What: the launch of a new category through a pop-up dedicated to sexual wellness featuring inclusive lingerie and sextoys.

Why it is important: in April 2020, sexual wellness brands saw sales spike during lockdowns, as people were looking for ways to take care of themselves. Nordstrom follows up on that trend and launches a new sexual wellness category through their latest pop-up:  Pop-In@Nordstrom Self Love.

The pop-up features lingerie and loungewear brands with a focus on inclusive sizing and shades, sustainable fabrics and ethical production. The taboo-free curation of products also features jewellery, personal care and sextoys.

Nordstrom's Vice President of Creative Projects Olivia Kim said: "We wanted to take a different approach to the idea of wellbeing, whether it’s about looking good or feeling good, self-care, empowerment, and love are at the heart of our latest Pop-In@Nordstrom." "I’m excited to bring our customers a modern, bold, and inclusive shopping experience designed to destigmatize pleasure and leave our customers feeling strong, confident, comfortable, and non-apologetic about self-love,” she added.

The Self Love Pop-Inwill run from 15 January to 14 March in selected stores and online.

NORDSTROM’S SEXUAL WELLNESS CATEGORY LAUNCHES WITH VIBRATORS, LINGERIE, AND MORE

Link to website: Pop-In@Nordstrom Self Love website

Related item:

• Sexual wellness brands see sales spike during lockdowns.

What: a series of pre-emptive moves from Lotte Duty Free in Vietnam to anticipate the travel demand recovery.

Why it is important: by teaming up with the Vietnamese leader and proposing new payment services, Lotte is significantly expanding its footprint on a fast-growing market.

Lotte Duty Free, which already operates 3 stores and building another one, just announced its partnership with IPPG, the leader on the market with 70% market share, to open the fifth location in the oldest mall in Hanoi, the Trang Tien Plaza. This move is made in expectation of a travel demand surge during the second semester of 2021. In order to be completely on par with market’s expectations, Lotte also launched an e-wallet payment service, a premiere for a Korean retailer. E-wallets are highly popular in Vietnam, as they are used by 21% of customers.

Lotte Duty Free launches Vietnamese e-wallet payment services

Lotte Duty Free signs agreement with IPPG to open downtown store in Hanoi next year

What: two business partnering to offer experience to customers

Why it is important: experiential retail was soaring when the pandemic hit the world and put a stop to any type of gatherings and happenings, even forcing many retailers to close their stores in a bid to slow down the spread of the virus, loosing benefits in the process. Now 7-Eleven is partnering with start-up AirBnb to offer gaming nights to clients, in a way to generate revenue in a critical time and attract new customers.

The partnership will allow for customers, for USD 11, to spend the night at a newest 7-Eleven Evolution Store concept location in Dallas turned into a “gaming palace”. People can  enjoy video games items such as the new PlayStation 5. Other features include unlimited Slurpees (slushies) and a one-hour Twitch streaming session with gamer FaZe Temperrr, founder of the gaming organization FaZe Clan.

For 7-Eleven it is a way to market the opening of its latest concept 7-Eleven Evolution Store in Dallas. Apart from the merchandising and product offering innovations, the evolution relates back to the same points: safe means of payment, queue and customer experience management, integration into local communities.

Giving a gaming focus to the marketing around opening the newest experiential store in an attempt to engage the 79% of people in the U.S. aged 13 and up that identify as gamers. “Everyone knows that the PlayStation 5 console launch has been one of the biggest headlines in the gaming world the past few months," 7-Eleven Chief Marketing Officer Marissa Jarratt said in a statement. Giving fans access to a PlayStation 5 makes 7-Eleven the latest brand to market around the new console to attract new customers.

7-Eleven turns latest experiential store into 'gaming palace' Airbnb

What: Macy’s continues to streamline by closing 45 stores in 2021, after 29 in 2020.

Why it is important: US department stores are waking up: big is not always beautiful when not profitable.

Within the 3 years strategic plan, Macy’s is planning to close 45 stores this year, out of 540 stores at the end of 2020 (after having closed 29 stores the same year). The locations will be disclosed later in Q1 and is part of an overall plan of closing 125 stores in order to focus on e-commerce and m-commerce. The goal of this plan is to save USD 1.5 bn over the next 3 years, after an overall saving of USD 600 m in 2020.

Macy's closing 45 more stores in 2021 as part of its restructuring 

What: the opening of a space dedicated to the musical universe

Why it is important: following Printemps Group announcement to close three Citadium stores, the Haussmann flagship has been undergoing major changes. It started with a review of the assortment in order to become a genderless store, and is followed with the opening of an new event space. Retailers, and department stores, have suffered from the covid crisis and need to find new ways to attract customers instore; hosing events is an option.

The Citadium Studio is located on the store’s 1st floor, and hosts talks, programs, mini-concerts and signing sessions. Citadium has joined forces with four entities that operate in the world of urban music, namely Ptit Délire TV (youtubeur), Rinse France (radio), Hotel Radio Paris (radio) and Wave (media). The cultural place hosts various events from Wednesdays to Sundays (except Fridays), and a sales area features t-shirts and vinyls as well as hi-fi equipment. The events are broadcast live on the store screens, as well as on the merchant site.

Le Citadium Haussmann ouvre un espace événementiel dédié à la musique

Citadium Haussmann opens an event space dedicated to music

Related item:

• Printemps closes stores

What: the search for a new CEO at US chain JCPenney

Why it is important: JCPenney has been saved from bankruptcy and purchased by real estate giants Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Simon Property Group last November. Now former CEO Jill Soltau has exited the company, and Chief Investment Officer of Simon Property Group Stanley Shashoua is acting as interim ceo since 1 January

The owners also said a temporary office of the ceo, to include key members of Penney’s current leadership team, will be established. Soltau has had an extensive career in retailing and worked within Kohl’s and Sears before joining JCPenney in October 2018.

J.C. Penney Seeks New CEO

Related item:

• JC Penney exits bankruptcy

What: the revamp of the private label Xersion, ahead of the launch of new private brands in 2021.

Why is it important: the re-launch follows the repositioning of JCPenney and the launch of other private labels last year including its Stylus apparel and Linden Street home brands. It is also a strategic move to rebrand its activewear line as the demand for athleisure and comfort clothing has skyrocketed since the pandemic.

Initially launched in 2008, Xersion activewear assortment is now redesigned from the inside out with Penney’s new innovative and exclusive EVERAIR™ fabrication, a quick dry, breathable technology. The size-inclusive line is available at all JCP stores and online, and caters to men, women and children, regardless of the fitness level.

JCPenney has been saved from bankruptcy in November 2020 and is now repositioning itself under new ownership. It’s not the first retailer to rethink its assortment: this month UK Marks & Spencer extended its existing women activewear line Goodmove to cater to men and children also. Last October US competitor Kohl’s launched new athleisure private label dubbed FLX.

JCPenney Reinvents Xersion® Activewear Brand 

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• M&S extends activewear line-up
• Kohl’s bets on athleisure; launches new private brand

What: former department store spaces turn into vaccines centres

Why it is important: Vacant retail spaces have emerged as anchors of public-health infrastructures in the U.S. since coronavirus outbreak.

US department chain Sear went bankrupt a few years ago, before the pandemic, and left many of empty locations behind itself. The vast floor plans give enough space for workers and vaccine recipients to adhere to social-distancing guidelines.

Earlier during the outbreak, health officials were looking for easy-to-access locations with large parking lots to set up tents as testing centres. Vacant department stores spaces, and even struggling or closed malls where used to that end. John Turner, vice president of Cayuga Health System, said: “with all the retail gone you’ve got this big open area. You’re able to actually bring people through.”

The Florida Department of Health operates a drive-through vaccine clinic in the parking lot of a former Sears at the Gulf View Square Mall. “It was vacant at the time we needed it, and the logistics of parking and a place to have staff out of the weather made it a great location,” a county spokeswoman said.

To be able to use these empty spaces to try and stop the pandemic is the only silver lining of the tragic outcome that forced many retailers to liquidate.

Finally, a Use for the Old Sears: Covid-19 Vaccine Center

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• IADS insights - SEARS: a victim of old age, mismanagement or evolution?

What: Globus announced to Press its intention to maintain its CHF 300 million investment plan in spite of the difficulties created by 2020 and the pandemic.

Why it is important: Globus was acquired by Central Group and Signa in Feb 2020, showing the investors’ support in spite of the context, significantly degraded since then.

Franco Savastano, Globus CEO, declared to press that the CHF 300 million investment plan that was in the pipe will remain maintained, with a clear focus on store renovations (Zurich in March 2021, followed by Geneva and Basel in 2022) and e-commerce. Globus is clearly aiming at positioning itself as a luxury destination, and reports an increase of 50% in e-commerce sales, from 10 to 15% of total contribution.

Globus confirme son intention d'investir 300 millions et de maintenir ses sites 

What: a US department store chain looking to file for administration in an attempt to protect itself

Why it is important: like many department stores in the US, Belk has been suffering from the changes in consuming habits and from the health crisis. Now it is about to enter a deal to file for bankruptcy, taking the department store chain through a pre-arranged restructuring of its debt

Covid-19 has been tough on retailers all over the world, and to cope with that Southern department store Belk had to delay and halt payments to some vendors; now it is looking at bankruptcy in an attempt to salvage its business. Owned by Sycamore, the retailer could hand an ownership stake to lenders.

Belk Department Store Chain Said to Plan Bankruptcy to Tame Debt

What: Infrastructure investments are being made in logistics to deal with the pandemic.

Why is it important: Yet more elements of digital commerce are being built up to deal with the explosion in the format provoked by the pandemic. The future is bound to be impacted by these investments.

The Financial Times argues that e-commerce companies are building logistics networks that will last for decades. In spite of the last tech bubble bursting, foundations were nevertheless laid such as fibre-optic cable and capacity that reduced broadband costs which have served the growth of Google, Amazon and Facebook years later.

The argument here is that the current pandemic-fuelled e-commerce boom is building physical infrastructure and networks which will last for a long time. Examples include courier and driver networks, and delivery warehouses, big and small, often automated. Amazon has struck a deal with the City of London to turn 39 car parking spaces into a last mile logistics hub.

Delivery vehicles are the most common sight in many areas. Others are creating “dark stores” and “cloud kitchens”. In North America, it is the cities outside the 100 largest metropolitan areas that are the fastest-growing e-commerce markets. Even if the e-commerce bubble does deflate after the pandemic, we will be left with a much stronger logistics network.

In a further article, the FT claims that investment in DCs in the UK in 2020 reached  £ 4.7 bn, 25% more than the previous year and £ 500 m more than the record set in 2014. While retail landlords are suffering, established warehouse owners are thriving. This is expected to continue into 2021.

The pandemic tech boom is reshaping our cities 

UK WAREHOUSE INVESTMENTS HITS RECORD HIGH AS SHOPPERS SHIFT ONLINE

What: new online events to cater to customers during the lockdowns.

Why it is important: retailers in UK are suffering from new lockdown measures, forcing them to close their doors. Retailers need to reinvent the way they do business and need to find ways to stay relevant and to stay in touch with their customers; and hosting virtual events are a good solution.

In April 2020, when lockdowns started to be implemented almost worldwide and stores were forced to close, UK’s John Lewis launched several online experiences to provide advice, inspiration and support to customers in nursery, home and personal styling.

Now that the country is under lockdown again with non-essential stores closed, John Lewis is relaunching its virtual event programme with more experiences such as cooking classes, sewing classes, styling advice (dressing for the perfect Zoom date or finding the best wellness wardrobe).

These events come after John Lewis Partnership delivered its "most virtual Christmas to date" with more than 100 experiences across November and December 2020.

John Lewis unveils experiences for locked-down consumers

John Lewis online experiences

John Lewis online events programme

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• John Lewis launches virtual experiences
• John Lewis launches a virtual Christmas Shop

What: the acquisition of the UK bankrupt department store

Why it is important: Debenhams filed for administration in April 2020 and started liquidating stores in December 2020. After announcing that some stores would permanently shut, the retailer has been bought by UK retail group Boohoo

Boohoo is acquiring the Debenhams brands, its fashion sub-brands (such as Mantaray and Principles), and its websites for GBP 55 million. Retail stores, stock and financial services are not included in the deal. The closing down sale will continue in stores (when allowed to reopen following the government guidelines) and once the stock is liquidated all the UK stores will be permanently closed. Which means that thousands of jobs should be lost.

The acquisition is the opportunity for Boohoo to expand into beauty and homewares, and extend its brand offering. It plans to “rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams [established online] platform […]” in order to operate a giant online marketplace, which will also support the group’s other labels including Pretty Little Things, Nasty Gal, Oasis, and more.

According to Debenhams' press release, the deal does not affect Danish department store Magasin du Nord, which continues to operate independently.

PR: boohoo to acquire certain assets of Debenhams UK [...]

FN: Boohoo buys Debenhams for £55m, marks big move into beauty, home

FT: Boohoo set to acquire Debenhams brand

What: Closure of landmark department store

Why it is important: Echoes the problems of retailers including department stores to cover real estate and rental costs during the pandemic.

The landmark Edinburgh department store operated by Frasers Group but owned by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen will close on 3 May 2021. Frasers Group has not been able to reach a agreement with the owner. The closure will mean the loss of 200 jobs. Povlsen, who is also the largest investor in online retailer Asos and one of the UK’s most important landowners, apparently has plans to turn the building into a hotel with a bar and restaurant.

Many UK retailers have been struggling to reach agreements with their landlords, for example by linking rent to turnover. The mall operator Hammerson last week said it had received less than half of the rent owed by tenants in the last quarter.

Edinburgh's landmark department store Jenners to close after 183 years

Related item:

• Jenners to leave Edinburgh site

What: Alibaba fined for forcing department store InTime to exclusively use its e-commerce platform.

Why it is important: This move is part of a larger probe with political origins, however, it seriously questions Alibaba’s omnichannel strategy

Alibaba has been fined USD 76.464 due to monopolistic practices with department stores Intime, which it acquired between 2014 and 2017 for more than USD 3,3 bn. By forcing the 27-large department stores chain to exclusively use Alibaba for e-commerce and live streaming operations, Alibaba was considered faulty by Chinese Authorities. Since this was a key point of the e-commerce giant to acquire the department store chain, these questions, in the long run, the relevance of this strategy.

Alibaba hit with anti-monopoly probe in China 

What: WWD reports GDP rose 2.3% in 2020, but retail sales contracted -3,9% although they grew +4.6% on Q4.

Why it is important: The overall V shape recovery is fragile, although IADS member SKP posted record sales on 2020 as a whole.

The 2020 GDP growth for China is 2.3%, the lowest in 40 years, and retail sales amounted to USD 6.05 trillion, -3,9% compared to LY. Interestingly, online sales represent a quarter of total sales, from 4% last year. GDP forecast for 2021 is estimated between 7.1 and 7.9%. The equilibrium of the recovery is still fragile, at a moment when CNY is approaching and some clusters have been spotted in Heibei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, leading to massive lockdown responses in order to circumvent the danger.

China Full Year GDP Rose 2.3%, Retail Sales Contract 

What: the reopening of a bankrupt US department store.

Why it is important: Barneys New York filed for bankruptcy last year. After being bought out it will be reopening small outposts, including one inside an existing department store.

Department store Barneys New York has reopened inside Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store in NYC, occupying the entire 5000sqm fifth floor with a large area devoted to pop-up shops for emerging designers. “We’re bringing Barneys to Saks in a way that’s relevant to today’s luxury consumer and focused on discovery, the unexpected, and fun.

Barneys at Saks is an extension of our current offering, with established and emerging designers. It’s an extension of what we always do,” said Tracy Margolies, chief merchant of Saks. The move is part of Saks’ elevation strategy to offer customers the best choices in fashion; which comes complementing the renovation of Saks flagship floors.

For the relaunch at Saks, Barneys will display contemporary and designer men’s and women’s collections, accessories and denim - marking the first time men’s and women’s labels are merchandised on the same floor. The assortment includes exclusive brands and labels available at Saks for the first time.

A second Barneys at Saks store will open later this month in Greenwich. The two-storey store will feature men’s shoes and accessories, and women’s fashion.

The services provided by Barneys at Saks include “VIP” private dressing suites, prepared by Saks associates with merchandise and refreshments; virtual shopping tours of the Barneys space with style advisers via video conferencing technology, so people can shop from home, and same-day delivery in Manhattan and Greenwich.

Barneys at Saks: Resurrecting a Luxury Legend

Related item:

• Barneys New York to reopen at Saks

What: Harvey Nichols has promoted Manju Malhotra to the role of CEO, reporting to Sir Dickson Pool.

Why it is important: Contrary to John Lewis, Harvey Nichols bets on its own veterans.

Manju Malhotra has been with Harvey Nichols since 2003, where she held various positions in finance until being appointed CFO in 2010 and COO in 2018. She is replacing Stacey Cartwright who let the position in 2018, and will oversee UK, international and online businesses.

Harvey Nichols Promotes Manju Malhotra to Chief Executive Officer – WWD

What: more measures implemented by the department stores to ensure safety of employees and customers.

Why it is important: while the UK is under strict lockdowns with all non-essential stores closed, John Lewis has reinforced its safety measures, reducing even more its activities in order to avoid unnecessary risks of spreading the virus

For instance the department store has decided to suspend the Click & Collect services at John Lewis stores in order to remove reasons for non-essential travels during the lockdown. Additionally, The John Lewis in-home services and installations teams will put on hold services which are not essential to the health and wellbeing of customers. Other measures include mandatory face covering at Waitrose stores, and encouraging, wherever possible, that only one member of each household shops.

JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP TO STRENGTHEN COVID SAFETY MEASURES

Related item:

• John Lewis Partnership rolls out covid-19 testing

What: Three major Japanese department store operators saw their sales in the March-November 2020 period drop 30% to 40% year-on-year.

Why it  is important: retailers, and especially department stores, have been hit hard by the covid-19 crisis and many of them are facing serious losses.

The declines in sales are due to both the closure of stores at the peak of the pandemic, and the significant decrease of tourists and foreign travellers in Japan. For the first three quarters of the current business year, operating loss totalled JPY 10.5 billion at Takashimaya Co., JPY 7.0 billion at Sogo & Seibu and JPY 3.2 billion at Matsuya Co.

J. Front Retaining Co., which operates Daimaru and Matsuzakaya stores, however secured an operating profit of JPY 1.8 billion in the period, helped by cost-cutting efforts and steady real estate business.

Four major Japanese department stores suffer sales drops of 30%-40%

UPDATE 12.01.21: M&S has confirmed the acquisition of the Jaeger brand. It will complete the purchase of Jaeger’s stock and other assets by the end of the month, and will exclude Jaeger’s 63 remaining stores. The deal is currently being finalised but no purchase price has been released.

What: a department store chain buying a struggling brand

Why it is important: UK retail scene has been particularly hit by the crisis, with big names such as Debenhams and Arcadia falling into administration. Yet it can be the opportunity for some to make strategic acquisitions

08.01.21: UK Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group is struggling and had Peacocks and Jaeger brands filed for administration last November -a results from the covid crisis. The group, owned by billionaire Philip Day, is now looking for buyers for the brands and Marks & Spencer could be one of them. M&S is increasingly looking at adding new brands to its formerly-own-brand-only offer and this could be the perfect opportunity. The department store would buy the brand but not the physical stores, given its own already huge estate of department store across UK.

Marks & Spencer buys Jaeger fashion brand from administrators

Related item:

• M&S launches 3rd-party brand for the first time

What: the necessity for Lotte Group to undergo innovative changes and portfolio revisions to respond to the post-Covid-19 market changes.

Why it is important: South Korean Lotte Group is one of the biggest retail group but was not spared by the covid-19 pandemic. The group Chairperson Shin Dong-bin is firmly warning CEOs about the necessity to make drastic changes to the structure in order to respond to the retail group’s “sluggish performance”.

Shin Dong-bin also reprimanded executives that failed to defend the group’s previous lead in the retail market. “Those that succeed in the post-crisis era are those that manage to achieve innovation during crisis. […] Portfolio adjustment may be considered for companies that fail to innovate themselves. A company that only pursues survival has no future” he said.

In November, the group already carried out an executive reshuffle, replacing the chiefs of 13 out of its 35 affiliates.

Lotte Group chief calls for drastic changes in post-COVID-19 era-프린트화면

The Financial Times has reported examples of workplace surveillance dressed up as safety measures. Amazon has introduced AWS Panorama which uses footage from security cameras to detect employees who are not distancing. But as the article says, it’s not hard to imagine a future where workers are blamed for contracting Covid with implications for sick pay. Walmart has filed a patent for a system of sound sensors placed near cashiers which “could determine a performance metric for the employee based on the audio data”.

Research has shown that close and constant monitoring is injurious to human health. Monitoring at work is seen as increasingly important with remote work which puts the time factor back into the hands of the employees.

Workplace surveillance may hurt us more than it helps

What: A strong Christmas season for the UK retailer.

Why is it important: John Lewis’ omnichannel strategy proved resilient during lockdowns, leading to a better performance than the competition during Christmas, and the anticipation of a better financial year than previously announced.

John Lewis is a leading department store when it comes to e-commerce. Pre-pandemic, it was already achieving GBP 2 of every GBP 5P of sales through e-commerce, and during the pandemic, GBP 7 out of each GBP 10 was performed online. This sales structure (noting that click and collect is not anymore available at department stores, to limit costs) allowed John Lewis to raise its expectation for the full financial year results, to be announced in March.

The Christmas performance also allowed the retailer to repay in advance a loan of GBP 300 million, which adds up to a strategic savings plan that was already made concrete by the closure of 8 department stores in 2020 and reduction of HQ expenses by GBP 300 million (amounting to 3,000 redundancies).

John Lewis repays £300m Covid funding and raises FY guidance