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.

As expected, Terry J. Lundgren is officially retiring from Macy's Inc. and its board on Jan. 31, at which time Jeffrey Gennette, chief executive officer, will add the title of chairman. Last March, Lundgren stepped down as chairman and ceo, and has since been executive chairman. Gennette became ceo in March. "I am proud of our company's growth, accomplishments and the talent we developed during the 14 years I have led Macy's Inc.," Lundgren said. "I have worked closely with Jeff and his team over the past two years, focusing on the changes and vision required for future success. I am confident that the company has the strategies, resources, talent and leadership to capitalize on the fundamental shifts in consumer shopping patterns we have all experienced. I continue to be impressed with Jeff's leadership, his decisiveness and his engagement with all levels of our outstanding organization." Lundgren became CEO in February 2003 and chairman and CEO in January 2004. He has been one of the nation's highest-profile retail executives, chairing the National Retail Federation twice

Department store SKP in Beijing has introduced a new lifestyle concept known as Rendez-vous which will also launch in the company's Xian store next year. The concept, designed by London-based Sybarite architects, is part of the store's extensive overhaul. Located on the fourth floor, Rendez-vous hosts a variety of curated vendors such as Rendez-vous coffee, the TWG tea room, an artisanal cheese room, and a wine bar and cellar. There is also a restaurant, Without Borders, and a bookstore. The design is meant to enhance the product and is built to be scalable.

While there has been speculation for years, Barneys  signed a lease to move into Bal Harbour Shops, which is considered one of America's most productive, upscale and unique shopping destinations. Matthew Whitman Lazenby, third-generation leader of Bal Harbour Shops and president and chief executive officer of Whitman Family Development LLC, said Barneys signed a long-term lease for a 53,000-square-foot, three-level store. Barneys will anchor the southwest end of the property and will include a Freds restaurant on the third floor with indoor and outdoor seating. Executive chef Mark Strausman will create a custom menu for the location, using the locally sourced ingredients and changing menu items seasonally.

The new store should open in 2023.

Amazon's attempt to remake shopping as we know it takes a major step forward with the opening of AmazonGo convenience store to the public. The store uses advanced technology to let shoppers walk in, take what they want off the shelf, then leave — without waiting in line for a cashier. The 1,800-square foot mini-market is modeled on a convenience store, offering takeaway food like salads and sandwiches, meal kits for home preparation and an array of beverages. Shoppers gain entry to the Amazon Go store using a smartphone app. Then a mix of cameras, sensors and artifical intelligence keeps track of what they take off the shelves. When shoppers walk out with their purchases, the system automatically charges them.

read presentation

A piece from the UK BBC looks at how the Millennial generation is changing a number of traditional aspects of everyday life including marriage, napkins and breakfast cereal. It looks more particularly at changes in the restaurant business where shops and restaurants merge, delivery-only restaurants ("ghost restaurants") or several restaurant concepts sharing one kitchen. Similarly it documents changes in the luxury market with millennials spending more on experiences while renting or sharing luxury goods such as cars or designer clothes. Traditional gyms are also being forsaken in favour of classes or community-centre facilities. The important point is that a number of businesses are failing to adapt.

read article

The Tea Terrace, based in House of Fraser's Oxford Street branch, has become Europe's first location to deliver the "Selfieccino," which features an image of customers' faces on the frothy topping of their drinks. Patrons send their headshots via an online messaging app to the barista and are given the choice of either a cappuccino or hot chocolate as their canvas. The image is uploaded to the "Cino" machine while the drink is placed in position. The picture is then scanned and reproduced onto the froth using a flavorless food coloring. The process takes around four minutes before an image is presented on the froth, ready to be photographed and sent to all points via social media before drinking, and costs around 5.75 pounds. ($7.5). The Tea Terrace hopes to trademark the term as they expand the service across their other two locations in London Victoria and Guildford, Surrey.

Read full article & see video

After the floors dedicated to menswear, childrenswear, home and beauty, Printemps du Goût (a gourmet court) is the last space to complete the refurbishment of the Parisian department store, which opened in 1865. The 1700sqm space is located on the two last floors above the Printemps de l'Homme, and offers an amazing view on the Opéra Garnier. "The approach in Paris is that you do an annex, and you put food in the annex," said Paolo de Cesare, president and chief executive officer of Printemps, "we want food at the core of our building."

The seventh floor is home to a gourmet grocery featuring 2,500 products including jam, biscuits, chocolate and honey. In addition to a gift department and book section, the floor is home to a wines and spirits store run by wine merchant Le Repaire de Bacchus. A window near the escalators provides a view of the store's soaring atrium and glimpses of the five-floor men's department. The eight floor, meanwhile, houses "La Place du Marché" which offers fresh products, as well as several dining facilities from renowned professionals including pastry chef Christophe Michalak, cheese maker Laurent Dubois, and Michelin-star chef Akrame Benallal. The dining areas on the eighth floor feature globe pendant lights in a nod to the decor of the staff canteen that occupied the premises in the 19th century. In addition, Printemps plans to open a 220-seat rooftop restaurant in June, as well as a café on the ground floor, adjoining the men's accessories hall.

Printemps has decided to make the offer 100 percent French and aims to provide alternative dining options for businesspeople and tourists in an area dominated by traditional brasseries. "It's very nice that every concept is very different and in this sense, we have a very unique approach, very focused on the quality of the product, very focused on partnerships with unique chefs. We have a really distinctive reason for being and we will live very well with the other approaches. So it's a case where the more, the better,"  Paolo de Cesare said.

Iconic department store Fortnum & Mason has defied challenges that have plagued the high street this year by posting its fifth successive year of double-digit sales. The heritage retailer recorded a year-on-year sales increase of 14 per cent for its fiscal year ending July, with net sales of £113 million being its best on record. Fortnum & Mason said its sales was boosted by a 17 per cent growth in online revenue, which consisted of deliveries to more than 120 countries worldwide. Meanwhile, profit jumped 23 per cent year-on-year, with net profit now standing at £7.6 million.

The retailer said it also experienced an uptick of domestic customers both online and at its stores in London, and 82 per cent of its overall turnover derived from products manufactured in the UK.

Fortnum & Mason also launched a new apprenticeship scheme that has 25 people already in position, invested in the creation of 49 new full-time jobs, and £7 million was spent to improve and develop its infrastructure. In addition, the brand opened a new outlet in South Korea and a further three are slated to open in 2018. "I am particularly thrilled by the rise in domestic consumers over the past year," chief executive Ewan Venters said. "Customers who care about the taste, quality and sustainability of their food are coming to Fortnum's in increasing numbers, be it in our stores or online."

The 17,760-square-foot space, phase two of a plan to build the world's largest accessories hall by 2018, is all about the windows, which stretch from floor to ceiling and run along Duke Street and around the corner to Oxford Street. The 20-foot-high windows are so high that shoppers can see the sky and the hubbub on Oxford Street as they browse the Dior and Louis Vuitton spaces or dip into the luxury accessories bazaar at the center of the room; a central area which offers a mix of handbags, jewelry and other gift items. "The boundaries are blurring between the street, the windows and the retail space," said Sebastian Manes, buying and merchandising director. "We've never had windows like this before, and it's so much brighter. You can see the sky — and you can walk in the windows.".  The space, with its white terrazzo floors, classical columns and warm lighting, is part of a three-phase accessories hall project set to be completed in the late spring of 2018. Once finished, the accessories hall will span 60,000 square feet, and make up one-third of Selfridges' ground floor, and one-tenth of the 600,000-square-foot Oxford Street flagship.

Ikea is rethinking its business model and focusing on city-centre outlets. Urbanisation and digitalisation are keys to the future and the company is even considering selling goods on third-party sites. The new CEO has said that experimentation would accelerate ahead of the presentation of plans for the company to be presented next year. New structures are being created which will allow testing in many places. Meanwhile new store and e-commerce investments are increasing, contributing to the fall in profits (a city-centre store in Copenhagen is on the cards). Ikea ended the year to last August with operating income down to €3bn from €4.5 bn last year. Revenues increased only moderately from €35.7bn to €36.3bn. The cost of sales rose more rapidly from €20.3bn to €23.7bn, bringing gross margin down 9 percentage points to 34.6%.

In an interview appearing in Business of Fashion, editor Imran Amed asks Anna Wintour, legendary editor of Vogue, about fashion and the role of media. For Wintour, there has never, during her tenure of almost 30 years, been a more tumultuous period, nor a more fascinating one. They also talk about the role of digital in Vogue, how fashion is changing, the Theresa May story, the impact of Trump and changing retail.

interview - part 1

interview - part 2

Legendary figure, Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH watch division, shares his views on brand identity in an interview with WWD. He uses the examples of Tag Heuer, Zenith, and Hublot to illustrate the positioning of brands and the opportunities as well as the restrictions that this imposes. The accent is on brand consistency.

Find a link to his interview below

read interview

The 65-year-old designer announced that he is telling the story of his colorful career in a racy, music-filled theater show. It is expected to debut in Paris next autumn before going on an international tour. Gaultier said the production, titled "Fashion Freak Show," will combine singing, dancing and acting, and draw on the people who have inspired his designs. Gaultier says the show is not fully written, but about half of the cast and production staff has been selected.

The 815 000 sq ft store on Manhattan's 59th Street has been renovationg its home departments on levels six, seven, and eight. The aim is to make shopping more experiential, comfortable, easier and fun and to recapture the spirit of "Saturday's Generation", the young crowd that flocked to Bloomingdale's in the seventies at weekends as much to shop as to socialise. Renovation will continue with fashion which will be confined to levels two, three and four and no longer carried on five which is being converted to a shoe complex of over 40 000 sqft. The company is "remaining flexible" on leased shops but there has been an increase in leases in luxury leather and ready-to-wear. Management refuses to comment on the possibility of creating a food hall, but some commentators are speculating.