tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/department-stores-7169/articlesDepartment Stores – The Conversation2023-11-01T19:24:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145542023-11-01T19:24:51Z2023-11-01T19:24:51ZWhat makes an ideal main street? This is what shoppers told us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551115/original/file-20230929-19-vfuzaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5639%2C3759&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Irina Grotkjaer/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A lot of dedication and effort goes into making main streets attractive. Local governments, planners, place makers, economic development managers, trade associations and retailers work hard to design, improve and revitalise main streets. The goal is to make them attractive places to increase shopper numbers, provide pleasant places for communities, and boost local economies.</p>
<p>Despite the efforts that go into planning, maintaining and marketing local shopping areas, the people who use these places are often not consulted about what they actually want and need on their main street. <a href="https://www.shopology.com.au/resources">Our research</a> is the only-known Australian study to ask shoppers about the key elements, and shops and services, they regard as contributing to the ideal main street. </p>
<p>So what types of stores and services do they want?</p>
<p>Pharmacies are the top choice. Intriguingly, four types of stores/services that are disappearing from main streets around Australia – the post office, bank, department store and newsagent – are in the top ten (out of 45 choices in our survey). </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1715480716900012399"}"></div></p>
<h2>What are the key shops and services?</h2>
<p>We wanted to find out what consumers see as their ideal local shopping street. What kinds of shops and services matter most for them? Which other elements of local shopping places do they want?</p>
<p>Curiously, users are often not asked these questions. Yet their answers are essential if we are to design new towns, suburbs and regional centres, and improve existing ones, so more people want to work, shop and visit them.</p>
<p>We surveyed a representative sample of 655 shoppers from around Australia about their local shopping preferences. </p>
<p>We provided a list of 45 different stores and services. Participants were asked to rank them in order of importance from one to 45.</p>
<p>Overwhelmingly, participants considered the <a href="https://drugstorenews.com/study-consumers-shop-drug-stores-grocery-household-items-much-pharmacy">pharmacy the most important store or service</a> for an ideal main street. Across gender, age and location, pharmacies were consistently number one.</p>
<p>Similarly, four types of stores and services – the <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/australia-post-risks-death-spiral-without-urgent-change-ceo-20230427-p5d3nh">post office</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-06/regional-bank-branches-at-risk-of-closing-population-analysis/102937120">bank</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-16/qld-myer-to-close-brisbanes-queen-street-mall/102106162">department store</a> and <a href="https://thewest.com.au/politics/state-politics/wa-government-to-provide-39m-to-aid-500-newsagents-as-industry-battles-the-internet-c-10085316">newsagent</a> – appeared in the top ten most important, regardless of demographics. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551133/original/file-20230929-29-q50xs9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The top ten stores and services in an ideal main street.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Grimmer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What other key elements are important?</h2>
<p>We then asked participants about the importance of different elements of main streets. We provided 21 elements and participants were asked to rate each on a <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html">Likert scale</a> from 1, “not at all important”, to 7, “extremely important”. </p>
<p>Shoppers rated “cleanliness” as the most important element for their ideal shopping area. It was followed by “safety and security” and “parking”. </p>
<p>Aside from the “retail mix”, in most areas local councils have control over nine of the ten top elements. “Safety and security” also involves police and individual security services that centres and some stores employ.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552684/original/file-20231009-31-adta9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The top ten elements of an ideal main street.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Grimmer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Motivation for shopping affects choices</h2>
<p>We also tested for shoppers’ levels of hedonic and utilitarian orientation. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022435903000071">Hedonic</a> shoppers really enjoy the act of shopping. They experience euphoria and pleasure and they buy so they can go shopping, rather than shopping so they can buy.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2489765">Utilitarian shoppers</a>, on the other hand, are rational and cognitive and they view shopping as a task or chore. Buying products they need is simply a “means to an end”. They get no great satisfaction from the activity. </p>
<p>Hedonic shoppers are more often <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09593960802113877">women</a>. Men tend to be more utilitarian. We tend to become more utilitarian as we get older.</p>
<p>We were interested to find out if people’s responses to our questions were different depending on whether they were hedonic (shop for pleasure) or utlilitarian (shop for practical needs) shoppers. </p>
<p>For the most important store or service, hedonic and utilitarian shoppers both rated a pharmacy as number one. And they ranked similar stores and services in their top ten. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552679/original/file-20231009-20-n4119g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top ten stores and services for hedonic shoppers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Grimmer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But there were some differences. Hedonic shoppers included a lifestyle/gift store and department store in their top ten. Utilitarian shoppers did not. Instead they rated the post office and the newsagent as important. </p>
<p>This finding makes sense. Lifestyle stores, gift shops and department stores offer the hedonic shopper the chance to browse and enjoy quality surroundings and service. The post office and newsagent allow the utilitarian shopper to complete tasks quickly and easily – no browsing required.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552681/original/file-20231009-31-k7gykf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top ten stores and services for utilitarian shoppers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Grimmer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite similarities in their top-ranked shops and services, hedonic and utilitarian shoppers’ rankings of the most important elements of local shopping areas were starkly different.</p>
<p>For hedonic shoppers, the complete visitor experience, including the surroundings and atmosphere, is an important aspect of their ideal shopping area. Their top ten elements reflected this. They selected a combination of tangible elements, including public art, aesthetics, greenery and lighting, to complement the more ephemeral such as events and activities, night-time economy, sustainability and history and culture. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552682/original/file-20231009-17-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The top ten elements for hedonic shoppers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Grimmer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Utilitarian shoppers rated elements that help make a task-oriented shopping trip easier. <a href="https://wayfoundvictoria.vic.gov.au/what-is-wayfinding/">Wayfinding</a> (all the ways to help people navigate a space), signage and information, walkability, retail mix, and services and amenities were important for them. </p>
<p>The only two elements both groups agreed should be in the top ten were lighting, and seating and tables.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552686/original/file-20231009-24-2cbsrx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The top ten elements for utilitarian shoppers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Louise Grimmer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making main streets the best they can be</h2>
<p>There is an increasing understanding that retailing will not continue to be the main or sole reason people visit town centres. While still important, retail will more often complement services, attractions and “experiences” as the major factors that entice visitors. </p>
<p>This requires local councils, chambers of commerce and marketing organisations to perform a juggling act. They need to market shopping precincts as being attractive for shoppers while showcasing a range of services and attractions in these areas that appeal to other types of visitors.</p>
<p>Making shopping areas the best they can be is challenging work. Different people want different things from main streets. </p>
<p>Our findings provides insights for local councils, which have a primary policy responsibility for main streets, as well as developers, investors and individual store owners. This knowledge can help them better plan and improve the retail and service mix for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Different shoppers have different priorities, but some shops and services are ranked as important across the board.Louise Grimmer, Retail Scholar, University of TasmaniaMartin Grimmer, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Marketing, University of TasmaniaPaul J. Maginn, Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065712023-06-18T11:17:16Z2023-06-18T11:17:16ZDepartment stores survived the pandemic by being adaptable and innovative<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532059/original/file-20230614-20396-4u5otn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C35%2C2982%2C2011&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman walks by a closed store in a shopping mall in Montréal, in January 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The retail industry has experienced major upheavals over the past few years due to the rise of online retailing and the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/22/malls-are-dying-only-these-ones-have-figured-out-secrets-success-internet-age">decline of shopping malls</a>. One retail sector that has been hit especially hard is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/coronavirus-department-stores-neiman-marcus.html">department stores</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.styledemocracy.com/canadian-retail-history/">Iconic Canadian brands, such as Eaton’s, Simpsons and Woodward’s</a>, have disappeared. American retail brands, including Nordstrom and Target, <a href="https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2023/03/why-so-many-american-retailers-have-failed-in-canada-feature-expert-interviews">have entered the Canadian market and then withdrawn</a>. </p>
<p>Only a few department store retailers, <a href="https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2021/08/hudsons-bay-shifting-canadian-department-store-model-by-separating-physical-stores-and-online-business">like The Bay</a>, still have a tenuous grip on the Canadian retail market. Similar upheavals have occurred in the United States, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/13/we-are-in-the-middle-of-the-great-american-department-store-shakeout.html">with many regional department store brands disappearing over the past 30 years</a>.</p>
<p>The challenges faced by retailers were made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Retailers and department stores struggled to stay afloat during lockdowns. To survive the tough retail environment, they needed to be both resilient and innovative. </p>
<p>With this in mind, we gathered sales data from 17 department store chains in the U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-04-2022-0132">to investigate what strategies these stores used during the pandemic</a>.</p>
<h2>Curbside pickup</h2>
<p>The first strategy was the use of curbside pickup. This allowed customers to shop safely and conveniently by ordering online and collecting their purchases outside physical stores. </p>
<p>Although this strategy was used prior to the pandemic, <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2020/04/30/retailers-adapt-fulfillment-operations-to-coronavirus/">it significantly increased during lockdowns</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person wearing a medical face mask passes someone a grocery bag through their open car window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532060/original/file-20230614-23865-l3cl7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An employee brings a customer’s order to his car at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Paramus, N.J., in May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, another similar strategy — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-06-2016-0161">buying online and picking an item up in-store</a> — was widely used prior to the pandemic, but the additional safety of parking lot deliveries made curbside pickup a welcome option for shoppers.</p>
<p>This strategy did more than just uphold operations during the pandemic — it also underscored the importance of prioritizing customers and their safety in the face of adversity. </p>
<h2>Product return windows</h2>
<p>The second strategy was extended product return windows. By giving customers more time to return products, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2004.10.012">department stores prioritized customer satisfaction and encouraged them to make future purchases</a>. </p>
<p>Giving customers more time to return an item — sometimes even up to a year — gave customers more time to test out items and return the ones they didn’t want.</p>
<p>Like curbside pickup, longer product return windows were also used prior to the pandemic, but health and safety restrictions accelerated its use.</p>
<h2>Virtual try-on technology</h2>
<p>A third approach — the use of virtual try-on technology — helped retailers survive lockdowns and could also prove to be valuable in the long run.</p>
<p>This technology allowed customers to “try on” items virtually before committing to a purchase, either online or in-store. Customers were able to try on products from their homes, like clothing or jewellery, using their camera-equipped devices, <a href="https://hapticmedia.com/blog/virtual-try-on">reducing the need for physical store visits and dressing room usage</a>. </p>
<p>Our research found that the impact of try-on technologies on department store sales was highest when COVID-19 restrictions were low.</p>
<p>The closure of physical stores and safety concerns <a href="https://www.shopify.com/retail/qr-codes-retail">greatly accelerated the adoption and use</a> of this technology. It not only boosted sales for apparel items, but also unlocked opportunities for a wider range of product offerings, like apps that let you virtually test out furniture or makeup at home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man uses a smartphone to virtually try a watch on his wrist." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532061/original/file-20230614-19-9qxntm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Virtual try-on technology allows customers to test items virtually before committing to a purchase.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="http://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3023040">convenience that try-on technology provides to consumers</a> extends beyond the pandemic. Retailers that invested in this technology during lockdowns will continue to benefit from it long into the future.</p>
<h2>Adaptation is key for survival</h2>
<p>Department stores that adapted <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/3088148">were the most successful in navigating the challenges posed by the pandemic</a>. This highlights the importance of having <a href="https://www.davidjteece.com/dynamic-capabilities">dynamic capabilities</a> — strategies that enable retailers to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127008100133">adapt to rapidly changing environments</a>. </p>
<p>By being adaptable and responsive to change, retailers were able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10249-6">restructure their operations, enhance efficiency and reduce business risks</a>. The retailers that not only survived but innovated during the crisis <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-01-2021-0059">were in the best position to thrive once it ended</a>.</p>
<p>These department stores were able to retain customer trust and loyalty by offering alternative shopping options and flexible return policies. This demonstrates the importance of prioritizing customers and being prepared to adapt to evolving consumer behaviours. </p>
<h2>The future of retail</h2>
<p>The narrative of department stores during the pandemic was one of adaptability and the pursuit of innovation. The lessons gathered during the pandemic will continue to shape department store strategies and guide their transformation in the future. </p>
<p>By leveraging their unique strengths — such as having a wide range of products, a brand history and customer relationships — department stores can re-imagine their role in the retail ecosystem and reignite consumer interest.</p>
<p>As the retail landscape continues to evolve, department stores have the opportunity to reclaim their relevance by capitalizing on their strengths and staying attuned to emerging consumer trends.</p>
<p>The journey ahead may be challenging, but with strategic foresight and a commitment to innovation, department stores could still thrive in this new era of retail.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206571/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The lessons the retail industry learned during the pandemic will continue to shape department store strategies and guide their transformation in the future.Ruifeng Wang, PhD Student in Supply Chain Management, University of MarylandMartin Dresner, Professor, Logistics, Business and Public Policy, University of MarylandXiaodan Pan, Associate Professor, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1798182022-04-13T12:15:56Z2022-04-13T12:15:56ZStore credit cards generate corporate profits and disgruntled workers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457697/original/file-20220412-12-1mbmq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C81%2C5854%2C3954&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A smiling woman hands a dress to a clothing store cashier.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-handing-dress-to-clothing-store-cashier-royalty-free-image/1153620614">Tom Werner/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Clothing retailers sell their shoppers more than jeans and sweaters. </p>
<p>Major apparel companies also sell credit, often with very high fees, like <a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/a/assets/credit-card-agreements/pdf/synchrony-bank_Gap%20Inc%20Credit%20Card%20Account%20Agreement%20and%20Pricing%20Information.pdf">The Gap’s</a> 21.7% starting interest rate, and US$27 to $37 late payment charge. In 2019, Macy’s store credit card revenue of $771 million accounted for more than half of <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/1-big-risk-for-macys-shareholders-2021-07-10">Macy’s operating income</a>. </p>
<p>As researchers <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520384651/walking-mannequins">studying retail clothing workers</a>, we never expected to learn about credit cards. When we asked the workers about the worst part of their jobs, we expected to hear about <a href="https://theconversation.com/walmarts-pay-raise-highlights-how-poor-weve-all-become-38019">low wages</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-on-call-and-irregular-scheduling-harm-the-american-workforce-46063">inconsistent schedules</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/retail-rage-why-black-friday-leads-shoppers-to-behave-badly-87647">rude shoppers</a>. </p>
<p>Those things matter, but many workers identified mandates to push credit card applications on customers as the worst part of their jobs. None of the retailers mentioned in this story responded to requests to explain their corporate policies on consumer store brand credit.</p>
<h2>Ethical dilemma</h2>
<p>Why do workers find this task so troubling? </p>
<p>Our research shows that they know – sometimes from personal experiences – how credit cards can ruin a person’s finances. </p>
<p>“The credit cards have a 25% interest rate, and people don’t always read that,” Elise, a woman who had worked at Target, explained. “They saw it as ‘something else I can use to pay later and not have to pay money now.’” </p>
<p>A Gap customer who buys $300 of clothing, and pays the minimum each month of about $25, will pay off that purchase in 14 months, and pay more than $40 in interest. If they miss just one payment, they will likely pay more than $75 in interest and fees.</p>
<p>Rachel has worked at American Eagle and pointed out how credit cards often hurt credit scores: “People, especially my age … don’t realize that. They’re 18 years old and a credit card sounds awesome.” </p>
<p>Gabe, another American Eagle employee, refers to his store’s credit card as “a Visa that has the American Eagle logo at an extremely high interest rate,” explaining that only “gullible” customers sign up.</p>
<p>Credit card debt can cause <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jill-Norvilitis-2/publication/237462075_Credit_card_debt_on_college_campuses_causes_consequences_and_solutions/links/0046353187b6115cdc000000/Credit-card-debt-on-college-campuses-causes-consequences-and-solutions.pdf">substantial problems</a>. Many people have to take <a href="https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/shoud-i-get-a-second-job-to-pay-off-debt/">multiple jobs</a> simply to manage their debt. </p>
<p>Getting behind on credit card bills often leads to higher interest rates and late fees – making it even more difficult to pay off the debt. Those who go into bankruptcy to discharge their credit debt may not be able to take out any loans to buy a car or a house for <a href="https://www.debt.org/bankruptcy/file-bankruptcy-for-credit-card-debt/">a decade or more</a>. </p>
<p>Credit also has the potential to exacerbate <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-artificial-intelligence-deny-you-credit-73259">inequality</a>. <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2017-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2016-banking-credit.htm">Federal Reserve data</a> on credit denials also shows that for people at the same income level, Black and Hispanic consumers are more likely to have their applications denied. </p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>In about half of the 35 clothing retail stores we studied, cashiers are expected to prompt all customers to apply for a store credit card. Workers cannot refuse to sell credit cards when they are working shifts on registers. </p>
<p>During our research, we found that management keeps track of those sales by using electronic surveillance to identify exactly how many credit cards each worker sells during each shift. Management monitors how well individual workers and store locations sell credit through data from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-coup-des-gens-is-underway-and-were-increasingly-living-under-the-regime-of-the-algorithm-113900">cash register</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man is seen using a credit card to purchase items from a cashier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456210/original/file-20220404-22605-15ptl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A shopper hands his credit card over to a cashier at a department store.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/shopper-hands-his-credit-card-over-at-the-checkout-counter-news-photo/95039919?adppopup=true">Chris Hondros/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tara, a shift lead at American Eagle, said she needed to sell 2.5 credit cards for every 10 transactions at the cash register. </p>
<p>Old Navy managers also expected cashiers like Danielle to sell two cards per shift. Special sales events intensify these goals. For example, Danielle was told to sell five to 10 credit cards during <a href="https://theconversation.com/have-reports-of-black-fridays-death-been-greatly-exaggerated-69267">Black Friday</a> shifts. </p>
<p>Our research found that those who perform above expectations – for example, selling five credit cards during a normal shift – may get a gift card, a bonus of $1-$5 or a pack of gum. Stella, a Macy’s worker, explained, “We get credit for people who don’t even get approved for the applications.”</p>
<p>Most of the workers that we interviewed said if they don’t sell enough credit cards they may find themselves off the work schedule and without a job.</p>
<h2>Corporate credit push</h2>
<p>Workers shared our surprise: Many didn’t expect clothing retailers to emphasize selling credit as much as selling clothes. </p>
<p>As Melissa, a sales associate at J.C. Penney, told us, “Surprisingly, our main focus is credit applications. They really drive that back at home. They want as many as possible.” </p>
<p><a href="https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/articles/can-you-benefit-from-a-store-credit-card">Retailers tout</a> that the credit cards offer discounts on merchandise, are easier to qualify for than traditional credit cards and allow customers to build a credit history. </p>
<p>Yet managers rarely admit to workers that credit cards lead to profit. Nicole works at Nordstrom Rack and recalled her manager asking, “‘Do you know why we have a credit card?’ … I was just, like, ‘So you can make money on the interest?’ They were, like, ‘Well, a lot for brand awareness and to remind people if they have the card in their wallet they might come to our store.’” </p>
<p>While Nicole believed that the credit cards are aimed at increasing profits, her manager corrected her, emphasizing “brand awareness” instead. According to Nordstrom’s <a href="https://press.nordstrom.com/static-files/879478f9-0ee8-4b1e-a66a-3bc0eddc83b0">annual report</a>, credit card revenues brought in $387 million of revenue in 2021 compared with $14.4 billion of apparel sales </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man is seen holding several different credit cards in his hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456218/original/file-20220404-11-5iqaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this photo illustration, a man holds up some credit and debit cards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-photo-illustration-a-man-holds-up-some-credit-and-news-photo/78281926?adppopup=true">Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Many workers, like Carmen, a woman with almost two years of retail experience at Sears and Free People, finds it difficult to sell something that she believes can harm customers. In her view, credit cards “are the worst thing ever.” “It’s like trying to push something that you’re trying to make it seem like it’s something that’s so good,” she said. “But in the end, it’s not. It’s just another way to spend money.” </p>
<p>Workers realize, as did Grace, a T.J. Maxx worker, that financially “it makes sense but morally … it’s not what’s best for our customers.” She further explained, “If they want to buy our products, that’s their choice, but if we are going to charge them interest rates, that’s another thing. It just seriously pisses me off.” </p>
<p>Marty has worked at Target for 3½ years and similarly worried: “I just hear stories of … getting people who are on food stamps who sign up for these credit cards, which is going to hurt their credit, and they know they’re going to get denied … but (the managers) still, like, push it. And it’s just, like, was that ethical to do that?” </p>
<h2>Acts of resistance</h2>
<p>Some workers try to resist these mandates. Grace, the T.J. Maxx worker, recounted, “These women come in and they’re, like, ‘Well I’ve already been denied twice. Oh, I’ll just try again.’ And I’m, like, ‘No, don’t try again because that’s going to pull your credit down even further and that’s bad.’” </p>
<p>Corinne has worked more than five years at retailers including J.C. Penney and Forever 21. She also resisted pressure to sell credit, saying, “I preferred not to be on register … because I usually don’t ask people.” Corinne avoided the register rather than be disciplined for not asking customers to apply for credit cards. </p>
<p>Even Angela, who works at Old Navy and says she “rocks at selling credit cards,” emphasized, “It’s the one value of that store that I just don’t align with … the worst part of the job.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520384651/walking-mannequins">Our research</a> finds that retail workers, despite being in low-paid jobs with unpredictable hours, often see credit card sales as the worst part of their jobs. And that’s because they empathize with customers and want to help them – not lead them to financial ruin.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyla Walters received funding from the Labor Research in Action Network (LRAN). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joya Misra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Retail employees are accustomed to long hours and low pay. What really upsets them are corporate policies to push store credit cards on consumers.Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, UMass AmherstKyla Walters, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Sonoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1608472021-05-14T12:46:06Z2021-05-14T12:46:06ZHalston: The glittering rise – and spectacular fall – of a fashion icon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400633/original/file-20210513-14-q4ux54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2973%2C2124&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Halston with the Halstonettes – a group of models who were part of his entourage – at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 1980.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/halston-and-halstonettes-during-diana-vreelands-costume-news-photo/105451563?adppopup=true">Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Walk into any department store, and you’ll get a sense of the powerful brands built by high-end American designers: <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-23-tm-4945-story.html">Calvin Klein</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/02/04/michael-kors-is-fashions-newest-billionaire/">Michael Kors</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ralph-Lauren">Ralph Lauren</a>, <a href="https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/karan-donna">Donna Karan</a>. They created veritable fashion empires by leveraging their names to create lower-priced lines and sign profitable licensing agreements.</p>
<p>But before them all, there was <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1991/09/halston-life-story">Roy Halston Frowick</a> – better known by the singular appellation Halston. </p>
<p>The subject of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9569546/">an eponymous Netflix miniseries</a> starring Ewan McGregor, Halston became one of the earliest American designers to extend his brand to multiple price points. In doing so, he made designs that were normally out of reach for everyday Americans available to the masses.</p>
<p>But as <a href="https://scholar.google.nl/citations?user=Vzju6pwAAAAJ&hl=en">fashion</a> <a href="https://jfgordon.net/about.html">historians</a>, we’ll often tell Halston’s story as a cautionary one. Though he made style seem effortless, his relationship with the fashion industry was anything but uncomplicated.</p>
<h2>Attuned to the mood</h2>
<p>A born-and-bred Midwesterner, Halston found early success in hat design working as a custom milliner for <a href="https://style.time.com/2012/09/12/happy-111th-birthday-bergdorf-goodman-a-brief-history-in-numbers/">Bergdorf Goodman</a>. Halston soon became known as a trendsetter, and, in a notable triumph for the young designer, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/fashion/2019/08/20/cnn-films-halston-jackie-kennedy-pillbox-hat-ron-3.cnn">wore one of Halston’s signature pillbox hats</a> at her husband’s inauguration. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Jackie Kennedy rides in a car alongside John F. Kennedy." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400402/original/file-20210512-24-1w3vonk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First lady Jacqueline Kennedy donned one of Halston’s iconic pillbox hats on Inauguration Day in 1961.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/washington-dc-married-couple-us-president-john-f-kennedy-news-photo/514704760?adppopup=true">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Later in the 1960s, Halston made the foray into dress design. His success was equal parts talent and serendipity, and he once described his approach as “<a href="https://www.proquest.com/wwd/docview/1445680315/EC61F7898B0F45E9PQ/1?accountid=10906&imgSeq=1">editing the mood of what’s happening</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A mannequin dressed in a tan Halston shirtdress." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400405/original/file-20210512-19-1jh3dfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tan Ultrasuede Halston shirtdress from 1972.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Halston_shirt_dress.jpg">Museum at FIT/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although overt simplicity may seem incongruous with grandeur, Halston garments were both understated and luxurious.</p>
<p>Halston’s body-skimming <a href="https://www.1stdibs.com/fashion/clothing/evening-dresses/rare-halston-hand-painted-caftan/id-v_210060/">silk chiffon caftans</a>, <a href="http://d6vrtzdlbankn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/12-Halston-Original-Iman-jersey-dress-spring-1976-584x1024.jpeg">jersey wraparound dresses</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/09/archives/halstons-revival-of-sweater-girl.html">long cashmere sweaters</a> were often constructed using just one piece of fabric. They covered the body fully, but through careful manipulation of the fabric – wrapping, draping and twisting – Halston’s pieces were sensuous and flattering. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1977/02/26/archives/ultra-demand-for-versatile-ultrasuede.html">Halston was even able to turn Ultrasuede</a> – a soft, synthetic, machine-washable faux suede – into a status symbol, molding it into elegant shirtdresses and coats. These became popular despite – or maybe because of – their utter plainness. His garments were fitting for the 1970s, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-09-16/how-1970s-oil-prices-stagflation-changed-the-u-s-economy">when a shaky economy</a> made flagrant displays of wealth unseemly.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A red dress on a mannequin." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400631/original/file-20210513-17-1pwngsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A silk Halston evening dress, designed in the mid-1970s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/evening-dress-ca-1976-silk-jersey-by-halston-news-photo/150057792?adppopup=true">Chicago History Museum/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet the designer’s social life was the opposite of understated. In fact, the image of fashion design as a glamorous and exciting profession owes much to Halston. During his heyday, he was at “the top of the fashion show-biz heap,” as Women’s Wear Daily publisher John Fairchild <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Chic_Savages.html?id=qezxAAAAMAAJ">once wrote</a>. </p>
<p>At the legendary <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/studio-54">Studio 54</a>, he mingled with Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol. The world-famous disco club became both a showroom for Halston’s designs and a stage for the man himself, and Halston was often accompanied by an entourage of beautiful women known as “<a href="https://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/blog-ysl-halston/the-halstonettes/">the Halstonettes</a>.”</p>
<h2>Halston the businessman</h2>
<p>As his stature grew, Halston always looked for ways to expand his fashion empire.</p>
<p>Early in his career, he experimented with what’s known as “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9781137492265_5">brand diffusion</a>” – which is companies’ use of the same brand name on items at varying price points. </p>
<p>His high-end line was Halston Ltd., a made-to-order, ready-to-wear business. Located on New York City’s Madison Avenue, it catered to an exclusive list of private clientele that included film and television stars like Lauren Bacall, Greta Garbo, Liza Minelli and Elizabeth Taylor. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Halston Originals boutique sold dresses to department stores across the country, <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/383974238/">with prices ranging from US$150 to over $1,000</a>. And with Halston International, the designer created “component” knit pieces – not outfits, but singular garments, turtlenecks, sweater sets, shirts and coats – that consumers could mix and match to their delight.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Halston kisses Bianca Jagger on the cheek behind her birthday cake." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400630/original/file-20210513-13-15t5sum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bianca Jagger and Halston during Jagger’s birthday party at Studio 54.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bianca-jagger-and-designer-halston-attend-the-birthday-news-photo/156188908?adppopup=true">Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After the business conglomerate Norton Simon Inc. acquired the Halston businesses in 1973, Halston remained lead designer of his many collections. He worked at a frenetic pace, creating all of the uniforms for the winter and summer 1976 U.S. Olympic athletes and making costumes for Martha Graham’s ballet production “<a href="https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/ballet-dancer-rudolph-nureyev-welcomes-choreographer-martha-news-photo/583900365?adppopup=true">Lucifer</a>.” Products bearing his name included perfumes, luggage, home linens, coats, rainwear and even wigs. By 1983, Halston Enterprises was generating an estimated <a href="https://www.proquest.com/wwd/docview/1445680315/EC61F7898B0F45E9PQ/1">$150 million in annual sales</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps emboldened by his success or motivated by his heartland roots, Halston signed with JCPenney in 1983 for the creation of an exclusive line that was, as he put it, “<a href="https://www.proquest.com/wwd/docview/1445680315/EC61F7898B0F45E9PQ/1">for the American people</a>.” </p>
<p>With items priced from $24 to $200, the “III line” marked a new era in fashion and retailing. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A man looks at two stylishly dressed women walking by." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1115&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400611/original/file-20210513-19-1ikpmp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1115&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Halston III line for JCPenney was the first by a high-end American fashion designer licensing his name.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/barbiescanner/38453218924/in/photostream/">barbiescanner/flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While high-end fashion designer <a href="https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-12-29/pierre-cardin-dead">Pierre Cardin</a> pioneered this form of licensing in Europe, the project of pairing a high-fashion designer with a mass merchandiser best known for selling Levi’s, hardware and household goods was unusual in the United States. While Halston contended it was <a href="https://www.proquest.com/wwd/docview/1445680315/EC61F7898B0F45E9PQ/1">immensely successful</a>, claiming it generated $1 billion in sales, JCPenney’s executives were less enthusiastic. By the mid-1980s, industry insiders were suggesting that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/05/business/a-slow-start-for-an-upscale-penney-s.html">the garments were not selling as well as expected</a>. </p>
<p>The JCPenney’s deal ultimately proved to be damaging for Halston. Wary high-end retailers, including his early employer, Bergdorf Goodman, were fearful that the prestige of the Halston name was sullied by its presence on the racks of a mass-market merchandiser. Bergdorf Goodman eventually dropped his line altogether. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Halston’s growing reputation of excessive spending and erratic behavior increasingly left his brand to the decisions of businessmen and creative control to other parties. Halston was relegated to the sidelines, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/15/magazine/no-headline-650887.html">his corporate deals effectively cost him the right to his own name</a>. </p>
<p>In 1988, Halston was diagnosed with AIDS. He lived out of the public eye until his death in 1990.</p>
<h2>Others follow Halston’s lead</h2>
<p>Despite its eventual failure, Halston’s pairing with JCPenney was truly ahead of its time. </p>
<p>Citing the importance of creating practical, easy-care leisurewear for working women and young mothers, Halston tried to offer a fashionable wardrobe at reasonable prices that nearly everyone could afford.</p>
<p>Contemporaries such as <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a23741794/anne-klein-shopbazaar-50-years-exhibit/">Anne Klein</a>, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/style/Kenzo-Auction.html">Kenzo Takada</a> would immediately try out similar diffusion lines. All pulled it off without suffering the extraordinary professional cost that Halston endured. </p>
<p>These designers’ corporate and creative decisions were arguably more tightly controlled than Halston’s devil-may-care diffusion. Acquisitions of these companies by larger conglomerates occurred much later than Halston’s, often decades into the brand’s existence. Perhaps this gave additional time for these brands to arrive at a more singular vision. </p>
<p>Maintaining a consistent direction over such a diverse array of lines proved unfeasible for Halston, and something was lost along the way: the cachet and the allure that made a Halston a Halston. </p>
<p>Halston’s successes and ultimate downfall have provided a cautious inspiration. Isaac Mizrahi’s 2003 <a href="https://www.racked.com/2016/3/10/11183334/isaac-mizrahi-target-qvc">collaboration with Target</a> – 20 years after Halston’s pairing with JCPenney – became a boon for both parties.</p>
<p>It was not, however, without trepidation. In 2019, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/style/youve-heard-of-the-drop-target-had-it-first.html">Mizrahi reminisced that the partnership</a> “was a very scary thing. Halston was my idol … and he had failed.” </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Relationships between designers and retailers are now commonplace in a climate where the most fashionable and visible of women freely mix and match mass market and luxury items, and designers <a href="https://www.eonline.com/photos/17507/best-designer-collaborations-of-all-time">deftly jump between discount retail and the runway</a>. </p>
<p>Halston’s brand lives on, but resuscitating it has been a long process. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/fashion/the-men-and-women-who-would-be-halston.html">Fashion heavyweights</a> Kevan Hall and Marios Schwab, as well as style figures Rachel Zoe and Sarah Jessica Parker, have lent their creativity and business acumen to the brand, with limited success.</p>
<p>With the release of Netflix’s “Halston,” a new revival is at hand: not of the line, but of the personality that for a comparatively brief – but glittering – moment, ruled the fashion world with devastating simplicity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160847/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The subject of a new Netflix miniseries, Halston once ruled over New York’s fashion world. But the designer with a devil-may-care approach to his business dealings attempted too much, too quickly.Jennifer Gordon, Lecturer of Apparel, Events and Hospitality Management, Iowa State UniversitySara Marcketti, Professor of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1591842021-04-26T16:25:21Z2021-04-26T16:25:21ZDepartment store closures: the case for a national programme to fill empty space<p>Debenhams, one of the UK’s leading department stores chains, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9499409/Debenhams-confirms-final-closing-date-27-stores.html">is set to</a> permanently close its 97 remaining outlets in England and Wales during the first two weeks in May. Having already closed its Scottish stores and the flagship on London’s Oxford Street, it will mark the end of Debenhams as a bricks and mortar operator. The brand alone will survive, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/25/boohoo-buying-debenhams-a-changing-of-the-guard-in-retail">having been bought</a> by online retailer Boohoo earlier in the year. </p>
<p>Department stores have not fared well under COVID-19. Thanks to changing government restrictions, stores have veered from near-normal trading to click-and-collect to complete closure apart from online offerings. This has been confusing for customers. They have <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/timeseries/j4mc/drsi">turned to</a> online shopping, both through department-store sites and internet-only rivals like Amazon and ASOS. </p>
<p>The timing could not have been worse for physical stores, since they were already struggling to compete with online retail. As well as the Debenhams collapse, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/05/frasers-group-warns-of-store-closures-after-near-worthless-budget-support">House of Fraser continues</a> to axe or repurpose stores as part of an ongoing pre-pandemic programme, and John Lewis has <a href="https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/04/john-lewis-boss-halts-store-closure-programme/">permanently closed</a> 17 of 51 stores – including the likes of Birmingham Grand Central, which only opened in 2015.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, I wrote <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-this-the-last-john-lewis-christmas-ad-127084">in The Conversation</a> that things had become so bad for UK department stores that John Lewis might even have put out the last of its famous Christmas adverts. John Lewis may not quite have stopped making festive ads, but more generally events have turned out worse than I anticipated. Closures are creating huge empty spaces in our high streets and shopping centres. The big question now is, what to do about it?</p>
<h2>An overreaction?</h2>
<p>First off, we shouldn’t actually assume the whole sector will die off. <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/timeseries/j4mc/drsi">Online retail’s share</a> of the overall UK market had climbed to 22% by the start of the pandemic, and has since risen as high as 36%. But we don’t need to assume that trend will continue indefinitely. For example, online stores may have killed off many book shops but <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/business/waterstones-profits-sales-living-wage-394777">Waterstones was thriving</a> before the pandemic.</p>
<p>Surviving department stores could similarly benefit from being the last man standing. After all, nearly one in five people over 65 in the UK <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsocialmediausage/bulletins/internetaccesshouseholdsandindividuals/2020">never use</a> the internet and many also have more spare cash than debt-laden under-40s.</p>
<p>For those that do shop online, there is still <a href="https://www.theengineer.co.uk/last-mile-delivery-challenge-logistics/">a perception</a> that it involves something of a gamble. Online delivery has improved over the years, partly thanks to better customer information through apps, texts and so on, but many of us regularly play a game of “hunt the parcel” with our neighbours.</p>
<p>During the pandemic, consumers’ experiences of online delivery have been mixed. Supermarket services have been plagued by timeslot shortages, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55540485">for instance</a>. Deliveries to home will also become less convenient once people are not always working or studying there. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Victorians out shopping" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397066/original/file-20210426-23-yso1q2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shopping circa 1880.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, department stores have never simply been about purchasing. Since Victorian times, they have been “cathedrals of consumption” – places to spend leisure time, where being seen was as important as what you bought. </p>
<p>It is no coincidence that they invariably contain a cafe, and usually various eating and drinking places. Lockdown probably hasn’t permanently killed off the inherent human desire to socialise and display social status. </p>
<h2>Pulling up anchors</h2>
<p>Nonetheless, the demise of the department store presents a significant challenge for cities, <a href="https://theconversation.com/future-of-high-streets-how-to-prevent-our-city-centres-from-turning-into-ghost-towns-154108">particularly when</a> high streets and shopping centres are declining more generally. Department stores are often the destination outlets around which retail locations are “anchored”. </p>
<p>They drive consumers to a location. Once these anchors depart, the whole shopping centre is “holed”. Nobody is likely to choose to spend their leisure time or demonstrate their status in a decaying retail centre, with boarded up shops and a despondent air. Many retailers will switch to healthier locations as a result. </p>
<p>The question is how to turn this into an opportunity to change use. It is not the first time that cities have had to manage empty, unproductive space. Two relatively recent examples are the many bomb sites after the second world war, and the brownfield sites following <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/06/the-legacy-of-leaving-old-industrial-britain-to-rot-is-becoming-clear">the deindustrialisation</a> of the 1980s. </p>
<p>This time around, the UK housing crisis, with an <a href="https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/files/24741931/HousingSupplyMay2019.pdf">estimated requirement</a> of 380,000 new homes a year, points to a way forward. There are already examples, with planned housing use on a former House of Fraser site as part of the multi-billion-pound <a href="https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default/files/all/planning%20and%20building/Local%20plans%20and%20planning%20policy/Local%20Planning%20Evidence%20Base%20and%20Research/Wirral%20Documents/Reg%2018%20Issues%20and%20Options%202020/Birkenhead%20Regeneration/Birkenhead%202040%20Framework.pdf">Birkenhead 2040</a> regeneration project in north-west England. </p>
<p>Such conversions will be made easier by the UK government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-freedoms-to-support-high-streets-and-fast-track-delivery-of-schools-and-hospitals-across-england-introduced-today">changing the rules</a> so that retail sites in England can be converted into housing without planning permission. Of course, this could simply create an environment that is neither fish nor fowl – too little retail density to attract enough shoppers, but offputting to homebuyers and tenants because of noise and potential lack of privacy. </p>
<p>In any event, the planning changes are unlikely to fill all the empty footage on their own. Many leading recent housing and leisure schemes originated from repurposed urban space, such as <a href="https://www.visitmanchester.com/things-to-see-and-do/explore/the-quays">Salford Quays</a> in Greater Manchester and the <a href="https://albertdock.com/">Albert Dock</a> in Liverpool. But they took years, indeed decades, to come to fruition because there are always serious obstacles, not least fragmented site ownership, financing and lack of shared vision.</p>
<p>But rather than despair, perhaps we can learn something from the UK’s approach to COVID-19. Instead of the orthodoxy of the past 40 years where we rely on the market, the government could take the driving seat. </p>
<p>Vast <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/hospital/building-the-nightingale-hospitals-engineering-on-the-fast-track-23-06-2020/">Nightingale hospitals</a> were created seemingly overnight to handle COVID. Students and the retired <a href="https://www.gov.scot/news/coronavirus-support-from-returning-staff-and-students/">were re-employed</a> in frontline healthcare roles, and a seemingly effective <a href="https://www.gponline.com/uk-covid-19-vaccination-programme-tracker/article/1704726">vaccination programme</a> has been enacted. </p>
<p>Maybe a similarly bold approach could address the millions of unwanted square feet on high streets and shopping centres. The government could use compulsory purchase orders to take control of many sites and repurpose them into the best uses for each area. This would obviously not be cheap, but this is a national crisis. Better to grasp the nettle than to allow city centres and shopping centres to slide into ruin, with all the potential for deprivation and crime that would emerge along the way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Griff Round does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This doesn’t have to be the end for empty retail space.Griff Round, Lecturer in Marketing, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482342020-11-01T13:03:22Z2020-11-01T13:03:22ZThe demise of the department store heralds a shift in downtown areas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365269/original/file-20201023-17-1qhk3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2457%2C1500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Bay department store in downtown Winnipeg will close in early 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jino Distasio)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past year, cities have become remarkably different places. The response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has resulted in less active public and shared spaces like parks, malls, streets and retail. </p>
<p>In most cities, the downtown business area remains an important centre of entertainment, commerce and retail. These areas have been hard hit by the ongoing pandemic, and much has been written about what might come next. Some suggestions include <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/business/economy/new-york-office-space-coronavirus.html">converting empty office towers into apartments or rethinking high density housing and other activities that draw large crowds</a>. </p>
<p>One thing that has become clear is that the retail landscape in downtown areas will look even more different in the coming years. This will include losing more department stores, which have struggled to remain relevant. </p>
<p>In Winnipeg, <a href="https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2020/10/hudsons-bay-to-close-downtown-winnipeg-flagship-storenbsp">Hudson’s Bay — the last downtown department store — is soon closing</a>, ending more than 100 years of a unique retail experience.</p>
<h2>Changing retail landscapes</h2>
<p>Retail in the North American downtown has been under threat for decades from changing urban development and consumer habits that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/how-pandemic-will-change-face-retail/610738/">have also been hard hit from the pandemic</a>. The recent explosion of online shopping merely continued the previous impact of the 1950s suburban growth: massive malls and retail clusters serviced growing populations that lived further from the traditional core of the city. This shift, <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/municipal/impact-big-box-retailers-employment-wages-crime-health/">combined with the big box store revolution of the 1980s</a>, ended the role of downtown as the primary retail destination for shoppers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photograph of the interior of a department store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366511/original/file-20201029-15-q0xexa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Discounted merchandise at the Bay in Winnipeg, which is the city’s last remaining downtown department store.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jino Distasio)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In response, there has been a sustained effort by planners to reinvent the downtown, but with limited success. This has included a variety of schemes from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/026654397364591">pedestrian malls, covered malls, elevated walkways and other retail models designed to entice people back downtown to shop</a>. </p>
<h2>The history of the department store</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/bespoke/story/20150326-a-history-of-the-department-store/index.html">Department stores first appeared in the mid-1800s</a>. They disrupted the retail industry by pulling people off the streets and into multilevel wonderlands. And for more than 150 years, the department store’s reign in the downtown was second to none. </p>
<p>Department stores were so much more than shopping: they were destinations where people met, gathered and socialized. They were also exclusive spaces, with lavish displays and architectural designs that offered an escape from the ordinary. </p>
<p>The Hudson’s Bay Company has a complex history related to profiting from and exploiting Indigenous communities in Manitoba and the rest of Canada. Native studies scholar Niigaan Sinclair suggested using the soon-to-be-empty building to address that history, and envisioned as a place that could bring community together: “<a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/right-place-right-time-572645202.html">Let’s make Winnipeg’s most non-Indigenous space Indigenous space. Let’s make it a place where our community can renew, change and enter the next 350 years of our lives together</a>.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1313575961309274112"}"></div></p>
<h2>Winnipeg’s changing downtown</h2>
<p>The city of Winnipeg is good example of the downtown department store’s rise and fall. For more than 100 years, the downtown department store was front and centre in Winnipeg’s retail landscape. In 1905, <a href="http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/eatons.shtml">when the Eaton Company opened its flagship store</a>, Winnipeg was one of Canada’s fastest growing cities.</p>
<p>At its height, Eaton’s had eight floors of shopping and a massive complex of buildings that included a nearby annex for mail orders that totalled over almost 14 thousand square metres of space. A trip to Eaton’s wasn’t just about making purchases, it was a day-long excursion.</p>
<p>Twenty years later, when the Hudson’s Bay store opened up further along Portage Avenue in 1926, Winnipeg had become Canada’s third-largest city. It had a thriving economy that was propelled by a 40-year boom that saw people and businesses flock to the city. </p>
<p><a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10680/888">Downtown Winnipeg</a>, like most North American cities, was the epicentre of retail and commerce. It attracted the majority of shoppers and workers, who travelled by streetcar from all over the city. The positioning of these two department stores along Portage Avenue created an important retail corridor that was linked by street level retail.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photograph of downtown Winnipeg with a vintage advertisement on the side of a building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365951/original/file-20201027-13-1yu5ti9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Downtown Winnipeg is a mix of historic and contemporary buildings that reflect the city’s changing retail landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A steady decline</h2>
<p>Starting in the 1930s, Winnipeg tumbled to a place of pronounced economic and social desperation by the 1960s. For the department stores, their massive statures began to represent a disappearing symbol of a bygone era. This came as suburban shopping malls began to spring up with dozens of American retail chain stores and a sea of free parking. Downtown simply became a less desirable destination.</p>
<p>Winnipeg was not unique in struggling to deal with decline in the downtown. Significant attempts to revive retail were made throughout the 1980s to halt urban decay. Malls were built and millions invested, <a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/myth-mayhem-and-makeover-in-downtown-winnipeg-562243412.html">but this did not work</a>. </p>
<p>The failure of the downtown mall became a sore spot for many planners who <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26193214">felt downtown retail could be resuscitated</a>.</p>
<p>By the late 1990s, the first titan of Canadian retail fell as <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/the-death-of-the-department-store-1796-2017/">the Eaton’s empire crumbled</a>. For many cities, the result was the closure of many anchor stores in malls and downtown. And since then, the retail sector has continued to face challenges, especially in downtown areas.</p>
<h2>Post-pandemic hopes</h2>
<p>Cities will remain the engines of the global economy with the downtown being the place to escape. In the words of British singer Petula Clark: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city</p>
<p>Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty</p>
<p>How can you lose?</p>
</blockquote>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8NaWP4z4GMI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">British singer Petula Clark sang the 1964 ode to the hustling city centre.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I think it is fair to say that after a run of 150 years, the department store as we know it is not going to survive the final blow issued by the coronavirus pandemic. But cities will rebound, and the department store will transform something else. </p>
<p>If the past is an indication of the future, cities will recover. People will return to the downtown as it transforms from retail into homes, places of work, museums, art stores and gathering places. </p>
<p>For those of us who remember the spirit of these old places, we will reminisce over coffee, as we’ve been doing for decades perhaps just in a smaller space.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jino Distasio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In October, the Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it would be closing its flagship location in downtown Winnipeg. This closure is reflective of the changing nature of downtown neighbourhoods.Jino Distasio, Professor of Geography and Vice President of Research and Innovation, University of WinnipegLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1392052020-05-22T06:57:37Z2020-05-22T06:57:37ZDon’t blame COVID-19: Target’s decline is part of a deeper trend<p>Wesfarmers’ decision to close or rebrand up to 167 of its 284 Target and Target Country stores should not come as too much of a surprise. </p>
<p>The once popular store has been ailing for years, outmanoeuvred by its successful and popular <a href="https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/our-businesses/kmart-group">sister business</a>, Kmart. </p>
<p>Up to 75 Target and Target Country stores will be closed, with the balance being converted to Kmart stores.</p>
<p>Its decline is due to a combination of poor market positioning, confusing product strategies, a declining middle class consumer market and too much similarity with Kmart. The impacts of COVID-19 are just the icing on the cake.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-kmart-ate-target-a-story-of-retail-cannibalism-60052">How Kmart ate Target: a story of retail cannibalism</a>
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<h2>Spiralling sales and profit</h2>
<p>Wesfarmers acquired both retail chains when it took over the Coles Group in 2007. At the time Target looked the stronger business, and Wesfarmers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wesfarmers-coles/wesfarmers-plans-coles-investment-restructuring-idUSSYD11087920070816?sp=true">considered selling all or part of Kmart</a>, or converting stores to the Target brand. </p>
<p>Just as well it decided to invest in Kmart instead.</p>
<p>Since 2012, Target’s profits and sales have deteriorated with Target realising its first <a href="https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/reports/2016-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=4">loss of A$195 million in 2016</a>. </p>
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<p>How Target has performed since then has been obscured by Wesfarmers combining the business into a <a href="https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announcements/2018-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=0">Department Stores Division</a> including Kmart and Kmart Tyre and Auto Service. Target’s results were thus no longer reported separately. </p>
<p>But Wesfarmers’ <a href="https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announcements/2019-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=0">2019 annual report</a> noted its trading performance highlighted “the need for ongoing repositioning to further elevate quality and style, expand its digital capabilities, and differentiate the business from Kmart and other competitors”.</p>
<h2>High couture and cheap kettles</h2>
<p>One way Target confused shoppers was to offer collaborations with high-end fashion designers like Missoni, Stella McCartney, Dion Lee and <a href="https://insideretail.com.au/news/targets-next-designer-partnership-revealed-201511">Dannii Minogue</a>, alongside $2 kids’ tops and <a href="http://www.target-catalogue.com/target-catalogue-february-2015-back-to-school/">cheap kitchenware</a>. </p>
<p>The move frustrated customers unable to secure designer pieces and disenfranchised “value-seeking” customers. Many voted with their wallets, moving to Kmart. </p>
<p>Wesfarmers’ <a href="https://insideretail.com.au/news/wesfarmers-to-reposition-target-cuts-head-office-roles-201908">plans to differentiate Target</a> from Kmart involved focusing on higher quality apparel, soft homewares and toys to compete against more specialty and middle market offerings. </p>
<p>But the middle market is a challenging sector. It is now dominated by “fast fashion” players offering on-trend clothing and home furnishing. The pressures have led to the collapse of other middle market chains. </p>
<p>Wesfarmers was very aware of the risks associated with this strategy.<br>
Its 2017 <a href="https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2017-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=0">annual report</a> stated: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Target’s strategy has been reset and the business is now focused on progressing changes to the operating model to better position the business to grow earnings into the future. This journey will be undertaken in an increasingly competitive apparel and general merchandise environment”. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Death of department stores</h2>
<p>The attempted shift in focus to a middle market department store only created more problems. </p>
<p>Department stores worldwide have faced challenging times in recent years. The past year alone has seen department store icons including Barney’s, Debenhams and JCPenney <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2020/05/14/jcpenney-bankruptcy-protection-coronavirus/#5c84870521c8">file for bankruptcy or close for good</a>. Closer to home, Harris Scarfe <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/fallen-icon-the-undoing-of-harris-scarfe-20200109-p53q7j">went into receivership</a> in December 2019, while Myer and David Jones <a href="https://10daily.com.au/news/australia/a190829aclgz/david-jones-to-shrink-stores-as-profits-fall-20190830">have looked to consolidate stores</a>. </p>
<p>Department stores face many challenges from competition and changing consumer behaviour. However, a broader challenge is a <a href="https://www.oecd.org/social/under-pressure-the-squeezed-middle-class-689afed1-en.htm">declining middle class</a> that has been the cornerstone of the sector’s customer base. </p>
<p>Target’s strategy to move further into the middle market was always doomed for limited success. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/death-of-the-department-store-dont-just-blame-the-internet-its-to-do-with-a-dwindling-middle-class-121499">Death of the department store: don't just blame the internet, it's to do with a dwindling middle class</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Pandemic impacts</h2>
<p>Adding to department store woes is the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>Already reeling from a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-06/retail-sales-december/11937224">weak Christmas period</a> and the effects of the bushfires, retailers were hoping for a return to spending. Instead, they have been faced with store closures and possibly permanent shifts in consumer behaviour. </p>
<p>While some retailers have simply tried to survive the lockdowns, others are <a href="https://insideretail.com.au/news/ive-spoken-to-dozens-of-retail-execs-in-the-last-two-weeks-heres-what-i-learned-202004">re-evaluating their future</a>. For Wesfarmers, this means shifting focus from the struggling Target to the more popular and profitable Kmart. </p>
<p>But though the pandemic has undoubtedly had an unprecedented and substantial impact on the retail industry, in some cases it only accelerating outcomes already on the cards.</p>
<p>So Target is unlikely to be the last retailer to undergo radical surgery. Retailers like the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/hype-dc-platypus-owner-to-shut-stores-after-big-leap-in-online-sales-20200427-p54ni0.html">Accent Group</a> and <a href="https://insideretail.com.au/news/pas-group-may-shutter-underperforming-stores-in-restructure-202004">PAS Group</a> have flagged similar plans. </p>
<p>Expect further announcements as retailers evaluate how to survive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139205/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Target’s fall from grace involves poor market positioning, confusing strategies, and a declining middle class consumer market.Jason Pallant, Lecturer of Marketing, Swinburne University of TechnologyGary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1290322019-12-24T12:01:17Z2019-12-24T12:01:17ZDon’t feel guilty about a commercial Christmas – it provides the economy with a vital boost<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307814/original/file-20191218-11900-dughfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-december-2018-westfield-stratford-1473909782">Shutterstock/Dragan Jovanovic</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/christmas-and-commerce-have-long-gone-together-like-two-turtle-doves-34719">“commercialisation” of Christmas</a> has long been a feature of the season. Although there have been significant changes in seasonal shopping habits over the past decade (such as online stores and the introduction to the UK of “<a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/business-operations/how-black-friday-has-become-retails-grey-area/7038453.article">Black Friday</a>) the practice of buying gifts, bringing a commercial element to festivities, is a well established tradition. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item106129.html">Great Exhibition of 1851</a> in London was a showcase of consumer goods from around the world, and a catalyst for a new style of consumerism. In particular, this was the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/culture/bespoke/story/20150326-a-history-of-the-department-store/index.html">golden age</a> of the "department store”, which coincided with the development of other Victorian habits that encouraged the commercialisation of Christmas. </p>
<p>Christmas crackers, for example, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2017/12/23/why-do-we-have-christmas-crackers-and-where-do-they-come-from-7180670/">were invented</a> by a Victorian confectioner in 1848, as a new way to sell sweets. And in the 1880s, the practice of sending Christmas cards had become so popular that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/history.shtml">11.5 million cards were produced</a> every year. Gift giving, which had traditionally been a way of celebrating the New Year, also moved to Christmas.</p>
<p>Department stores including Harrods and Selfridges embraced this idea, with lavish window displays and opportunities to <a href="https://londonist.com/london/christmas-in-london/what-are-london-s-christmas-traditions">visit Santa in a grotto</a>. (It was also Harry Selfridge who reputedly came up with the idea of counting down the number of shopping days until Christmas.)</p>
<p>So shopping for gifts at Christmas time is clearly a well established tradition. And it has also long been something that provides a real boost to both the retail sector and the wider economy. </p>
<p>In the UK, the retail sector represents <a href="https://brc.org.uk/media/602552/brc-retail-manifesto-2019.pdf">5% of the UK’s economy</a>, contributing £98.4 billion GVA (<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva">gross value added</a>), as well as providing <a href="https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/retail/overview-of-the-retail-sector-in-the-uk">almost 3 million jobs</a>. Many of those in retail often describe the three trading months from October to the end of December as the “golden quarter”, when the industry hopes to make the most profit. (Although this does not apply to all retailers, due to the high level of discounting, particularly in fashion.) </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/retail/overview-of-the-retail-sector-in-the-uk">ONS Retail Sales Index</a>, November and December account for more than a fifth of the year’s retail sales, with food sales representing around 44% of money spent in December 2018. According to the Bank of England, shoppers spend an estimated 16% more on food, and 39% more on alcohol over the Christmas period.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://brc.org.uk/media/628831/brc-festive-faqs-2019.pdf">British Retail Consortium expects</a> total spending of about £82 billion in November and December 2019. This would be a modest 2% increase from the same two months in 2018 when the ONS reported sales of over £80 billion.</p>
<p>But not all shopping traditions work in retail’s favour. “Christmas creep” describes the increasing trend of major retailers moving the start of their advertising and promotional activities ever earlier to exploit the commercialised status of Christmas – in some cases as early as the first week of November. </p>
<p>Much of this is linked to the Black Friday concept started in the US. The fourth Friday of November has become a focal point of significant discounts both online and in-store. In recent years this has grown to become one of the major discounting periods of the UK retail calendar. </p>
<p>But the increase in discounted sales over Black Friday weekend has effectively just pulled forward sales from the following weeks and the immediate run up to Christmas. Back in 2013, retail spending grew steadily throughout November until mid-December and then fell away. But in the past <a href="https://brc.org.uk/media/628831/brc-festive-faqs-2019.pdf">two festive periods</a> the Black Friday effect has redistributed, and brought forward, significant levels of Christmas purchasing into November. </p>
<h2>Sale and return</h2>
<p>For Christmas 2018, <a href="http://www.deloitte-uk-christmas-survey-2018.pdf">research showed</a> that pre-Christmas discounting was averaging 43.6% across all retail, rising to 48% by Christmas Eve – a new record. Much of this was in the fashion sector, caused partly by the mild winter weather, business uncertainty and oversupply of stock.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/black-friday-proves-brief-respite-as-retail-sales-drop-in-december-dsc68pf96">a survey in January 2019</a> released by the British Retail Consortium showed that retailers had failed to increase the overall Christmas spend for the first time since the depths of the global financial crisis over a decade ago. </p>
<p>Figures reflected the heavy discounting by retailers, both in the run-up to Christmas and Boxing Day sales. The real impact of this on profit margins, as well as the additional costs involved in managing Christmas gift returns, became clear when major retailers subsequently announced their sales and profit results. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307815/original/file-20191218-11929-1awggtz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Christmas sales in November.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-november-25-2017-black-1171084078">Shutterstock/Patrick Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The end of 2018 saw <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/news/87-drop-profits-asos-royally-fashion/">bad news for fashion retailer ASOS</a>, as it reported weak profits and a share price drop of 40% due to the heavy discounting of its clothes throughout November and December. It then posted an 87% fall in pre-tax profit year on year to £4 million in the six months to the end of February 2019. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-costs-of-online-shopping-for-customers-and-retailers-109694">The hidden costs of online shopping – for customers and retailers</a>
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</em>
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<p>The expectation that we can return unwanted items bought online comes at considerable <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-costs-of-online-shopping-for-customers-and-retailers-109694">expense to retailers</a>. In fact, <a href="https://www.laybuy.com/nz/">research shows</a> that the average returned purchase in the UK passes through seven pairs of retail hands before it’s put out for sale again.</p>
<p>As far as Christmas 2019 is concerned, <a href="https://www.retail-week.com/golden-quarter/data-shoppers-spent-2bn-on-christmas-gifts-during-black-friday/7033722.article">recent research</a> indicates that the struggling UK retail sector may not get the Christmas sales boost it really needs, as once again many customers did the majority of their festive shopping during November’s Black Friday sales. So if you are shopping for last minute bargains, or splashing out on Boxing Day or New Year sales, don’t feel too guilty. Your seasonal spending spree provides vital support to the retail sector and the wider economy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nelson Blackley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The retail sector relies on a little festive excess.Nelson Blackley, Senior Research Associate, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1270842019-11-15T15:19:27Z2019-11-15T15:19:27ZIs this the last John Lewis Christmas ad?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301952/original/file-20191115-66921-fctshh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=365%2C152%2C1348%2C773&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">John Lewis and Waitrose have launched their first joint Christmas advert, telling the story of a little girl and her dragon friend Edgar.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Lewis & Partners</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The new John Lewis Christmas ad has just launched and there is plenty in it for connoisseurs of this relatively recent British cultural phenomenon to enjoy. Without giving the whole story away, it features a young girl and her friend Edgar, who happens to be a dragon. </p>
<p>As expected from a leader of this form of seasonal entertainment, the ad offers high production values, a narrative with various trials and tribulations and a feel-good happy ending. There is also a classic sung by a contemporary singer – REO Speedwagon’s Can’t Fight This Feeling by the lead singer of indie band Bastille – and somewhat vague, Christmassy imagery, without a hint of the foundational religious aspects of the celebration. It’s something people look forward to every year, but in the current retail landscape, which is seeing shops shuttering up and down the country, there’s a chance it could be the last of it kind.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://youtu.be/Ckw_rtfoh7M">first John Lewis Christmas advert</a> hit our screens in 2007 and has spawned several rivals since. These tend to be from well-known, large, mainstream retailers that are perceived as intrinsically British – with the likes of <a href="https://youtu.be/ak5HEPpubhk">Sainsbury’s</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/IH7Htz_oY3Q">Marks and Spencer</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/jVmxzBTKd3M">Boots</a> providing healthy competition. </p>
<p>One thing these ads tend to share is that don’t try to push products in an obvious way. Instead, from a marketing point of view, they concentrate on increasing awareness of the retailer, while at the same time creating a feeling that they are essential to the life of the British consumer and share their values. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r9D-uvKih_k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>However, the 2019 John Lewis ad needs to be viewed in the context of the fragile offline retail environment, where the number of shoppers on the high street has fallen by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/14/number-of-shoppers-on-uk-high-street-falls-by-10-in-seven-years">10% over the last seven years</a>. In that time, British consumers have seen a slew of retailers, who were traditionally seen as forming a backbone to their lives, stumble, falter and disappear.</p>
<h2>The fading high street</h2>
<p>It began with those regarded as second division players, such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37207481">BHS</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/26/house-of-fraser-poses-significant-challenge-as-it-posts-546m-loss">House of Fraser</a>. But in the past year or so, this retail cancer has spread right to the top, with Marks and Spencer engaged in an ongoing and painful programme to tackle falling sales, which will see more than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/22/marks-spencer-close-stores">100 stores close by 2020</a>. </p>
<p>In 2019, this has finally <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/sep/12/john-lewis-warns-of-no-deal-brexit-impact">reached John Lewis</a>, which was seen as so established and stable as to be immune from the waves of social change. The legacy retailer had seen sales steadily growing, remaining profitable until this year when <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/420216/john-lewis-revenue-uk-united-kingdom/">sales fell by 2%</a>.</p>
<p>This is their worse financial performance in years and to combat it they have adopted a strategy to combine the <a href="https://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/media/press/y2019/accelerating-our-plans-to-deliver-differentiation-and-innovation.html">Waitrose and John Lewis businesses</a>. This is reflected in the new ad, which includes food products from Waitrose for the first time. </p>
<p>With the retail landscape changing so quickly, there no longer appears to be a guarantee of longevity for the type of retailers who produce this sort of marketing. The tide might be turning for the “traditional” Christmas television ad.</p>
<h2>Refocusing online</h2>
<p>This year has also seen the start of fragmentation from the seasonal advertising norm, with <a href="https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/gap-focuses-digital-holiday-campaign-wont-air-tv/2209046">Gap launching an online-only Christmas advert</a>. This makes sense for them and is consistent with their key customer <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19985431/Gap_Inc._Marketing_Strategy_Analysis_of_the_Company">demographic</a> of 25- to 35-year-olds. </p>
<p>It is debatable how many young people watch Christmas ads on traditional television, but a mixed online and offline marketing campaign will ensure that they can be included within the audience. According to <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/160714/media-nations-2019-uk-report.pdf">Ofcom’s 2019 report</a> into the nation’s media consumption habits, more than a million homes do not have a television set and only 24% of under-35s watch terrestrial TV. </p>
<p>Ultimately, while the John Lewis ad can be enjoyed by many and be an effective marketing tool, such cultural phenomena often have a shelf-life. Society changes. Things move on. Many people reading this are probably too young to remember the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG9N-LyrGrE">Nescafe Gold Blend ad series</a>, which ran from 1987 to 1993, and was so successful that it led to a <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/04/05/nescafes-golden-blend-couple-how-would-todays-marketers-reimagine-classic-ad">50% increase in sales</a>. Now 26 years on, the series has faded from popular consciousness. The jury is still out on whether in another 26 years time we will still be enjoying Edgar the dragon and his ilk then.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Griff Round does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the British retail landscape shifts and sales fall, how much longer will Christmas ads be a fixture of the season?Griff Round, Lecturer in Marketing, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1214992019-08-07T20:03:08Z2019-08-07T20:03:08ZDeath of the department store: don’t just blame the internet, it’s to do with a dwindling middle class<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287130/original/file-20190807-84221-bc73tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Barneys, Madison Avenue, New York. Department stores that were once the pinnacle of middle-class aspiration are losing out to discount shops and luxury retailers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Barneys, the iconic chain of upscale New York department stores established in 1923, has just filed for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/business/barneys-new-york-bankruptcy.html">bankruptcy protection</a>. Another of America’s great department store brands, Chicago’s Sears (dating from 1925), <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/01/09/sears-kmart-bankruptcy-liquidation-deadline/2523857002/">did the same</a> a year ago.</p>
<p>Times are tough for department stores all over. In Britain, Debenhams – whose origins go back to the 18th century – <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/debenhams-administration-store-closures-jobs-a8861336.html">went into administratio</a>n in April. It has closed about a third of its stores in the past year or so, and will close more in the next, including its only <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/uk-department-store-debenhams-to-shut-only-australian-store-20190702-p523g4.html">store in Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile Australia’s once dominant Myer and David Jones chains are in a “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/death-spiral-will-david-jones-and-myer-still-be-around-in-10-years-20190802-p52d6k.html">death spirals</a>”, according to retail experts.</p>
<p>The internet is a big part of the problem faced by these once mighty retail empires. Foot traffic has declined as people’s fingers do the browsing and shoppers buy direct from online retailers.</p>
<p>But there’s another reason also, indicative of a social shift just as profound. The rise of the department store symbolised the rise of middle class. Its collapse mirrors the hollowing out of the same.</p>
<h2>Shifting centre of gravity</h2>
<p>In May the OECD published a major report on <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019/04/apo-nid230216-1351436.pdf">the state of the middle class</a> around the world. It defines “middle-income households” as those with incomes between 75% and 200% of median household income. </p>
<p>In emerging economies this is where one-third to half of households fall. In OECD nations it’s an average of 61%. But it was 64% in the mid-1980s, the report says.</p>
<p>Thus the economic “centre of gravity” is tilting away from the middle: “Income growth in the middle has been much weaker than at the top. In the mid-1980s, the combined income of all middle-income households was four times the aggregate income of all upper-income households. Currently, it is less than three.” </p>
<p>The report notes in particular the reduced chances of families with children and young adults having middle incomes: “In contrast to 30 years ago, most single-parent families are today in the lower-income class and young adults are the least likely of all age groups to be in middle-income households.” </p>
<p>Though these percentage changes might seem comparatively small, the trend fits a retail phenomena grandly labelled “<a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/industry/retail-distribution/future-of-retail-renaissance-apocalypse.html">the great retail bifurcation</a>”.</p>
<p>What this means is that retailers are succeeding by focusing on either the luxury end of the market or on the bargain-basement end. Retailers in the the middle are falling away. </p>
<h2>The discount market</h2>
<p>In the US, for example, this bifurcation effect has seen a boom in discount stores such as Dollar General, which sells cheap consumable items. Its revenue in the first quarter of 2019 <a href="https://coresight.com/research/dollar-general-nyse-dg-1q19-results-revenues-and-comps-beat-consensus-estimates/">was US$6.62 billion</a>, up 8.3% on the previous year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287136/original/file-20190807-84235-13dvs16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Dollar General store in Leesport, Pennsylvania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The company now has more than 15,000 stores in the US. Bucking general retail industry trends, it opened 900 stores in 2018 and plans <a href="https://www.retaildive.com/news/coresight-12k-stores-could-shutter-in-2019/555130/">to open 975 more</a> in 2019. Other discount store chains – Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Aldi, Five Below, Ross Stores and Ulta – are also expanding. </p>
<h2>The luxury market</h2>
<p>At the other end of the spectrum are retailers such as French high-fashion luxury goods brand Hermès. This company sells things like $500 t-shirts, $750 beach towels and $1,000 sweaters. Its 2018 profit was <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/hermes-posts-rise-profits-for-2018/2019032142289">up 15% to US$1.6 billion</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287145/original/file-20190807-84205-d9c1i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Hermès store in Lisbon, Portugal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the proportion of households that are upper-income (earning 200% or more of the median income) has increased only marginally since the 1980s, the incomes of those households has increased more than those on middle incomes. OECD figures show upper-income households now comprise, on average, 10% of households and 18% of spending.</p>
<p>The chart below indicates increases in discretionary spending in the United States over the past decade has occurred only among the top 20% of households by income.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287144/original/file-20190807-84199-s2xjmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">US cumulative increase in discretionary spending money 2007-2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/industry/retail-distribution/the-consumer-is-changing.html">Deloitte Insights</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>A model on its last legs?</h2>
<p>Arguably, the discount and premium retailers having success also happen to be stores, brands and categories more resistant to what’s going on in e-commerce. </p>
<p>For instance, many discount retailers supply the type of goods consumers want quickly. A packet of chips, for example, or toilet paper. The convenience factor means these shops are more immune to digital disruption. </p>
<p>Luxury brands are likely even more immune from online competition. If money is no object, you’re unlikely to spend your nights browsing eBay looking for the cheapest price. </p>
<p>What is indisputable, though, is that the department store model is struggling globally, particularly in the Anglophone world of the United States, Britain and Australia, where there have been significant falls in the upper-middle and middle-income classes. </p>
<p>Groups like Myer in Australia have embraced a strategy of downsizing as an alternative to store closures, but that may be simply delaying the inevitable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121499/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Department stores are collapsing. The internet is part of the problem, but so too is the hollowing out of the middle class.Jason Pallant, Lecturer of Marketing, Swinburne University of TechnologySean Sands, Associate Professor of Marketing, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1146302019-04-03T02:48:40Z2019-04-03T02:48:40ZThe trouble with Big W: don’t blame online for killing discount department stores<p>After weeks of <a href="https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/macquarie-report-says-up-to-60-big-w-stores-may-need-to-close-201903">speculation</a>, Woolworths has confirmed it will close 30 of its Big W stores in Australia, as well as two distribution centres. This represents <a href="https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/media/Press_Releases/woolworths-group-market-update/">about 16%</a> of its 183-strong network.</p>
<p>The obvious culprit, and the one identified by many analysts, is online shopping. </p>
<p>As one <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/woolworths-announces-closure-of-30-big-w-stores-after-slow-profit-improvement/news-story/f8ff7222fded595ec627dd7d9a45e7e8%5D">industry analyst explained</a>: “The physical department store footprint is likely to continue to shrink as online sales penetration increases further.”</p>
<p>Online shopping is certainly a factor, but it is not the primary reason for Big W’s troubles. </p>
<p>Though online shopping in the department and variety stores category is growing fast (by 29.6% in 2018 according to the NAB <a href="https://business.nab.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NAB-Online-Retail-Sales-Index-January-19.pdf">Online Retail Sales Index</a>, the total amount of money spent online by Australian shoppers – A$28.8 billion – is still only about about 9% of what is spent in traditional bricks-and-mortar stores. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267227/original/file-20190402-177163-y5vxk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online retail sales growth by industry in the 12 months to December 2018,</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://business.nab.com.au/nab-online-retail-sales-index-quarterly-update-december-2018-33296/">NAB Online Retail Sales Index</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>More important to Big W’s woes is the growth of the so-called category killers, which are disrupting the entire discount department store business model. It a threat to which Big W has failed to respond with the same agility of rival <a href="https://www.cmo.com.au/article/658773/kmart-turnaround-king-takes-chairman-post-gyg/">Kmart</a>.</p>
<h2>Departed departments</h2>
<p>If you’re old enough you may remember getting your wall paint mixed in the Big W hardware department, or buying car accessories from its automotive department. There was also a large “sight and sound” department filled with televisions, sound systems, videos and CDs. Discount department stores truly lived up to the idea of a variety store.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fT8i7hpLGDs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘You know the price is low, everyday’: A television advertisement for Big W in 1994.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the profitability of all these market segments for department stores has been eroded by the growth of “<a href="https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/category-killers-breaking-hearts-everywhere-201709">category killers</a>” – retailers specialising in the same product categories. </p>
<p>Examples include Office Works for office supplies, Rebel for sports equipment, JB Hi-Fi for audiovisual, Super Cheap Auto for car parts, and Bunnings for hardware. All have taken market share from the discounters. These stores compete on price and have superior range, and shoppers trust the expertise of staff working in a specialist shop. </p>
<h2>Speed of change</h2>
<p>The popularity of category killers explains in large part the stagnant sales and talk of store closures throughout the department store segment. </p>
<p>Harris Scarfe and Best and Less <a href="https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/greenlit-brands-holds-off-disaster-201810">are reportedly</a> struggling. The Reject Shop’s net profit for the first half fell from an expected A$17 million to less than <a href="https://www.afr.com/business/retail/reject-shop-shares-plunge-40pc-after-profit-downgrade-20181017-h16qqu">A$11 million</a>.
<a href="https://www.afr.com/business/retail/david-jones-interim-profits-plunge-39pc-20190221-h1bisz">David Jones’</a> half-year profit fell 39% to A$36 million. <a href="https://www.powerretail.com.au/multichannel/myer-1h2019-results/">Myer</a> reported a 2.8% drop in total sales for the same time frame. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-future-hold-for-our-traditional-department-stores-22626">What does the future hold for our traditional department stores?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Wesfarmers expects earnings from its department store brands Kmart and Target to fall about 8% this financial year. Eight Target stores closed during the first half of the financial year, with another six closures expected by the <a href="https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announcements/2019-half-year-report-(incorporating-appendix-4d).pdf?sfvrsn=0">end of June</a>. </p>
<h2>Cutting losses</h2>
<p>Kmart is considered Australia’s discount department store “darling”. A decade ago it was on life support. Under the direction of chief executive Guy Russo <a href="https://www.afr.com/business/retail/wesfarmers-sticking-with-its-strategy-despite-setbacks-for-target-and-coal-20160624-gpr87n">it doubled it profits by 2015</a>.</p>
<p>A key to the turnaround was recognition it needed to quickly reduce or exit categories it could not compete in, such as hardware, automotive, fishing, consumer electronics and sporting goods. It has <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/interiors/meet-the-woman-behind-discount-retailers-cheap-homewares/news-story/c3b87320cea433d89b2d894f34438c4a">turned to</a> homeware, soft furnishings, manchester and kitchenware. </p>
<p>There appears no such swiftness in Big W’s moves. </p>
<p>Big W’s chief executive from January to November 2016, Sally MacDonald, reportedly wanted to closes stores and make other major changes but <a href="https://www.afr.com/business/retail/woolworths-to-shut-30-big-w-stores-20190401-p519jr">was thwarted by the board of Woolworths Group</a>, owner of Big W. </p>
<p>Such differences in strategic vision explain why MacDonald left the role within the year. </p>
<p>This process of “right-sizing” therefore seems long overdue. To what extent it makes Woolworths a sustainable business, however, will depend on future response to changing circumstances. </p>
<p>What is certain is that discount department stores aren’t what they used to be; and if they want to be around in future, they probably can’t be what they are now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Mortimer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Big W store closures signal deeper problems for the discount department store sector.Gary Mortimer, Associate Professor in Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/991152018-07-25T12:30:16Z2018-07-25T12:30:16ZThe forgotten grandeur of Britain’s department stores – a historian reflects<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229275/original/file-20180725-194140-1xrt2pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Debenhams in Lavender Hill, London. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-9-january-2013-debenhams-706308202?src=vcDSeuoLuIeRKaZeMvlqbQ-10-50">Vicky Jirayu/Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Department stores seem to be in terminal decline. In the UK, the demise of <a href="https://theconversation.com/bhs-collapse-why-a-rescue-is-not-for-the-faint-hearted-58388">British Home Stores</a> <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/poundworld-shop-closures-disappear-high-street-administrators-a8455651.html">and</a> <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/31f9a7cc-8dc0-11e8-bb8f-a6a2f7bca546">Poundworld</a>, together with store closures by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/22/marks-spencer-close-stores">Marks and Spencer</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44394948">House of Fraser</a>, are local symptoms of a wider malaise. Luxurious Parisian store La Samaritaine <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/paris-retail-landmark-la-samaritaine-shuts-its-doors-over-safety-concerns/article982445/">closed in 2005</a> and Sears – once a cornerstone of North American retailing – has also <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sears-closes-72-stores-as-sales-tumble-2018-5">shut dozens of stores</a> in recent years. </p>
<p>The job losses and economic fallout from these closures are enough cause for upset. But what makes this decline all the more significant is the role that department stores have played in shaping towns and cities for the last 150 years or more. Their closure casts a shadow of doubt over high streets and town centres across the UK. That’s why it’s worth reminding ourselves what is being lost – and why department stores are so special.</p>
<p>Most department stores in Britain started small, often as drapers – such as <a href="http://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/">House of Fraser</a>. They grew bit by bit, adding new lines and gradually growing their premises through piecemeal acquisition. By the early 20th century, most small towns had a department store and many larger centres had several competing for customers or targeting different social groups. </p>
<p>Regional chains of stores grew in the early decades of the 20th century, but many were swallowed up – along with a large number of independent stores – by national chains such as Debenhams, the Drapery Trust and later House of Fraser. Carefully tracing stores through <a href="https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/619323/">trade directories</a> reveals 600 or more department stores across Britain by the 1930s. Their influence was widespread, even though they never enjoyed more than about <a href="https://archive.org/details/retailtradinginb030623mbp">5% of total retail sales</a>.</p>
<h2>Shaping the high street</h2>
<p>The impact of department stores on the high street grew with the size of their premises. The companies built large, integrated stores – such as Beatties (lately House of Fraser) <a href="https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2018/06/07/140-years-of-city-history-faces-the-end-with-beatties-set-to-close-next-year/">in Wolverhampton</a>, which occupied most of a block in the centre of town. Once established, these stores often became linchpins around which other shops congregated, drawn by the growing footfall. </p>
<p>Architects and planners have been inspired by the pulling power of department stores when designing successive generations of shopping centres – from Milton Keynes Shopping Centre, in which John Lewis was the linchpin, to the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Bull Ring in Birmingham, both of which have Selfridge’s as their “anchor store”. Such monumental buildings were designed to impress, of course. But they were also needed to accommodate an ever-expanding range of goods. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229264/original/file-20180725-194143-kgxmli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Machester’s Trafford Shopping Centre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-uk-june-19-2015-peel-258596774?src=sy2yDN5Y-SZTbxS2TdRPoQ-1-3">Smiltena/Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As early as the 1870s, the unlikely-sounding Civil Service Supply Association in London <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/spend-spend-spend/9780752443690/">boasted that</a> it sold “anything from a blotting-pad to a bicycle or a billiard table – from ginger beer to carte Blanche champagne”. The range and scale of this operation made such stores the Amazon of their day – and unsurprisingly, they drew howls of protest from small retailers, who complained about unfair competition from leviathans.</p>
<p>As with Amazon, department stores introduced innovative new technology, such as elevators, escalators and air purification systems, as well as new systems of stock control that allowed them to track which stock lines were selling well and which were slow moving. Many also operated both in-store and mail-order businesses, sending out price lists and receiving orders by the thousands. </p>
<h2>Putting on a show</h2>
<p>By the 1890s, some large stores were doing as much as one third of their business by post, and developed separate departments to <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/spend-spend-spend/9780752443690/">deal with demand</a>. Yet the physical shop remained the cornerstone of the department store’s business. And it was the experience of coming into the shop that marked department stores as different from most other shops. There was a growing emphasis on the display of goods, both in the shop window and inside the shop. </p>
<p>Plenty of other shops had their wares out on display, but department stores offered their customers a different scale of choice and variety in the things that could be seen and handled. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yzR-5-LzMk8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>American visitors were wont to complain about “shop-walkers”, who escorted well-heeled customers between departments and discouraged the “wrong type” of person from entering the shop. But these were most evident in larger London stores: browsing was encouraged by many shops and advertisements reassured customers that there was no obligation to buy. </p>
<p>Self-service was pioneered in some stores, such as Lewis’s, but counter service remained the norm through to the interwar years and beyond, and persists today in lines such as perfume and make-up.</p>
<p>What really marked out department stores was the array of services that they offered in addition to the goods on sale. They provided toilets, restrooms and tearooms, which kept women in particular in the store for longer, increasing the opportunity for sales. There were also fashion shows, string quartets, Santa at Christmas, exhibitions and art galleries, roof-top golf courses, balloon launches and even novelty acts such as a girl, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mmqfDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=anita+kittner+bentall%27s&source=bl&ots=5plms5_B84&sig=TwTzaO7r-ve-Rrt-vPzvfy1U28A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5vtWwi7rcAhVBCMAKHYU5BZgQ6AEwCnoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=anita%20kittner%20bentall's&f=false">hired by Bentall’s in Kingston</a>, who would dive 20 metres into a tank of water. </p>
<p>This is what made the department store more than a shop: it was a place to go, a place where memories were made. Today, online retailers can offer a much greater array of goods, often at much keener prices than is possible in-store. What department stores have lost, perhaps, is the excitement that they once held as an experience. If they can find ways to reclaim that magic, then perhaps their prospects won’t be so bleak, after all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Stobart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From grand designs to diving girls, department stores were once the star attractions of Britain’s towns and cities.Jon Stobart, Professor of History, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/992372018-07-04T09:08:53Z2018-07-04T09:08:53ZDepartment stores are not doomed – take a look at who’s doing it right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225986/original/file-20180703-116114-1s2ilfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Famous dome in Galeries Lafayette, Paris. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ingridt/8605451571/in/photolist-atV5yz-atV7Be-e7rbWF-8P29MF-pYX3Mt-9jwcwp-pYXB3F-FcPTBZ-pSQew7-q87ZYL-pSR7vo-qapkPc">A. Wee</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Department stores were once seen as innovative. They stocked wide ranges of goods – Noel Coward <a href="https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-356086097/harrods-closes-pet-shop-that-sold-lions-elephants">once bought</a> an alligator from Harrods. It was Harry Gordon Selfridge who <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/bespoke/story/20150326-a-history-of-the-department-store/index.html">coined the phrase</a> “the customer is always right”. Stores rewarded customer loyalty by providing exclusive credit via store cards. Little by little, all this eroded. </p>
<p>To the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44394948">news that</a> House of Fraser is closing half its stores, we <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44627031">can add</a> a profit warning from John Lewis. Times are tough for retailers, to be sure, with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/14/toys-r-us-to-shut-all-uk-stores-resulting-in-3000-job-losses">Toys R Us</a> and <a href="http://www.channelpro.co.uk/maplin-stores-closure">Maplin</a> going under, and mainstays like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/22/marks-spencer-close-stores">Marks & Spencer</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/01/mothercare-to-close-50-stores-as-part-of-rescue-package">Mothercare</a> closing stores. The threat to department stores is perhaps especially troubling, since they act as “anchors” for entire high streets and shopping centres. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225984/original/file-20180703-116114-ks9n0t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harry Gordon Selfridge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ingridt/8605451571/in/photolist-atV5yz-atV7Be-e7rbWF-8P29MF-pYX3Mt-9jwcwp-pYXB3F-FcPTBZ-pSQew7-q87ZYL-pSR7vo-qapkPc">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Debenhams <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/debenhams-issues-new-profit-alert-as-trading-remains-tough-11409269">recently announced</a> job cuts and store closures, while the last BHS <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37207481">disappeared</a> just two years ago. Worse, the trend looks global: those reporting either sales declines and/or store closures in recent years include <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/myer-profits-slump-as-stocktake-sale-flops-shares-hit-all-time-low-20180209-p4yzsi.html">Myer</a> in Australia; <a href="https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies/too-much-space-too-little-time-745272">Karstadt</a> and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-hudsons-bay-posts-first-profit-in-eight-quarters-but-misses-2/">Kaufhof</a> in Germany; <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/05/11/macys-sales-profit-plunge-and-so-does-shares-price/101543670/">Macy’s</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-retail-debt/">Sears</a> in the US; and <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/brown-thomas-turnover-and-profit-fall-in-wake-of-store-closures-1.3270377">Brown Thomas</a> in Ireland. (Some, such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-macy-s-results/macys-lifts-forecast-says-every-week-was-good-in-first-quarter-idUSKCN1IH1KV">Macy’s</a> and <a href="https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies/karstadt-turns-fortunes-around-901691">Karstadt</a>, look like turning around.) </p>
<p>The challenges are numerous. Bank credit cards let customers shop wherever, while cut-price specialists offer deeper selections at cheaper prices. People shop online with much less effort. Yes, physical stores let you handle goods, but a <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/rude-pushy-salespeople-top-list-consumer-gripes/228019/">recent major survey</a> found 64% of customers leaving a store due to poor customer service. </p>
<p>So are we talking terminal decline? I am <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/westburn/tmr/2010/00000010/00000003/art00006">involved</a> in <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781136480058/chapters/10.4324%2F9780203133859-15">research</a> that <a href="http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.517458">strongly</a> suggests otherwise: we may just be seeing a shakeout of weaker offerings. Here are five ways for department stores to ensure an optimistic future:</p>
<h2>1. Offer an experience</h2>
<p>The whole of retail <a href="https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy">has shifted</a> from a purely transactional focus towards giving customers experiences. Some department stores do this better than others. Macy’s <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2018/03/19/macys-will-use-vr-to-sell-furniture-in-50-stores-by-summer/">virtual reality showrooms</a> in New Jersey and Florida, for example, invite customers to work with a “concierge” to build a 3D replica of their own living room. They then preview furniture and home decor options in virtual reality. Macy’s is rolling this out to 50 stores this summer. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cauldermoore.co.uk/whats-next-for-department-stores/">next step</a> is to make experiences transformational – challenging customers’ preconceptions about themselves and the world around them. In-store art installations and exhibitions have the power to do this. The <a href="http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/features/articles/radical-luxury/the-flipside">Selfridges Flipside</a> exhibition in London was all about challenging the meaning of luxury: the store invited seven brands including Louis Vuitton to create installations that pinpointed what true luxury is now. </p>
<p>Le Bon Marché in Paris has used its space for art exhibitions featuring contemporary artists like <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/ai-weiwei-at-le-bon-marche/">Ai Weiwei</a>, <a href="https://www.designboom.com/art/chiharu-shiota-le-bon-marche-paris-where-are-we-going-white-boats-01-24-2017/">Chiharu Shiota</a> and <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2018/02/06/leandro-uses-visual-trickery-bon-marche-paris-installation/">Leandro Erlich</a>. Erlich, of Argentina, created an installation that made the escalator look like it was tied in knots, for example. Using global artists has the added advantage of raising a store’s profile in the international press. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225961/original/file-20180703-116123-jkvfxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Leandro Erlich’s installation in Paris.</span>
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<h2>2. Build a community</h2>
<p>Department stores are more likely to succeed if they build a community around themselves. Major art exhibitions are one option; Liberty London has achieved something similar with a <a href="https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/liberty-life/what%27s-on/">sewing school</a>. Fortnum & Mason of London runs <a href="https://www.fortnumandmason.com/events/christmas-workshops">Christmas workshops</a> for things like the perfect New Year’s dinner party and, for children, Christmas cupcake decorating. </p>
<p>Department stores are also building virtual communities, typically around the brand and specific interests. US department store Nordstrom was among the first luxury brands to create its <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Nordstrom1901/">own Reddit</a> username and community. Galeries Lafayette and Selfridges are good at using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to have dialogues with customers. </p>
<h2>3. Encourage socialising</h2>
<p>The longer someone stays in a store, the more likely they are to make a purchase. One way of increasing “dwell time” is to encourage socialising in store. Retailers often do this to encourage shopping with friends and family: craft tables for children, or pampering services like nail, brow and blow bars. It’s wise to make this fit with the store’s brand – or a particular element. It is no accident that Selfridges’ <a href="http://www.hemsleyandhemsley.com/home/cafe/">Hemsley + Hemsley</a> clean eating restaurant is in the London flagship store’s <a href="http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/features/articles/content/discover-the-bodystudio">Body Studio</a>. </p>
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<p>Encourage customers to socialise and they’re also more likely to get involved in the store’s brand. Marketing expert Michael Solomon’s <a href="https://store.bookbaby.com/book/marketers,-tear-down-these-walls">new book</a> talks about “return on involvement” (a play on <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp">return on investment</a>) – get them more involved and the cash tills ring louder. </p>
<h2>4. Be unique</h2>
<p>Innovative retailers offer “only at this store” experiences – Bergdorf Goodman of New York’s exclusive distribution deals with emerging designers, for example. Mitsukoshi of Tokyo boasts a famous <a href="https://tokyobling.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/mitsukoshi-roof-top-garden-ginza/">rooftop garden</a>, while the world’s largest department store, <a href="http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=769156">Shinsegae, Busan</a> in South Korea has an ice rink, spa, indoor golf space and cinema. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225963/original/file-20180703-116117-1spbt4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Mitsukoshi’s roof garden.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61709246@N08/14347099090/in/photolist-nRNCHq-nRNDVq-oJowtn-he2M7E-ob5pha-o9d8FL-234A6QB-b3t8Mp-H6Su2E-5gW2LM-qCn6kS-ekjyjw-eudoT6-m4rEyj-btq5iy-okJBhm-a48MnW-omcga2-21daSt-b3t9ct-b3t7Kv-2CctSw-7p1427-cbeNPh-e3ceAL-5gW5ZV-Jda67F-nqyQNk-ohPMFc-5gW4Ze-5dVyrb-9MJVyP-5gW6f8-5h1qDG-5gW3Xe-6B4B5C-ozhE39-g5erjU-eudmJz-9MoGNh-9MJVAr-9PbX8G-oz7mf7-9PbX5q-eugtvU-b3t79x-eufxmj-9MKrPr-fLhHdB-9N1e8a">Zoe</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The concept store has emerged in recent years: department store variety, but on a smaller scale. Many are seen as destination stores. For instance <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066456-d13273896-Reviews-Tenoha_Style_Store-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html">Tenoha</a>, with outlets in Tokyo and Milan, features a co-working cafe, a private meetings room and an events and pop-up space. </p>
<p>Successful department stores also tend to have a very individual aesthetic. As well as Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason in London, the likes of <a href="https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/illum-gdk412279">Ilum</a> in Copenhagen, <a href="https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/Entry.jsp">Saks Fifth Avenue</a> in New York, <a href="https://www.bongenie-grieder.ch/en/">Grieder</a> in Zurich and <a href="https://www.tsum.ru">TsUM</a> in Moscow can all testify to this. </p>
<h2>5. Brand, brand, brand</h2>
<p>What is the brand identity of Debenhams? Or House of Fraser? A department store needs to have a brand with a purpose. Strong examples in the UK include Selfridges, which is built around creativity and vision, while Liberty of London is about opulence, decoration and pattern. I’d also still include John Lewis, which is about value and integrity – its new <a href="https://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/about/our-strategy.html">ten-year strategy</a> heavily prioritises innovation and service.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99237/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Marciniak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Glance at House of Fraser, John Lewis et al and you might think it’s time to give up the ghost.Ruth Marciniak, Senior Lecturer, Fashion Marketing, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/982462018-06-17T18:54:37Z2018-06-17T18:54:37Z‘Honey, I shrunk the store’: Why your local supermarket is getting smaller<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223292/original/file-20180615-32307-grv2ke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Woolworths has already announced it will open more smaller stores. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you think your local supermarket is shrinking, you might be right.</p>
<p>Coles has <a href="http://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announcements/2018-strategy-briefing-day-presentatione296536999c863f7bfccff00000e9025.pdf?sfvrsn=0">announced</a> that it will open smaller-sized supermarkets in more locations. This follows the lead taken by other large retailers such as <a href="https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/coles-has-lost-its-way-as-woolworths-extends-lead-201802">Woolworths</a>, <a href="https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/harris-scarfe-refocuses-offer-with-new-format-201806">Harris Scarfe</a> and <a href="http://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announcements/2018-strategy-briefing-day-presentatione296536999c863f7bfccff00000e9025.pdf?sfvrsn=0">Target</a>. </p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="http://infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/policy-publications/publications/files/future-cities/Chapter-1.pdf">growing population</a> may mean more customers, but it is also putting pressure on available real estate for retailers. As population density increases, mostly in urbanised areas, many retailers are shrinking to grow. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-high-streets-and-shopping-malls-face-a-domino-effect-from-major-store-closures-97263">How high streets and shopping malls face a 'domino effect' from major store closures</a>
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<p>The blame for <a href="http://www.afr.com/real-estate/retail-store-closures-to-accelerate--led-by-myer-target-macquarie-20171029-gzaoya">recent store closures</a> has fallen mainly on <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/?tag=hydramzkw0au-22&hvadid=237274858500&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14241777619990121769&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9072357&hvtargid=kwd-297697473250&ref=pd_sl_zin8sykk8_e">Amazon</a> and other <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-24/local-retailers-feel-fashion-pain-as-global-brands-expand/8301502">global players entering the Australian market</a>. </p>
<p>However, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/sydney-melbourne-enter-top-10-most-expensive-retail-strips-in-asia-20171114-gzlac5.html">high rents</a>, a lack of prime real estate, and rising <a href="https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/trend/2017-retail-trends">inventory costs</a> and <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/small-business-secrets/article/2018/06/01/how-minimum-wage-increase-could-impact-small-businesses">wages</a> have also contributed to the need to downsize. </p>
<h2>Shrinking to grow</h2>
<p>Retailers have responded to increased costs and competition in two ways: either by “rightsizing” - <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2018/01/04/sears-continues-to-shrink-to-close-100-stores-here-are-the-locations-shuttering/#28fc50676719">closing underperforming and unprofitable locations</a> as Myer <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/more-stores-to-close-as-myer-profit-tumbles-80-per-cent-20170913-gyh0y6.html">has done</a>, or by “downsizing” - shrinking their store footprints.</p>
<p>Smaller store formats allow retailers to maintain a bricks-and-mortar presence at a more affordable cost.</p>
<p>Several established firms, as well as retail start-ups, are taking the small store trend a step further by <a href="http://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/leasing/micro-stores-popping-up-in-melbourne-and-sydney-20161130-gt0obk">opening “micro” stores</a>. </p>
<p>Some retailers are also cleverly using smaller shopfronts as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-retailers-want-you-to-click-and-collect-83094%5D(https://theconversation.com/why-retailers-want-you-to-click-and-collect-83094">click and collect</a>” points for their online customers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-retailers-want-you-to-click-and-collect-83094">Why retailers want you to 'click and collect'</a>
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<p>Smaller stores equal smaller rents. Retail rents are charged per square metre, meaning the bigger the store, the higher the rent. </p>
<p>To put it in perspective, <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/international-retailers-keep-sydney-and-melbourne-in-top-10-most-expensive-global-retail-property-markets/">while global retailers seek retail sites</a> from anywhere between 7,500 square metres (Lululemon Athletica) to 40,000 square metres (Uniqlo), smaller stores <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/coles-are-expanding-into-convenience-stores-and-that-could-be-bad-news-for-iga/news-story/7923334a0e7a838b2ca1859737fb8289?utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_source=News.com.au">typically measure around 600 square metres</a> which is around a quarter of the size of the average supermarket. </p>
<p>Prime location retail rents continue to increase <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/cbd-prime-retail-rents-jump-10pc-on-lack-of-space-20170718-gxdndo.html">due to lack of available space and strong demand from overseas retailers</a> such as Zara and H&M, who are happy to pay up to A$20,000 per square metre per year to shore up key inner city locations. </p>
<p>Industry reports <a href="https://www.allianz.com.au/business/business-insurance/news/retail-property-leasing-tips-and-costs">indicate</a> that the Sydney CBD remains the most expensive for retailers, with an average of A$13,335 per square metre per year. Melbourne’s CBD is half the cost at A$6,670, Brisbane is A$4,704, Adelaide is A$4,000-5,000 and Perth is nearly A$4,000 per square metre per year. </p>
<p>Annual average rents in trendy inner-city suburbs, like Surry Hills and Wooloomooloo in Sydney, come in at almost A$14,000 per square metre.</p>
<p>So if you have a very small 80sqm convenience store in a prime Sydney CBD location, your annual rent bill will be a little over A$1 million.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/location-and-voice-technology-are-the-future-of-retail-94117">Location and voice technology are the future of retail</a>
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<p>Going smaller can open up new, and often better, locations. As <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/chinese-investors-snap-up-sunbury-retail-centre-for-15m/">some real estate analysts noted last year</a>, “with the current environment characterised by a lack of premium retail investment offerings” retailers are increasingly finding it difficult to snap up prime locations. </p>
<p>Going smaller therefore <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurapomerantz/2014/05/06/time-for-retailers-to-re-evaluate-their-store-footprint-one-size-does-not-fit-all/#5dddbb4a3685">opens up more opportunities</a>) for retailers to capitalise on prime locations, particularly in highly populated and affluent inner-urban and suburburban areas.</p>
<p>But there are other benefits too, such as <a href="https://retailowner.com/Inventory/Excess-Inventory-Costs">less inventory</a>, which also means <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/were-not-trying-to-break-a-cycle-debenhams-dishes-tough-love-on-discounting-20171019-gz40ib.html">less discounting</a>. Smaller stores also require fewer staff, and less cleaning and maintenance.</p>
<h2>What are the benefits for consumers?</h2>
<p>Research shows that customers are increasingly suffering from choice overload, also known as the “<a href="http://www.economist.com/node/17723028">tyranny of choice</a>”. </p>
<p>This is particularly so for online shoppers and for those browsing the aisles in superstores, department stores and large chain stores. A limited product offering, in a much smaller space, helps consumers make decisions more easily, and appeals to those shoppers who are primarily looking for “convenience”.</p>
<p>Small stores appeal directly to a growing number of affluent baby boomers and millennials who shop more frequently with smaller basket sizes. These shoppers demand <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-69685-0_7">personalisation, special services and quality products</a>.</p>
<p>Because small retailers have less inventory, they are able to turn stock over, replenish and refresh products at a much faster pace than their larger rivals. They can promise <a href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/zara-s-secret-for-fast-fashion">new items arriving in store at shorter intervals</a>. The lure of “newness” is a very attractive prospect for shoppers.</p>
<h2>Are smaller stores here to stay?</h2>
<p>In 2018 and beyond, retailing will continue to evolve. Retailers have always had to adapt to meet changing consumer demands, advances in technology and the like. </p>
<p>A sure sign that physical retail is still alive and well is evident in the growing number of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/11/14/internet-retailers-turn-physical-stores-online-sales-look-set/">online retailers</a> and <a href="http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/06/12/covergirl-to-open-store-in-times-square">established brands</a> that are opening physical stores to complement their online offerings.</p>
<p>Just as <a href="https://theconversation.com/christmas-shopping-is-changing-but-retailers-must-accept-that-pop-up-stores-are-here-to-stay-88614">pop-up</a> retailing has cemented itself in the retail landscape, smaller stores are also likely to become a significant long-term strategic proposition for the retail industry, where it is now “big to be small”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98246/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Several large retailers and supermarkets have announced they are going to downsize to smaller stores.Louise Grimmer, Lecturer in Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of TasmaniaGary Mortimer, Associate Professor in Marketing and International Business, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/918322018-02-15T04:19:35Z2018-02-15T04:19:35ZMyer once stood for the aspirational middle class but now it’s lost sight of who its customers are<p>A big part of retail group Myer’s problem is that it has tried to be all things, to all customers. Myer has tried to hang on to its high-end customers of old, while trying appeal to value-conscious, bargain oriented customers who only shop on sale. </p>
<p>Its place in the marketplace, and in the mind of the consumer, remains unclear. This week, after consecutive write-downs, the share price continues <a href="https://www.asx.com.au/asx/share-price-research/company/MYR">its downward plummet</a> and sits around 54 cents (not far off a tenth of its original share float value of $4.10). The Myer board then dumped its chief executive this week, <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/retail/myer-in-turmoil-after-ceo-richard-umbers-forced-out-20180214-h0w3f4">citing the need</a> for urgent action to stop a fall in sales and earnings.</p>
<p>For centuries, department stores have ruled retail, and in Australia retail was ruled by Myer and David Jones. From the 1800s these stores <a href="https://www.myer.com.au/c/about-myer/the-company/about-us/content-1878-1899.html">linked Australians to the world</a>, giving Australians a taste of high fashion and exposing shoppers to luxury brands not present on Australian shores.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-businesses-are-trying-mobile-apps-to-lure-and-keep-consumers-88684">More businesses are trying mobile apps to lure and keep consumers</a>
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<p>At their height, department stores focused on the needs and desires of fashionable women. These stores offered female shoppers the freedom to browse and shop, safely and decorously, away from home <a href="http://www.bbc.com/culture/bespoke/story/20150326-a-history-of-the-department-store/index.html">and from the company of men</a>. Department stores had a niche, a clear value proposition, and clearly knew who their customers were. </p>
<p>Fast forward to 2018, and department stores like Myer no longer reign supreme. </p>
<p>No doubt, the past few decades have been turbulent for the retail industry, with the growth of online retailing, the ability for consumers to comparison <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-businesses-are-trying-mobile-apps-to-lure-and-keep-consumers-88684">shop on their mobile</a> while in-store, weak <a href="https://theconversation.com/face-value-business-leaders-are-betting-we-will-spend-more-83211">consumer sentiment</a>, and the influx of <a href="https://theconversation.com/amazon-poses-a-double-threat-to-australian-retailers-78534">international retailers</a>. However, the same market conditions have been present for all retailers. </p>
<h2>Myer’s brand identity has been slowly chipped away</h2>
<p>For any brand, the unique place the brand occupies in the mind of the target consumer is its essential value. It reflects a unique selling proposition and defines exactly how the brand will compete in the marketplace (including all of its subsequent activities such as product range, pricing, marketing communications, desired experience and so on). </p>
<p>Historically, Myer (like many department stores in the western world, including Macy’s in the US, Marks and Spencer in the UK, and many others), was a middle class brand, located at a desirable address, and stood for the <a href="https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/07/12/mark-ritson-ms-decline/">pinnacle of accessible quality on the high street</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206507/original/file-20180215-124893-149sjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Historically Myer succeeded by occupying a unique position in the marketplace supplying high street fashion and luxury brands to the middle class.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of South Australia/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>With few competitors, in the past department stores competed on quality service, a broad range of well-regarded brands that appealed to the emerging middle class, standing for quality and a degree of fashion forwardness (without being so edgy as to turn off the mainstream). As such, the stores also represented a source of aspiration for working-class consumers, something to treat oneself to, to shop for special occasions, and to peruse when you wanted to signal a sense of achievement. </p>
<p>However, with <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/consumer-industrial-products/gx-cip-2017-global-powers-of-retailing.pdf">greater market fragmentation</a>, a wider range of needs to appeal to, and the emergence of large numbers of well positioned local (and global) brands, Myer has struggled for identity and business.</p>
<p>Myer’s lack of clarity in the brand’s unique selling point means it’s being attacked at the top and bottom end of the market. At the top end of the market, the expansion of entry levels products, such as perfumes and accessories, and extensions of French, Italian, UK, Japanese and American luxury brands means consumers wanting to signal their status have a lot of choice. </p>
<p>At the bottom end of the market, fast fashion brands such as H&M, Primark and Zara have strong identities, recognisable brand names and a clear sense of who they are selling to (younger consumers who wish to blend in by standing out). These brands do not appeal to everyone, and are even loathed by some, but therein lies their strength. In appealing to a narrowly defined set of needs and executing that position in everything they do, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1252054?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">they build loyalty</a>, resulting in ongoing sales.</p>
<h2>Trying (and failing) to reach a target market</h2>
<p>Myer’s lack of brand clarity is also reflected in its practice of relying on other brands to give it a sense of cool or iconicity. In 2015, <a href="http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/M/ASX_MYR_2015.pdf">Myer went through a transition</a>, shedding several long standing management team members who had transformed, and floated, the iconic retailer. Myer stalwarts, including CEO Bernie Brookes and CFO Mark Ashby, passed the helm to a new generation of management, including Richard Umbers as CEO and Daniel Bracken as Deputy CEO. Hopes were high for the “New Myer” strategy. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://investor.myer.com.au/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/dGngnzELxUikQxL5gb1cgA/file/MYR-New-Strategy-media-release-010915.pdf">New Myer strategy</a> focused on female shoppers, high-profile brands, improved service and in-store experiences, complemented by a strong online shopping platform. Investors were asked to place their faith in a A$600 million plan to save the retailer, including a deal with Topshop.</p>
<p>In August 2015, when the strategy was announced, Myer’s share price <a href="http://investor.myer.com.au/Share-Price-Tools/?page=Historical-Share-Price">hovered around A$1.26</a>. After taking a 20% stake in the Australian Topshop franchise in 2015, Myer’s aspirations for Topshop <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/retail/myer-profit-plunges-80pc-to-119-million-after-writedowns-restructuring-costs-20170913-gygell">shattered in 2017</a>. It closed 17 Topshop stores, writing off A$45 million. Myer shares subsequently closed at an all-time low of 82 cents. </p>
<p>This approach of using each season or new release to provide a positive spillover for the main brand is old-fashioned. It relegates the brand to lower status than the means of reinforcing its image. By comparison strong brands use their identity to drive every aspect of their business.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/westfields-history-tracks-the-rise-of-the-australian-shopping-centre-and-shows-whats-to-come-89073">Westfield's history tracks the rise of the Australian shopping centre and shows what's to come</a>
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<p>Myer’s branding challenge is also its reactive stance. Its <a href="http://investor.myer.com.au/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/dGngnzELxUikQxL5gb1cgA/file/MYR-New-Strategy-media-release-010915.pdf">focus as part of its New Myer strategy</a> has been on “an intuitive omnichannel Myer, easy to choose, and easy to use, delivered in-store and online”. </p>
<p>But this “seamless integration” between digital and in-store is an example of trying to fend off the threat of online retail, rather than being on the front foot. While there is nothing wrong per se with trying to integrate channels, placing this aim at the heart of one’s strategy leaves us questioning: where is Myer’s brand? </p>
<p>Ironically, much of the problem stems from looking outward too much - looking for something to entice consumers, speak to the latest trends, adopt the latest technology, or respond to the latest competitive threat. While there is nothing wrong with any of these strategies, they must be framed through the lens of the brand.</p>
<p>What is lacking is Myer’s heritage, and the need for this to be carefully reframed and updated for the present day. If the brand once stood for middle class aspiration, Myer needs to now consider how the middle class has changed, and identify where there is a a role for an iconic Australian brand to service a new set of needs, for a new generation of consumers. </p>
<p>Consumers have changed, and so too has aspiration. The question leaders of a department store like Myer need to ask themselves is how can a retail brand like Myer be as desirable today, as it was in the past?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What is lacking is Myer’s heritage, and the need for this to be carefully reframed and updated for the present day.Sean Sands, Associate Professor of Marketing, Swinburne University of TechnologyMichael Beverland, Professor of Fashion Enterprise, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/354492014-12-30T13:00:05Z2014-12-30T13:00:05ZBrick-and-mortar retailers must reinvent themselves to survive the shift to online shopping<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67848/original/image-20141219-31542-25srhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apple is considered a leader in designing "experience" stores. Some of their retail outlets in Manhattan have become tourist destinations. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers registered another lackluster holiday shopping season, while online sales have remained upbeat since Cyber Monday. As more consumers spend a larger share of their dollars online, does this signal the days of shopping at department stores and shopping malls are numbered? </p>
<p><a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/45516.wss">Cyber Monday sales</a> this year were up 8.7% compared with 2013, led by a sharp increase in mobile transactions according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. Sales over mobile devices jumped 29%. That’s a sharp contrast with the mostly bad news for brick-and-mortar stores, which saw about <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/30/news/economy/black-friday-nrf-estimate/">6 million fewer shoppers</a> over the Thanksgiving weekend, with overall spending down about 11%, according to the National Retail Federation. </p>
<p>One can reminisce about the days when department stores and mega-malls were among the main places for Americans to meet, socialize and, of course, shop. Spending an afternoon at the big downtown department stores used to be a family treat during the holiday shopping season. The experience eventually evolved more into trips to the mall – which were typically anchored by a major department store or two. </p>
<p>That’s all changed. We have certainly witnessed in recent years a pronounced uptick in terms of consumers doing their shopping online and through various mobile devices and applications. That’s the trend, but does it really mean people will shop exclusively on these devices in the not-too-distant future? Are we in the final days of a major retail shopping shakeup that will eventually make department and other physical stores a thing of the past? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67953/original/image-20141222-31560-19t0avj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Woolworth’s was an iconic downtown department store that symbolizes its status in American life back in the day. The national chain went out of business in 1997.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/montrealblues/3362790256/in/photolist-68abom-hUhzq-wUpV8-62n48L-6bVWXZ-5MXBXq-3i8Qey-bmf5rz-oWsKKR-aCsL3b-7kcdbq-5MXMiY-rYEW6-5MBDcx-5MyiK2-7kceaC-2q12dH-7k8jA2-7k8j84-ga6C1N-jgrFBK-83HRxK-83gsUK-dXeYju-7bRmsD-5SgoZa-9RqtKS-psk4gT-5PaZKX-bmf4Va-6KJUNu-6KJW69-aguG3C-2q12JX-aymsfC-92qv1P-5MHeDq-5ULfjo-abydMG-6KEPLZ-d2TUiC-aymsiq-fkMpdA-5TzWF7-h1GeK-7kcdZd-6f5Zhc-DvpEq-dwrDMx-6LwAAQ">Voici Montréal-This is Montreal/Flickr via CC BY-SA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Touch and feel</h2>
<p>Recent news from online mega-retailer Amazon suggests both yes and no. Reports surfaced in October that the Seattle-based company said it plans to open its <a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2014/12/11/Amazon-to-open-physical-store-in-New-York-City-offering-same-day-delivery/2331418301912/">first physical store</a> ever – in Manhattan – suggesting Amazon sees value in bricks and mortar. And then this month, the company said it’s launching <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEMQqQIoADAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Famazon-tests-bike-messengers-for-one-hour-delivery-in-new-york-city-1418071863&ei=hn-YVPr8L9PasAShkoFw&usg=AFQjCNEqEl1J-NiAt05d0OSorJ9WRej7fA&sig2=P5d2ef3Fc1vgpyGG4daGNg&bvm=bv.82001339,d.cWc">one-hour delivery service</a>, also in Manhattan, a significant step in shipping so that it takes just a few clicks online and minutes later the product we want is in our hands. </p>
<p>There will always be a certain segment of the population who will frequent brick-and-mortar stores for the opportunity to “touch and feel” the merchandise. This is an important aspect for some age groups such as Baby Boomers and Generation X. On the other hand, the millennials and other younger generations tend to buy their clothes and gadgets online. </p>
<p>A desire for “instant gratification” or “instant ownership” is still key with some buyers – including youths – who appreciate the ability to touch, feel and buy an item all in the same moment, currently only possible at a physical store. Amazon’s one-hour delivery service, however, may begin to eat away at this. </p>
<p>On the other hand, many people prefer to snag the best deal after surveying a large number of products, something difficult to do in stores, especially when their are large crowds, and don’t mind waiting for their purchase to show up days later in the mail. That jives with the sense that we’re a more “deal-oriented” society today.</p>
<h2>Reinventing brick and mortar</h2>
<p>So then what do brick-and-mortar stores need to do to survive and even thrive – and lure those mystifying millennials? </p>
<p>Traditional brick-and-mortar stores may be struggling due to the meteoric rise of online shopping, but it doesn’t mean they’re losing out on those sales – they’re just moving to their website. While some argue that eventually it’ll all be online, I contend that physical stores will be around for some time to come – if and only if they are successful at reinventing themselves more in the mold of Apple as experience stores.</p>
<p>Some stores have excelled at doing this and creating an “in-store experience” that’s about more than trying to find a t-shirt or new computer, such as Nordstrom and Apple. Others will have to adopt similar techniques to compete. Clothing retailer JC Penney, for example, is <a href="http://www.talentzoo.com/beneath-the-brand/blog_news.php?articleID=12959">in the midst</a> of trying to reinvent its shopping experience to make it more than just a transaction with a cashier. </p>
<h2>Value-added transactions</h2>
<p>Retailers need to add value to the transaction to make it worth the trip away from the convenience of the computer. The entire in-store experience must be enriched. Necessary elements include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>knowledgeable, professional and courteous employees who will do everything to ensure customer satisfaction (Nordstrom and Apple do this well)</p></li>
<li><p>conduct continuous customer research to always better understand what prospective consumers will be searching for</p></li>
<li><p>a pleasant store environment and ambiance that is soothing and inviting to the customer’s senses</p></li>
<li><p>warranties and guarantees that leave no doubt in the consumer’s mind that this is the place to do business</p></li>
<li><p>irresistible and creative in-store displays that attract the consumer</p></li>
<li><p>an integrated e-commerce, online marketing approach within the storefront architecture so that all shoppers will get the “best of all worlds.”</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Traditional department stores and malls were once <em>the</em> social hub for people to meet, converse, shop, eat and enjoy life. There is no reason that they cannot be re-invented and rejuvenated to serve that role once again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35449/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers registered another lackluster holiday shopping season, while online sales have remained upbeat since Cyber Monday. As more consumers spend a larger…George Cook, Executive Professor of Marketing and Psychology, University of RochesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/181802013-09-17T20:41:54Z2013-09-17T20:41:54ZFrom little things big things grow: what’s in store for DJ’s strategy?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31282/original/jzfjdjzm-1379043092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">David Jones plans to reinforce its position as a high-end retailer by downsizing stores and focusing on customer service.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://media.theage.com.au/business/company-reports/djs-flags-new-strategy-4743876.html">recent proclamation</a> by David Jones CEO Paul Zahra that traditional department stores are likely to become smaller, fashion-focused and devoid of low-margin items reflects the various competitive influences helping to shape the retailing sector. </p>
<p>It also implies that those innovative Australian retailers prepared to make changes to their operations - whether onshore or offshore - are likely to be in an optimal position to gain a strategic competitive edge. </p>
<p>With the development of village-format retail stores, David Jones illustrates its belief that this innovative approach is the best mechanism for yielding superior customer and retailer outcomes in the face of such sector pressures. </p>
<h2>The effect of online retail</h2>
<p>Forces driving competition are not idiosyncratic to the Australian marketplace as our retailers also operate in the global economy. </p>
<p>Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/business/retail/myer-quick-to-deflect-blame-after-poor-results-20130912-2tln2.html">recently claimed</a> that the retailer’s reduced profits were a function, among others, of GST exemptions on overseas purchases under A$1000. This claim contains elements of truth. </p>
<p>Local retailers are rightly alarmed that this loophole has cultivated a rising consumer preference towards purchasing products from retailers located overseas. The Australian Retailers Association estimates that around 40% of online retail purchases by Australian consumers are from retailers located overseas. </p>
<p>Thanks to the internet, Australian consumers can now more conveniently access such retailers and compare prices. This has pushed prices down in stores like Myer and David Jones, causing them to re-think operations. </p>
<p>As internet sales have become more mainstream across an ever-widening range of product and service categories, this trend is unlikely to abate. </p>
<p>In fact, it is highly conceivable that Australian consumer purchasing patterns, and perhaps more importantly their attitudes towards overseas retailers, will eventually result in Australian retailers relocating overseas. </p>
<p>This is even more probable if the new Abbott government’s attitude towards this uneven GST impost remains unchanged – forcing Australian retailers to consider alternative avenues to help take advantage of this loophole in our federal tax system. </p>
<h2>The new strategy</h2>
<p>The response by retailers will depend on how they think to best create customer value - either by locating parts of their operations overseas or by making structural amendments to their onshore modus operandi.</p>
<p>However, it is clear that the customer is ‘king’ in this equation and will dictate what retail firms must do in order to retain their continued loyalty. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31377/original/d89yxdsg-1379302100.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The smaller DJ’s stores will only stock quality fashion, cosmetics and accessories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eva Rinaldi via Flickr</span></span>
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<p>With its initiative, David Jones has decided to reinforce its commitment to the Australian marketplace, rather than attempting to exploit any direct cost advantages associated with operating from an overseas base. This approach seems to best fit their current high-end position. </p>
<p>Under this model, it is anticipated that David Jones will stock a reduced scope of merchandise comprising mostly quality (fashion) brands, and it will support this by offering the best possible service to their customers. </p>
<h2>Will it work?</h2>
<p>The only question that remains unanswered is whether this new strategy is going to be successful in the context of a price-motivated customer. This is a complex question and, without the benefit of hindsight, is even more difficult to answer. </p>
<p>However, we can say with great certainty that David Jones is high-end, has a well-known and established brand name, and has attracted a loyal customer base. </p>
<p>Its strategy change promises to continue offering the finest brands and a high level of service. And given its long-standing history as one of Australia’s premium department stores, this strategy can only help to consolidate its current position in the Australian marketplace, by re-emphasising previously held consumer views about the retailer. </p>
<p>Continual reinforcement of ones ‘place’ in the market is a critical element of retailing. So, in that regard, DJs has got it right. </p>
<p>However, one of the dangers associated with this new approach is that this action potentially exposes the retailer to further competition from high-end European, as well as boutique Australian, fashion retailers. </p>
<p>David Jones’ success will depend on the company positioning itself well in this cut-throat area of the retail sector. The retailer must ensure its offerings are distinctively different from similar fashion-based retailers. </p>
<p>This can only be attained if the company adheres to the basic principles of the retailing concept: being value laden, being goal-orientated, effectively coordinating the value chain, and, perhaps most importantly, remaining entirely customer focused. </p>
<p>While only time will reveal the success or failure of this new direction, David Jones has once again shown that innovation in retailing is tantamount to securing its future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/18180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russel PJ Kingshott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The recent proclamation by David Jones CEO Paul Zahra that traditional department stores are likely to become smaller, fashion-focused and devoid of low-margin items reflects the various competitive influences…Russel PJ Kingshott, Senior Lecturer in Retailing, School of Marketing, Curtin Business School, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.