What: Mr Alberto Bailleres, former president of El Palacio de Hierro among other companies composing his business conglomerate Grupo Bal (including silver producer Industrias Penoles SAB, miner Fresnillo PLC, insurance company Grupo Nacional Provincial, pension fund manager Profuturo) passed away on 2 February in Mexico City at the age of 90.

Why it is important: He had handed over the presidency to his son Alejandro Baillères in April last year, and had been appointed honorary president of the El Palacio de Hierro board.

Mr Bailleres was known for avoiding any kind of publicity and also for his true attachment to Mexican rural life. This translated during his exemplary career into visionary goals with the community kept in mind, an approach which allowed him to receive the Belisario Dominguez medal in 2015, the highest honor awarded by the Mexican senate, for his entrepreneurship.

Alberto Baillères, former president of El Palacio de Hierro, has passed away 

What: Galeries Lafayette are eyeing to a same-day delivery service for their Gourmet offer.

Why it is important: So far, none of the large Paris department store is offering such a service, which also paved the way for a strong competition from smaller operators and newcomers. This move will probably trigger a general move to a same-day-delivery service as a stapple also from the other department stores in the city.

Irish tech unicorn Flipdish made an agreement with Galeries Lafayette to develop a bespoke product-ordering solution for Lafayette Gourmet. This new solution will allow the group to manage stock and deal with complex business issues such as order capacity and minimum preparation times. This will also allow Galeries Lafayette to offer a same day delivery service in Paris and its region.

Galeries Lafayette partnering with Irish restaurant and takeaway ordering system Flipdish

What: Previously hosted at SKP last September, Galeries Lafayette Champs Elysées now hosts the Prada on ice pop up store.

Why is it important: Prada on ice is a winter sports inspired immersive popup store presenting an exclusive collection that gives pride of place to mountain sports.

The collection includes technical fabric ski pants and Bermuda shorts, oversized polyester jackets and extra-fine cashmere sweaters all accompanied by sports equipment, mountain accessories and backpacks. Prada's pieces are linked by geometric and floral patterns in the brand's colors: red, blue and white.

Galeries Lafayette presents "Prada On Ice"

What: Seven countries are involved including Thailand, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Why it is important: The survey was conducted by Influential Brands, a global organization in Singapore that specializes in researching and exploring Asian consumer insights.

The Mall wins 2021 Asia's top influential brand

What: The shareholders of El Corte Inglés agreed to welcome Grupo Mutua and its chairman and CEO will join El Corte Inglés' Board of Directors. Grupo Mutua will acquire 8% of El Corte Inglés' equity and also take 50.01% ownership interests in the retail group's two insurance companies SECI and CESS.

Why it is important: In that context, the company's shareholders also agreed to re-appoint Víctor del Pozo as director and CEO of El Corte Inglés for the next five years, until 2027.

The shareholders also approved a 6% capital reduction via the cancellation of own shares, reinforcing El Corte Inglés' legacy shareholders and lifting their ownership stakes.

Víctor del Pozo reelected as CEO of El Corte Inglés 

What: He will be replacing Benoit de Grave.

Why it is important: The executive will focus on improving the customer experience and expanding the offer of services for sellers, as well as continue the expansion of the platform in Peru and Colombia.

Ramírez has a degree in Economics from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, and an MBA from Columbia University. He served as Senior Director of Mercado Libre in the Andean Region (Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador), where he is responsible for the operation of the Marketplace, MercadoPago, MercadoEnvíos and MercadoShops business units. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Company, and BBVA in Colombia.

Falabella appoints Jaime Ramírez as CEO of falabella.com 

What: The Spanish retailer partners with Mondial Tissus, a French retailer selling fabrics and sewing material, with a 70 sqm corner in Pintor Sorolla store in Valencia.

Why it is important: El Corte Inglés is seeking to diversify its offer by surfing on the homemade trend, accelerated by the health crisis. Mondial Tissus – which has doubled the number of sewing machines sold in 2020 – will organise 'Do it yourself' workshops.

El Corte Inglés bets on the DIY trend

What: To strengthen its physical and digital ecosystem, the retailer will invest USD 711 million in technology, logistics and stores.

Why it is important: Falabella will invest 60% of this sum on technology and logistics to strengthen the capabilities and value proposition of falabella.com and expand in Peru and Colombia. The remaining 40% will be mainly invested in expanding the store network, with a particular focus on Ikea in Chile and Colombia, Sodimac in Mexico and Brazil, and Tottus in Peru.

Investments in technology and logistics aim at strengthening the omni-channel experience for customers and sellers through the following initiatives:

•    Improve the e-commerce platform, add new product categories.

•    Expand App functionality to optimize the in-store shopping experience, by focusing on the complete customer journey from an omni- channel perspective.

•    Strengthen digital banking and Fpay, by expanding its functionalities such as a digital wallet.

•    Strengthen home delivery logistics and focus on reducing delivery times and increasing last mile visibility and traceability.

•    Increase the order processing and packing capacity.

•    Expand third-party product processing capabilities, covering warehousing, packaging and delivery services.

•    Improve on-demand delivery and expand assortment, in order to expand the capabilities and products available to Marketplace sellers.

Investments in physical stores:

•    Develop Ikea in Chile and Colombia, Home Improvement in Mexico and Brazil, expanding Tottus in Peru, and improving the regional store network.

•    USD 135 million of the plan will be invested in the multi-year store opening plan, which expects to open 19 stores in the region during 2022.

•    USD 158 million will be invested in innovations and optimizing the existing stores, through renovations and remodeling to improve the integration of digital into the physical shopping experience.

Falabella's investment plan for 2022

What: Falabella used to own 88% of Tottus Chile and recently reported that it bought the total shares of the supermarket company.

Why it is important: Falabella entered the supermarket business in Chile in 2004. Currently, Tottus has 71 stores in Chile and 90 in Peru.

Falabella now owns 100% of Tottus supermarkets

What: Manor and Decathlon Suisse announced that they will expand the sport range on manor.ch by integrating a wide variety of products and will pilot a new Decathlon shop-in-shop concept.

Why it is important: As sports activities and leisure have increased in popularity in the past years, the partnership aims further strengthen Manor's offer in the category.

From April, a new Decathlon shop-in-shop concept will pilot in the three Manor department stores in Friborg, St. Gallen and Zurich Letzipark. This is a test for both companies - if it proves successful and is appreciated by customers, the partnership could be extended later.

The collaboration with Decathlon will be translated into stationary commerce as part of the pilot project, but also online, in accordance with Manor's omnichannel strategy. Customers can shop at manor.ch marketplace to access several new Decathlon items, with plans to extend the offer to more than 100 sports.

Manor expands its online sports offering and tests with Decathlon Switzerland

What: Falabella was recognized in the "Gender equality and women's empowerment" category for their "Mentoring."

Why is it important: Falabella's "Mentoring" program that has been in place since 2018, seeks to encouraged women to achieve their maximum professional potential. The program works on, enhancing their strengths and working on their gaps, in addition to building a network of female leaders by taking an active role in their professional growth.

The "Sustainable Initiatives" award is to highlight the projects that companies develop in terms of innovative proposals with significant contributions to the social context.

In 2021, the Sustainability Hub initiative received more than 200 applications from all sectors, in all regions of Chile.

Falabella given an award at "Sustainable Initiatives 2021" 

What: After renovation, the second largest Manora restaurant in Switzerland, located in Lugano, opens its doors with an innovative new concept: a restaurant in street food style, focusing on local products, and signature dishes from around the world that change regularly.

Why is it important: The new Manora Lugano is a more responsible restaurant. The two former laundries have been merged into one, saving 1,500 liters of water per day. A new generation of Manora restaurants is launched, with a lot of imagination and creativity.

Local products are a priority. Only the highest quality fresh ingredients and locally certified products, sourced from a maximum distance of 30 kilometers, are used for the preparation of the dishes.

At Manora Lugano you can find the "local Giardino" offering salads and other vegan products along with the "Il Pizzaiolo " universe and the " Pasta Bio " stand offering pizzas and homemade pasta dishes. The different spaces each have their own atmosphere, and give Manora a Food-Court style, combining five small restaurants within the same structure.

Manor's second largest restaurant opens

What: Galeries Lafayette is celebrating Smiley's 50th Birthday in order to spark joy in consumers' lives while the pandemic resurges.

Why it important: The optimistic face will be available on a plethora of media through collaborations in the worlds of fashion, beauty, decoration and food.

André Saraiva has reinterpreted the logo for this event and co-founder of concept store Colette, curated 50 brands offering their version of Smiley. The Galeries Lafayette brand has also dedicated a Smiley mini-collection for men, women and children.

These collections will be referenced throughout the department store and animations such as a giant structure in the colors of the yellow face and a gaming room within the atrium of the Homme store, boulevard Haussmann in Paris with also be on display.

Galeries Lafayette celebrates 50 years of Smiley

What: The María Porto & Leticia Hervás art gallery located in El Corte Inglés de Castellana, in Madrid displays a collection of works by great masters at very attractive prices.

Why is it important: There are a total of 222 works and prints by established artists, which customers can take advantage of to acquire and add to their collections.

The gallery also offers a series of additional services such as advice to private collectors and the design of comprehensive projects, in addition to inter-mediation in the sale of artworks, and their evaluation and appraisal.

El Corte Inglés ventures in selling art 

What:  El Palacio de Hierro is the new franchised partner of Ale Hop for its expansion in Mexico

Why it is important:  Even though El Palacio de Hierro is a recognized player when it comes to luxury brands in Mexico, the IADS member is eager to remain close to its customers and be popular as well, which might explain why they decided to team up with the Spanish gift chain.

Spanish gift chain Ale-Hop has signed a deal with El Palacio de Hierro for its expansion in Mexico through a franchising agreement with the goal to reach 30 boutiques within 5 years. Ale-Hop is accelerating in terms of international presence as it also signed a deal for its expansion in Croatia three months ago.

El Palacio de Hierro already has quite an extensive knowledge when it comes to developing brands in franchise in Mexico, and aims at countering the expansion of competing brands, such as Miniso, by making the most of its real estate assets, be it within its own department stores or in the street.

Spanish gift chain Ale-Hop makes a partnership with El Palacio de Hierro (Spanish)

What: Barely two years after its spin-off from Breuninger, the Stuttgart-based technology startup autoRetouch is taking its next step.

Why it is important: Based on an AI system, the company currently offers a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for the automated mass processing of product images.

The idea for autoRetouch was born in 2019 in Breuninger's data science team when it came to solving the processing of product photos for the online shop more efficiently using artificial intelligence. From the very beginning, Breuninger supported the six-member founding team and also participated financially in the formation of an independent company. As early as 2021, the startup processed a seven-digit number of product images fully automatically in the cloud for its customers.

French unicorn acquires autoRetouch, Breuninger's spin-off 

What: A new real estate transformation of the Galeries Lafayette in Annecy, soon to host new shops, restaurants and leisure activities.

Why is it important: With this project Galeries Lafayette hopes to bring together in one place a whole community of enthusiasts around their respective know-how.

It will include the signing of new partnerships specializing in catering and services related to sport, health and well-being. There will also be a bistronomic restaurant by Vincent Favre-Félix a chef from Annecy, the first climbing center in the city center and a new experiential place designed by the collective of Japanese artists TeamLab.

An exhibition space animated by the Wondervision studio in partnership with the École Supérieure d'Art Annecy Alpes and the Haute École d'Art et de Design de Geneva will also be present at the "New Galeries." Galeries Lafayetter wants to highlight the work of local artists and designers around the themes of the environment and upcycling.

Scheduled to open to the public in June 2022, the six-story complex will revolve around a new, fully renovated 15,000 square meter Galeries Lafayette store.

Annecy's new Galeries Lafayette

What: To cope with the diversification in payment methods, Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and BHV are now using RoverCash cash register software, developed by the French company Lundi Matin.

Why it is important: For Black Friday, the Alma BNPL solution has already been implemented. In 2022, Lundi Matin will deploy a solution transforming the seller's smartphone into a payment terminal. More developments are on the way to focus on the new customer journeys: omnichannel solutions, cryptocurrencies, automatic checkout and mobile app payment.

Galeries Lafayette's new payment tools

What: In March 2022, Magasin du Nord first German branch will open in Peek & Cloppenburg's former store in Kassel.

Why it is important: Until last November, P&C operated the location itself. The new store will employ 60 people and the sales area will cover 3,000 sqm on three floors of fashion.

Magasin du Nord to open in Germany

What: The retailer plans to open 30 new El Corte Inglés Supermarkets outside of the department stores, with a renewed image and a more digital and sustainable format.

Why it is important: The project aims to strengthen the Group's position in the food area. It will also promote the other food brands: Hipercor, Club del Gourmet, the recently acquired Sanchez Romero and the supermarket chain Supercor (including Supercor Express and Supercor Stop & Go in alliance with Repsol).

Regarding the most premium segment, the company intends to continue developing its Club del Gourmet brand and promote the Madrid supermarket chain Sanchez Romero, as a benchmark for high-end products.

El Corte Inglés will open more supermarkets 

What: Savemore launches a new retail format, Savemore Express, with a smaller surface than regular stores.

Why it is important: During lockdowns, neighbourhood food stores have served as the essential destination for people, especially with home cooking as the only option. The new Savemore Express addresses this shift by providing the weekly grocery needs and offering an expanded line of fresh merchandise, essential food, personal care, and household products.

With a regular Savemore store typically covering 1,500 to 2,500 sqm. in floor area, the new format's smaller size makes it more versatile in delivering basic essentials to customers.

SM Markets (umbrella brand for SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore) and its sister company, Alfamart, has over 1,500 stores; 206 Savemore stores, 9 Savemore Express stores, 60 SM Supermarket stores, 53 SM Hypermarket stores, and 1,201 Alfamarts.

SM Markets' Savemore introduces new store format

What: Arthur Lemoine will take over from seasoned executive Marianne Romestain, who occupied the position since 2018.

Why it is important: Lemoine, a graduate of the Essec business school, has occupied various positions within the group. He is also a member of Galeries Lafayette's Executive Board.

He has been managing director of the group's watchmaking and jewelry activities since 2018 and before that, headed the food and beverage division, overseeing the implantation of Eataly in Paris.

Marianne Romestain will take over from Lemoine as managing director of the group's watchmaking and jewelry division, which includes the Louis Pion and Galeries Lafayette — Royal Quartz brands.

Galeries Lafayette has a new offer and buying director 

What: The retailer partnered with Mrs. Rushmore agency.

Why it is important: The campaign revolves around children who make Christmas the most special time of the year.

Watch spot here

El Corte Inglés' Christmas spot news

What: After Beijing in 2013 and Shanghai in 2019, the department store will open a new store in Shenzhen early 2023 with the ambition to have 10 stores by 2025.

Why it is important: Shenzhen is a key city in the development of the 'Greater Bay Area of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau' and is one of the fastest growing tier-1 cities in‎‎ the world. ‎

‎The goal of the department store is to target this young local population, by deploying a store format that it describes as unprecedented, and "where the focus will be on design and a highly edited multi-brand selection". A concept store spirit will infuse the 5,000 square meters.‎

Galeries Lafayette announces a new location in China

Press release