Department Stores

Lord & Taylor Plans First New Store In Over A Decade

A little bright spot of news in the department store world this week. Crain's is reporting that Lord & Taylor will open its first new department store in nearly a decade. It last opened a store in Alexandra, Virginia in 2001. The company is planning an 80,000-square-foot bi-level location debuting in 2012, as part of the Ridge Hill complex in Yonkers, New York.

The Ridge Hill center will also be home to a Whole Foods grocery store, L.L. Bean, Sephora and The Cheesecake Factory. The shopping center in Westchester County is designed like many others recently to have a main street/small town feel. In addition to shopping and dining, there will be a village green that will have entertainment, fountains and a firepit. The complex will also include office and research facilities as well as up to 1,000 apartments some of which are earmarked or over-55 active adults and others which will be low-income affordable units

Lord & Taylor, which is owned by Hudson's Bay Trading Co., also recently announced that it is entering the competitive world of outlet shopping.

Tags: department stores, lord and taylor, lord taylor, ridge hill, westchester

Antwerp Super-Concept Shops - A Little of Everything You Love

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Ra's office, in what I can only describe as a Smurf house.

As Antwerp, Belgium continues to make its name in the fashion and art scenes, "super-concept" stores have emerged. These stores include everything from art galleries to organic cafes, vintage shopping and a selection of wares to wear from various designers. Basically, they're like smaller, hipstery versions of department stores -- and they're a lot more fabulous to be spotted in.

One of these spaces I visited was Ra, at Kloosterstraat 13. Ra has an 800 square meter space with an internet cafe, a bookshop reminiscent of what you'd find in a museum, an open art installation space with the latest exhibition, a kitchen serving a full menu of healthy food (the kind I like to call "aggressively healthy," like carrot soups and tofu), some antiques and two floors of carefully curated designer clothing, shoes, jewelry and other accessories, including some one-of-a-kind pieces from emerging designers. Catching on? Super-concept shops accommodate pretty much everything people of certain lifestyles want. They're one-stop-shops for their target demographic; and the kind of place you could spend a whole Saturday without getting bored.

Another super-concept venue I visited was Hospital, a scrap metal dealer's warehouse-turned-boutique. They have an art space, fabulous clothing for sale and a restored vintage car -- also for sale. I dined at the adjoining restaurant and wine bar The Glorious, which was glorious (see gallery for mouth-watering pictures), and mingled with a completely different crowd from the Ra-goers (Hospital is a posher, deliciously more pretentious scene).

Obviously, this idea is brilliant.

Gallery: Super-Concept Stores in Antwerp

Tags: antwerp, antwerp stores, belgium shopping, belgium stores, department stores, ra, shopping, stores, super concept stores, super-concept stores

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Lack of Supply And Increased Demand Frustrating Some Shoppers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Last year many stores found themselves stuck with too much inventory and not enough buyers. The resulting fallout led to a series of deep sales and a firm resolve not to let that happen again. This year we are seeing the reverse situation, shoppers with money who are finding less inventory to splurge on. Bloomberg has an interesting piece that suggests that luxury department stores, which have cut back on their orders in order to cope with declining sales, may end up losing customers who are frustrated with the lack of selection.

Retailers aren't exactly itching to stuff their stores. They aren't convinced that the shoppers are ready to storm the doors in droves and are still licking their wounds over the last year's discount days which led to reduced profits all around. They are also hoping that a little lack of supply will stimulate demand and get shoppers in when lines first arrive rather than waiting for discounts. Store executives have to order months in advance and last year's debacle has spooked some strategists. Some analysts suggest that the first stores to go back to the good old days of stuffed aisles may have a leg up on their competition.

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Tags: department stores, DepartmentStores, shopping

Department Stores Stock The Aisles With Fewer Items

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

For those still out shopping last winter, department stores represented a rare opportunity, tons of inventory marked deeply down. Don't expect that magic to happen again. More and more stores are announcing that they are reducing inventory so as not to be left holding the bag if shoppers fail to show up. Saks CEO, Stephen Sadove tells Bloomberg that "across the board you are going to find less of the sizes, less of the availability in almost all of the categories." He also says that markdowns won't be as dramatic as they were last year. While in previous years the buzzword was "masstige" offering luxury for everyone now Sadove says that "luxury has always been about scarcity."

The ripple effect of department stores cutting back inventory has already made it increasingly hard for some designer labels to survive. Neiman Marcus and Saks have both said they are cutting back on lines that don't sell well and linger on the racks. And the recession also seems to be stifling creativity a bit. Stores are looking for staples, classics and safe bets to stock their stores. The avant-garde, trendy and daring is too risky if there are fears that it won't sell. Brands are making one or two versions of a particular style rather than a wider range. Retail sales are expected to rise slightly by the end of this year but it won't be enough to make up for last year's sharp losses.

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Tags: department stores, DepartmentStores, luxury, saks fifth avenue, SaksFifthAvenue, stores

Saks Discounts Spring Clothes, Will Anyone Care?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

We've seen it for years, the rapid-fire rush through the seasons. We no sooner say goodbye to one holiday than the next one is already being pushed at us in retail stores. But now that the economic slowdown has created a logjam in the process of rapid acquisition and dispersion, the stores have a problem. How do they get the merchandise out?

The obvious answer is sales and as Fashion Week Daily reports Saks Fifth Avenue is already selling Spring 2009 merchandise at 40 percent off and Barneys is set to follow suit next week. The depth of the discount is no surprise. Since the screech-to-a-stop holiday season last year department stores have been sawing away at prices to keep people shopping. In fact, at this point one has to wonder if 40 percent is even enough to get people excited. NY Mag's The Cut said, "call us when they hit 75 percent." The bright spot for stores is that they were better prepared for Spring 09 than they were for Fall/Winter 08 so there is less inventory to get rid of which does mean the discounts probably won't run as deep.

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Tags: department stores, DepartmentStores, saks fifth avenue, SaksFifthAvenue, sales

Harrods to Expand Private Label Offerings

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Famed deluxe London department store Harrods, owned by the late Dodi Fayed's financier father Mohamed Al-Fayed, just announced plans to expand its private label product lines to put them on a par with the famous name merchandise it has long carried. Harrods branded products will soon include everything from golf and ski accessories to baby wear and plus-size collections, Vogue UK reports. The million square foot store, located in Knightsbridge, is the largest and one of the most luxurious in the world. It holds several royal warrants from the likes of the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales.

Tags: Department Stores, DepartmentStores, Harrods, London, Mohamed Al-Fayed, MohamedAl-fayed, Prince Charles, PrinceCharles, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Royal warrant, RoyalWarrant

WSJ Rates Luxury Department Stores

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services

After sending out correspondents to 12 stores of 5 different luxury department store chains in 6 cities across the country, the Wall Street Journal reported its findings yesterday, comparing how the stores stacked up in terms of service, product selection and their "extra touches." Bergdorf Goodman came out on top, winning the "best overall" rating. They had the shortest wait time for staff help, the largest selection of high-end, ready-to-wear designer apparel, excellent restrooms and even a DJ that will download music onto your iPod. Barneys got a nod for their insightful staff and number of new designers. Neiman Marcus was praised for their huge catalogue selection. Nordstrom, though only half its stores carry all their luxury brands, had one of the best shoe collections as well as easy returns. Saks has refreshing water bars and ultra-attentive staff.

Tags: barneys, bergdorf goodman, department stores, luxury department stores, neiman marcus, nordstrom, saks, wall street journal, wsj