Selfridges has opened what it claims is the first fully-functioning boxing gym in a department store. The gym which will run until the end of the month is a collaboration with BXR London, the first boutique boxing club launched in January last year. The 3500 sq ft space is located on the lower ground floor and offers 20 punch bags, and a ring that can be booked for 55-minute boxing classes.

The initiative can be seen as customer experience offerings in the same light as John Lewis's concierge service in Oxford and its sleepover experience in London; as well as House of Fraser and Debenhams plans to open yoga classes or a champagne bar.

From 6 April, Galeries Lafayette will host Panoply, clothes rental services specialised in luxe and designers' clothing. The service can be used as a one-time rental or work with a monthly subscription, and offers a wide range of trendy designer pieces. From 60€ to 350€, the service includes dry-cleaning, delivery and even advices and recommendations from a stylist.

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Gourmet Market has joined forces with Bangkok Metro Networks (BMN) to open a new food store format at Metro Mall that emphasises convenience, taste and quality. The "grab & go" mini-bistro-style shop is at Metro Mall MRT Petchaburi and is the second commercial space within an MRT station to arise from the partnership with BMN –the original Gourmet Market is at Ladprao station. "These launches cater to the needs of MRT commuters and condominium residents who value quality and convenience at one-stop shops," said Chutidej Poocharoentou, The Mall Group's vice president of merchandising. "The Petchaburi branch is different, as it's located within the MRT's commercial space Metro Mall, and there are offices and a university in the area. The store follows the Gourmet To-Go concept, a compact, 200-square-metre store that upholds Gourmet Market's quality standards." The offerings include sandwiches, bakery items, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, fruits, juice, soup and salad. Those who prefer to dine on-site can settle in the mini-bistro zone.

The Mall Group, one of the country's largest retail group, says it will ramp up expansion of Gourmet Market beyond the group's own complexes following the opening of its second subway-based outlet. According to Chutidej Poocharoentou the group expects to spend more than 200 million baht this year to expand its premium grocery store chain.

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Karen Katz, outgoing CEO of Neiman Marcus, has given an "exit interview" to Women's Wear Daily. Rising from assistant manager in a small Houston store to CEO for seven years, Katz, 61, has spent 32 years at the company. She says there are still huge opportunities for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as long as they offer unique products to their customers. This is in part why she decided to open the first Neiman store in Manhattan, to be opened in Hudson's Yards on three levels and 190 000 sq ft. Although the company's debt remains high, net loss was narrowed in the last fiscal year. Katz's successor, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, former Ralph Lauren and Vuitton executive, will face the challenge of stores that may be too large and which do not, as yet, offer sufficiently distinctive experiences.

Read interview below

read interview

The 4500 sales associates at Neiman Marcus are issued with a company iPhone which they use to communicate with customers. The store encourages  customers to follow sales associates on social media because "customers attached to a sales associate spend more" according to the CEO, speaking at the NRF conference in New York last week. Associates might post advice on how to dress up jeans for going out or they may alert customers about new items that arrive in the store.

Hudson's Bay Co has rejected Austrian property and retail group Signa Holding's 3 billion euro bid ($3.7 billion) for Hudson's Bay's Kaufhof unit, Germany's largest retail chain. Hudson's Bay also said Signa had withdrawn its offer for Kaufhof. The potential deal would have combined Germany's two largest department store operators: Kaufhof and Signa's Karstadt. The rejection comes as Hudson's Bay named veteran CVS Health Corp executive Helena Foulkes this week as its chief executive officer (see separate news). Hudson's Bay, which also owns the Saks Fifth Avenue luxury department store chain, said in November it would review Signa's offer for Kaufhof, but also called it incomplete, non-binding and unsolicited, with no evidence of financing.

Myer Holdings Ltd. chief executive officer and managing director Richard Umbers has stepped down after three years, effective immediately. "We are impatient for a turnaround in the company's performance and the Board has determined that it is in the interests of all shareholders for there to be a fresh approach to drive our future direction," said Gary Hounsell, Myer chairman in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange./nbsp]The news follows less than a week after the company announced its third profit warning since July, sending Myer shares down to a record low of 53 Australian cents, or 42 cents.

On Feb. 9, Umbers announced the company expected to post a first-half net profit after tax of 37 million to 41 million Australian dollars, or $29 million to $32million – its worst half-year profit since 2009 – and to writedown the value of its assets. Umbers blamed the result on "challenging" retail conditions, including widespread industry discounting and a continued shift in consumer behavior, marked by reduced foot traffic and increased online shopping.

At the time, halfway through a five-year "New Myer" turnaround strategy that has involved closing underperforming stores and boosting the retailer's online presence to better compete with online rivals such as Amazon, Umbers added that he had "no doubt" that the company's strategy was working in the low growth environment, pointing to a 49 percent increase in first-half online sales.

Retail veteran Solomon Lew has been highly critical of Myer's performance and on Friday called for fellow Myer shareholders to "save the company" with a board spill. Mr Lew's Premier Investments took a 10.8 per cent stake in Myer in March 2017.

A report from Coresight Research (ex- Fung Global Retail Technology) has investigated the loss of market share of Macy's and asked which retailers customers have switched their apparel spending to. Contrary to frequently cited opinion, much less than half the consumers surveyed had redirected that spending to Amazon. TJ Maxx/Marshalls, Target, Kohl's and Walmart have gained from consumers who transferred their spending from Macy's.

Macy's is the largest US department store and is the second largest retailer of apparel in the country. But it has underperformed over recent years, even when benchmarked against a sector hit by falling sales.

see report

Hudson's Bay Co. named CVS Health Corp. executive Helena Foulkes as its first female chief executive officer. Foulkes ranked number 12 on Fortune magazine's annual Most Powerful Women in Business list last year, and will take the helm on 19 February after serving as executive vice president of CVS Health and president of its pharmacy unit. Foulkes is highly respected as an executive and  has an extensive background in retail and health care marketing and strategy. She will be responsible for HBC's global strategy and operation, stores and online sales. That will include a portfolio of more than 480 stores and 66,000 associates worldwide. Foulkes, 53, will be in charge of the company's e-commerce platforms, supply chain, logistics and technology. Richard Baker will continue as Governor and Executive Chairman of HBC. Merchandising does not report to Foulkes since each banner has its own president who is responsible for the merchandise movement in their stores. According to Walter Loeb, the greatest challenge for the new CEO is that of effectively generating growth of each banner. This includes Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks 5th Ave., Gilt, Saks OFF 5th, Galeria Kaufhof and Galeria Inno. One must keep in mind that every country has their own fashion demands, and timing often is different. Canada may be a little more conservative, the U.S. has bolder and edgier fashions. Timing in Germany and Holland may be different for many classifications. Former CEO Jerry Storch, who joined Hudson's Bay in 2015, stepped down unexpectedly in October and returned to helm his advisory firm, Storch Advisors, amid challenged sales and activist pressure at the department store.

press release

The Fung Global Retail and Technology has issued a tracking report of US and UK stores closing and opening since the beginning of 2018. So far the number of US closures announced is 1768, while the number of openings announced stands at 1510. Toys"R"Us plans to close 182 stores, JC Penney said it would close four stores, and Lidl will open 20 stores in the US this year. For the year to date in the UK, 48 closures have been announced and there have been 455 opening announcements.

The National Retail Federation of the US has appointed a senior director of retail technology to head the Federation's cybersecurity programme which helps retailers protect sensitive consumer data. The NRF CEO and President has called this "the never-ending battle". Christian Beckner, who takes up this post, is the former US Senate homeland security adviser and is a cybersecurity think tank expert.

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Yet another example of the importance of cybersecurity for retailers. The IADS is organising an exchange on cybersecurity on 29 March 2018 in Paris.

register now!

See also "Privacy in the Age of Big Data" by T. Payton & T Claypoole in the Books section:

click here

An article in The Guardian newspaper chronicles the difficult situation faced today by UK retailers and department stores in particular. Being creative is the only way out in the face of online shopping and low wages. Grade A locations, cities and concepts are thriving but the rest are struggling. The piece describes House of Fraser and its large debt, and others considering large-scale store closures. The case of the old BHS store on Oxford Street is illustrative: part of it is now a shop of the Polish chain Reserved, while the rest will house a market-style dining hall set to open this autumn, and a crazy golf operator Swingers (pictured here). The high street is increasingly populated by vape shops, hearing aid stores, ice-cream parlours, Microsoft, Dyson vacuum cleaners, and Tesla cars. The pop-up business is also developing fast.

full article

The French department store Galeries Lafayette have confirmed they will open a shop at Royal Hamilius, a urban planning project which will encompass shopping areas, housing, offices and services in Luxembourg City centre. The announcement ends months of speculation over which store would occupy the prime retail location [the site was previously expected to welcome Galeria Inno, which had signed a lease and then cancelled].

The six-story, 100,000-square-foot location is to be created in partnership with CODIC, a European real-estate developer, and should open late 2019. The facade of the building, designed by architect Norman Foster, will be diamond-shaped and a so-called sky restaurant will be located on the upper two floors with a large south-facing terrace, green space and views stretching over the city centre towards the cathedral. The Luxembourg branch will include clothes brands, a home section and will host events.

As part of its international push, Galeries Lafayette is to open outlets in Doha (scheduled for this autumn), Istanbul (second store), Shanghai and Kuwait City (opening in 2019), Milan (2021).

Press release

H&M will unveil yet another new brand (the eighth) early this year when it launches e-tail and pop-up label /Nyden (made up from Swedish words 'ny' ('new') and 'den' ('it')). The new Millennial-focused brand, led by H&M insider Oscar Olsson, mixes co-creation, limited edition drops, higher prices than we expect from the Swedish retail giant, and influencer input guided by data. It will be designed from its Los Angeles studio. The launch reflects creative director Olsson's belief that fashion's future lies with targeting 'tribes' who make their own minds up about what to wear rather than big name designers dictating which looks consumers wear. That is why Nyden will not be led by a single designer, but follow a path of co-creation with "tribal leaders" (or "influencers"). Two of the first confirmed "co-creators" are Swedish actress Noomi Rapace and L.A.-based celebrity tattoo artist Dr. Woo. Moreover, the brand wants to draw insights from data, and has also appointed an in-house philosopher, author Alexander Bard. The launch date has not been released yet.

The clothing and food chain has sold one of its key non-UK operations to its longstanding franchise partner in the Asian region, Al-Futtaim, for an undisclosed sum. Marks & Spencer is selling 27 stores that will keep the M&S name under a franchise arrangement, which leaves Dubai-based Al-Futtaim with 72 outlets under the brand across Asia and the Middle East.

The turnaround plan unveiled by M&S chief executive, Steve Rowe, included the shuttering of 53 loss-making outlets overseas in markets including China, France and Belgium, but company-owned stores in Hong Kong, where M&S has operated since 1988, were among those spared. In the wake of the Al-Futtaim deal, the last remaining M&S-owned stores outside the UK are in Ireland and the Czech Republic.

Archie Norman who joined the group as chairman last September, has promised a radical shake-up of the company which, he says, has been "drifting" for 15 years.

see press release

The Book House property of Stockmann in central Helsinki has been transferred to its real estate division, as the company is no longer operating a retail business from the premises since the hand over of its Delicatessen business to the S Group. The Book House which was designed by Alvar Alto, covers 8861 square metres and is occupied by a number of tenants including Bonnier Books which runs the Academic Bookstore.

Separately, the investigation process related to a possible divestment of the Nevsky Centre shopping mall in St Petersburg continues.

Starbucks recently opened Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, which in addition to being its largest so far and the first in China, is also the first Starbucks location to offer customers an immersive in-store augmented reality experience. The in-store AR experience was created under Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and involves a special smartphone app that allows customers to walk around the 30,000-square-foot store and roastery using AR features to view information, such as how a copper roasting cask works. For example, a customer can stand in front of the roasting cask in the store and, via their mobile phone, peer inside the cask. They can then watch an animated version of newly roasted beans dropping into the cask and virtually see them resting before they are whisked through copper pipes to the coffee bars. They can also read about the process a bean goes through on the way to becoming a cup of coffee. The experience extends to Alibaba's online marketplace, Tmall, where shoppers can purchase merchandise and whole bean coffee for home delivery, or register for specially curated coffee tasting experiences.

see press release

The Compagnie Financiere Richemont has made an offer for the remaining 51% of shares of Yoox Net-a Porter which it does not already own. The offer amounts to €2.77 billion, which values the company at €5.3 bn. Richemont's desire to strengthen its presence and focus on the digital channel explains the offer of €38 per share, a premium of over 25% on its preceding closing price. Federico Marchetti, who founded Yoox in 2000, and who led the merger with Net-a-Porter in 2015, says that the offer will help accelerate growth. He has suggested that he plans to stay on. He will also sell his 4% share. Kering, which signed a venture with Yoox in August to launch six online shops for brands including Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta, has made no comment, but analysts believe the deal does not at present change the status of the venture. Other commentators, separately do not exclude the possibility of rival bids for YNAP.

The offer comes only months after Apax Partners acquired a majority stake in Matchesfashion.com, and JD.com's $397m investment in Farfetch. Other mergers are also rumoured.

Ingvar Kamprad, whose initials are the first two letters of the company he founded in 1943 at the age of 17, has passed away at the age of 91. Ikea, which employs 190 000 people and operates over 400 stores in 49 countres with sales of over €38bn a year, is reputed to have "democratised interior design". The Scandinavian design ethic was commercialised and made accessible to millions at an affordable price. The business started as mail order from a small shed in Kamprad's native village. The lazy young man who used his study money to start a business, got the revolutionary idea of flatpack furniture when he saw an early employee take the legs off a table to fit it into a car. He also moved staff to the tills, letting the customers pick items from the warehouse themselves. These were some of the disruptions which, together with low prices, made Ikea into the largest furniture retailer in the world. He has been described as a "Swedish Henry Ford", and his company is responsible for 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption. It has been claimed tht one in ten Europeans alive today were conceived in an Ikea bed.

Kamprad became well-known for his ethics of hard work and frugality, driving an old Volvo and travelling economy class. In order to keep the company off the stock market and out of the hands of competitors or banks, he set up a complicated business empire, dividing Ikea into two parts, the retailer Ikea Group and the owner of the brand Inter Ikea, both owned by foundations and not him or his family. He based both in tax havens and lived for a time as a tax exile in Switzerland. His reputation was somewhat tarnished in the 1990s when it was revealed that he had had close relations with the Swedish Nazi movement in his younger days. He apologised but described it as a sin of his youth. He also admitted to alcoholism, developed while negotiating with Polish suppliers over shots of vodka.

As well as an adopted daughter from his first marriage, Kamprad leaves three sons from his second wife who died in 2011, who all have board positions in the Ikea empire, but no executive or ownership roles.

The year 2017 has been described as "cyber-geddon"  in view of the sci-fi type attacks, breaches and other ransomware which have hit the headlines during the year and provoked fear among companies, national institutions, governments and throughout the financial world. What may we look forward to in 2018?

read newsnote from IADS

IADS is launching an Innovation Lab on Cybersecurity and Risk Management in March

Innovation Lab on Cybersecurity

The race to become the North American city chosen for the second headquarters of Amazon has so far resulted in a short list of 20 cities or areas. They include Atlanta, Boston, Austin, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, Toronto and of course New York. The plan involves an investment of some $5billion and the creation of 50 000 jobs. Amazon originally received 238 applications.  Incentives to Amazon include tax breaks, a large cactus plant, and one city even offered to rename itself Amazon. The company estimates tha its investments in its home town of Seattle from 2010 to 2016 resulted in an additional $38billion to the city's economy.

Fast Retailing said that it will open its first Uniqlo store in Sweden this fall. The store, located adjacent to the popular park King's Garden in central Stockholm, will measure 17,000 square feet across four floors. The first Swedish outpost of the Japanese fast-fashion brand will carry men's, women's, and children's clothes, centered around its LifeWear concept of everyday basics. "As one of the world's most innovative nations, Sweden has an appreciation for technology and design, as well as for leading a modern lifestyle. I hope the Swedish public will embrace our LifeWear concept and make it their own," said Tadashi Yanai, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Fast Retailing. With the opening of the Stockholm store, Sweden will become Uniqlo's 20th market in the world and seventh in Europe, following the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Belgium and Spain.

press release

UPDATE: Forever 21's follow-up investigation of a data breach discovered in November has confirmed that malware was installed on some point-of-sale devices, and that some amount of personal payment card data was compromised. According to a statement from the retailer "the malware searched only for track data read from a payment card as it was being routed through the POS device. In most instances, the malware only found track data that did not have cardholder name — only card number, expiration date, and internal verification code – but occasionally the cardholder name was found." The retailer did not specify the number of stores or POS devices that were affected during the seven-month period in which the breach was ongoing.

read report

November 2017: Forever 21, which operates 815 stores in 57 countries has said that there had been unauthorised access to data from payment cards at certain of its stores. The company has not named the stores. Investigations are being acrried out on transactions made between March and October this year. Only certain points of sale devices in certain stores were affected when the encryption on those devices was not operating.

IADS is launching an Innovation Lab on Cybersecurity and Risk Management in March

Innovation Lab on Cybersecurity

Macy's announced the closure of 11 more stores, four of which had been previously disclosed. With those closures, the department store will have completed 81 of the approximately 100 planned store closures announced in August 2016. Macy's also announced the closure of another 19 or so stores as leases or operating covenants expire or as sale transactions are completed [it has shuttered 124 stores since 2015]. The company also said that same-store sales on an owned basis rose 1% percent in November and December 2017. On an owned plus licensed basis, same-store sales rose 1.1% over the same period in 2016. Strong categories were active apparel, shoes, dresses, coats, fine jewelry, men's tailored clothing, children's, home and beauty. The closure announcements come amid an emphasis on cost-cutting that will also include staffing adjustments across the stores organization.

Macy's isn't the only department store struggling with shifts in retail, although it's the one with the biggest physical footprint. Hudson's Bay, like Macy's before it, is under pressure to unload real estate and recently sold its Manhattan Lord & Taylor flagship, not to mention that Sears stores have been falling like dominoes.