COVER
Saks Fifth Avenue 2023 holiday facade in partnership with
Christian Dior . Image courtesy of Paul Vu .
Sandler , CEO and founder of Pop Up Summer , an experiential marketing firm for pop-up retail concepts based in New York City . “ So when you think about that kind of value , it makes sense for a larger store to essentially test market their real estate to [ try to ] keep the customer from leaving without spending something in the space .”
In New York , Bergdorf Goodman ’ s race to acquire customers while not increasing customer acquisition costs is on .
The retailer pulled itself out of bankruptcy via a $ 200 million investment from online platform Farfetch , led by NMG ’ s current CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck . But leaked financial documents show the company ’ s profitability has taken a hit versus 2022 . NMG ’ s EBITDA was $ 124 million for the quarter ended April 29 , which was a drop of almost 25 percent from a year earlier , unnamed sources stated via Bloomberg . Revenue dropped nine percent , to $ 1 billion .
In a talk at Parsons School of Design , van Raemdonck alluded to the increase in budgets spent on diversity , equity and inclusion programming , in addition to pouring capital into the brick-and-mortar in-person experience .
“ Our community and loyal customer base has been cultivated for years . Their mindset is driven by having exclusive access and incredible customer service ,” van Raemdonck said . “ We have a very low turnover rate and some of our top sellers have been with the company for more than 30 years . Investing in human capital is where we see the value in customer acquisition .”
All arrows are pointing to the instability of many US department stores , yet Parisian department store Printemps is all in for its debut on New York City ’ s Wall Street
during the fall of 2024 . The goal is to be closer to the rapidly changing e-commerce market . Instead of focusing on omnichannel retailing , Printemps ’ interest and focus are on “ immersive experiential retailing ” the United States can provide .
“ The US is essential in our international development strategy and opening in New York offers high visibility and growth potential ,” Printemps Groupe CEO Jean-Marc Bellaiche said . “ We think we can bring something unique , both to its engaged local consumer base and the strong tourist flows the city welcomes . It is also a strategic e-commerce market for luxury , fashion , home and beauty . We plan to pioneer a new format of experiential retail in this fast-changing and demanding market .”
Pop Up Summer ’ s Sandler added : “ Becoming part of the fashion
Investing in human capital is where we see the value in customer acquisition .
zeitgeist is not easy in New York and specifically not easy if you are a business trying to build a following of customers from a different country and culture . The play is how they end up using unique brick-and-mortar merchandising tactics to bring the customer a one-stop shop for luxury home , apparel and beauty .”
Despite the buzz , it remains to be seen how many people would take the trip downtown to shop at a new department store , much less make it a one-stop shop for personal care and entertainment , as well as frequent apparel and housewares purchases .
“ There ’ s no way I would go that far downtown ,” regular Nordstrom visitor Goldberg said . “ Why drag when you have everything here ?”
Hitha Herzog is a retail analyst , researcher and journalist .
18 www . insideretail . us December 2023