The IADS had the opportunity to visit the Steen & Strom department store in Oslo, Norway. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Steen & Strom exclusive article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit the Attica department store in Athens, Greece. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Attica exclusive article

The IADS had the opportunity to visit the following Italian department stores in Rome: La Rinascente and Coin Excelsior. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Italian department stores exclusive article

What: Brown Thomas' Dundrum department store is the first one to be opened by the Selfridges Group in 6 years.

Why it is important: The new store is all about services and experiences, including a multipurpose VIP apartment that can be booked by customers for private lessons and usage, in addition to the typical private shopping service.

Brown Thomas, a part of the Selfridges group, has opened a 6,200 sqm store in Dublin on 24th February and is the first shop to be opened by the group for the last 6 years.

The investment of €12m aims at presenting a luxury offer in the Dundrum shopping centre, in Dublin, and includes the usual suspects of international luxury. It also proposes sustainability features, such as rental (of pieces curated by the Brown Thomas team), repair services (Circular Fix, a service which offers to repair bags, sneakers, garments), second hand offer (where customers can also bring back their own pre-loved items and get a BT voucher in turn), and finally, "the Apartment" a space that can be privatized by customers for private shopping sessions, classes of any kind, and organised like an apartment.

Brown Thomas opens a new store in Dublin

Brown Thomas opens a new store in Dublin ARTICLE

The IADS had the opportunity to visit the following department stores in Dubai: Debenhams, Galeries Lafayette, Bloomingdales and others. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

Dubai department stores exclusive article

What: The 5,500 sqm eight-storey store is a shopping destination for a young and forward demographic.

Why it is important: Dimas Gimeno Álvarez, the former president of El Corte Inglés, has created a concept store that's specifically geared towards savvy Millennials and Generation Z shoppers and blends brick-and-mortar retail with digital shopping.

The interior design, created by Barcelona-based multi-disciplinary studio External Reference, sees an abundance of striking photogenic settings that resonate well with the target demographics The. forward design theme, which actually sounds like a scientific experiment, is based on 'nature-related technology that evolves with the capabilities of humankind, aiming for an ecological balance'. The settings feature programmable lights which allows to continuously change the atmosphere and effortlessly integrates with displays and installations. Additionally, large-sized Italianate sculptures dipped in an electric pink hue and partially pixellated, dot the floor and serve as additional product displays.

The product offer includes branded shop-in-shops, archive space, streetwear, fashion and accessories, homeware collections, technology equipment, gaming devices, books, completed by two restaurants.

Wow's challenge is to profit from its risky venture. The project received €8 million in its last investment round and invested significantly on infrastructure and supply. What are the prospects in economic terms? "For the moment, we are going to ask for growth and to be close to positive Ebitda in the first year of operation," added Gimeno.

Wow concept store in Madrid

Wow concept store in Madrid ARTICLE

What: Shinsegae recently opened a new department store in Daejeon, a sizeable city and hi-tech hub in the middle of the country.

Why it is important: Situated right next to Expo Park, the so-called Shinsegae Daejeon Art & Science department store is a multi-story department store that indulges shoppers with a new retail concept that blends retail with culture, art, and science, but also comes with a branded 171-room hotel which occupies several floors of the soaring Expo Tower.

The company tapped New York City-based architecture and design practice Jeffrey Hutchison & Associates to design the store's ground and first floors. Measuring a whopping total of 120,000 sq. ft. (11,148 sqm.), the premises feature a 'modern Italian villa' design theme.

The retail concept's art and science bit comes in the form of The Art Space 193, a 193-metre-high observatory which also features artist Ólafur Elíasson's colourful installation The Living Observatory, in addition to Shinsegae Nexperium, a science museum focusing on robots, biotechnology, and space, and Daejeon Expo Aquarium, a media art combined aquarium, featuring a 4,200-ton tank filled with approx. 20,000 fish of 250 different species.

Shinsegae's in Daejeon

Shinsegae's in Daejeon ARTICLE

What: The Hyundai Department Store dips its toes into spatial personalization.

Why it is important: In a world where shopping has become increasingly informed by personal preferences – think algorithm-tailored suggestions – contemporary consumption behavior has become less compatible with generalist spaces. Knowing that different clientele will be more inclined to pay a visit to a particular section of the store, each floor has been crafted with a certain demographic – a form of personalization – to convince shoppers to pivot from their phones into the physical store.

By employing a theme of nature, the multilevel store's redesign attempts to have a universal appeal while also employing aspects of personalization in order to reach the desired demographics.

The three new floors of the Hyundai Department Store in Seoul are now centered around a biophilic atrium. A 12-m-long waterfall cascades from the edge of one of the top levels, creating an ambient soundscape and a zen-like atmosphere for guests to relax and socialize in. Inside, each level has been designed with a distinct yet cohesive theme each set to the overarching tune of nature, a familiar theme to people across groups. The overall character of the space is calm and organic, reflecting and emphasizing the more classic, sophisticated style of clothing and accessories on display to build a connection with the style preferences of the targeted demographic.

Hyundai in Seoul

What:  A close look at a fashion giant and a digital pioneer.

Why it is important: The brand embodiment through a virtual influencer has created a close proximity between the retailer and its customers (also fuelled with the super-app ecosystem) which helped to navigate through the Covid-19 crisis and consider expansion abroad.

Magazine Luiza was founded in Brazil 65 years ago, and has become a national giant in fashion retail. They have 1,300 physical stores across the country selling a mixture of international brands and private labels, and are also present digitally with "Lu", a virtual influencer with 25m followers on Instagram.

The strategy pursued with Lu has evolved with time: launched in 2003, it was initially a virtual sales associate for the online channel (which was launched in 1991), but now she has evolved into a character that is known by customers, is mentioned in the annual report and is even features on Vogue's cover.

The company posted a total turnover of $7.7 bn in 2020, 59% more than in 2019, thanks to its e-commerce advance and capabilities, as well as the possibility to use the store fleet to fulfil orders. Marketplace has been launched in 2018 and already includes 120,000 sellers. The whole ecosystem is made available to customers via its super-app, which includes 30mn active users.

Cosmetics is the next category that the retailer is looking at.

Inside Magazine Luiza, the Brazilian fashion giant

Inside Magazine Luiza, the Brazilian fashion giant ARTICLE

What: The department store targets younger generations with SKP-S, short for SKP Select, a retail concept that specifically caters to the fast-evolving preferences of these young savvy shoppers.

Why it is important: The influence and buying power of Millennial and Generation Z shoppers in China is quite a phenomenon that has only just started. It's not only shaping the local luxury market, already the biggest in the world, but also retail design. Being digital natives, the two demographics have developed sophisticated sensibilities that aren't easily triggered.

Following the launch of SKP-S in the Chinese capital, the retail concept has recently been introduced in Xi'an on the multi-storey premises of the SKP department store in the historic heart of the city. Occupying the entire fourth floor with a total surface of 20,000 sqm. (215,278 sq.ft.), the interior design of the SKP-S store has been created by Sybarite, a leading design practice based in London. Similar to its sister establishment in Beijing, the design is themed 'humans colonising Mars', while here, it's all about 'the origin of the world and return to Earth', albeit with a Chinese twist, resulting once again in a series of futuristic settings.

The overall design evokes a futuristic shopping adventure, but it's undoubtedly the 60-metre (197 ft.) hexagon-shaped time tunnel that embodies this sensation best, connecting shoppers to ten branded spaces of top luxury fashion brand and popular sports labels, such as Prada, Fila, Rick Owens, sacai, Jil Sander and Descente. The store offers a curated mix of about 80 brands from home and abroad, while a dedicated SKP Select Beauty section presents 60 exclusive skin care, makeup, fragrance brands. In order to keep the store's in-the-know clientele mesmerised, a rotation of pop-up stores and other events are held on the premises.

SKP-S' Xi'an opening

SKP-S' Xi'an opening ARTICLE

What: Being a mature consumer market with continuously evolving sensibilities, especially the youngest of shoppers, the department store has seen a major revamp to keep abreast.

Why it is important: The expansive 2,966 sqm. (31,926 sq.ft.) ground floor, now aptly called Future Land, has been redesigned to create a distinctive and elevated shopping experience which fuses shopping with art, nature, and modern lifestyle.

Lotte tapped lauded Seoul-based interior design practice Betwin Space to create a fitting setting, resulting in a modern and welcoming environment that incites exploration and adventure through non-typical forms and an eclectic palette of materials and colours.

Lotte's renewed ground floor sees a sizeable section with counters of leading cosmetics brands from home and abroad, including DONGINBI, Christian Dior, Sulwhasoo and Elizabeth Arden, women's apparel, accessories, a Swarovski counter, a flower and gardening shop, and two casual restaurant concepts where to recharge in between shopping sprees.

Lotte's renewal in Busan

Lotte's renewal in Busan ARTICLE

The IADS had the opportunity to visit the following department stores in NYC: Macy's, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and others. You can view the full photo report below, and read the exclusive article!

Check out the collection of pictures here

NYC department stores exclusive article

What: The space within the NYC flagship has been relocated is 70% larger than before and features 10 new or expanded luxury boutiques.

Why it is important: It is now one of the largest selections of men's designer shoes in New York.

The department, which measures just under 13,000 square feet, features a wide assortment of casual and dress shoes from designer and performance brands as well as an assortment of accessories, select fragrances and a gallery of hats. All told, there are 10 new and expanded luxury boutiques in the space from Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Zegna, Tod's, Givenchy and Valentino.

Bloomingdale's new men's shoe floor

Bloomingdale's new men's shoe floor ARTICLE

What: After an extensive nine-month renovation, the 11,000 sqm department store presents a new, exclusive shopping experience.

Why it is important: Recurring design elements in industrial chic contrast with natural materials and create a creative and inspiring mix of styles. The interior design was created in collaboration with the well-known Stuttgart architecture and design office DIA-Dittel Architekten, while the London-based architectural firm HMKM played a key role in the design planning.

Ludwigsburg store renovation

Breuninger Ludwigsburg's renovation

What: Architecture consultancy OMA has completed the first quadrant of the masterplan and renovation of KaDeWe in Berlin. Ongoing since 2016, the transformation of the 90.000 sqm historic building is fragmented into four quadrants that break the original mass into smaller, easily accessible and navigable sectors.

Why it is important: Rather than treating the existing building as a singular mass, the project breaks it into four quadrants, each with its own qualities and targeted at a different audiences: classic, experimental, young, generic. This approach addresses the accelerating shifts in consumer behaviour and the challenges and opportunities brought by online retail that are affecting the traditional department store.

KaDeWe's Berlin new concept

KaDeWe's Berlin new concept ARTICLE

What: A new initiative from a major Japanese department store company to go digital and younger.

Why it is important: Everything is focused on product discovery and experience, leading to a straightforward and neat customer journey without having to carry a shopping basket.

Surfing on the OMO trend (online merges offline), a new store opened in Tokyo, called Choosebase. This online and offline connexion is increasingly developing in Japan although still related to hip and trendy stores.

Japanese department store company Seibu opened last September 21 a new store, Choosebase, in its Shibuya brand, to a appeal at younger and trendier customers. 50+ DTC brands are available there and the whole customer journey is achieved through QR codes near products, which are virtually placed in baskets to be picked up at the exit of the store. Customers do not have to carry a shopping cart and can instead focus on the experience, enhanced by many Instagram-friendly features.

Products can also be shipped to any address as well.

Visit Choosebase Shibuya for an ultramodern shopping experience

Choosebase in Shibuya, Tokyo

What: TPG Architecture (New York) redesigned the existing store in the Perisur Mall, located in the southern suburbs of Mexico City.

Why it is important: The remodel of the store was a total renovation completed in several phases, the store remaining open during the entire course of the project. The ground floor, housing jewelry, cosmetics and luxury, and the second floor, showcasing women's fashion, opened during the Covid crisis.

El Palacio de Hierro renovated Perisur store

El Palacio de Hierro renovated Perisur store ARTICLE

What: To re-establish themselves on a popular shopping street in Downtown Toronto, Holt Renfrew designed a facade that would give the store a unified presence.

Why it is important: With a flagship store located in of the most expensive shopping streets in Toronto, Holt Renfrew engaged Gensler architects to upgrade their window displays and disjointed facade to create a strong, unified visual presence that would not only showcase their luxury retail goods, but also create entry points, and let natural light into the interior spaces.

The first step in the renovation process was to rationalize the store's entire envelope and devise a strategy to unify the five separate buildings into one presence so that customers could see how large the store is from the street level. The new facade was constructed of limestone that was full of fossils and brought a sense of liveliness and a variation in texture between the stone panels.

For the glass elements, which included the replacement of the existing dark and gloomy window displays and the revitalization of a main entrance, large panels that allowed for minimal joints and no mullions were used. The clear glass allowed ample views into the store that displayed the merchandise inside, and also brought in natural light. Overall, the project took three years.

Holt Renfrew's Toronto flagship store

What: The 260 sqm (2,799 sq.ft.) Joyce Beauty outpost at Lane Crawford in Shanghai has been fully revamped by local architecture practice AIM Architecture, offering shoppers a serene refuge from the department store's hustle and bustle.

Why it is important: The renewed Joyce Beauty shop-in-shop carries a wide selection of upscale brands (Dr. Barbara Sturm, Perricone MD, Augustinus Bader, RéVive, Floraïku and 111SKIN among others), showing the growing appeal for prestige beauty.

Founded in 1970, Hong Kong-based retailer Joyce has become synonymous to high-end fashion and beauty with standalone stores at several branches of affiliated department store Lane Crawford, but also a handful of monobrand boutiques for leading luxury brands.

Joyce Beauty at Lane Crawford

Joyce Beauty at Lane Crawford ARTICLE

What: A first Fauchon café boutique opens at El Palacio de Hierro Perisur, as the beating heart of the Women's floor.

Why it is important: This move is part of the department store' strategy to differentiate from competitors and offer great experiences to customers, as they are more and more appealed by culinary experiences while shopping. It's also a great way to emphasize each store with a particular community-driven DNA.

All Fauchon's creations such as chocolates, macaroons, teas, pastries, cakes and salty recipes are available to take away or to enjoy in the Café area.

Palacio de Hierro partners with Fauchon

What: Bloomie's, a new brick-and-mortar concept offering a slice of Bloomingdale's full-line department stores, is also a private label. Both officially launch on 26 August.

Why it is important: After Nordstrom Local service hubs, Bloomingdale's is another US department store venturing in smaller formats. The Bloomie's concept will be adjusted to the need of the community, and will serve as a learning experience before figuring out where else in the country additional locations could open.

The new, 22,000-square-foot Bloomie's, located in the Mosaic District lifestyle center in Fairfax, Va., has a "highly curated" assortment of contemporary and luxury brands, new store design concepts and a restaurant. Services include a returns dropbox, buy online and pick-up in-store, curbside pickup, a desk for customization and alterations, a van for deliveries, and technology-empowered stylists (to communicate better with shoppers and access inventory from Bloomingdale's stores). Bloomie's has a total workforce of 30 in sales, alterations, management and operations.

Decades ago, Bloomie's was also a women's novelty underwear. So in conjunction with the opening of the first Bloomie's store, the Bloomie's brand has been relaunched. The inaugural collection has a total of 35 fashion and novelty pieces, including varsity jackets, socks, T-shirts, hoodies, combat boots, totes, chargers, pencil sets. Each season, there will be two drops, including limited-edition collaborations with every collection. The Bloomie's brand will be sold at Bloomie's, on bloomingdales.com and at Bloomingdale's 59th Street flagship, and might later be sold in more locations.

What Bloomie's Means to the Future of Bloomingdale's 

First Bloomie's Store Now Open

What Bloomie's means to the future of Bloomingdale's

What : The department store unveils a new shoe floor, a revamped Premium and Mid-range womenswear offer and a 360° joyful ad campaign.

Why it is important: Galeries Lafayette took the opportunity of the Covid-related store closures to accelerate its reinvention, especially betting on a renewed fashion offer.

The new shoe floor moved from the basement to the fourth floor to become the largest in Europe. A circular fashion space called (Re)store is highlighting vintage and responsible labels. A space dedicated to DNVBs and 'Instabrands' is completing the fashion offer. Please read the IADS exclusive here.

Click here for photos of the Revamp

DP Septembre 2021 - Galeries Lafayette

What: Frasers Group unveiled its latest big development, the new branch of Flannels in Sheffield.

Why is it important: Willing to open 10 more flagship stores in the coming decade, the Group is one of the most active British retailers as far as brick and mortar development is concerned.

The new branch of Flannels in Sheffield is claimed to be "the biggest luxury retail investment in the city to date, with the signing of a 15-year lease. The store covers 55,000 sq ft with women's and men's ready to wear and accessories, kidswear, activewear and — for the first time — beauty. The new concept, Flannels Beauty, is based around "a modern understanding of how consumers engage with beauty – across multiple brands, price points, and a unique mix of heritage, challenger, exclusive and pharmacy brands".

The company said it's "the most digitally-enabled store in the North of England" and it added that it's "rebelling against traditional 'beauty hall' models and introducing new services including the world's first Beauty Changing Rooms concept, featuring an interactive, digitally-connected private space "designed to test, trial and play".

When it comes to fashion, the retailer said it has moved "deeper into the contemporary space" and also brings labels to the city, including Off-White, Saint Laurent, Fear of God and Talentless.

In the short term following Sheffield, the group will open two new flagships, in Leicester and Liverpool. The Liverpool opening will be the first large-scale multi-brand luxury destination in the city. Over seven floors, the Liverpool store will feature an "expansive" beauty destination, a rooftop restaurant and an entire floor dedicated to leisure, activewear and high-performance sportswear. This 'World of Active' conceptual space will also include a "trailblazing" fitness studio.

The chain now numbers 50 UK stores, including an Oxford Street, London flagship, and the regional flagships of which the new Sheffield store is one.

Flannels opens a new flagship store

The retailer is opening the world's first women's shoe store, on the 4th floor of the Hankyu Department Store Umeda Main Store, in Osaka, Japan. The French luxury goods giant is also opening up a dedicated repair shop specializing in product maintenance and care services, with brand artisans available to help customers. The Hermès Aftersales Counter is on the second floor of the East Building of Hilton Plaza Osaka.