The IADS and NellyRodi regularly take stock on the new trends induced by the Covid-19 pandemic through a series of monthly product category workshops. Their last one, which also hosted IMG members, was dedicated to Women's Fashion and highlighted the difficulties experienced by this category.

Fashion sales decreased by -20% in Europe and -23% in the US from 2019 to 2020, and the recovery is not yet in sight in 2021: McKinsey expects European sales to be somewhere between -12% to -24% this year compared with 2020, and between -6% and -16% in the US, with China being the only market to fully recover. Everywhere, the pandemic accelerated trends that pre-existed on the fashion market:

• The increasing digitalisation of the shopping experience, favouring e-commerce,
• Customers massively turning towards responsible, fair and socially committed brands and retailers.

Coupled with the 2020 tourism slump and lack of visibility on the recovery of this retail-essential industry, the situation forced retailers to contain the losses in the fashion category, which represents 21% of the total turnover for IADS members, and 48% for IMG members, by addressing local customers through digitalisation, refreshed instore experiences, and a new product offer.

In 2021-22, Women's Fashion will need to overcome three unprecedented challenges

• The pandemic led to a generalized casualisation of fashion: Whatever the price positioning (Luxury, Premium, Mid-range and Entry level), casual wear is now the most significant part of the business: 63% of IADS members' and 45% of IMG members' businesses. Blurring boundaries between fashion and sportswear, this segment mixes style and comfort, a key factor for remote-working customers during the pandemic. Now that companies start to favour a combination of remote work and in-office days, the casualisation will also impact the office wear segment (23% of the business for both IADS and IMG members): customers from this category will actively look to combine statement pieces ('dress to impress' during the office days) and 'power casual' items for the remote-working days.
• Fashion will become more extreme on both ends. Thanks to the gradual reopening of social activities and functions (ceremonies, parties), it is expected that special occasion pieces (33% of the IMG members' business and 14% for IADS members) will rise again. This, combined with the casualisation phenomenon, leads buyers to expect that the Women's fashion market will stretch even more, both in terms of prices (lower entry level price points, higher luxury prices) and style (more low-key pieces, more extravagant ones).
• Retailers will have to deal with consumer's contradiction. NellyRodi pointed out the self-contradicting customers' behaviour, as they expect retailers to be sustainable and stand for justice, while also expecting speed and constant product renewal at the same time. As a consequence, stores will have to simultaneously cater to the needs of 2 types of radically different customers: the 'compulsive buyer', favouring entertainment and newness, and the 'thoughtful buyer', embracing new responsible trends such as rental or second-hand. Unfortunately, this contradiction is not easy to solve.

Since the e-commerce category's share is between 5% to 16% of the total business, with significant potential (Bain & Company estimates that it should reach 60% in the future), the answer to the customer contradiction has to be digital: retail technology can help create 1-to-1 relationships between retailers and customers, through livestreams, FaceTime or WhatsApp sales, free 'book online, try in store' services, or in-store curated product boxes sent to top customers & coupled with speedy deliveries.

Brand Panorama

During the workshop, NellyRodi identified 24 brands to watch:

• Illustrating the category transformation: 8 by Yoox, Tribute Brand, Misha Nonoo and Ba&sh.
• Fulfilling CSR requirements: Pangaia, Olistic, Marcia, Universal Standard.
• Focusing on digital: Boohoo, Shein, FashionNova, Sincerely Jules.
• Regional brands going global: Low Classic, N°21, Supriya Lele, Ambush.
• Illustrating pop culture: Recc, Rotate, Louis Vuitton x Riot Games collaboration, Chen Lo.
• Going big on storytelling: Gentle Monster, Kitsey Martin, Sézane, Ganni.

IADS and IMG members also reviewed together the new and/or successful brands from their own assortments: 17 in Luxury, 41 in Premium and 28 in Mid-range segments (list available upon request).

The fashion shift forces retailers to adapt

After months of new customer habits during the pandemic (most notably the work-from-home-induced new habits), growth for the Women's Fashion category will be fuelled online, forcing retailers to build relevant bridges between stores and digital. Department stores will also have to deal with customers' contradictory expectations, from 'slow life' to instant product availability. New opportunities stand in new models such as second-hand, rental and DNVBs, which could represent a way to combine customer expectations, economic necessities, and adaptation to the unprecedented fashion shift that took place during the pandemic.

download PDF (English) - Women's Fashion category shifts

Download PDF (French) - Communiqué Workshop Mode Femme

Fashion Network has written an article based on IADS' press release reporting the results of its Women's Fashion Merchandising meeting. The article titled "In department stores, women's fashion is polarized between comfort and assertive creativity" reveals key findings and trends that are highlighted following a meeting gathering the buyers of the member stores.

Read the article below:

Fashion Network Article (French)

IADS Press Release - Women's Fashion meeting

IADS was quoted by Bloomberg on its positive outlook of the reopening of La Samaritaine in Paris, despite the lack of tourism.

Read the article below.

Landmark Parisian Store Reopens in City Short of Tourists

Journal du Textile shared the Association's outlook on the return of tourism and the importance of local business for department stores.

Read the article below.

Another type of tourism is needed for businesses (French)

IADS' general manager joined Volcan Design and CA COM Groupe in a discussion about the current state of retail and department stores in Paris with La Croix.

• Check out the interview (in French) below.

Department stores see a great future (French)

Selvane Mohandas du Ménil sat down for an interview with Alan Treadgold with Candezent Advisory to talk about how IADS members are weathering the pandemic and recovery. Innovative efforts of all members were highlighted to give a global perspective on how important department stores are to their communities in times of need.

• Watch the video and read the transcription below:

Link to video

link to transcript

Fashion Network has released an article titled "How to relaunch French luxury internationally" citing IADS' Managing Director's take that department stores and brands need to create a "digital ecosystem" where everything must be integrated. He stated, "Tomorrow, we will no longer be able to be satisfied with simply selling products, but we will address a community."

Read the article below:

Fashion Network Article (French)

Fashion Network has written an article based on IADS' press release reporting the results of its Sport and Lifestyle Merchandising meeting. The article titled "In department stores, sportswear envisioned as a segment of the future" reveals key findings and trends following a meeting gathering the buyers of the member stores.

Read the article below:

Fashion Network Article (French)

IADS Press Release - Sport and Lifestyle Merchandising Meeting

The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) launches the first ever global observatory dedicated to the department store format, as part of its benchmarking and analysis role.

The 2020 Covid-19 global pandemic accelerated and amplified existing fractures and challenges for the department store format. If some spectacularly failed, such as JC Penney and Lord & Taylor in the US, Onuma in Japan or Debenhams in the UK, other companies showed a surprising agility and adaptation to harsh conditions. They modified their offer, sold new products or services in a novel way, and wholly embraced e-commerce, including marketplaces (which are a digital iteration of their original activity). It is telling that, after almost 2 years of difficulties, new projects decided prior to the pandemic are maintained, be it in Europe with La Samaritaine (2021), El Corte Inglés Castellana in Madrid (2020), or in the rest of the world, with Falabella planning new stores in South America, SKP, The Mall Group or SM in Asia, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps in China.

This dynamism and resilience, coupled with a data notoriously difficult to access (due to a wide variety of formats, business models and ownership), should generate a keen interest and make department stores a privileged topic for observation. This is the reason why IADS is launching a tool to monitor progress and provide objective data as a base for discussion and comparison, for a department store market whose size is estimated at between €400 and €600 billion.

A yearly tracking which takes account of the variety of formats and regional differences

The IADS 100 is a list of 100 international and significant department stores, selected as a representative sample of the format, be it in terms of size variety, model and market position. The ambition of this list is not be exhaustive, nor a ranking of the largest or most successful companies, but a tracker, compiling and comparing data to understand the present and the future of this somewhat challenged format.

Department stores, even if they still adhere to common principles (free entry, fixed price, size, assortment width), became diverse and more complex with the years:

• In size and structure including chains, flagships, large and small,
• In ownership with many private businesses and others forming part of public holding companies,
• In models with some acting more like shopping malls (concessions) while others conduct wholesale businesses,
• In market position, ranging from high luxury to everyday family assortments,
• In adoption of e-commerce ranging from practically nothing to well over half of the total business.

Some of these characteristics are specific to locations, with Asian companies tending to favour a concession model, for example, or some of the large US companies resulting from decades of mergers and takeovers. Highest growth is taking place in Asia, while the most fragmented continent is Europe and the most consolidated is the Americas.

The 100 companies tracked by the IADS 100 (30% of worldwide players) represent half of the total market share in the world

The IADS 100 tracks 39 companies from Asia (€88 billion turnover), 34 from Europe (€55 billion), 17 from Americas (€67 billion), and 10 from MEA (€7.6 billion), for a total monitored turnover of €218 billion (between 37% and 54% of total market size).

The tracker is a work in progress and aims at collecting verified and comparable information as much as possible: due to the fact that it deals with a variety of business models, perimeters, fiscal years and even reporting standards, the value of the IADS 100 will grow with time, as the list evolves dynamically.

download PDF (English) - Launch of IADS 100

Download PDF (French) - Lancement de l'Observatoire IADS 100

The IADS and NellyRodi regularly take stock on the new trends induced by the Covid-19 pandemic through a series of monthly product category workshops with the Association stores members. Their last workshop, dedicated to the Sportswear category, underlines its resilience during the health crisis.

During the course of 2020, the Covid-19-related lockdowns deeply changed customers' behaviour and habits when buying products from the Sportswear category:

• The cancellation of sports events and closure of gyms transferred all physical activities to the home, favouring purchases of dedicated equipment,
• The stay-at-home habits (work from home, travel and social interactions limitations) encouraged a non-sport-related usage of sporting garments and footwear.

As a consequence, Sportswear category as a whole resisted better in 2020 than other categories which were more impacted: while apparel category globally decreased by 19% in 2020, the sport category limited the decrease to -7.7% according to McKinsey, reaching a global turnover of €284 billion. Return to growth is expected to take place as soon as 2021, with a planned growth of +9.8% compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic level. This growth is fuelled on the long range by new usages and behaviour, and is anticipated to take place both on mature markets and newer ones. The US market, the global leader with a third of the worldwide sales, is expected to grow by +14% over the 2019-2024 period. In the same way, it is expected that the Chinese market, where sporting activities are booming, will grow by +71% on the same period, reaching €71 billion turnover and increasing its worldwide market share to 19%, from 14% currently.

IADS members' buyers all consider the Sportswear category as one of their best product categories in terms of growth potential. On average, this category represents between 6 and 12% of their turnover, with an average of 25% online.

New consuming habits led to a clear segmentation with different dynamics

IADS members' buyers divide the Sportswear category into the 4 following segments: :

• Athleisure, used for both sport practice and daily life, is central for the category: appealing to the largest possible customer base (athletes & amateurs), this segment represents 50% of the category business and 43% of the brand offer, with a notable focus on outdoor, yoga and Pilates. The growth in this segment is expected to continue, especially online, thanks to the emergence of new brands promoting inclusivity, comfort and a reinvented femininity. In terms of notable brands, NellyRodi identified Pangaïa, Ecoalf, Organic Basics, Outdoor Voices, Mate, Girlfriend Collective, Adanola, The Upside, P.E. Nation, Live the process, Vaara, Splits 59.
• Streetwear goes mainstream, and is an image-driver for stores: this segment addresses both sport and fashion customers. Such a positioning allows a double exposure in stores, in the Fashion and Sports sections, which raises store layout questions. Representing 23% of the category business and 28% of the brand offer, Streetwear is particularly attractive in terms of image, thanks to limited editions, exclusive products (especially sneakers), and constant innovation. As a consequence, department stores, by building partnerships with music and gaming industries or athletes, become more desirable in the younger customers' eyes. Brands to watch in that segment are Kapital, Wacko Maria, Cav Empt, Facetasm, Fpar, Harajukoff, Obey, A Cold Wall, Heron Preston, Vision Naire, Avnier, Sporty and Rich.
• Technical products brands dedicated to sport practice are getting more specialised: Accounting for 20% of the category business and 22% of the brand offer, the segment includes specific equipment (running, cycling, fitness). A rebound in sales is forecasted due to the reopening of outdoor activities. In parallel, at-home equipment (treadmills, weights…) is expected to continue on the same successful trend. Several specialised brands, with a promise to improve customers' performances, allow to anticipate an enrichment of the brand portfolio in the months to come. NellyRodi identified the following: Pas Normal Studio, Satisfy Running, Goldwin Official, Ciele, Picture, So Ill.
• Luxury Sportswear is an emerging category with a strong potential: while it still only represents 5% of the category business, on that segment collaborations are key and favour emotion over function, making it a strong image-driver for stores, in addition to a significant contributor to margins. NellyRodi identified in this segment Ricky Regal x Lacoste, Fear of God, Ahluwalia.

Within IADS department stores, new brands are coming as a complement to blockbuster names

In terms of sales results, the domination of blockbuster brands is here to stay: Nike (dominating all segments), Adidas (losing ground on the technical segment), Under Armour and Garmin, the latter gaining traction in the Technical segment. In parallel, among brands already present in stores and with a notable growth, IADS members identified the following: Everlast, Theragun, Suunto, Amazfit, Acronym, Titika, Stronger, Ultracor, Deha, Juvia, Lourdes, Oceans Apart, On Running, Diemme, Tamanaco, Gymshark, Bogner.

The Sportswear category significantly contributes to sales growth within department stores

While the Hybrid product category has surged over the past years to reach half of the sales, the pandemic consequences only accelerated the trend which is here to stay and grow. Whether it's fashion or sport-oriented, the Streetwear segment will continue developing thanks to new lifestyles, helping department stores to appeal to a younger customer. Finally, the Technical segment, which grew thanks to at-home exercising equipment, will keep on growing thanks to the possibility to resume outdoor or team-sports practices.

While stores are gradually reopening after lockdowns, the organisation of new events and proposal of unprecedented services will be key to attract customers in store, once more emphasizing the critical key role of customer experience.

download PDF (English) - Merchandising Sports Release

Download PDF (French) - Communiqué Workshop Merchandising Sports 

Selvane Mohandas du Ménil was invited to give IADS' perspectives and take on the current state of the department stores market to Joor, the leading wholesale platform, partner of LVMH, Kering and others. It was the perfect occasion to show IADS members' commitments and actions during these challenging moments, as well as their upcoming projects.

Selvane Mohandas du Ménil was invited to give IADS' perspective at the FIRA 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting on 14 April 2021.

The minutes of his presentation are available below.

FIRA IADS 14 April 2021

IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil was interviewed by LSA Conso on how our members successfully adapt to customers' new expectations.

Read below the transcript of the article (in French and English):

Transcript interview (French)

Transcript interview (English) 

IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil was interviewed by Retail Detail and highlights that "digital is a tool, not a goal".

Read below the transcript of the article:

Transcript interview (English)

IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil talks about IADS White Paper "Global pandemic, local department stores" on radio Europe 1, and highlights the actions led by IADS members to cope with the crisis.

Link to podcast and transcriptions of the article below:

podcast: Europe 1 - Interview Selvane Mohandas du Ménil

transcript of europe 1 interview (Engligh & french)

IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil talks about IADS White Paper "Global pandemic, local department stores" with Journal du Textile, and highlights the actions lead by IADS members to cope with the crisis.

Full article below:

PDF article: Les grands magasins doivent se réinventer

english transcript: Department stores need to reinvent themselves

IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil discussed with Global Retail News about the current state of the department stores, how they responded to the crisis and how they will stay relevant in tomorrow's world.

Full article below:

PDF article: Digital To The Rescue Of Department Stores

Fashion Network released an article pointing out that 2021 might put an end to a department store model that was already declining before the covid-19 crisis. IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil argues that department stores should adapt and rethink their model, investing in local retail and in digital, giving examples of actions led by IADS members recently.

Full article in French and English transcript below:

PDF article: 2021 ou la fin du modèle des grands magasins

Will 2021 spell doom for department stores? [ENG]

Winter sales started on 20 January 2021 in France and were expected by retailers with hopes. Asking Selvane Mohandas du Ménil, RFI Radio France Internationale recalls how important sales are to department stores and to customers.

Full article below:

PDF article: French bargain hunters brave coronavirus and curfews at winter sales

IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil gave an interview and presented the IADS White Paper "Global pandemic, local department stores" on French television.

Watch the interview and get the transcription below.

[video] Innover pour le commerce: le rôle des grands magasins dans un monde post-Covid

What role will play department stores in a post-Covid world?

BFM: What can we do until the international tourists return?

Selvane Mohandas du Ménil: First of all, you learn to talk differently to new clients. In fact, we have to remember how we used to talk to our clients. We have some good learners in the association: I am thinking in particular of Breuninger, in Germany, whose privileged relationship with its clients allows to call them by FaceTime or WhatsApp. If you know the Germans, you know that in the social sphere, it's often pretty formal, so it gives an idea of the level of intimacy that the shop can have with them. To speak differently, you have to tell them different things and that first means reworking the offer. You don't sell the same thing to a tourist customer who come to visit a town as you do to a regular local customer. On a global level, it means a real shift in terms of purchase: fashion and cosmetics have had very negative figures lately, whereas we are witnessing a very big growth in sportswear, home, decoration and care. This means that you have to tell different things and offer different products to different customers to whom you address yourself differently.

BFM: On the issue of digitalisation, the department stores need to speed up. They don't have a choice, do they?

SMdM: They have accelerated! "Digitalisation" actually concerns two different things: e-commerce, that's 20/23% of sales, but also digital activation, the means to proceed with online purchases, and there we are at about 50% of sales. The e-commerce part has now become imperative. For example, among our members: Sogo in Hong Kong or Beco in Venezuela, who were the last to not have an e-commerce platform, have launched it. We can no longer do without it. It works! The latest trends we have noticed in Europe are, for "Black Friday": +30% for Galeries Lafayette, as for Magasin du Nord in Denmark, +50% for Breuninger in Germany, +100% for Manor in Switzerland. So, it works. But the main question is: how do we use the digital tool to facilitate the customer journey and to ensure that the shop is always at the centre of this journey? On this point, what struck me was the example of SM in the Philippines, which has set up a system that allows you to contact one of its shops by email, text or over the phone: in concrete terms, you virtually walk around the shop, place an order and it's delivered to you the same day. It was launched in April, rolled out to 65 shops in one month and was available in May. This service, which did not exist before, now generates 15% of the chain's daily turnover.

BFM: Many French department stores have expanded into the provinces. Should shops in smaller towns be closed, or should they be reinvented?

SMdM: Reinvent them! The shop actually becomes part of an ecosystem: digital technology is taking up the whole situation and we must ask ourselves how we use the shop in the customer journey. It certainly doesn't condemn the shop, it just means reinventing it, rethinking the services offered there and the message addressed to the customer.

The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) has engaged in a transformative upgrade of its activities exclusively proposed to department stores. In that perspective, IADS teams up today with intelligence agency NellyRodi to generate synergies and propose new services to its 12 international members.

The international stature of NellyRodi and its unparalleled vision, associating business, innovation and creativity, will be an asset and an additional value provided by the Association to its members, to help them navigate the current challenging times. This partnership will be embedded at the core of the Association's activities, in its 3 levels meeting program: CEO exchanges, including the Association General Assembly, Merchandising meetings, and Cross-functional meetings.

With this partnership, IADS is pursuing its mission to generate, share and disseminate industry-specific knowledge within its members' organisations, based on the state-of-the-art content and insights of NellyRodi.

About NellyRodi

NellyRodi is a consulting agency in Business and Creative Intelligence.

Based in Paris, Tokyo and New York, it is a global reference for foresight applied to industries and services. Our business, based on understanding new consumer standards and new uses, is to support brands, investment funds and institutions on their desirability and performance levers.

The creative process is the central focus of our modus operandi and our methods. In a world subject to ongoing, profound change, brands need to achieve singularity, innovation and on-target marketing. To this end, they must demonstrate bold creativity and master the use of consumer data. The work we do – our analysis, process of reflection and recommendations – gives our clients a clearer picture of how their business ecosystem fits into the global context. We make recommendations based on detailed, comprehensive observations of social, marketing and creative trends, seeking to guide our clients in directions conducive to their business development.

Backed by NellyRodi's international future-forward expertise, we not only provide strategic support at the highest levels, i.e. to senior management and investors, but also at the field and operational level.

Press contact: NellyRodi, Pierre-François le Louët, [business@nellyrodi.com](mailto:business@nellyrodi.com), +33 1 42 93 04 06

About IADS

The IADS is the most exclusive and oldest professional department store think tank in the world. Its uniqueness lies in the close relationship between its member CEOs, making it a very powerful asset for decision-making at the highest level.

Today, the Association gathers a group of 12 members across the world, all leaders or key players on their respective markets, and represents more than €31bn cumulated annual turnover, achieved through more than 490 stores with 233,000 associates in 19 countries. Members are: Centro Beco (Venezuela), Beijing Hualian Group (PRC), Breuninger (Germany), El Corte Inglés (Spain), El Palacio de Hierro (Mexico), Falabella (Chile), Galeries Lafayette (France), Lifestyle International Holding (Hong Kong), Magasin du Nord (Denmark), Manor (Switzerland), The Mall (Thailand), SM (Philippines).

The wide variety of business models and cultures represented provide the Association and its members with a richness in the exchange which is all the more valuable for the solutions and thought-provoking debates that it generates.

Press Contact: IADS, Selvane Mohandas du Ménil, [press@iads.org](mailto:press@iads.org), +33 1 42 94 02 02

download PDF - IADS signs a partnership with business and creative intelligence agency NellyRodi - 07.12.2020

Le Figaro has released an article on the current situation of French department stores Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, and Le Bon Marché, with comments from IADS General Manager Selvane Mohandas du Ménil.

La descente aux enfers des grands magasins parisiens – Le Figaro

Le Figaro has issued a portrait of Selvane Mohandas du Ménil, the newly appointed General Manager of IADS International Association of Department Stores.

Selvane Mohandas du Ménil fédère les grands magasins du monde – Le Figaro

In its "Global pandemic, local department stores" White Paper, the IADS reviews its members' actions and draws key learnings to prepare new crises and address the future of the department store industry, at a moment when some regions are facing new episodes of lockdown.

A comprehensive review of business practices developed as an aide for crisis management

According to the UNWTO, the 2020 Covid-19 global pandemic triggered a crisis forecast in July to lead to a 5.2% worldwide GDP contraction by the end of the year. Border closures meant an unprecedented decrease of international tourism, estimated to fall by 67% this year alone. With its ties to tourism, retail, representing 1 out of every 12 workers in OECD countries, is durably affected.

Department stores play a central role in the retail landscape by mixing experience and curation in landmark buildings open to everyone in the heart of our towns. They bridge the gap between cities and regions, tourists and locals, online price-oriented convenience and offline emotion and discovery. The Covid-19 context doubly penalises department stores through the drop in tourism and lockdowns of non-essential retail stores, significantly curtailing their domestic markets.

IADS members manage in total 233,000 associates spread over more than 495 points of sales in 19 countries. On average, they had to close in Spring during a period equivalent to 19% of their total 2019 opening time. The IADS dedicated its yearly Academy programme to understanding how its 12 members steered their businesses during lockdowns until reopening. The result of this extensive analysis translates into the first White Paper of its kind, shared by the Association with its members and their peers. Now that a second Covid-19 wave is hitting markets, exchanging learnings is key to allow all retailers to adjust their business practices to the new realities. This White Paper was conceived both as an inventory of practices across the board and as a source of ideas for immediate and future actions.

IADS department stores were driven by agility, commitment and responsibility

Notwithstanding their size and complex organisations, department stores were surprisingly agile in addressing the pandemic issues, without losing focus on their social role and responsibility. All IADS CEOs swiftly adjusted their strategy to protecting staff and customers, acceding to government requirements, maintaining and nourishing relationships with customers and suppliers, while defending their businesses and preserving cash. This translated into a remarkably fast and coherent position change from all IADS members towards each stakeholder.

A leap forward for department stores

Such changes in a limited period of time deeply affected corporate organisations. On the one hand, with tourism disappearing and stores closing, it became necessary to talk and sell to locals in new ways. Marketing and digital departments were brought to the fore and made responsible overnight for business continuity, generating many original initiatives as shown by Beco in Venezuela which launched its e-commerce website in record time. On the other hand, companies' working organisations were radically revised to provide more flexibility and resilience, as exemplified by the setup of "corona teams" in many organisations to handle and steer the response to the crisis. As an illustration of how deep those changes went, Manor in Switzerland and The Mall in Thailand both decided to strategically transform their structure at the end of their respective lockdowns with an emphasis on corporate simplification, team agility and a direct relationship with customers.

These agile evolutions effected in a short time helped to accelerate the adaptation of department stores to new market realities: all IADS members, following the lead of peers such as Falabella in Chile or SKP in China sped up their digitalisation, even if it meant in some cases adapting to different market specificities. For instance, Sogo in Hong Kong improved its CRM programme while simultaneously accelerating its marketplace relaunch. Agility also contributed to enabling store teams to mitigate the absence of tourist customers by exploring new ways of building ties with locals. Their proposals included adapting assortments to new trends, new marketing messages or ways of voicing them.

Looking back, the store closures significantly accelerated the department stores' digital alignment while re-emphasising, where needed, their roots in their local communities.

Giving perspective: department stores are taking back the initiative

More than compiling stories of endurance during the crisis, the IADS White Paper findings show that the context provoked an upgrade within department stores. They have a clear and positive role to play in the digital age, provided they inject the necessary amount of energy to adapt, whether it is about curing their addiction to tourists by caring for locals, defining the role of stores and their number, or rethinking the flagship's place in the city.

Keeping as close as possible to the customers' new realities and expectations will also be a central topic, by defining the nature of the offer and how it is sold - online and offline – while always safeguarding the surprise factor inherent to this format.

Finally, reviewing and digitalising operational processes will also be crucial to ensure that department stores, renovate their organisation and decision-making processes, to both address sustainability topics and be prepared for any potential next crises, whatever their nature (cyber, political or weather emergencies).

While these strategic topics are detailed in the White Paper, the key conclusion for department stores is that to be ready for their upcoming challenges and potential future crises, scenario planning is central to ensure long-term sustainability in a world dominated by short-term deadlines and quarterly reports. Since 1928, the main role of the IADS has been to design with and for its members the appropriate strategies drawn beyond the immediate horizon and consider scenarios for the future.

To receive a copy of the White Paper, please contact us directly at [press@iads.org](mailto:press@iads.org?subject=Copy%20of%20IADS%20White%20Paper&body=Dear%20IADS%20team%2C%20%0A%0AThank%20you%20for%20kindly%20sharing%20a%20copy%20of%20the%20IADS%20Exclusive%20White%20Paper.).

IADS White Paper – Download the press release