{"id":254,"date":"2018-06-28T07:30:49","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T07:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scse.eu\/?p=254"},"modified":"2019-01-15T09:02:27","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T09:02:27","slug":"retaildetail-launches-interview-series-a-love-for-department-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scse.eu\/en\/retaildetail-launches-interview-series-a-love-for-department-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"RetailDetail launches interview series ‘A love for department stores’"},"content":{"rendered":"

In collaboration with international retail expert Erik Van Heuven, RetailDetail sets out to explore the world of department stores. A series of interviews with entrepreneurs and managers will map the challenges and opportunities for the industry.<\/p>\n

Retail as entertainment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t department stores part of our DNA? We have all visited them with our parents or grandparents when we were kids. Since many decades, both kids and adults are fascinated by the impressive shop windows with their unbelievable creative visual merchandising \u2013 and by the toys department, of course. To experience the fantastic mix of brands in those beautiful department stores in the world\u2019s main cities, is the ultimate example of retail as entertainment. In today\u2019s digital age, department stores aren\u2019t relics of the past. On the contrary, they still offer millions of people an exciting and premium shopping experience.<\/p>\n

Shoppers love department stores \u2013 and so do our readers, we reckon. What is the story behind the big names in the department store industry? What is the vision of their leaders and CEO\u2019s? Our interview series will offer readers an in-depth profile of the global players and will illustrate the love that CEO\u2019s and leaders have for their business, a business that faces a lot of challenges.<\/p>\n

Customer centricity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first department store to see the light in Europe was probably\u00a0Le Bon March\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0in Paris in 1852 \u2013 located in the Rue de S\u00e8vres since 1869. Department stores stemmed from the so-called \u00a0\u201cpassages\u201c that were also common in Benelux cities like Rotterdam (Coolvest) and Brussels (the well-known Galeries St. Hubert).<\/p>\n

Emile Zola called department stores \u2018the cathedrals of modern times\u2019. Indeed, from the early beginnings, they were wonderful environments, offering shoppers an incomparable sensual experience. In fact, as early as the end of the nineteenth century, department stores were already a harbinger of what Pine & Gilmore described in their classic \u2018The experience economy<\/em>\u2019 (1998). Today, experience is often presented as\u00a0the<\/em>\u00a0solution for the future of physical retail.<\/p>\n

Back then, they were wonderful shopping Valhalla\u2019s full of novelties, inspiring the new middle class in a flabbergasting architectural environment. What we now call ‘customer centricity’ was self-evident in luxury department stores.<\/p>\n

Major transformations<\/strong><\/p>\n

It must be said, a lot has happened since the rise of department stores. Think of the breakthrough of supermarkets and hypermarkets, offering \u2018everything under one roof\u2019; the arrival of category killers such asMediaMarkt<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0Toys R Us<\/strong>; the trend for vertical integration, with fashion wholesale brands like\u00a0Esprit<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Benetton<\/strong>\u00a0starting their own retail structures; the rise of shopping centers; and of course the e-commerce and omnichannel revolution\u2026<\/p>\n

So since the seventies, department stores have been undergoing major transformations. Today is no exception. In order to survive disruption, department stores sought their salvation in different solutions, ranging from \u2018cheap\u2019 (private labels) to \u2018chic\u2019 (premium luxury, with far-reaching personal shopping opportunities), often limiting themselves to the shoes, apparel, lingerie, perfume and home departments, while doing away with other categories. But\u00a0Zalando<\/strong>\u00a0and wonderful e-commerce concepts like\u00a0Mytheresa.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0prove tough competitors.<\/p>\n

Touristic attraction<\/strong><\/p>\n

The solution, so it seems, is to be found in the premium luxury segment, combining an exceptional environment with an excellent one-to-one customer service. Only in \u2018world class cities\u2019 will these shopping cathedrals continue to have a future \u2013 especially because of their touristic attractiveness. Think of\u00a0Harrods<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Selfridges<\/strong>\u00a0in London,\u00a0KaDeWe<\/strong>\u00a0in Berlin,\u00a0Galeries Lafayette<\/strong>\u00a0in Paris,\u00a0El Corte Ingl\u00e9s<\/strong>\u00a0in Madrid… But in other cities they are probably facing a \u2018mission impossible\u2019. The exception may be what Germans so beautifully call a \u2018Platzhirsch<\/em>\u2019 – a historic and locally dominant department store that is part of the past and future of the majority of its inhabitants.\u00a0L&T<\/strong>\u00a0in Osnabrueck (Lengermann & Trieschmann) is an excellent example, and there are more to be found in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally I love most department stores, just like a dog lover appreciates pedigree dogs as well as mongrels\u201d, says Erik Van Heuven. \u201cThis is mainly because every department store is part of the DNA of its local community \u2013 in spite of internationalization and globalization. Every department store carries an enormous history. Whenever such a monument is closed down due to a restructuring or a bankruptcy, it causes an empty crater in the shopping environment and brings drama to many consumers who foster sweet memories of visiting the place with their children, parents or grandparents. This is also the case for me: ever since I signed my first contract to work for\u00a0Grand Bazar \u2013 Innovation \u2013 Bon March\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0some thirty years ago, my love for department stores has continued to grow. I would like to share this passion with our readers, through a series of interviews with European leaders in the department store industry, culminating in a book titled \u2018A Love for Department Stores<\/em>\u2019. I can hardly wait!\u201d<\/p>\n

About Erik Van Heuven<\/strong><\/p>\n

During his career, Flemish entrepreneur and international retail expert Erik Van Heuven (56) has been a privileged witness of the enormous changes that have taken place within the department store industry in the Benelux and Germany.<\/p>\n

He started his career at Belgian GIB Group (\u2018Grand Bazar – Innovation – Bon March\u00e9\u2019) and later on became CEO and administrator of department store company\u00a0Galeria Inno<\/strong>\u00a0and of German shoe company\u00a0HR Group<\/strong>. During the last decade he worked mostly in Germany, at\u00a0Karstadt<\/strong>\u00a0amongst other companies. In recent years he observed how the introduction of international venture capital has transformed the business.<\/p>\n

Think of the acquisition of Inno by\u00a0Kaufhof<\/strong>, that was in those days part of\u00a0Metro Group<\/strong>\u00a0Germany. There was the takeover of Karstadt Kompakt by investors\u00a0Dawnay Day<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Hilco Capital<\/strong>\u00a0UK. The Karstadt restart by\u00a0Berggruen Holdings<\/strong>\u00a0US. The acquisition of\u00a0V&D<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0SUN Capital<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0KKR<\/strong>. Later on, the takeover of Karstadt by\u00a0Signa Holding<\/strong>\u00a0Austria. And the acquisition of Kaufhof by\u00a0Hudson\u2019s Bay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Erik knows most of the key players personally and will give them the floor in our series of articles. Since the sale of HR Group to investment groups\u00a0Capiton<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Ziylan<\/strong>\u00a0in 2016, he leads the European expansion of the group as a strategic consultant. Next to that, he manages different retail assignments with his company\u00a0Scorpio Consultancy Europe<\/strong>\u00a0and is an administrator at Antwerp SME\u00a0Stoopen & Mee\u00fbs<\/strong>, producer and distributor of color pigments and mineral decorative paints.<\/p>\n

By Stefan Van Rompaey<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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