Kohl's is introducing sensory-friendly and adaptive clothing for kids; apparel designed to meet the needs of people with various disabilities. The department store said that it's rolling out a range of adaptive clothing options as part of its three largest house brands for children: Jumping Beans, SO and Urban Pipeline. In doing so, Kohl's joins a handful of retailers that have launched clothing lines aimed at kids with special needs in recent years.

Items are designed to be easy for the user or caregiver to take on and off, Kohl's said, while mirroring styles in the retailer's regular lineup. Pieces that are part of the new Kohl's lineup include features like flat seams, wider neck and hem lines, longer lengths, abdominal access, two-way zippers, reinforced belt loops and hook and loop closures. The collection also includes clothing that is diaper-friendly and wheelchair-friendly.

Adaptive apparel is available for babies through juniors and young men's sizes on Kohl's website.

Harvey Nichols has reported a significant increase in cross-border sales after providing a localised experience through a partnership with Global-e. The experience is similar to that enjoyed by online customers in the UK. However, the store can now tailor its offer to each market with pricing supported in more than 95 currencies and checkout localised to 21 languages with duties and tax already calculated.

Myer has struck a landmark deal with its biggest landlord Scentre Group to downsize one of the stores it had earmarked for closure. The retailer announced it would reduce its Belconnen store at the Westfield centre in Canberra from three floors to two rather than close the complete store as previously announced. It becomes the first major deal in what the Australian department store group hopes will continue to lead to a reduction in its wider rental costs. It marks a key win for chief executive John King as he works to create a smaller, more profitable retailer. Refurbishment works will be undertaken across a reduced floorspace, creating a two-floor, 12,000sq-m store with an improved retail experience and an increased number of new and exclusive brands. Myer has previously struck deals to hand back floors at two other stores, in Queensland and New South Wales.

A report by Gartner L2 gives the top department stores in terms of their "digital IQ", that is, how good they are online. Macy's and Nordstrom take the top slots, thanks to fulfilment, ad visibility, social media, searches and other help tools for customers. Others on the list are Zalando, Otto, Kohl's, La Redoute, JC Penney, John Lewis, Asos, and Marks & Spencer.

see list for comments

Suning, the new owner of Wanda Department Stores, has revealed its fresh name for the chain. Since the end of May, the new stores have progressively started to be rebranded Suning.com Plaza.

Suning.com CEO Hou Enlong says the 37 Suning.com Plazas will operate based on the previous supplier advantages accumulated by Wanda Department Store. But by integrating the online and offline shopping scenarios of Suning, such as RedBaby, Suning JIWU, Suning Convenience Stores, the new store model will be transformed into "an innovative, smart-retail commercial complex, where it enables nowadays urban consumers to eat, shop and entertain". Together with the existing 19 Suning.com Plazas and 16 Suning Plazas, Suning currently owns and operates 72 shopping complexes, which form the largest self-operated smart retail complex system in China.

Prada has expanded its fast-growing ecommerce business into the lucrative Chinese market as it partners with JD.com to launch a flagship store.

The iconic Italian luxury fashion brand launched its authorised flagship store on JD.com's platform yesterday, offering its entire upcoming autumn/winter collection to the site's 300 million global customers.

As part of an effort to boost the online presence of all of its sub-brands, the partnership will also see Prada Group's Car Shoe and Miu Miu brands launch flagship stores on JD.com.

In 2018 Prada reported double digit growth in its online business, and this latest move represents a continuation of its developing digital strategy.

"Prada is synonymous globally with the highest taste in fashion and luxury, and it is truly an honor to welcome them to our online platform," JD.com's president of international business Kevin Jiang said."International brands are increasingly recognizing the power of JD when expanding into China's burgeoning luxury market, and we look forward to helping Prada connect with China's sophisticated consumers."

This comes just days after online luxury fashion giant Farfetch announced the launch of its flagship on JD.com, two years after the Chinese ecommerce giant purchased a $397 million (£313.59 million) stake.

Source: www.chargedretail.co.uk

Galeries Lafayette unveiled its "Go for Good" program last September and has sprinkled its stores with "Good Spot" spaces, highlighting the sustainable bent of a range of products from hundreds of brands. Now it is its "Go for Good" campaign to its BHV Marais department store and its La Redoute online apparel and home goods business. La Redoute will flag its most environmentally friendly products starting this month while BHV Marais will join the program next spring. Each of the two labels will offer more sustainable products in fashion, beauty, home goods and food.

To complete its "Good Spot" spaces, Galeries Lafayette's Boulevard Haussmann flagship in Paris will add "Good Baby" and "Green Beauty" spaces next year.

The most recent results from some of the most important UK department stores have been mixed and are as follows:

|  |  |  |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Marks & Spencer | £10.4bn | -3% |

| John Lewis* | £4.86bn | +<1% |

| Harrods | £2.1bn | +6.8% |

| Selfridges | £1.75bn | +11.5% |

| Fenwick | £411m | -3.6% |

| Harvey Nichols | £210m | +9% |

| Liberty | £133m | +8% |

| Fortnum & Mason | £126m | +12% |

*Department stores only

Debenhams with last recorded gross sales of £2.9bn is not communicating information except to announce store closures.

House of Fraser whose last reported sales figure was £840m, is in administration and facing an uncertain future.

r4444_9_us_department_store_results_2018.png

Total department store sales in the US since 2014 have been falling.

Top US department stores have reported total sales figures for the year to January 2019 as follows:

|  |  |  |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Macy's | $24.9 bn | +2% |

| Kohl's | $19.2 bn | +0.7% |

| Nordstrom | $15.5 bn | +2.6% |

| JC Penney | $11.7 bn | -7.1% |

| Dillard's | $6.4 bn | +1.5% |

| Neiman Marcus* | $4.9 bn | +4% |

*(year to July 2018)

Austrian investor René Benko has acquired the half of German department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof that he did not already control for $1 billion from Hudson's Bay Company. The Canadian retailer is withdrawing from Europe's largest economy.

Canadian Hudson's Bay Company wants to leave Europe and the stock exchange. The Dutch stores are an exception and remain part of the company - for now.

Looking for options

HBC is selling its minority stake in the German merger company Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt to its Austrian partner Signa Holding. Its owner, billionaire René Benko, pays a billion euros to the Canadian company, that needs money to settle part of its debts and will fall back to only focusing on the North American market.

Last year, HBC's Kaufhof and Signa's Karstadt merged to form Germany's biggest department store group. The group also owns the Belgian Galeria Inno chain and fifteen stores in the Netherlands. A bad sign for the Dutch Hudson's Bay stores is that they are not part of the deal; even more so: HBC acquires Signa Holding's stake in them and sets it free from any obligation in the Netherlands. A financial advisor will now have to look for a solution for the very poorly performing stores.

HBC also announced it is looking into possibilities of leaving the stock exchange as well: this way the retail group would be able to build towards a new future in a quieter way.

British department store Liberty will launch its clothing line under its own-brand umbrella, Liberty London Collection. It will comprise of four collections each year and is set to debut this month with a runway show for buyers and press.

Liberty has sold its own brand of goods under the name Liberty London Collection for decades, selling bags, scarves, homeware and stationary. It dived into apparel in October 2017 with the launch of sleepwear, and it debuted swimwear and travel apparel in May this year.

There are long-term plans to branch out into adjacent categories, including menswear and childrenswear, before opening Liberty brand-focused retail outlets internationally. The first collection is due to arrive in stores in October, with most pieces ranging between £395 and £995. It will be stocked at Liberty flagship on London's Great Marlborough Street and at luxury retailers around the world.

Sales for the year ending 2019 were up to £133 million from £123 million the previous year.

full article on liberty lauching its fashion line

Turkey's Boyner Holding and Qatari investment company Mayhoola have decided to end their financial partnership. The Qatari form held a 54% share in Boyner Retail and Textile, while Boyner held a 42.8% share. This will now change with Mayhoola raising its stake in the Beymen luxury fashion group to 97%. At the same time, Boyner will focus on multi-brand retailing with the Boyner stores as well as e-commerce and some apparel production activities.

A piece in the Business of Fashion examines several department stores and their large beauty departments in the light of the remodelling by Harrods of its beauty floor. This will be finished in December and will cover around 9000 m², 50% bigger than the old one. In January, Bloomingdale's updated and expanded its own beauty department, and last year Saks did the same. Three years ago it was Harvey Nichols. They all share an expanded size and many are trying for some exclusivity. Department stores remain the main destination, according to BoF, for fragrance, but have been losing out on skincare and makeup.

see full article

Under recently appointed JC Penney CEO Jill Soltau who came from JOANN Stores to replace Marvin Ellison last year, several new people have been named in key posts at the company. Former Target executive Michelle Wlazlo has become the new chief merchant; former Michaels executive John Welling has been named to lead planning and allocation; Mark Stinde becomes senior vice president for asset protection; and now former Guess executive Victor Ejarque Lopez has been appointed as senior vice president and general merchandise manager for women's apparel.

Earlier this year, JC Penney announced that it will stop selling home appliances and will limit its furniture sales to jcp.com. This move is part of an effort to refocus the business, cut down inventory and optimise the retailer's store space.

Neighborhood Goods will open its second location in Manhattan's Chelsea Market this coming autumn. The concept, described by some as a department store, will have its own restaurant concept adapted to its location and an ever-changing selection of brands and products relevant to the New York market.

Neighborhood Goods started in late 2018 in Plano, Texas, with a 14 000 sq ft store offering a changing selection of brands, products, events and services. It has since expanded its line-up to feature over 35 brands including Rothy's, Taschen, Stadium Goods, Buck Mason, Draper James, Primary and others. The New York partners will be revealed over the coming months on its social channels.

A group of Hudson's Bay shareholders led by the chairman Richard Baker have announced plans to take the company private in a C$1.74bn cash deal. The consortium of investors which owns 57% of the business is offering 48% premium on the current share price. Hudson's Bay has been divesting non-core assets while continuing to say that they believe in the group's long-term potential, and looking for alternatives for its Lord & Taylor department stores.

The flagship was sold to WeWork in 2017 for $850m. Since 2915, the Hudson's Bay share price has fallen by nearly 80% with a series of strategic moves including international expansion, and the acquisition and disposal of off-price Gilt Groupe.

A special committee of the board has been created to consider the offer which, if accepted, would be only the first step in a long process. This process might involve selling off more assets, closing more stores and moving towards a smaller revenue stream. Right-sizing might involve a number of measures which would further impact margins such as clearing excess inventories and phasing out unprofitable categories. Hudson's Bay has also announced that it would sell its 50% stake in its German real estate joint venture, all that is left of its Galeria Kaufhof chain acquisition in 2015.

Neiman Marcus has integrated Alipay into the payment system of all Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus Last Call stores across the US. It will also be offering Alipay online. Alipay is being deployed as a way to offer a convenient payment option for its luxury customers.

Over two thirds of Chinese tourists use their smartphones to make purchases while travelling. According to one survey, 60% of retailers said sales and foot traffic increased after they started offering Alipay as an option. It is also the case that alternative and flexible payment options are being embraced by Millennials globally.

Nordstrom has announced six food and beverage concepts for its New York flagship to be opened in October.

Wolf by Ethan Stowell will be on the third floor offering a Pacific Northwest menu, open after store closing.

Jeannie's contemporary pizza and Hani Pacific will be on the lower level. There will be a Broadway Bar on the second level, Bistro Verde on the fifth floor, and the Shoe Bar for cocktails on the shoe floor.

See details in press release

Our colleagues at SM in the Philippines have managed to win three awards at the APAC Stevie Awards.

These were the Golden Award for Innovation is Social Media Marketing for the campaign SM Style Stories that ran for two seasons and featured celebrities.

The Silver Award for Cross-Media Marketing for the company's FashionisSM campaign.

A Bronze Award was also given for the store's holiday campaign It's Christmas at SM, a full 360 campaign.

The Stevies is the only business award programme that covers all 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.

Hudson's Bay says it is considering strategic alternatives for its Lord & Taylor brand, including a possible sale or merger.

The news sent the stock sharply higher. Lord & Taylor, like other department stores, has struggled to adapt to a changing retail environment. Earlier this year, the brand closed its iconic Fifth Avenue location.

Saks-owner Hudson's Bay Company said Monday it is exploring strategic alternatives for its Lord & Taylor brand, including a possible sale or merger.

The news sent the stock sharply higher, up 3.4% by late morning.

Like other U.S. department stores, Lord & Taylor has been struggling as customers shop less at malls and more online. As a result, many department stores have been shuttering locations rather than opening them.

Lord & Taylor's footprint has fallen to 45 department stores as of Feb. 2, down from 50 a year ago. Among its store closures is its iconic Fifth Avenue location, which went dark earlier this year after the building was sold to WeWork.

Lord & Taylor's parent company has been trying to simplify its organization, strengthen its retail operations and improve its cost structure.

"This review of strategic alternatives for Lord + Taylor is another example of how we are exploring options to position HBC for long-term success," Hudson's Bay CEO Helena Foulkes said in a statement.

Last month, Hudson's Bay reported that fourth-quarter same-store sales for Lord & Taylor, Home Outfitters and its namesake brand declined by 5.2%. Its luxury department store brand Saks Fifth Avenue reported same-store sales growth of 3.9%.

The company announced Monday May 6 that it has retained PJ Solomon as its financial advisor for its review of the department store brand.

M&S group revenue fell 3% to £10.4bn in the 52 weeks to 30 March 2019. Preliminary results also show a fall in pre-tax profit of 9.9% to £523.2m. While food sales were down 0.6%, the company's clothing arm posted a 3.6% decline in sales which, it said, was impacted by store closures. Like—for-like sales were also down 1.6%.

In May 2018, M&S announced that it would close more than 100 clothing and home stores by 2022. In the last financial year, it closed 35 stores as part of its shake-up and opened 48. Between now and 2024, it expects to close another 85 and open 20. In these latest results, the company revealed it now also plans to close 25 smaller, low-volume, high-cost food stores and open 75 new and bigger food outlets.

Marks and Spencer Group Plc Full Year Results For 52 Weeks Ended 30 March 2019

Grace Beauty, set to launch this year, aims at facilitating the life of beauty consumers with disabilities thanks to its easy-to-use products. The company is based online and is set to launch three different mascara handles with wands attached. Compatible with any mascara tube, the products include the Ring Grip, which gives a secure hold on the wand, the Square Grip, which allows for easy hold and opening, and the Safe Grip, which gives a wide angled grip and ensures better control. "Anyone, regardless of ability, should be able to use any beauty product they want to," states the brand's site. "To help this cause, we're making accessories for people with disabilities." Because it's not the makeup that's the problem, but the packaging it comes in.

With the site also having a community area, Grace Beauty offers users a chance to tell their story as well as give feedback.

The electronics retail chain Bic Camera that recently opened one of its branches in the connecting Odakyu department store Machida, has transformed its elevators to make them look like it is an underground train. Warning signs, lanes for queuing, sliding doors, even the windows have been designed to look like a train.

The only giveaway is the floor indicator above the doors. The inside of the elevators pursue the illusion with perspective views of the inside of a train carriage.

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley, whose retail group bought House of Fraser out of administration last year, is preparing to invest millions of pounds in turning up to seven of House of Fraser's 50-plus stores into a new luxury mini-chain to be called Frasers. He has told suppliers he wants to divide the group into two divisions, with Frasers stocking more designer labels and House of Fraser catering to a more mass market audience.

Sources said Ashley expected to invest tens of millions of pounds in the first stage of his plan to revive the ailing chain. Work is likely to start in the group's flagship Glasgow store, which already trades under the Frasers name. The group will start with three or four stores as a trial.