FROM THE DESK OF DEBORAH WEINSWIG

How Do You Define a Retailer These Days? We have written much on retail-as-a-service and as a platform for offering other services to consumers, representing a blurring of previously well-defined lines within retail. Several recent announcements of retailers expanding into formerly untapped segments also underscore this notion. We think first of Nordstrom as the retailer is branching out into the home-furnishings business. The company recently announced out that it is devoting two floors of its Columbus Circle flagship store in New York City to a concept called Nordstrom Home, which will focus on three pillars: kitchen and tabletop, home textiles, and home décor. The store will offer several brands that are already firm customer favorites alongside emerging brands and will serve as a physical touchpoint for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands such as Casper. Nordstrom’s flagship store is already an example of “spectacular retail,” offering several restaurants and bars, beauty services, alterations, and styling services, as well as a resale shop. We see the logic in expanding into areas of increased demand such as home, which is likely to persist in the long term as return-to-office dates are pushed out and employers accept more hybrid work-from-home setups. Beyond the Sephora shop-in-shop locations it operates, Kohl’s opened 50 Wellness Market pilot locations in November 2020, which offer a curated assortment of baby, beauty, personal wellness and pet care products, with an emphasis on clean, natural or sustainable attributes. National brands on offer include The Honest Company and Seventh Generation, among others. In the announcement, Kohl’s also disclosed its strategy to further establish itself as a leader in the active, casual and wellness lifestyle category. Other retailers have followed suit in broadening their offerings. Macy’s has ventured into new categories with the sale of food and wine, health and fitness products, pet products, and toys—alongside launching additional brands in its apparel, beauty and home offerings. Similarly, Best Buy has leveraged its strength in consumer electronics this summer to offer new barbecue grills and scooters. Turning to grocery, we saw several examples of innovative thinking that bridged the gap between disparate sectors at the recent Groceryshop conference. For instance, DoorDash has expanded its DoubleDash offering—adding alcohol, more grocery partners and restaurants to its existing range of retail, convenience products, pet supplies and some grocery. The implications of this expansion are powerful in several ways. Firstly, the program offers an enormous boost to consumer convenience—shoppers can order tonight’s dinner in the same order as tomorrow morning’s breakfast or add convenience store items to an alcohol order. DoorDash’s Co-Founder and CEO Tony Xu stated in his panel discussion at the conference that people needing to purchase items for meals 20–25 times per week represents an enormous opportunity for restaurants and retailers. XU stressed that enabling consumers to purchase products outside of regular retail hours offers enormous convenience. Vertically integrated instant-needs e-commerce companies such as Gopuff blur the lines between the store, delivery agent and online advertiser. Launched eight years ago to deliver snacks to college students, the company now delivers Covid tests, groceries, pet food and even pizzas and coffees that are prepared in Gopuff’s own kitchens. It is encouraging to see traditional retailers think “outside the box” and leverage their franchises and brand names to offer products that are in line with current trends in consumer demand. Innovators such as DoorDash benefit retailers on their platform and serve increasing consumer demand for near-instant gratification, presenting new hurdles for retailers not engaging in partnerships with these innovative companies.

US RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Dollar General Set To Enter Idaho by Spring 2022 (September 27) Company press release

• Discount retail chain Dollar General has announced plans to expand into Idaho, its 47th US state. The store will be located in Kootenai County and is scheduled to open by spring 2022.
• The store will carry a curated selection of brands and private-label merchandise in categories including health and beauty, food, homecare, seasonal items, and stationery. The company stated that the new store will have a positive economic impact on the local community via new jobs, additional tax revenue and increased accessibility to goods.

Etsy Launches Shoppable Virtual House (September 27) Company press release

• Etsy has debuted the Etsy House, an interactive experience driven by augmented reality (AR), which enables customers to tour a virtual home decorated with shoppable Etsy items. The Etsy House is rendered to scale with 360-degree imagery and is populated with items such as artwork, furniture, gifts and holiday décor.
• Customers hover over items that interest them to view a pop-up window with product information and a link to purchase. The company partnered with The Boundary, a creative visualization studio, to develop the virtual house.

HomeGoods Launches E-Commerce Platform (September 28) PRNewswire.com

• Off-price home-décor retailer HomeGoods has launched an e-commerce platform on its website HomeGoods.com. The store features a curated collection of bath, bedding, kitchen, pet products, seasonal décor and storage products.
• The company will continue to make new additions to the platform going forward, starting with gifts and decorations, ahead of the holiday season. The platform also offers returns, either in store or via mail.

Mastercard Joins the “Buy Now, Pay Later” Race with the Launch of Mastercard Installments (September 28) Company press release

• Mastercard has announced the launch of Mastercard Installments, a program that will allow banks, lenders and digital wallet providers to offer “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) payment options across its entire acceptance network. The program will go live in the first quarter of 2022.
• The program will debut simultaneously in Australia, the UK and the US. Mastercard stated that it is working with financial service providers, including Barclays US, Fifth Third, FIS, Galileo, Huntington, Marqeta, SoFi and Synchrony in the US and Quantas Loyalty and Latitude in Australia.

Shipt Announces First “Dealivery Days” Event (September 27) Company press release

• Hyperlocal delivery provider Shipt has announced its first-ever “Dealivery Days” event on October 2–4. The company stated that consumers will be offered discounts ranging from 20%–30% from retail partners including Costco, CVS, Kroger and Meijer.
• The days will be themed, with deals on breakfast and snacks on October 2, discounts on cleaning and household products on October 3 a focus on beauty, infant/toddler, and personal care product deals on October 4.

EUROPE RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

ASOS Launches “Tech Hub,” Plans To Invest £14 million in Next Three Years (September 28) Company press release

• UK-based online fashion retailer ASOS has announced plans to develop a new “Tech Hub” in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with operations scheduled to begin in early 2022. The company has invested £14 million ($19 million) to create the new facility.
• The company noted that the investment is a part of its strategic vision to improve its technical capabilities and cultivate the “next generation of experts” for future growth. ASOS expects to create more than 180 jobs over the next three years at the facility.

Next Reports Strong Results for the First Half of Fiscal 2022 (September 29) Company press release

• Next, one of the UK’s largest fashion retailers, saw its full price sales increase by 62% year over year in its first half of fiscal 2022 (ended July 31, 2021), and 9% on a two-year basis. The company’s pre-tax profit increased by 6% on a two-year basis.
• The company also upgraded its financial guidance for fiscal 2022 and is now forecasting 10% growth in sales on a two-year basis and a 7% increase in pre-tax profit compared to 2019.

Mango Group To Launch Sustainability-Focused Brand “Alter Made” (September 28) RetailGazette.co.uk

• Spain-based fashion retailer Mango Group has announced that it will launch a new sustainable brand, Alter Made, in November. The brand will be available via the company’s official website in select European markets, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
• Mango aims to generate €25 million ($29.15 million) in sales over the next three years through Alter Made. The brand’s products will be produced in Europe and will use certified fabrics and raw materials that are in line with sustainability and quality standards.

Spar’s Global Initiative To Reduce Food Waste Achieves Major Milestone (September 27) Company press release

• Netherlands-based supermarket chain Spar has saved over one million meals through its partnership with food sustainability app Too Good To Go, marking a significant milestone in the company’s initiative to reduce food waste across its 1,850 stores in 13 European markets.
• Spar noted that its sustainability strategies in collaboration with Too Good To Go made forecasting, ordering and stock replenishment processes more efficient, thereby reducing food waste. The company also stated that the initiative has helped the company reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by over 2,750 tons to date.

Zalando Invests in Sustainable Textile Technology Group Infinited Fiber Company (September 28) Company press release

• Germany-based apparel e-commerce company Zalando has invested an undisclosed amount in sustainable textile technology and circular fashion firm Infinited Fiber Company.
• Zalando will use Infinited Fiber Company’s regenerated textile fiber “Infinna” in its private-label products. It is a biodegradable fiber made from cellulose-based materials, such as cotton textile waste. Zalando has also committed to extending the life of 50 million products in its ecosystem by implementing circular technology solutions.

ASIA RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Alibaba Apps Introduce Tencent’s WeChat Pay Function (September 28) CNBC.com

• Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has introduced WeChat Pay as a method of payment for a range of its apps, including Damai, Koala and Shuqi. WeChat Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service owned by Alibaba’s rival Tencent.
• Chinese regulatory authorities have been enforcing new anti-competitive rules, aiming to unblock links between rival platforms. Under the new regulations, Tencent has enabled the use of payment programs for its competitors—however, it remains unclear whether payment via WeChat will be extended to Alibaba’s largest platforms, Taobao and Tmall.

FJ Benjamin and Lazada Singapore Enter Omnichannel Solutions Agreement (September 28) TheEdgeSingapore.com

• FJ Benjamin, a Singapore-based brand management and development company, has entered into an omnichannel solutions agreement with e-commerce company Lazada Singapore.
• Lazada will operate FJ Benjamin’s online stores and help integrate its offline and online presence. Additionally, Lazada will offer brand use, management consultation, operations assistance, software services and technical support to FJ Benjamin’s brands.

Instamojo’s Subscriptions Rise by Over 200,000 Since Launch in February (September 28) YourStory.com

• India-based e-commerce platform Instamojo has seen its subscriptions rise by more than 200,000 since the launch of its e-commerce services in February 2021, which enable small and medium businesses to sell online. Among the new subscribers, most are businesses based in Pune, followed by Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai.
• Instamojo aims to add over 250,000 additional small businesses to its platform by the end of fiscal 2022. The company currently has a merchant base of more than 2 million small-business owners and has raised a total of $8.4 million in funding to date.

Myntra Expands Fulfillment Capacity Ahead of the Festive Season (September 27) OutlookIndia.com

• Indian apparel e-commerce platform Myntra, a unit of Walmart-owned Flipkart, has set up a new fulfillment center in Kolkata to strengthen its supply chain network across India, ahead of the festive season.
• The facility is designed to hold up to 4.5 million items and will create job opportunities for around 2,500 people, according to the company. It will serve as a hub for India’s eastern region, which the company considers to be an important market with a mature shopper base.

Chinese Technology Giants Roll Out More Delivery Robots (September 28) StaffingIndustry.com

• Chinese online retail giants Alibaba, JD.com and Meitua will introduce over 1,000 additional delivery robots over the next year, due to a rise in demand for contactless services amid the pandemic and decreasing costs for robot production. By 2022, these firms expect to operate more than 2000 robots, approximately four times the current number.
• In China, many packages are still delivered by couriers who charge as little as ¥3.0 ($0.50) per parcel, but companies have been exploring the use of delivery drones and robots since 2013. At present, robots are only allowed in certain areas, such as campuses and housing estates.