For its Manhattan flagship, Nordstrom will be going big on food, service, technology and women's fashion and accessories. Following the opening of Nordstrom Men last year, the retailer expects its first full-line women's store in New York City to open in late October.

Three of the flagship's seven floors will be devoted to women's apparel, a fourth level will be dedicated to designer fashion, and designer accessories and shoes will be located separately. There will be three departments for shoes, two for women and one for kids. There will also be two beauty floors, and six food and beverage operations, including four full-service restaurants and two bar/lounges.

Nordstrom will be challenged by Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue, which are all bracing for its arrival and pumping up their own services and offerings in advance. There will also be competition from Neiman Marcus, which will open its first New York City store in Hudson Yards in March.

full article by wwd on nordstrom new york store

HBC has announced that Alison Colville has stepped down as president of Hudson's Bay and Home Outfitters on 1 March. A replacement has not yet been found, but in the interim, the department store chain will be led by executives from the HBC team under the direction of CEO Helena Foulkes. Last month, HBC shut down its Home outfitters unit.

NYC's Hudson Yards megaproject is one of the biggest real estate projects in the country in recent years, and one of the biggest in New York since Rockefeller Center was completed 80 years ago. The new neighbourhood opened on 15 March 2019 and consists of a shopping mall between two office towers among others; the full complex is still under construction.

The retail complex, dubbed 20 Hudson Yards, is a 720,000 sqft (approx. 219 456 sqm) luxury shopping mall spread over seven floors. The new 190,000 sqft (approx. 58 000 sqm) Neiman Marcus (the first one in NYC) occupies the top three floors of the space. There's also a major dining complex, with restaurants run by celebrity chefs like Thomas Keller, David Chang, Michael Lomonaco, Costas Spiliadis and José Andrés. In total, the space features 100 stores and 25 food and beverage offerings. Not all the space has been leased yet.

Perhaps the most impressive element of the complex is the Vessel, a lustrous, sculptural bauble made up of 154 interconnected staircases.

interactive article by the new york times

article by the robin report: a new miracle on 34th street?

exclusive pictures of hudson yards nyc

One recent study estimated that 13 million social-media influencers generated $7 billion in revenues last year. The hottest platform of late has been fast-growing Instagram, which seems to have avoided much of the criticism that has so buffeted parent company Facebook. More than a year ago, Amazon also created its own influencer programme, a more exclusive version of its affiliate marketing system that is open only to high-end influencers on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Participants get a custom store-front and vanity URL, choose products they want to spotlight, and receive a share of resulting sales revenue.

For a smart brand, getting its products in the right influencer stores can be a powerful opportunity to connect directly with that influencer's most devoted fans in a commerce-connected way that Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram still can't match, at least not yet.

Some commentators are saying that the influencer programme has not changed much since its inception. However, it would appear that increasing numbers of people have recently signed up for the programme.

Cosmetic brand Lush has opened a new flagship store in Liverpool. Spread over three floors (two retail and one dedicated to the spa) and employing 167 members of staff, this is a new beauty experience. Beside their full range of items, featuring iconic bath bombs and shampoo bars among many, you will find in the store a hair salon, a make-up station and a vegan coffee-shop. You can also get treatments, facials or massages, at the spa.

full article on lush new liverpool flagship

As the first half of its financial year draws to a close, Debenhams has issued a profit warning, stating that it could no longer stand by its previous statement that it was "on track to deliver current year profits in line with market expectations". It will provide a further update when it issues its half-year results. During the period, gross transaction volume was down by 5.3% on a like-for-like basis, with UK down 6%, international down 2.3% and digital up 2%. The CEO has said that there will probably be closures of around 50 stores in the medium term, with a programme aiming to save £80m a year.

Starting next year, the UK luxury department store chain will only sell leather derived from agricultural livestock, joining a growing number of retailers and brands that have banned crocodile, python and other exotic skins. The British department store chain said that in February 2020 it will ban products like watches, luggage and handbags that are made from python, alligator, crocodile, lizard or other exotic animal skins. As of next year, its stores will only sell leather derived from agricultural livestock. The luxury department store chain is the latest big fashion player to move away from exotic skins, responding to a long-standing campaign by animal rights activists who claim abuse of animals in the industry is rampant and that many skins are sourced illegally, endangering wild populations.

Selfridges has had a fur ban in place for more than a decade and said its latest move is "a continuation of a longstanding commitment" to ethics. It's one of a number of high-end retailers that are catering to consumer demands for more ethical products by increasingly emphasising environmentally and socially conscious brands.

Elsewhere, Selfridges has made a commitment to ensure 50 percent of its products are better for people and the planet by 2022. It removed all single-use plastic water bottles from sale in 2015 and all single-use carbonated drinks bottles last year.

CEO Lauri Veijalainen has decided to resign from Stockmann in order to assume a new position outside the company. The Board of Directors will immediately initiate a process to search for a new CEO. Lauri Veijalainen will leave Stockmann on 31 March 2019, but will be at the company's disposal during his notice period.

The Stockmann Group's management team member Tove Westermarck has been appointed Stockmann Retail's Chief Operating Officer as of 22 March 2019.

press release on Lauri Veijalainen's departure from Stockmann

Working with AR beauty company Modiface, Macy's expands an augmented reality (AR) feature to all mobile app users. the Macy's app this spring will let mobile users virtually try on more than 1,000 cosmetics products among major brands. The experience will also be available to customers at select locations nationwide later this spring via in-store beauty displays.

The expansion follows a successful test with a small number of users in the fall of 2018 that let users virtually trial a variety of lip products. Once available, shoppers will be able to test single products or entire looks and share the looks on social media or with friends.

Press release: Macys latest technology enhancements

The Comme des Garçons-owned retailer Dover Street Market will open its first dedicated beauty concept in a 2,150-square-foot space in Paris later this spring. The name of the new concept has not yet been decided but it will open towards the end of May in the Marais district and will be designed by Rei Kawakubo. The new beauty store will sell the complete range of Comme des Garçons fragrances, consisting of about 60 scents, 40 percent of which are licensed to Spanish group Puig, as well as perfumes and beauty products by other brands in a curated assortment in the "spirit" of Dover Street Market's existing fashion emporiums.

Maus Freres, owners of brands Lacoste, Gant, Aigle and others have acquired The Kooples, founded in 2006. The LBO France fund held 20% of The Kooples and was trying to exit for several years now. With sales of EUR 227m, the brand will join Maus Freres portfolio of accessible luxury brands. According to Maus, The Kooples will complement the current range with a balanced men's and women's offer, in contrast to the other brands which are more on the men's side. The Kooples, which sells also through department stores, has a network of 334 stores around the world and the new owners will continue that international expansion.

Maus Freres, founded in 1902, is also the owner of Manor department stores and has a total revenue estimated at over CHF 6bn.

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Ikea is the largest furniture manufacturer in the world but its sleek designs, filled with handle-less drawers and low-profile furniture, aren't necessarily friendly to the needs of people with disabilities. So Ikea Israel has teamed up with the nonprofits Milbat and Access Israel, each of which specializes in making the world more accessible, to develop a series of modifications to fix popular Ikea furniture pieces. Dubbed ThisAbles, the project's objects are available online as free schematics, and can be 3D-printed and installed on Ikea mainstays like the Billy bookcase or Karlstad couch. A total of 13 designs are available today which include items like the EasyHandle, a big, Rubbermaid-looking grip that can be added to the seamless door of a Pax shelf, and the Glass Bumper, a plastic pad that protects the bottom of a glass-doored Billy bookcase from the bump of a wheelchair.

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Casper, the US mattress retailer, has come up with an innovative idea: a campaign which refers to a very topical issue in the form of puzzles. The puzzles are all designed around words for sleep and they are strategically placed on commuter trains where tired travellers ae likely to see them. Puzzles, it is argued, are an appealing format which grab people's attention. The fact that they are about sleep is also of interest since it is a widely discussed topic when you consider reports that one in three adults don't get enough sleep.

John Lewis has paid out its lowest bonus to staff since the 1950s as profits plunged last year amid "challenging" trading. The retail partnership - which includes Waitrose supermarkets - said staff would receive a 3% bonus, the lowest since 1953 when workers got no bonus. Profits at the partnership sank last year by more than 45% to £160m. It blamed poor home sales, discounting, higher IT costs and the cost of opening two new stores last year for the drop. John Lewis' famously promises that it is "never knowingly undersold", meaning it matches its High Street rivals' prices. The partnership said "near constant discounting" from rivals had hit profits, particularly in its department store shops.

John Lewis' structure is unique. It is owned by its staff, known as partners. Typically in profitable years, staff at the 350 Waitrose and 51 John Lewis stores receive a share of the profits. In the very best years, these bonuses can add the equivalent of a few months' worth of pay. But the annual staff bonus has been reduced every year for the past six years due to difficult trading conditions. Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said the lower bonus would help the company to preserve cash and invest "to cope with the continuing uncertainty facing consumers and the economy".

The new Galeries Lafayette in Shanghai is on schedule for an official opening in the autumn. The Galeries Lafayette teams have already carried out a remarkable job in just nine months. China is a priority for Galeries Lafayette development.

Rent the Runway, which has previously only rented out designer apparel and accessories, will let customers try out soft home goods — including quilts, blankets, shams and decorative pillows — made by West Elm beginning in the summer. The items will be available in 26 "bundles" ranging in retail value from $150 to $450. The home good bundles would count as one of the four items Rent the Runway subscribers are entitled to each month. "One of the things that we continue to hear from our subscribers, other than that they want more, was 'what other parts of my life can you solve?' and home was something that kept popping up," said Maureen Sullivan, chief operating officer at Rent the Runway , adding that the partnership would give the company more access to data in hopes of luring in new customers. The partnership with Rent the Runway, whose customer is an average age of 29, will also potentially help West Elm attract a younger generation of shoppers, Sullivan said. This is the first time West Elm has made products available for rent.

Luxury, 96-year-old Manhattan-based retailer Barney's New York will open a flagship store at American Dream in New Jersey. The store will span 50,000 square feet and two floors within The Collections, the luxury shopping area inside the 3 million-square-foot entertainment and shopping complex. The department store will also feature Freds at Barneys New York, the retailer's Italian-inspired modern American restaurant. The eatery will be spread over both floors of the store and offer patio seating for open-air dining. join Saks Fifth Avenue, Hermes and other luxury businesses that will be tenants at American Dream, which will include 450 retail, food and specialty shops and more than 18 acres of entertainment.

In the last year, Sogo department stores in Hong Kong operated by the Lifestyle group saw an increase in sales of 16% to HK$4.36bn. There was a drop in profit due, according to the company, to the comparison with 2017 when it received a one-off gain from the sale of its majority stake in its subsidiary. The Sogo flagship on Causeway Bay increased sales by 10.5%, and the Tsim Sha Tsui store experienced a 30% lift, thanks to mainland tourist customers. Management predicts this year will be challenging for retail as declining wage growth and weakening asset values may dent consumer sentiment.

Luxury rental service Armarium is working with Parisian department store Le Bon Marché to offer customers the opportunity to rent pieces from the Spring/Summer 2019 collections. The service has launched on February 23, just before Paris Fashion Week, and is part of a wider initiative at Le Bon Marché called "Geek Mais Chic," a store-wide technology exhibit. "We carefully curated the assortment with Le Bon Marché's team featuring some overlapping brands and some exclusive ones," said Armarium chief executive Trisha Gregory. The service features around 50 brands from mostly small labels.

Armarium has worked with Browns, Net-a-Porter and several independent boutiques but this is its first partnership with a major department store and its first foray into France.

A picture from the JEM Robinsons in Singapore has been getting a lot of attention on the net. Some positive ad some negative. A mannequin has been dressed in bed linen and a pillow to advertise bed linen in the store. A pillow has been used as a hat.

Irish retailer Primark has confirmed 11 April as the opening date of its new Birmingham flagship store. The new store is to be the retailer's largest store in the world, covering 14 960sqm of retail space and five storeys. The new store will not only stock Primark's usual women's, men's and children's fashion and homeware and beauty ranges, but also come with three "unique and amazing" dining experiences. It will also features what Primark is calling its latest "contemporary shop fit" for "enhanced customer experience". The value retailer's largest ever beauty studio for nails, make-up, hair, eyebrows and lashes, and a barber are also going to be found at the new store, along with a personalisation service, recharge seating areas and free wifi.

Harrods is turning to a digital luxury marketplace for help with e-commerce technology. Harrods, number 388 in the Europe 500 ranking, is using Farfetch's enterprise white-label offering, Farfetch Black & White Solutions, to create a global e-commerce site. Farfetch Black & White builds e-commerce applications for retailers and brands and will provide Harrods with e-commerce management and operations, international logistics and technical support. Harrods will continue to manage marketing, brand relationships and product strategy, all creative and editorial content and customer services for the e-commerce site and operations.

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A recent report on Amazon's Q4 earnings showed a fall in online sales from 17% to 14% of the total. Although more customers signed up for Prime in 2018 than ever before, the rate of growth fell 21 percentage points.  Prime now includes Prime Wardrobe, Prime Video, Twitch Prime, Audible Channels, Prime Reading, Prime Now, and Amazon Key In-Home and In-Car Delivery. Will the price of Prime continue to increase?

The services business is booming with AWS up 46%, third-party seller services up 28% and advertising up 97%. The revenue from physical stores declined by 3%. This was, however due to the fall in orders placed online and picked up at Whole Foods. Whole Foods as a business was up 6%.

The Wanda Group of China has sold its department stores to retailer Suning.com in its latest move to downsize its wide-ranging operations. Suning, an appliance retailer and e-commerce platform, said that it purchased 37 stores for an undisclosed amount. The stores are mostly in central areas of major cities. Wanda has diversified rapidly in recent years with acquisitions in entertainment, theme parks, sports and other sectors and has been squeezed by heavy debts.