents more than 20% of onsite display campaigns, showing an outsized interest of advertisers in luxury shoppers.

With more than 500 million unique visits to macys.com and 60 million unique visits to bloomingdales.com in the second quarter of 2021, the ecommerce properties of Macy’s Inc are strong advertising platforms.

Macy’s Media Network Expands Brand Experience Offerings to Bloomingdale’s 

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