DDi - July 2012 - (Page 30)

30 | Department Store Focus DDI’s Alison Embrey Medina (far right) moderates a panel of CEOs at GDSS. Staying relevant for growth Discussions at the Global Department Store Summit centered on innovation for the future and relevance now By Alison Embrey Medina, Executive Editor Photos: Courtesy of IGDS O nce upon a time, the department store ruled the retail landscape. In some faraway lands—and even in certain regions of the United States—that ideal still holds true. In others, the department store has lost out to more niche specialty stores, discount big boxes, online competition and a mass-merchant arena luring shoppers with abundant selection and the draw of low prices. But the department store is still here, and it’s still innovating toward a new tomorrow. Such was the sentiment at the third Global Department Store Summit, held May 10-11, at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Organized by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS) in collaboration with Printemps, the summit attracted 381 retail executives (most with the title of CEO, president or managing director) from 201 companies and 42 countries across the globe. Distinguished department store CEOs and leading executives of top luxury retailers the world over presented their visions for the industry and their strategies for sustaining growth, pioneering innovation and creating exclusive, cherished customer experiences. DDI was invited to take part in a panel session on “Pioneering Retail Style,” and stayed throughout to gain insights on this fascinating sector of the retail world. We share our findings with you here. The omnichannel edge If department stores are to lead innovation in retail, they must be the leaders of integrating both offline and online technology to create an aligned business model across channels. This “omnichannel” approach was referenced throughout the two-day summit, as the CEOs shared their successes and misfires in the emerging social, mobile and e-commerce consumer culture. “Technology is changing retail, because it is changing the consumer,” said Alannah Weston, creative director, Selfridges (United Kingdom). “She is now in control. Just because she is standing in your handbag section, doesn’t mean she’s not purchasing from another store, in another city, who has it in another color—and a better price.” Bernie Brookes, CEO of Myer Holdings (Australia), admits that he has had to look at the changing macro picture of e-commerce as both a threat and an opportunity. He found his chain was often competing on price with online, and lacked the channel management, infrastructure and fulfillment mechanisms to be able to grow omnichannel. Since then, Myer has striven to fulfill the following mantra in regard to omnichannel | July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - July 2012

DDi - July 2012
Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
El Palacio de Hierro
Global Department Store Summit
Liverpool
Neiman Marcus
State of the Fixture Industry Roundtable
2012 Fixture Leaders listing
2012 Fixture Leaders company index
Fixture Products
Right Light
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Think Tank

DDi - July 2012