What: The luxury department store has acquired a temporary license to host “micro weddings” for a limited period this year for up to 20 guests.

Why is it important: Selfridges ventures further into offering unprecedented services and customer experience.

The venture into wedding came as the answer to the growing trend for alternative and smaller-scale wedding celebrations after the COVID-19 outbreak halted wedding plans,  which makes finding a wedding venue in 2021 challenging.

Ceremonies will take place in the retailer’s new Wedding Suite on the fourth floor, which will be decorated according to couples’ chosen packages, and parties will continue at its restaurant, the Brasserie of Ligh. To mark the occasion, there will also be a wedding takeover in Selfridges’ ever-evolving Corner Shop.

Selfridges Turns Full-Service Wedding Venue 

What: As more and more retailers implement mobile checkout and contactless payment, a new ruling may have lasting implications for retail tech.

Why is it important: Adopting the right commission scheme is crucial to the omnichannel strategy.

Macy’s added mobile self-checkout to most of its retail stores in 2018, through an app enabling shoppers to scan barcodes on merchandise, and then go through a dedicated mobile checkout line. After three years of customers utilizing the retail tech, Macy’s employees have scored a victory in the case that Macy's failed to award commissions from purchases made through the app.

The grievance was filed by about 600 employees at six stores and the arbitrator ruled in favour of the union, which represents 11 000 Macy’s employees, to make the company end its practice of using its Scan and Pay mobile app to deny commissions to employees on in-store purchases.

As retailers continue to implement new omnichannel forms of shopping, the case should be kept in mind as tech plans are being drawn out.

Macy’s Ordered to Restore Commission for In-Store Mobile App Sales 

What: After years of renovation work, a USD 750 million investment, the department store will finally open on 22 or 23 June.

Why is it important: According to LVMH's initial plans, tourists (especially Chinese tourists) were to account for half of the department store’s customers. In the current situation, La Samaritaine will have to entice local, French and European customers.

Run by LVMH’s DFS subsidiary, La Samaritaine is set to host 600 brands, including 40 exclusives (the LVMH group’s leading names, as well as those of Kering and Richemont), across an area of about 20,000 square metres.

Offices, private apartments and a crèche occupy part of the 70,000-square-metre complex, which is also home to Cheval Blanc Paris, a 72-room prestige hotel designed to attract an international clientele.

Before the pandemic, and comparing La Samaritaine with the results of the Galeries Lafayette’s Haussmann branch in Paris, French trade magazine LSA estimated that the revamped department store’s annual revenue could potentially exceed EUR 500 million.

LVMH Sets Date for Reopening of La Samaritaine Department Store

What: Total consolidated sales for the first quarter of 2021 hit KRW 2.2 trillion (USD 1.9 billion).

Why is it important: Analysts expect sales to grow more than 90% year-on-year in 2021.

Total consolidated sales for the first quarter of 2021 hit KRW 2.2 trillion (USD 1.9 billion), while net profit reach KRW 89 billion (USD 78.8 million). Fashion in particular has been booming in Shinsegae’s network of department stores, with luxury, womenswear, menswear and sportswear marking year-on-year gains of 58%, 25%, 35% and 37% respectively.

Subsidiary Shinsegae International, which imports and distributes global fashion brands like Celine and Stella McCartney, reported a 21% sales boost for fashion and an 18% spurt for beauty.

Shinsegae’s duty free business, however, continues to see its airport business suffer, with sales down 92% year-on-year.

Shinsegae’s Q1 Luxury Sales Up 58% as Demand Soars

What: Mental health services are to be found at US CVS, Rite Aid and other chains.

Why is it important: While seeking to offer more services to customers, US drugstore chains are now offering on site or remote counselling.

CVS, the largest retail pharmacy in the United States, has added licensed clinical social workers trained in cognitive behavioural therapy to 13 locations. The providers will offer mental health assessments, referrals and counselling either in person or via telehealth, and this spring the company plans to expand to 34 locations in those same regions.

CVS is just one of a growing number of retailers who are recognizing the unmet need for mental health providers and hoping to fill the gap. Walmart announced it is acquiring MeMD, which offers online medical and mental health care. Walmart currently provides counselling via Walmart Health, a health centre located in a separate building alongside Walmart Supercenters. In addition, Rite Aid is piloting teletherapy in the “virtual care rooms” of 13 stores. And Walgreens is facilitating therapy appointments via the company’s web platform Walgreens Find Care, which connects customers to teletherapy from BetterHelp or Sanvello. Walgreens also offers free access to online mental health screenings through a partnership with Mental Health America.

Pricing options without insurance range between USD 129 for an initial assessment to USD 69 for a 30-minute session, with many options in between. At Walmart, the initial therapy session is USD 60 and the 45-minute follow-up sessions cost USD 45, according to the company’s website.

Pharmacies Are Entering the Mental Health Market 

What: The department store is on the move, into off-price and new merchandise categories, and toward some fierce competition.

Why is it important: Expanding its off-price Backstage business is a short-term solution, is detrimental to the brand and won’t allow Macy’s to drive trade into the full-price business. The retailer should also look at Target when developing new product categories.

Macy's calmed investors this week with a first quarter performance that beat most expectations and a plan to rehabilitate its faltering business. Macy's now faces the thorny issue of making good on these plans, which send it smack into some stiff competition from mass merchants like Target and off-price masters like TJX and Ross.

Embedded in Polaris are several disparate moves: expanding its off-price Backstage business within its stores and in more stand-alone locations, with the goal of ending the year with 270 total; establishing smaller full-line stores at strip centres; retooling its website; expanding in-demand categories like home; and getting into in-demand categories like pet supplies, toys, wine, and health and fitness.

Macy's deeper venture into off-price and its merchandising expansion in particular make sense, but invite a host of questions. Macy's is expanding its Backstage operations not only within stores but also, increasingly, as stand-alone locations, opening 33 new ones in the first quarter and adding to its final goal.

"Off-price is a sensible pivot, and where Backstage stores have been opened in existing Macy's stores, the concept seems to do well," GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said. "However, it does not drive much trade into the full-price part of the business. As such, it is only a partial solution and does not address all of Macy's underlying issues."

Going off-price has very short-term gains and long-term losses to whatever their identity is. It's a tactic to attempt to push some of their own stuff that would normally end up at T.J. Maxx. In fact, Macy's is eyeing Nordstrom, which says that customers who shop at both its full-line and off-price Rack stores are their best customers.

Macy's has to sell other merchandise, analysts also say. In fact, Macy's expansion into new categories pits it against mass merchants like Walmart, Amazon and Target, the latter in particular conquering new categories with private labels and partnerships, to the point where observers see Target as a fresh alternative to the department store. As a place of discovery, just like department stores of old were.

Where is Macy's going

What: The opening of the men’s sports department is the final phase of a refurbishment that began in 2018, grouping all men's wear on one floor.

Why is it important: Harrods' newest menswear department, a 4000 sq. ft. space dedicated to sportswear, comes as part of a GBP 300 million restoration project.

Men’s Sports is located on the second floor, with the rest of men’s wear, and stocks gear for most activities, including cycling, yoga, golf and tennis. The space houses 20 brands, while there are nine permanent, branded shop-in-shops including ON Running, Lululemon (the first men’s only destination for the brand in the U.K.), and Rapha. There is also a lifestyle skew, with brands including Canada’s Reigning Champ, EA7, Fred Perry and Lacoste.

The nine shop-in-shops surround a centralized, multi-brand area that stocks merchandise from the Italian lifestyle brand K Way, Falke sports socks and compression wear from 2XU. There is also a pop-up space beside the permanent shopfits, and that will be occupied for the duration of 2021 by the Australian cycling brand MAAP.

Harrods Pumps Up Sports Offer, Finishes Men’s Second Floor Refurb 

What: Chinese and U.S. shoppers help sales recover to pre-pandemic levels, consultancy Bain said.

Why is it important: The more likely scenario is for a full rebound in 2022.

Bain now sees a 30% probability that sales of high-end handbags, clothes and jewellery will return to or exceed their 2019 level of EUR 280 billion (USD 340 billion) this year, depending on how quickly vaccines are rolled out and tourism picks up. Its more likely scenario is for a full rebound in 2022, earlier than predicted.

Soaring sales in China and a stronger-than-expected U.S. rebound helped revenues bounce back sharply in the first quarter of 2021. Europe is lagging behind, hampered by a slower vaccination campaign and restrictions on tourism.

Bain also said that as people moved to countryside homes and worked remotely, sales in second-tier cities often went better than in big luxury capitals like New York or Milan - a factor brands will have to consider as they review their footprint.

And while handbags, leather goods and jewellery have been driving the recovery, spending on clothes, make up and perfumes is expected to pick up too as lockdowns ease and people resume going out.

Global luxury sales could return to pre-Covid levels this year

What: Saks.com received asset-based credit arranged by Bank of America and a secured term loan arrangement by Pathlight Capital.

Why it is important: The capital will allow Saks.com to become even more competitive in the luxury e-commerce market.

Saks is preparing for growth in its new life as an independent e-commerce business, separate from the brick-and-mortar origins. Although they are two separate entities, the digital Saks assures that it will still have a seamless connection to the Saks Fifth store chain.

With the new facility and term loan, Saks hopes to use the new capital to increase its stronghold in the growing e-commerce luxury market.

Saks.com generates USD 1 billion in sales and was able to pick up younger shoppers amid the pandemic. The retailers indicated that there will be some investments in building a hybrid retail and marketplace platform.

The digital Saks raises $465M in debt capital to fuel growth 

What: Online rental businesses are penetrating the mainstream further by venturing into white label solutions.

Why is it important: Fashion rental businesses were one of lockdown’s most unlikely winners, Hurr being one of the leaders and bringing Selfridges on board.

Rental pioneers including Hurr, On Loan and My Wardrobe HQ are all launching white label solutions this month, and everyone from major department stores, such as Selfridges, to contemporary brands, are jumping on board.

“The idea is that we’re powering the tech and the operations. It’s completely hands-off from the brand’s point of view, we do everything from using AI to power the smart-tagging of products to dry cleaning. Instead of having to invest millions of pounds into building their own rental operations after the pandemic, we’re telling retailers or brands ‘We’ve done it, and we can do it for you,'” said Hurr founder Victoria Prew. Selfridges is her first client.

Hurr has so far operated on its own platform, using both the peer-to-peer model and also stock from brands, which helps them to offer a greater variety and more depth of stock than a peer-to-peer only model.

In 2019, the company launched its first Selfridges concession and it was a hit. Ahead of Christmas, thousands of women used the service to rent festive pieces, according to Prew. It now has a permanent space within the department. Over the last year, the company had 2 million hits on its own site with people booking their rentals up to four months in advance, while still in lockdown, and driving what she said have been record revenues.

My Wardrobe HQ is another London-based re-commerce business debuting My Ventures, its own take on white label solutions across both rental and resale, to allow for bespoke solutions. “For some brands, rental is attractive as it provides a more accessible price point to a new Millennial audience, as well as a sustainable solution and marketing narrative. For others, resale is a more appropriate solution,” said Natalia Pawlak, the business’ COO.

“Blockchain is imperative for authenticity — we’re in a new age with all the buzz around NFT solutions from luxury brands such as Gucci. Gone are the days of certificates in boxes. Our blockchain solution solidifies item ownership and also provides the brands with automated recurring revenue which they haven’t seen before,” she added.

If the rental market is going to take the next step and go mass, brands and retailers will need to get more involved and put their own stock up for rent, according to Prew. Luxury players are now starting to see the opportunity too with discussions “coming forward five years,” said Prew, who thinks there’s no reason for apprehension – only a “mass market opportunity” to unlock a younger consumer base of environmentally conscious Gen Z-ers and Millennials. Rental is also more focused on trend or occasion pieces versus the brand classics customers prefer to invest in, so adopting the model won’t “cannibalise primary market sales” in any way.

Luxury Fashion’s Rental Market Is Ready for Takeoff 

What: Adidas collaborates with Allbirds to learn more about sustainable alternatives

Why it is important: The key to lower carbon impact might lie in collaboration, not competition.

In 2016, Allbirds changed the manufacturing landscape with the introduction of its eco-friendly sneaker.

The company has teamed up with Adidas to release a new shoe as the latest entry in Adidas’ Futurecraft line of technologically advanced apparel. The Futurecraft.Footprint is a high-performance running shoe with a far smaller environmental impact.

Adidas and Allbirds evaluated the entire manufacturing process to reduce carbon emissions, starting with the materials. The shoe is made from 70% recycled polyester and 30% Tencel, a fiber material made from wood pulp. The shoe only comes in pure white because dyeing is also an energy intensive process.

The shoes will go on sale to the public in the fall.

Adidas and Allbirds Team Up to Make Sustainable Running Shoes

What: The retailer's in-store traffic continues to grow, even as nonessential retailers come back to life.

Why is it important: Thanks to drive-up services and online orders fulfilled in store, physical retail accounted for over 95% of total sales this quarter alone.

The retailer revealed quarterly earnings, improving across all channels and logging more than USD 2 billion in profits during the last three months. “Our stores were the star of the show this quarter, with Q1 comp-store sales increasing by 18%, fuelled almost entirely by traffic,” Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target.

And as consumers continued to visit Target’s stores, same-day services also continued to rise, up more than 90% during the quarter. Drive-up services had the biggest growth, up 123% during the quarter, year-over-year.

The company’s total revenues topped USD 24.1 billion for the three-month period ending 1 May, up from USD 19.6 billion a year earlier. First quarter comparable sales grew 22.9% during the quarter, with store comparable sales up 18%, year-over-year. Digital comparable sales also continued to grow, up 50% in the last three month, compared with a year earlier. That’s on top of the 141% growth during 2020’s first quarter.

By category, Cornell said there was comp sales growth in apparel, home and hardlines during the quarter. Apparel sales rose 60%, thanks to a mix of Target’s own brands and partnership with national brands.

Target Stores Remain Center of Its Omnichannel Universe 

What: Located on central Piazza Fiume, the store will be subjected to a radical remodeling to be fully disclosed in August 2023.

Why is it important: Mostly relying on local customers, the store will focus on the food hall, as well as on women’s shoes and beauty.

According to Rinascente’s business plan, Roma Piazza Fiume, which will host the collections of more than 500 brands, will generate EUR 50 million of net sales within five years from the end of the renovation.

Building owner Prelios SGR revealed the renovation agreement with Rinascente to restore the building was signed in April 2020, during the first lockdown. Despite Rome certainly being one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, the store on Piazza Fiume mainly relies on local consumers, which account for 98% of its around one million annual visitors.

The renovation, which will require an investment of EUR 37 million (EUR 23 million will be paid by Prelios SGR’s Megas fund, Rinascente will disburse EUR 9 million and concession brands will invest EUR 5 million to decorate their spaces), will address the facade, the interiors and the outdoor space around the building, including a garden.

A big focus will be put on the food hall on the last floor, as well as on women’s shoes and beauty. As the company traditionally does with its stores, Rinascente assigned the renovations of the levels to different architecture firms in order to create customized and diverse spaces.

In June 2020, the company, launched its e-commerce, which is currently available only for Italian consumers. The online store is still in a developing phase, and don’t carry all the concession brands yet. They should join soon, contributing to reach Rinascente’s five-year goal of EUR 100 million in sales.

In 2020, Rinascente saw its net sales decreasing 35%. The business is expected to return to pre-Covid figures in 2022. In 2019, the company generated net sales of EUR 800 million.

Rinascente Piazza Fiume Store in Rome to Be Fully Renovated by 2023 

What: HBC follows the steps of Macy’s and Kith and is the first retailer in Canada to back an inclusivity-oriented non-profit organisation

Why it is important:  Declarations are not enough anymore for retailers and brands to display their beliefs and values. Nowadays, commitments are needed to appeal to their communities of shoppers and this goes through adhering to locally relevant organisations. It might differ from a country to another, given local social and cultural context, however this is clearly becoming a norm.

The Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay announced it has joined the non profit organisation The 15 Percent Pledge. By doing so, the company (which operates 88 locations in North America) commits into displaying a minimum of 15% of black or indigenous people-owned brands in its assortment.

The 15 Percent Pledge, based on the fact that Black people represent 15% of the total US population, was launched in 2020 during civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Runt the Runway, Sephora, Vogue, Macy’s or Kith are among the 22 companies backing this non-profit organisation.

Hudson’s Bay has become the first Canadian department store

What:  Japan reported a +5.2% growth in retail sales during the month of March

Why it is important: All department stores were forced to close on April 25 and are expected to remain shuttered until the end of May. It shows both the constant appetite from customers to get back to ‘normal retail’ and the fragility of economical situations all across the world.

Retail sales grew +5.2% in March due to the fact that customers were in high demand after shutdown and disruptions related to Covid-19 crisis. This allowed department stores to post an even higher demand, of +19.3%, in the beginning of the Spring season. However it is expected that this trend will not live long, given the fact that the Japanese government is reported to be currently examining maintaining the lockdown measures until the end of the month, in order to make the situation clear and safe for the Tokyo Olympics which will occur during the coming month of July.

Japanese retail sales rise

What: The department store says it’s seeing a “rebound” in business, which is expressed to stakeholders in a confidential report with preliminary fiscal third-quarter results.

Why is it important: The report details a Q3 rebound in sales that challenges speculation on the state of its business since emerging from bankruptcy last September.

The report provides guidance on comparable fiscal third-quarter sales, indicating a 43 to 44% gain in the third quarter compared to the 2020 period, and a 6 to 7% decline from the third quarter of 2019. The report also indicates that Neiman’s USD 900 million asset-backed loan, led by Bank of America and a consortium of commercial banks, is fully undrawn.

In the recent months, the company has been dogged by speculation of declining support by certain vendors curbing wholesale distribution, switching to concession business models, and being outperformed by competitors, putting Neiman’s under steady scrutiny. The third-quarter report challenges some of the months of speculation on the state of the business.

Citing some trends, the report said see now, buy now and newness are selling, and that the company is working with brands to support that with more frequent merchandise drops. While women’s is generally still soft, the department store have seen a shift in women’s contemporary, bridal and swim indicating signs of a recovery More shorts were sold in February this year than in June last year. The uptick in women’s contemporary reflects women starting to get out and socialize. Men’s sneakers and the designer business are strong, and much of the men’s business is coming from younger customers.

NMG’s CEO sees “a real desire for luxury and we are capturing more share of that demand.…We finished Q2 and entered Q3 with much less inventory than prior years. Full-price selling is significantly up. We moved markdowns later, by four to six weeks. Historically we would have May markdowns. We moved them to June and July. We are promoting full price and it is working.” On the downside, tourism continues to be really nonexistent.

Though Neiman’s is presenting a brighter picture, it must significantly sustain revenue gains to manage its remaining debt and maintain solid relationships with vendors. NMG’s total revenues for its last fiscal year were USD 3.65 billion, compared to USD 4.66 billion the year before.

Neiman Marcus Group Cites Sales Rebound 

What: Dillard’s reported first quarter 2021 sales of USD 1,328.5 million, an increase of 73% over the previous year.

Why is it important: The strong sales and earnings performance indicates that customers returned to shop following the pandemic.

Last year due to Covid-19, customers were forced to stay at home. However, as the warmer weather arrives, vaccinations increases, and stimulus money releases, Dillard’s sales increased over 2019 levels.

In addition, Dillard’s limited-edition capsule collection which was developed by Kimberly Whitman for Antonio Melani will make shopping even more interesting as it features feminine prints, strong colors, and dresses for entertaining.

Dillard’s is expected to have strong selling and earning results in the second quarter as customers are attentively returning for their social occasion needs.

Dillard’s Beats Expectations And There’s More Good News To Come

What: Senior officials told shareholders the company continued to innovate through the pandemic and is more agile.

Why is it important: At the start of 2020, digital accounted for 30% of sales, but the pandemic pushed digital to 54% by the fourth quarter last year.

Nordstrom strengthened its financial situation through “aggressive” expense savings and reduced base salaries of the executive team, said CEO Erik Nordstrom. The Seattle-based retailer ended its fourth quarter with USD 1.5 billion in liquidity, and fully paid back on its USD 800 million credit facility.

Through 2020, a big part of the program involved implementing integrations between the Nordstrom department stores, Rack off-price stores and Nordstrom Local doors, and offering more selection (from 300,000 items to potentially 1.5 million over the next three to five years), faster delivery and access to services.

Nordstrom has forecast annual revenue to reach USD 17 billion in the next three to five years, which compares to USD 10.38 billion in sales last year, and USD 15.13 billion in 2019.

Despite the Ordeal of the Pandemic, Nordstrom Cites Progress 

What: Luxury demand soars, allowing the retailer to reduce net losses

Why is it important: Operating income for the January-March period rose 18.5% on-year to KRW 61.8 billion.

The operator reported net losses for the quarter ending in March that narrowed to KRW 40.6 billion (USD 36.5 million) from KRW 43.3 billion during the same period in 2020.

Lotte attributed this improved performance to demand for luxury goods in its department stores. The group’s discount and supermarket chains, however, are seeing less of a rebound. The company’s sales fell 4.8% to KRW 3.9 trillion (USD 3.5 billion) from last year’s KRW 4.1 trillion (USD 3.7 billion).

Lotte Shopping’s Losses Narrow as Luxury Demand Soars 

What: Its second beauty outlet opened at Centre:mk shopping centre in Milton Keynes, north-west London, after a first opening in Lakeside, Essex, last September.

Why is it important: Through its new concept, Harrods aims to develop locally and will take into account the specificities of the local communities.

The new store, of nearly 2,700 square meters, offers a wide selection of high-end and luxury brands. According to the British brand, the rollout of this new concept aims to "bring Harrods' expertise in beauty, selection and luxury shopping experience to new consumers across the

UK. Each store is developed taking into account the local "beauty" community, to offer the latest products and experiences, often for the first time."

The "Playtable" space provides access to professional hairdressers, make-up demonstrations and product tests, while the "Skincare Station" area offers tailor-made consultations and treatments, not to mention the "Click and Collect" shop, available from 6 May.

From May 17, when restaurants will be able to reopen their interior spaces, H Beauty will also inaugurate the Champagne Bar, a 44-seat space with a "regressive menu of pastries and cocktails".

Harrods développe son enseigne H Beauty en Angleterre

What: Fashion is picking up again in the US following the combined action of stores reopening, stimulus checks and vaccination process

Why it is important:  Low key fashion remains the norm: customers tend to favour “hybrid” products, mixing comfort with practicality. Formal fashion is not yet back on track.

American customers prepare to return to the office and have started to visit stores in that perspective, taking advantage of the safer situation, a need for change, and stimulus checks. This translates into close to pre pandemic footfall in stores (-3.5% during the April 5 week, compared with 2019) and increases in fashion items purchases.

However, this is not the return to high-ticket formal items: customers kept from the lockdown periods a taste for comfort, and want to keep on enjoy it. For instance, Randa Apparel & Accessories discovered that customers tended to stay in sweatpants and carry only a few credit cards when moving within a radius of less than 2 miles. If they travel farther than 2 miles, they put on pants and grab a wallet. This translates into new ‘hot’ items:

• Slippers with leather soles
• Cargo pants and wide-leg Levi’s jeans
• Waist cropped tops
• Sport sandals

These buying patterns have been observed across the board, including at Sak’s, Levi’s, Revolve.

Cargo Pants and Outdoor Slippers Are Hot, as Americans Return to Stores

What: A pop up dedicated to teen customers

Why it is important:  The concept seems pretty simple (pink & flashy décor, a stage for social events). If this is what it takes to lure in 11 – 15 years old, department stores should watch carefully how this popup fares.

Mango launches in early May a new test store on Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, aiming directly at 11 – 15 years old.

The brand displays on 200 sqm its teen range, launched six months ago, and features a stage to allow teens to record videos for Tik Tok and other social media.

The duration of this pop-up is not precised and the brand has not made any official communication on this topic.

Mango Opens Dedicated Teen Pop-Up Store 

What: Standard & Poors Global Ratings raised its outlook for Macy's from negative to positive, signalling that the retailer could get an upgrade from its current B+ credit rating in the coming months.

Why is it important: Encouraging signs of an accelerating economic recovery are emerging, and operating conditions for apparel retailers are fast improving.

Over the course of 2020, Macy's was downgraded by S&P multiple times. About a year ago, when S&P lowered Macy's rating to B+, analysts with the agency said that more downgrades could come if sales and profits remain depressed from a prolonged pandemic or macroeconomic slump.

In 2021, along with vaccines, multiple rounds of federal stimulus have lifted consumer spending. S&P's noted that Macy's, as digital sales expanded, boosted its omnichannel capabilities during the year. The analysts also noted that Macy's picked up new customers as competitors J.C. Penney and Belk filed for bankruptcy, giving the retailer an opportunity to expand its market share, especially in digital shopping.

S&P turns positive on Macy's as apparel, economy gain steam 

What: IT splits its business in two and focuses on the retail operations

Why it is important:  A long-term partner of international retailers (Galeries Lafayette, Dover Street Market), I.T.  missed the digital turnaround a decade ago and has suffered from the recent situation in Hong Kong, now forcing it to focus on the retail business in priority.

Famous HK-based I.T. multibrand business is delisting from the HK stock exchange, and splitting into 2 entities: the A Bathing Ape streetwear brand (acquired a decade ago) and the store operations, including partnerships with Galeries Lafayette and Dover Street Market.

I.T. has notoriously lagged behind in terms of e-commerce penetration (like many other HK-based retailers such as Lane Crawford and Joyce) and suffered during the 2019 protests. It is estimated that they lost 32% of turnover in the first half of 2020.

I.T. Delists From Hong Kong Stock Exchange