Department stores have had a very tough time of things over recent years as highlighted by the recent $2.65 billion purchase of US-based retailer Neiman Marcus by Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)
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Department stores have had a very tough time of things over recent years as highlighted by the recent $2.65 billion purchase of US-based retailer Neiman Marcus by Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in what has been described as a make or break deal for both businesses.
The two retailers have faced harsh competition in recent years most notably from the rise of online-only players and the increased activity of brands opening their own dedicated stores. However, the Neiman Marcus and Hudson Bay tie-up could come at a time when the physical department store is possibly on its way back. We could be seeing the renaissance of these traditional multi-brand stores.
Certainly the support of Amazon and Salesforce as minority shareholders in the high-profile deal is very welcome as they have are committed to giving the combined 75-strong store business – to be called Saks Global – the technology firepower it needs to compete more effectively.
Marc Metrick, CEO of e-commerce at Saks Fifth Avenue – that is part of HBC, says: “How do you future-proof a brand like Saks or Neiman’s or Bergdorf? You do that through technology. That includes gathering high-quality data on customers, analysing it effectively to offer them more personalised options online and improving logistics to make it easier for consumers to shop. That’s what these companies can help us do.”
Brown Thomas Arnotts, which is part of the Selfridges Group, is boosting the technology capabilities across its six Ireland-based department stores through a recently announced deal with Aptos. This involves utilising Aptos’ solutions to build a base on which the retailer can operate its loyalty scheme that will help it deliver improved personalised customer service across multiple channels.
This introduction of technology into department stores is proving important, according to Nicolas Houzé, CEO of Galeries Lafayette, who told delegates at this year’s World Retail Congress that data was the “gold mine of the 21st Century”. In his opinion the differentiator between Galeries Lafayette and data-centric global players like Amazon is the ability to deliver world-leading experiential luxury with the development of services further enabling them to build long-lasting, authentic relationships with local audiences.
At Harrods this is being addressed by its MD Michael Ward who says that successful department store businesses must prioritise long-term relationships over quick transactions and leverage data in order to truly know their customers. He revealed that Harrods has invested millions of pounds in data scientists and its Insights team in order to gain valuable insights into its customers that he believes is “as good as Amazon”.
These insights are helping Harrods leverage in-person events in different markets, which centre on brand education and awareness to help create what Ward describes as “communities of passion” with potential future customers.
This experience-driven approach is absolutely integral to the Selfridges business. Popping into its flagship London department store in mid-July you could have found Carlos Alcaraz’s victory in the men’s final at Wimbledon showing on the bank of television screens in the store’s pop-up ‘Champion Sports Bar’.
The permanent fixture Harry’s Bar has been temporarily-fitted-out as a US-themed sports bar festooned with sporting memorabilia and a quintessential American fast food menu that supports the various televised sporting events that will be broadcast in the space through July and August.
The initiative comes under the ‘Sportopia’ banner of activities, which along with the Champion bar includes the Off-White skate bowl, a climbing wall, Merch Shop, and the Snapchat Locker Room where shoppers can be fitted with virtual sportswear.
These activities are running alongside other ongoing initiatives in the store such as Reselfridges that involves a rolling programme of resale, repair and recycle activations alongside a permanent space dedicated to branded second-hand items at reduced prices.
Selfridges has historically been pro-active at injecting theatre and excitement into its stores in order to ensure they retain their ongoing appeal to customers whose interest in multi-brand bricks and mortar retailers has been seriously waning over recent years.
Jean-Marc Bellaiche, CEO of Printemps, has admitted that France-based Printemps has suffered from the downward trend for department stores but he has been bringing experience back into stores. “We went into deep introspection and needed to innovate again. We looked to bring back the wow to the business. We brought back restaurants and intimacy with greeters [deployed] at the doors. We also doubled down on personal shoppers,” he explains.
These data-led and experience-based initiatives from the major traditional department stores come at a time when their online equivalents are having something of a meltdown. The digital department stores including Matchesfashion, Yoox Net-A-Porter and Farfetch have either failed or being acquired at discounted valuations as they struggle to survive.
Following such failures Lucy Litwack, owner & CEO of luxury lingerie retailer Coco de Mer – that sells through its own channels as well as in Harrods and Selfridges stores – suggests the bricks and mortar department stores could become more important again as their physical multi-brand model enjoys a return to popularity among consumers.
The department stores also stand to benefit from the realisation of many major brands such as Nike that they cannot solely rely on their own channels – online and physical stores – and are now backtracking on their strategies of focusing predominantly on this DTC (Direct to Consumer) model. They are now looking to again use the multi-brand retailers – including the department stores – to showcase their products, which will further contribute to potentially making these stalwarts of the high street attractive once again.
