A report by Global Data and Sybarite, an architectural firm that specialises in retail space, ranks luxury department stores of the world by sales per square foot in 2017. It credits the department stores with ongoing investments to renew their shop floors for their success.

Harrods, which came first, has embarked on a $260 million investment to expand its Watch Room and Salon des Parfums, relaunched its wine and spirits room, and opened a new wellness centre. It also highlights Selfridges and its $395 million refurbishment of its Oxford Street store which is also used as a platform "to create socially-driven, state-of-the-art experiences". Le Bon Marche, Paris, Liberty, London, and SKP, Beijing were also in the top five of the ranking. Others mentioned include Breuninger, Palacio de Hierro and Galeries Lafayette.

read The Sybarite Report 2018: The future of the luxury department store

La Rinascente stores in Milan and Rome have joined forces with Dolce & Gabbana and Smeg to reproduce the colour and vibrancy of a traditional Sicilian market. Window displays feature illuminations and traditional puppet theatres starring Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in puppet form. Decorations festoon the interiors of the stores and markets are recreated inside the stores with a host of colourful stalls. Smeg's collection of Sicily is my Love small and major appliances will include a four-slice toaster and a slow juicer.

Dickson Concepts, the owner of Harvey Nichols, plans to invest HK$1bn on technology companies, including HK$250m on revamping its flagship store in Pacific Place. Pearson Poon, 24, son of chairman Dickson Poon, has been put in charge of the project, a move some say could pave the way for him to succeed his father. The project involves cutting space in the store in half (from 84 000 sq ft to 42 000 sq ft), and increasing the products on offer thanks to online. Shopping experiences will be improved also on the model of the revamp of the London Harvey Nichols. According to the chairman, Dickson Poon, "the company faces unprecedented margins compression from online operators internationally. Retailers need to work on the retail format that faces possible elimination".

When Bloomingdale's 59th Street will unveil its renovated designer floor early next year, 17 designers never carried before will be part of the presentation. Irish designer Alison Conneely, Dubli-based, is part of the mix. "Alison is our first Irish designer in ready-to-wear and it's exclusive to us," said Frank Doroff, vice chairman of Bloomingdale's and general merchandise manager of ready-to-wear, who discovered Conneely at the WearingIrish fair held in Manhattan to promote Irish designers. "We were immediately impressed by Alison's blend of artistry and craftsmanship when we first met her. Bloomingdale's is always searching for new designers and unique offerings for our customer." Bloomingdale's decades ago did stage a promotion showcasing Irish products. Meanwhile, Bloomingdale's new designer floor, expected to be complete around late January or early February next year, will be bolstered with trunk shows, luncheons, special events, and  labels new to the store. It's a culmination of the ongoing renewal of the flagship involving most of the floor space from footwear to home to denim and ready-to-wear.

Siam Takashimaya is the first branch in Thailand of Japanese department store operator Takashimaya Co. The department store is the anchor tenant of the new IconSiam shopping mall, a large complex on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok that opened simultaneously to the store. It joins other Japanese department stores in the Thai capital such as Isetan and Tokyu and offers a high-end shopping experience to upscale customers. Siam Takashimaya occupies 25,000 square meters across seven floors of IconSiam. There are some 530 brands on offer, including 180 from Japan. Japanese foodstuffs are also on sale, and a Japanese-themed food court features many well-known restaurants and shops. Nursing rooms and cold storage lockers are also available to enhance the shopping experience.

Siam Takashimaya (Thailand) Co. is a local joint venture set up by Takashimaya Singapore Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Osaka-based department store chain, and IconSiam.

Galeries Lafayette is closing Instantluxe.com, the luxury goods resale site it bought two years ago in a bid to tap into the growing markets for second-hand goods. The French retailer will also close the two Instantluxe.com corners in Paris at the Galeries Lafayette flagship on Boulevard Haussmann and the BHV Marais department store, a spokeswoman for the brand said. The site employs around 10 people, who will be offered positions within the group. Instantluxe.com sells certified secondhand luxury products, specializing in leather goods, jewelry, watches and accessories. In November last year, it launched a luxury bag rental service. The site is believed to have struggled to attain critical size against more established market players such as Vestiairecollective.com in what is still a nascent segment in France, leading Galeries Lafayette to prioritize other investments.

Among its projects, Galeries Lafayette plans to open a new flagship on Avenue des Champs-Élysées next year, and has five overseas stores in the pipeline: Doha, Kuwait City, Luxembourg, Milan and Shanghai.

Amazon will run holiday pop-ups, dubbed "Amazon Loft for Xmas" and centered on electronics and toys, from 16 to 26 November in the city centers of Milan, London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam. The holiday effort will also feature apparel, home goods and beauty. Amazon is swiftly adding to its brick-and-mortar footprint, as it also ran a fashion pop-up last month in London called "Pop Up Shop Love."

Hyundai Department Store has opened its first duty free store in Seoul. The 14,250sq m store occupies the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of the company's Trade Center branch in Seoul's Samseong-dong business district. It features 420 brands, including 40 foreign luxury brands. The ninth floor is dedicated to cosmetics, while the store also features a separate foreign fashion zone. Hyundai Department Store Duty Free Co. President Hwang Hae-yeon said that the company expects to generate KRW670 billion (US$593 million) in sales revenue next year, and more than KRW1 trillion (US$885 million) in 2020.

London department store Harrods opens its newly refurbished Fresh Market Hall. The revitalised space marks the second phase of Harrods' two-year Food Halls overhaul, offering a contemporary design take on a sprawling food market, featuring a new range of internationally- and locally-sourced premium culinary offerings. It was redesigned by London-based practice David Collins Studio, following their completion of the dry goods section, the Roastery and Bake Hall at the close of 2017. The design studio plays with lighting, materiality and the building's art deco heritage. White and black finishes have been applied across spaces, providing a monochrome backdrop to the colourful foodstuffs. Convenience also plays a big part, with Harrods introducing a new range of grab-and-go offerings for the time-pressed customer. 'Opening the Fresh Market Hall will allow us to bring my 150 in-house chefs to the forefront,' states executive chef Andy Cook, 'servicing our food customers directly and introducing the chef's brand new creations to the Harrods Deli counter.'

full article: Harrods Fresh Market Hall overhauled by David Collins Studio

Macy's is reducing retail space at some of its US department stores, cutting the amount of merchandise and employees at slower-performing units. Macy's will be walling off entire sections at some locations and leaving the space empty. The smaller-store footprint, an experiment now under way at four locations, is intended to save money on staffing and inventory, while improving the chain's sometimes lacklustre shopping experience. "People don't have to walk through 200,000 sq ft to find what they're looking for," said chief executive Jeff Gennette. "If we were building stores today, we'd build them smaller," he added. The Macy's locations being converted into what Gennette called "neighbourhood stores" will shrink in size by as much as a fifth. They will have fewer employees and a leaner selection. The pitch to shoppers: more self-service options — shoe departments display boxes of various sizes — and a convenient place to pick up or return online purchases.

After announcing the launch of its e-commerce website in July, The BHV/Marais finally opened its online Lifestyle Bazar to the public. The platform offers a new shopping experience with over 50,000 items across 750 brands. Through its new website, the BHV/Marais aims to become a benchmark in multi-brand online retailing for homeware, household hardware and decoration; while offering a cutting-edge selection of fashion -the uniquely balanced range includes 60% of homeware versus 40% of fashion. In the long terme, the BHV/Marais aims to generate 10% revenue online.

press release: bhv/marais launches e-commerce site

Following the launch of its first GCC store in Dubai, 160-year-old department store chain Robinsons & Co. has announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia with a new branch in Riyadh. The new branch will join a selection of luxury brand outlets in the Kingdom Center, one of Riyadh's largest malls.

Robinsons was in 1858 by John Spicer and Philip Robinson and was first called Spicer & Robinson in Singapore. In 2008, Al-Futtaim Group acquired the rights to operate Robinsons department store in Singapore by purchasing 88% of its shares at $5.20 per share. Robinsons made its debut in the Middle East in March 2017 with a 20,000 square meters store spanning across three floors at Dubai Festival City (pictured here).

Sports Direct, which is controlled by Mike Ashley, has dismissed the former directors and senior management of House of Fraser, less than two months after buying the department store group from its administrators [Sports Direct bought the company out of administration for £90 million in August]. In a one-sentence announcement to the London Stock Exchange, Sports Direct said: "Following the collapse of House of Fraser on August 10 2018, and subsequent calls for an investigation into the circumstances of that collapse, the Company today announces that we have dismissed the former Directors and senior management of House of Fraser." Those departing the chain will include chief executive Alex Williamson.

Meanwhile, Ashley has been in talks with landlords around the country about rents as he aims to keep stores open. So far, 20 House of Fraser stores have been saved from closure, safeguarding about 3,500 jobs. However, outlets in Edinburgh, Hull and Swindon will shut after Ashley failed to agree terms with landlords. A fourth store, in Bath, is also at risk of closure.

Bon-Ton and its affiliated retail brands, including Carson's, Boston Store, Herberger's and Younkers, are back online, thanks to tech company CSC Generation. CSC Generation Holdings Inc., a Merrillville, Indiana, technology and retail investment firm, purchased the bankrupt retailer's trademarks, websites, customer lists and other intellectual property for $900,000 in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. Now it is selling online as a department store chain in name, although the company's website appears to promise that opening stores is part of the plan. "We are re-building the business brick by brick," the website says. "In the meantime, we hope that you are enjoying shopping online, and sincerely hope to see you soon." News reports say CSC Generation is in negotiation with former Bon-Ton landlords about re-opening some locations in time for the holiday shopping season. Along with Bon-Ton's traditional apparel and home goods products, the new Bon-Ton will offer products such as large-screen TVs and major kitchen appliances. It also will have a lease-to-own offering for some of its merchandise.

The restart of Bon-Ton comes a few weeks after the department store chain closed its remaining brick-and-mortar locations.

J.C. Penney will introduce its new private brand Peyton & Parker later this month in nearly 400 stores and on jcpenney.com. This new brand covers apparel, accessories and shoes for men, women and children as well as home decor.

Much of the men's and women's products will be exactly duplicated in smaller sizes for boys and girls. In other cases, there will be some variation in silhouette, colour or fabric, but a consistent look will be maintained. According to Sue Koger, J.C. Penney's vice president of product development and design for women's, parents are increasingly dressing their kids in me-too versions of what they wear, most often for Instagram family photo moments on special occasions. All the merchandise will be displayed together on one pad so the shoppers can create this coordinated look for themselves and their family, without having to shop throughout the store. Designed and developed by the retailer's team, Peyton & Parker will offer classic "mix-and-match" pieces in limited-edition capsule collections each season, so if the product sells out, it's gone until the next season.

Private brands and lines exclusive to the retailer represent roughly 50 percent of J.C. Penney's assortment.

press release on JC penney's peyton & parker line

Stockmann announced it will divest its shopping centre in St. Petersburg, Russia, to PPF Real Estate. The Nevsky Centre and its owner, OOO Stockmann Nevsky Centre, will change hands at a price of 171 million euros, 10 million euros less than the balance sheet value of the property.

Lauri Veijalainen, the CEO of Stockmann, says the retailer is pleased to have found a buyer that is committed to developing the centrally located shopping centre further. "The divestment enables Stockmann to fully focus on developing its department store properties in Finland and the Baltic countries. At the same time, it gives us financial flexibility and a possibility to deleverage the group's balance sheet," he tells.

Stockmann revealed its objective is to close the transaction by year-end but reminded that it is still subject to approval from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. The divestment, it added, will have a net positive cash flow effect of roughly 139 million euros.

press release: Stockmann to sell Nevsky Centre in St. Petersburg

Macy's and Marxent have partnered on the largest virtual reality rollout in retail history, with the deployment of Marxent's virtual reality (VR) technology in about 70 stores nationwide. The companies expect to add another 20 locations by January 2019. In partnership with Marxent, Macy's is enabling customers to discover products and make informed buying decisions using the Macy's VR furniture experience.

At the stores, customers can use a virtual reality helmet to browse and visualize a much larger assortment of furniture than can typically be held in a physical space. They select items they want from the Macy's furniture offerings and lay them out virtually in the room. Wearing the headset, they get a feel for how the furniture looks in that space by virtually "stepping into" the room, using the headsets to "walk around" a coffee table, couch or other furnishings. Macy's also has an augmented reality app allowing customers to use their smartphones to see what furniture looks like in their home.

In the video below, Beck Besecker, Marxent CEO, discusses the partnership with Macy's for in-store virtual reality experiences and what he sees for the future of the technology.

Video of Beck Besecker, Marxent CEO

Rent the Runway Inc. is opening a network of clothing drop-off boxes in 15 WeWork locations across the US. They will be placed in the lobbies of the co-working spaces, making them accessible for both the general public and those who work in the offices. The boxes are unmanned but have iPads with built-in scanners so the bar codes on the garments can be read. Rent the Runway members just brush the garment's bar code against the scanner and plop the garment in the box. The drop-off boxes were designed to secure the items until they're picked up by the Rent the Runway fulfillment team.

The boxes were previously only available at Rent the Runway's five physical stores. They became popular among the service's subscribers — who pay a monthly fee for access to an "endless wardrobe" to swap items back and forth — as well as to those who rent single items. Normally, there's a delay due to shipping times, but if you return it to a box, it immediately reopens a slot in your subscription and you can select something new right away.

In addition, pop-up versions of Rent the Runway's "dream closet" stores will open over the next six weeks at the same locations where the drop-off boxes are placed. The pop-ups will range from 1,000 to 3,000 square feet and will be situated in the common areas of the WeWork facilities.

The deal marks a significant expansion for Rent the Runway's physical presence. The company's executives said WeWork's members and real estate locations align well with the fashion service's subscriber base of busy professional women.

The first WeWork locations to feature the boxes will be in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami.

John Lewis' new Cheltenham shop has its eyes on big spenders with a new private shopping service that will give customers the stores all to themselves. Shoppers will have access to John Lewis' new private shopping service as long as their bill tops at least £10,000. For that price, staff will be available after normal shopping hours specifically to serve individuals, groups of friends or a family. "Previously the reserve of exclusive boutiques for the famous few, this autumn in Cheltenham, with the help of our army of expertly trained partners, we are bringing the intimacy, luxury and magic of personal shopping to the high street", said John Lewis director of customer experience Peter Cross. It's one of 20 new services now available at the new Cheltenham store.

While department stores were formally thought of as a retail destination and experiential offering in their own right, many are now competing with experiential spending on mini breaks, beauty treatments and leisure activities.

John Lewis will now be stepping up its game with so-called experience desks where concierges can book appointments for shoppers such as blow drys and manicures. Additional services such as John Lewis' recently launched Shopping List will enable customers to book out time with a sales assistant to help them complete a list or shop for specific gifts.

Waitrose is to test a delivery service which will allow drivers to enter a customer's home while they are out, and put their groceries away. The trial uses Yale "smart lock" technology to allow customers to set an access code for their door lock which is deleted when the delivery is complete. The pilot starting later this month will involve 100 homes in south London, the aim being to boost loyalty and profitability. Participating customers will set a temporary access code for their smart lock which will be sent to Waitrose via a secure app.

Waitrose, which is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, will be the first UK supermarket to try "in-home" deliveries. Archie Mason, Waitrose head of business development, said there was "an increasing demand" among customers to make shopping "even more convenient to fit around their busy lifestyles". "The concept of 'in-home delivery' has started to prove popular in other countries so we are keen to establish if there is an appetite for it in the UK," he said.

press release "Waitrose & Partners to deliver and put away your shopping while you're out"

Located in the city's SoHo neighborhood, the shop, known as Amazon 4-star, sells items that have a rating of four stars or more online. Inside, one will find everything from quirky kitchen gifts to popular books, board games, laptops, Alexa-enabled devices and even items from Amazon's in-house brands, like Amazon Basics -including Amazon's own Echo speakers and its Kindle e-readers. The company will be rotating inventory out on a weekly basis, as items become more or less popular on its website.

Bringing Amazon's website to life, the 4,000 square feet store has digital price tags next to items that show how much Prime members would save on a purchase. Shoppers are also able to see how many ratings an item has received, what the average rating is, along with certain reviews on display throughout the store. Amazon even has a table in the store that shows items "frequently bought together," something the company has always highlighted on its website. The shop also features some "Trending Around NYC" items there, which Amazon is able to track on its website.

See video and pictures of the store, located at 72 Spring St., below.

watch video of amazon 4-star store

Ikea has opened its brand new mini store –the Ikea Planning Studio– on Tottenham Court Road in central London. The store specialises in kitchens and bedroom storage, giving customers an easy and convenient way to get the advice and inspiration they need to browse, plan and order furniture for a bigger project in their home. It is a new way for customers to experience the Ikea brand, offering a personalised and tailored service.

After spending decades battling planners to build 35,000 sq metre sheds on the outskirts of cities, the change of tack by the world's largest furniture retailer is drastic. The showroom is just 400 sq metres and took months, rather than years, to open. "Our new city centre approach brings IKEA into the heart of London and is designed to complement our larger stores and digital offering, so customers have a wide range of choices that suit their needs and lifestyles," Ikea's London city centre market leader Jane Bisset said. "The Ikea Planning Studio on Tottenham Court Road will give Londoners a relaxed and professional experience to get the advice and inspiration they need to plan more complex or large-scale home projects, with the expertise and specialist support of our co-workers, alongside a great service package."

To celebrate the opening of the new city centre location, the iconic blue FRAKTA bag has been given a mini makeover revealing a new way of shopping at the IKEA Planning Studio. The bag has been designed to fit only the essentials such as a set of keys, phone and a wallet –IKEA Tottenham Court Road will organise the rest!

Regional department store Belk announced the launch of its first in-house beauty line, dubbed Belk Beauty, available online and in-store. The collection is inspired by the brand's southern roots, drawing inspiration from the styles of Atlanta, Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, Dallas and Nashville. Belk Beauty debuts at a time when this retail segment is booming, in an attempt to reclaim beauty sales, which have been a department store mainstay for decades but have also been disrupted by specialty retailers. The assortment features lip, eye and face palettes and is priced between $10 to $22.

The private department store chain has 292 stores in 16 Southern states. Belk was originally founded in 1888. The Belk family sold the company for $3 billion to New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners in late 2015.

press release on Belk Beauty line

The Lafayette Plug and Play accelerator has unveiled the 17 start-ups selected for its fifth promotion. Selected from 213 projects submitted in response to the call for applications, 12 of the start-ups are French and five are international, from the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. They are particularly focused on four key themes of the retail transformation: customer experience, logistics, predictive analytics and geo-localized services. Start-ups will benefit from an exclusive three-month programme, punctuated by weekly meetings and mentoring sessions with industry experts, corporate partners and investors such as Serena Capital, Alven Capital or Elaia Partners. It will close with a "Winter Expo Day", the culmination of the acceleration programme, on November 22nd in the presence of European investors and senior executives from major partner companies.

see press release and list of star-ups of lafayette plug & play 5th edition