Ocado of the UK has signed a deal with Kroger groceries of the US to build 20 customer fulfilment centres for the second largest US food retailer. The latter will take a 5% stake in Ocado for $183m and have exclusive access to the technology in the US. Ocado was founded by three former Goldman Sachs traders in 2000 as an online grocer and has been transforming itself into a global provider of logistics technology. Kroger reported a 33% rise in online sales in its first quarter.

See article onOcado Kroger deal

See article on Kroger acquisition of mealkit Home Chef

Digital sales at Neiman Marcus already account for 36% of the total sales of $4.7bn in the last fiscal year. CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck claims that this figure can quickly be increased to 40% and says that he can imagine that the balance between digital and brick and mortar sales will eventually reach 50-50. Neimanmarcus.com is currently being "re-architectured" to be finished by July. The aim of the company's Digital First strategy is to bolster luxury services online so that they emulate the in-store experience; achieve greater product innovation and differentiation; and re-platform Neiman Marcus Group's websites to deploy different kinds of software for greater flexibility interacting with customers. All four sites (neimanmarcus.com, bergdorfgoodman.com, mytheresa.com and Horchow.com) experienced double-digit gains during the last quarter.

At a time when pollution caused by plastics is a growing problem, there is also a growing need to increase efforts to find effective alternatives. That's why UK brand Lush has unveiled its first ever 'Naked' store on Via Torino in Milan, which only stocks products that do not use any packaging. Indeed, the "naked" products include solid shampoo bars, naked shower gels, and packaging-free soaps. The store is 100-square-meters and split across two levels, and will feature events, workshops, and even film screenings with the goal of educating customers and opening up a dialogue about a future where we do not need plastic.

In addition to the naked store launch, Lush is commemorating World Oceans Day (8 June) with the launch of a campaign that highlights how single-use plastic products are impacting our oceans. It is also launching a new product alongside the campaign: the vegan-friendly Turtle Jelly Bomb. When dropped in water, skin softening agar agar seaweed strands emerge, floating to the top as a reminder of the threat sea turtles face.

Since Lush launched 23 years ago, the company has been dedicated to different ethical causes, including fair trade, animal rights, equality, and protecting the environment.

While IKEA has been known to launch some pretty cool collaborations, their latest came as a bit of a surprise. IKEA U.S. has released a limited edition collection designed with Los Angeles based fashion designer Chris Stamp, of West Coast streetwear label, Stampd. The SPÄNST capsule collection is geared towards the younger, design-driven consumer living an active, urban lifestyle, with everything from storage pieces, lighting, a skateboard rack, a basketball hoop, hoodies, and IKEA's inaugural skateboard, among others. Prices range from $7 hats and $10 T-shirts to $25 for a hoodie. The items are available in the U.S. for a limited time.

See pictures of Ikea's SPÄNST collection

Selfridges of London has teamed up with Yorkshire Sculpture Park to present works in the store. Every six months, new works will be unveiled on a marble and steel monolith designed by UK architect David Chipperfield as part of his commission to create Selfridges' new accessories hall. The Art Block will be curated jointly by the Park and the store. The opening commission entitled Phyllis until 31 October is by UK artist Holly Hendry. Selfridges is investing heavily in art with a number of projects with partners, even outside the store.

Three years ago, Groupe Arnault injected $40m into fashion platform Lyst. Now Lyst and LVMH are deepening their relationship with a new round of funding. Sources suggest that Lyst has raised between $50m and $100m, with an LVMH contribution of around 90%. LVMH chief digital officer, Ian Rogers, will join the board of Lyst. Lyst hit a gross merchandise value of $325m in the year to March 2018 and is hoping to approach half a billion dollars this year. Lyst takes a commission on sales generating around $21m in net revenue. The company is planning to use the funding to drive global expansion. It has recently launched a French site and will launch in Germany and Spain next. (Note: Chris Morton, founder of Lyst pictured here, spoke at the IADS omnichannel meeting in London in September 2014.)

Through its newly formed "Neiman Marcus Idea Factory," the luxury retailer begins to unleash an array of concepts, products and experiences — from piercing and personalizing of fashion products by graffiti artists, to candle-making, epicure and custom-mixing beauty creams of your own — not traditionally found in bricks-and-mortar department stores. Much of the phase one activity, rolling out in the coming weeks, involves bringing artists to the stores and enabling visitors to engage with them and have them personalize and customize sportswear, jeans, jackets and accessories, with artwork. For phase two, which ramps up in September, "We're identifying concepts in epicure, food and beverage, travel, personal and family wellness, and social consciousness," said Ed Burstell, Neiman's senior vice president, product innovation.

Burstell is leading the Neiman Marcus Idea Factory, essentially an incubator for rolling out fresh ideas, experiences and exclusives, and thinking about Neiman's as more than just a luxury store for designer goods and posh services. It's an effort to connect with a wider base of customers and increase traffic and relevancy in a world where people are shopping and spending differently.

Read full article on "Neiman's Idea Factory" from WWD

David Jones of Australia is celebrating its 180th birthday this year. Founded in 1838 by Welsh merchant and later politician David Jones, the company currently operates 45 stores around the country, as well as one in New Zealand after the acquisition of Kirkaldie & Stains in 2016. The store hosted the first ever showing of Christian Dior's collection outside Paris in 1948. It also held a special banquet for Queen Elizabeth II at the Elizabeth Street store in Sydney during a royal visit in 1954.  In 1974, David Jones acquired 12 stores in the US trading as Buffum's. These were eventually closed in 1991. After discussions of a merger with rival Myer, David Jones was acquired by South African group Woolworths in 2014. David Jones was briefly a member of the IADS in 1979, and then again from 2001 to 2004.

Alibaba of China has announced that it will invest 100 billion yuan  (€13bn) to build the technical backbone for a smart logistics network. Alibaba operates its own logistics business, Cainiao Network, in which it acquired a controlling stake last September for ($800m). Plans were unveiled to open five new global Cainiao hubs in Asia, Europe and the Middle East: Dubai, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Liege, and Moscow are among the first batch of cities being considered. Currently processing 100 million packages a day, cross-border shipping time has been brought down in some countries from 70 days to 10 days. The founder and chairman says that in the future, it aims to process one billion packages a day. Alibaba and Cainiao recently led a group of investors to acquire a 10% stake in Chinese delivery company ZTO Express to further support the group's ambitions.

See video of automated DC 

Struggling Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC) agreed to sell Gilt, a flash-sale, e-commerce company it bought two years ago that has become one of its worst-performing businesses. HBC had hoped Gilt would accelerate its online sales, but failed to revive it even after combining inventories with its other discount business, Saks OFF 5TH. HBC will now focus on its core business of running department stores.

Gilt was acquired by off-price online retailer Rue La La. The combined company, operating under the newly formed Rue Gilt Groupe, joins two complementary lifestyle brands into a multi-brand growth platform. After merging, the companies are slated to reach $1 billion in sales. Both brands will continue to operate independently, retaining their unique identities and serving distinct customer segments.

press release on hudson's bay selling gilt

The German online retailer Zalando is to expand into Ireland and the Czech Republic  this summer, the first new markets targeted in five years. The openings will give the fashion retailer access to a extra combined population of 15.4 million and take the number of markets it serves from 15 to 17. Zalando is the largest online fashion retailer in Europe, ahead of competitors such as Amazon and Asos. The company claims it is using the usual Zalando method: "launch, learn, iterate, and scale." Founded in 2008, Zalando sells close to 2000 brands, has 23.9m active customers, and full-year sales of €4.49bn. It is on course to increase sales by 25% this year.

For the past four years the British department store has been revamping its 220,000 square foot flagship store in London's Knightsbridge and it now unveils the latest phase of the multi-million pound project: the womenswear floor.

The 22,000 square foot space is designed to feel more like a luxury boutique than a department store. The floor has been remodelled to give visibility from one end to the other, while windows have been unveiled to give the space natural daylight. New to the floor is a dedicated lounge area, which sits alongside a revamped shoe area and an indoor rotating exhibition space. It also introduces The Restory, a new on-demand shoe and bag repair service, while an interactive digital screen gives shoppers access to a wider range of inventory via the Harvey Nichols website. In addition to the designer womenswear space, which sits on the first floor, the fourth floor — which until now has been a "swing space" accommodating departments under renovation — will have a new look and feel. Over 50 new womenswear brands will be stocked across the two floors.

The transformation of the Knightsbridge store began with its two menswear floors, which were reopened to the public in April 2016, followed by the ground floor renovation, which now houses the Harvey Nichols' Beauty Lounge.

read full article on Harvey nichols' new womenswear floor

One of the most noticed arrivals in London last year was Reserved from Poland opening in the old BhS store on Oxford Street. The store is operated by LPP, a fashion group founded in 1991 in Gdansk, one of the country's 20 largest companies and now worth over €4.6 bn. It has mainly put its efforts into developing a presence in Eastern Europe and Germany, which it entered in 2014. However, as it moves up the value chain, it needs to enter more affluent markets such as the UK, Germany, the US and France. But mature markets represent more of a challenge and LPP is still losing money in Germany, and has yet to break even in London. According to management, "London is a different league".

read article "polish companies go west in search of profits"

House of Fraser of the UK is to close 31 of its 59 stores as part of a rescue deal. According to management, this move is "brutal… and as tough as it gets". Around 2000 House of Fraser jobs will be cut as well as 4000 brand and concession roles. The closing schedule includes the Oxford Street store which, however, will stay open until early 2019. The company is seeking a 70% rent reduction on the closing stores until they shut, as well as a 25% rent reduction on stores staying open.

House of Fraser started with a shop in the centre of Glasgow almost 170 years ago. It became a retail empire with more than 100 department stores, including iconic luxury store Harrods in 1959. Owner Hugh Fraser also acquired Kendals in Manchester and Rackhams in Birmingham. Hugh's son, also called Hugh, expanded the portfolio with a further 50 stores. The Fraser dynasty came to an end in 1985, when Mohamed al-Fayed took it over. The House of Fraser Group has annual sales of £1.2bn. It employs about 5,000 people directly and also has 12,500 concession staff.

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has built a fulfilment centre that handles up to 200 000 orders a day and is operated by just four employees. The centre just outside Shanghai uses artificial intelligence to scan and inspect packages as they are being processed. Once packages are taken off trucks they are scanned and the system calculates where they should be dropped off. The packages are grouped by region, picked up by autonomous forklift trucks and taken to a truck for delivery. The company employs 17 500 people at its other facilities.

See below recent Supply Chain and Planning meeting which included a visit of the recent John Lewis warehouse in the UK.

iads Supply chain & planning meeting 2018

Today, Chanel released full-year earnings for the first time. Reporting revenues of $9.6 billion in 2017 with 11 percent organic growth, the company has produced an operating profit of almost $2.7 billion.

"We have no debt. We have $1.6bn cash. All this is important. It provides us the ammunition to remain who we are: private and independent," said Philippe Blondiaux, Chief Financial Officer.

But alongside this announcement comes another important first for the French fashion group; a comprehensive report to society detailing how the company operates, its commitments to wider society, and how it collaborates with external stakeholders on sustainability issues.

See report of Chanel 2018

Macy's announced an evolution of its commercial partnership with technology powered retailer b8ta. As part of its strategic focus on enhancing the in-store customer experience, the company will leverage b8ta's best-in-class software platform to scale The Market @ Macy's, becoming strategic partners in this 'retail-as-a-service' model. The Market @ Macy's is the company's experiential retail concept launched earlier this year. Macy's has also acquired a minority equity stake in b8ta.

Launched in February 2018, The Market @ Macy's, currently open at 10 Macy's locations nationwide, helps emerging and established brands reach new audiences. Each shop brings customers a rotating selection of unique offerings in apparel, accessories, beauty, entertainment, experiences, decorative home, stationary, technology, and gifts.

The partnership with b8ta along with the recent acquisition of STORY, is the latest example of Macy's strategy to evolve its stores with more experience-based concepts and create a portfolio of unique relationships that will drive customer engagement across its store base.

press release on Macy's acquires a minority equity stake in b8ta 

Figures released in connection with the acquisition of a controlling stake in House of Fraser by C.banner of China, show a net loss in 2017 of £37m. EBITDA fell from £51.6m to £24m in the period. C.banner holds a total stake of 51% of House of Fraser after acquiring 34% from Nanjing Xinjiekou. The chairman of Sanpower, parent company of Nanjing Xinjiekou, is the brother in law of C.banner chairman. The recent transaction values the company at £278m, compared with the £480m that Nanjing Xinjiekou paid for 89% in 2014. Some 11% of House of Fraser is owned by UK Sports Direct.

Macy's is upgrading its pop-up shops, driven by the way millennial consumers discover beauty products — through technology.

The Market, a pop-up concept featured in select stores and featuring a curated selection of products not normally sold at Macy's along with a selection of fashion and tech products, already features beauty products from brands including PiperWai, Miracle Brow and Liquid Courage.

As consumers increasingly shop online for beauty and fashion products, Macy's will tap into B8ta's expertise (a tech startup that provides a Shopify-like solution for brands moving into physical retail).  to bring more tech features to its pop-up section from video to content platforms to tech-driven product testing in stores, in order to showcase beauty, fashion and tech brands.

Customers may be able to get customized beauty advice through technology or put beauty products they see in the shop to an online checkout on their phones.

Department stores are getting increasingly competitive when it comes to introducing new technologies in fashion and beauty departments.

Jennifer Walsh, the founder of retail concept Beauty Bar — which spanned e-commerce, brick-and-mortar stores and a TV program — and a cosmetics industry consultant, said beauty merchandise alone is no longer enough to draw shoppers to a store. As a result, department stores are trying to lure customers in with interesting experiences, including everything from pop-ups tailored to local tastes to custom beauty advice dished out through high-tech features such as virtual voice assistants.

Marks & Spencer of the UK has announced its results for the year to end March 2018. While group revenue is stable, pre-tax profit is down 62% to £67m. Exactly ten years ago, M&S was announcing profits of £1billion. The recently appointed chairman Archie Norman had a long list of mea culpas: the website is too slow, the warehouse incapable of handling peak order volumes, the food overpriced, the clothing ranges too confusing. Most importantly, the company has been too slow to react to the rapid shifts in consumer habits. Although the blueprint for the future is not substantially different from that announced by CEO Steve Rowe in 2016, it will be accelerated in the light of the discovery that closing stores need not materially reduce overall sales. Most of the group's problems are seen as fixable. The question is whether the costs will be worth it and whether investors have the patience to endure a five-year programme of change. Some analysts are sceptical. For example, the combination of mid-price fashion with premium food and a bit of furniture is not widely accepted as a viable model.

Walmart and  Lord & Taylor are preparing to roll out a new shopping experience on Walmart.com. Set to launch in phases in the coming weeks, the "store within a store" on Walmart's website will feature more than 125 brands sold at Lord & Taylor. The two retailers formally announced the partnership last November.

Both companies hope to see a boost in sales from the unique tie-up for different reasons. Walmart is competing with Amazon which might become the #1 apparel retailer in the U.S. It has also said it aims to grow its selection of clothing beyond every day, low-priced items, to include more high-end pieces from well-known, designer labels. Lord & Taylor faces many of the obstacles that U.S. department stores are facing today: it needs to cut costs and find ways to win sales from shoppers who are increasing online purchases. The hope is that a new customer base — i.e. Walmart shoppers — will become more familiar with Lord & Taylor over time and shop their stores too. Lord & Taylor's brands won't be available in Walmart stores, only online and on the company's mobile app.

A redesigned Walmart.com will soon have two shops — one for everyday brands (including Walmart's newer private labels) and one for premium brands, where Lord & Taylor will be housed. Walmart said it will "regularly" be adding new brands and products to the two shops in the coming months.

press release "Lord & Taylor Flagship Store will debut on Walmart.com "

Former chief executive of House of Fraser, John King, has been appointed CEO of Australian department store group Myer. He will replace Richard Umbers who stepped down in February. After starting his career in food retailing at Sainsbury's, John King moved to fashion with Marks & Spencer and Matalan, before leading House of Fraser in 2006 for eight years. He built up the department store's online presence as well as a range of own brand products, and negotiated better rent terms with landlords. The current troubles at House of Fraser would appear to be more the result of a lack of investment by Chinese owners rather than any of the measures John King put in place. Myer is facing significant changes both in consumer shopping habits, and in the retail environment where it is competing against South African-owned David Jones. Woolworths, owning David Jones, was rumoured some time ago to be evaluating a Myer take-over.

Music legend Lionel Richie has designed a bedding and bath collection for American retailer J.C. Penney. The collection includes comforters, quilts, sheets, decorative pillows and bath towels. It has a subdued classic aesthetic, with some sets offering a seventies pop flair, and is priced affordably — $129.99 for a queen comforter set, $39.99 for two decorative pillows and $24.99 for two Euro shams. The sets are designed to coordinate with other bedding, bath and window products from JCPenney Home, a premium private label, and the two brands will be merchandised together in one shop this September.

press release on Lionel Richie home collection for J.C. Penney

Macy's is jumping deeper into the experiential retail space. The department store retailer has purchased Story, a New York-based concept store founded by Rachel Shechtman, who will join Macy's as brand experience officer. She will report to Hal Lawton, president of Macy's. In this new position, Shechtman will focus on ways to enhance the in-store customer experience at the Macy's brand and work to integrate Story into the company "in a new format," Macy's said.

The Story retail store in Chelsea, which offers a storytelling retail model similar to that of a magazine and the design and merchandise mix is reinvented every six to eight weeks, will continue to operate in its original location. In addition, the company's chief operating officer, Jenny Shechtman, will assume the role of vice president, operations at Story under Macy's, Inc.'s umbrella.

Press release of macy's on acquiring story

Read full WWD article on Macy's acquiring story