Macy's has developed a new pop-up concept, dubbed "The Market @ Macy's," set to launch next week in 10 cities. The program gives pods of space to a handful of brands and companies on Macy's ground floor to promote or sell their products. It is aimed at giving Macy's customers more variety to their shopping and insight into what they like. For their branded partners, it bestows an opportunity to have brick-and-mortar presence they may lack. Macy's distinguishes the Market from traditional pop-ups in that the department store carries the heavy lifting: Sales associates working for the Market will work exclusively to service the brands, an offer of particular use for companies without retail experience. Macy's also offers the potential to scale through its footprint and a flexible approach to timing, allowing pop-ups to stay as little as a month. Brands pay a one-time fee for the space and retain all their sales, and most, but not all, of the brands will be unique to the city they are in.

Seeking to attract a younger, digitally inclined tween generation, J.C. Penney is launching Obsess, a private fashion brand with "rotating capsules" inspired by influential young women promoting a positive body image. In its announcement, Penney's said the first Obsess collection will be a collaboration with Olympic Gold Medalist gymnast Laurie Hernandez and include trendy tops, rompers, dresses and jeans for all body types. Obsess will launch at jcpenney.com and be available in 500 Penney's stores beginning March 2. "Obsess is a very unique brand that allows J.C. Penney to reach a generation of girls who move rapidly from one fashion trend to another, as they discover new style inspiration through daily social media feeds," said James Starke, Penney's senior vice president of merchandising. "By working with inspiring young women like Laurie Hernandez for unique capsule collections under the Obsess brand, J.C. Penney is able to offer tween girls the fresh styles they crave. As we focus on driving business to J.C. Penney, we have an opportunity with Obsess to attract an entirely new, and often elusive, Generation Z customer. Gen Z holds $44 billion in buying power and is on track to become the largest consumer segment over the next few years, representing significant sales growth potential."

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Harrods has partnered with Tencent's strategic partner My Money to roll out the WeChat digital payment system at Harrods Knightsbridge and its airport retail stores. WeChat pay is ubiquitous in China. It allows users to instantly send money to their contacts or, by scanning a QR code, to all kinds of retailers, from fruit vendors to restaurants to fashion retailers. Harrods' announcement comes as good news for Chinese travelers visiting the UK, who recently found out they were missing out on significant discounts due to discriminatory policies at Heathrow Airport's duty-free stores* – According to the China Tourism Academy, 115,000Chinese tourists visited the UK in the first half of 2017.

Harrods has been strategic in its efforts to reach Chinese shoppers. They've recruited more than 200 Mandarin-speaking staff, and even redesigned their floor plan — adding a new fine watch room and changes to the jewelry department — with Chinese shoppers in mind. They were also quick to adopt other Chinese payment methods, accepting cards from China Union Pay in 2010 and payments using Alibaba's Alipay in 2016.

*Chinese charged more at Heathrow: Heathrow Airport is under fire after it was claimed that World Duty Free shops discriminated against Chinese travellers. Customers from China were offered a 20 per cent "VIP" discount if they spent £1,000 in-store, other shoppers were offered the discount for a spend of just £79.

The Nama department store company occupies a special place in Zagreb culture. It used to consist of eight department stores in Zagreb. It was the largest retail chain in the country. Originally founded by Kastner and Oehler of Austria in 1879 during the Austro Hungarian empire, it brought the revolutionary department store shopping ideas to what would become Yugoslavia after WWI. It also introduced catalogue sales and mail order. It was later nationalised under the name Narodni Magazin (Nama). There are only two stores left: one in the historic building which used to be a hotel on Ilica, and another on Kvaternikov square. The latter was opened in 1968 and around 150 ex-employees recently gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the store. Many spent most of their working lives in the store, and some were sent to Germany for extra training. In local memory, Nama department stores stand for luxury in the 1970s and 1980s.

Shoppers Stop of India has announced that it will open five more department stores in 2019, as well as a dozen beauty format stores. The company is targeting a 7.5 to 8% like-for-like growth in the coming year and a 10 to 11% top line growth. Furthermore the company should be completely debt-free by Q3 2019. Shoppers Stop catalogue will be on the amazon.in website by April-May this year. The US Amazon acquired a 5% share in Shoppers Stop last year. According to management, they have not discussed an increase in stake with Amazon.

Luxury brand Chanel has taken a minority stake in London-based online retailer Farfetch. The luxury goods company is interested in trying to expand its digital services to court younger more tech-savvy clients. Under the deal, Chanel will not sell its goods through Farfetch but will work with the platform on digital innovations linked to customer services. These could include smartphone apps allowing people to flag their preferences and sizes before visiting a store, or located items spotted in magazines, for example. The move, according to Chanel, is about enriching the relationship with customers. Other investors in Farfetch include Chinese online retailer JD.com, French investment company Eurazeo and Singapore state investor Temask.

The Bon-Ton regional US department store chain, based in Milwaukee and York, Pennsylvania, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which operates around 260 retail locations, recently laid out plans to close more than 40 stores across the US under its various banners (Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers). It is currently negotiating a restructuring plan with potential investors. Analysts have described the retailer as "undifferentiated, unclear, and increasingly irrelevant to consumers". Bon-Ton has revealed plans to invest more in private-label brands, refresh the overall store layout, ditch excess inventory, and strengthen its e-commerce business.

The Galeries Lafayette group has won the tender to manage 11 luxury watch stores located in Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly airports until 2026 through Royal Quartz Paris, its watchmaking brand. Royal Quartz Paris has been operating in the Paris airports since 1995 and already won the previous call for tender in 2011. In addition, Royal Quartz Paris is reinventing itself and unveiling a new brand its new name: Galeries Lafayette-Royal Quartz Paris. This new identity combines the reputation and international influence of the Galeries Lafayette brand with the historical expertise of Royal Quartz Paris in watchmaking and travel retail industries.

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Canadian family-owned store La Maison Simons has opened its first "net zero energy" flagship in Quebec City's Galerie de la Capitale mall. After six years of trial and error, the C$ 25m , 80 000 sq ft store can generate as much energy on-site as it consumes annually. Hundreds of types of LED lights were tested with the aim of reducing consumption. Twenty seven geothermal boreholes were drilled under the shopping centre to pull heat from the ground in the winter and cool the store in the summer. Inside the store, which replaces an existing one, customers can recharge their phones at "We Watt" stations using stationary bicycles. Art also plays a role with large sculptures made of branches, papier maché and recycled fabric. The store is addressing the concerns of its millennial customers as well as its older shoppers. Simons operates 15 stores across Canada including nine in Quebec as well as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Mississauga and Ottawa.

Debenhams UK department store company has announced that it will step up cost-cutting plans, in particular by reducing the complexity of management roles. Thus 320 store management jobs will be cut with redeployment opportunities wherever possible. The company said that the new structure should be fully in place by the end of March. Debenhams, which operates over 240 stores in 27 countries, experienced a difficult holiday season, as did many other UK retailers.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.