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Amazon started in 1994 and is now a $100 billion per year behemoth serving over 300 million customers worldwide. Alibaba’s famous ‘Singles day’ hit $20 billion in one day (including selling 65 thousand cars!). Closer to home Farfetch, founded just 10 years ago, is now the world’s top luxury e-commerce destination measured by traffic. It wasn’t that long ago that luxury brands said “the internet isn’t for us” – now nearly all are online and customers are prepared to buy anything from engagement rings to luxury yachts and houses online.

Rapid technology innovation is also changing the way we shop, pay and interact. It’s now possible to pay with your face, browse with your voice, see an augmented reality of yourself in new make-up/clothes without leaving the house, use 3D printing to print your own jewellery and order anytime, anywhere and have it delivered from the sky!

Given all of these changes, is there still a place for the luxury department store? In short, yes! There’s no doubt retail is changing and online presence drives industry growth, but physical stores are still expected to remain

the biggest sales format accounting for 70% of total retail sales by 2022. However, we mustn’t be complacent. That’s why we are investing in building seamless omnichannel experiences and an in-depth understanding of our customers.

Harry Gordon Selfridge once said: “Excite the mind and the hand will reach for the pocket”. This is why we remain passionate about constantly creating exciting, desirable, fun and differentiated shopping experiences in store and, as importantly, online. As Anne Pitcher, Selfridges MD recently said; “we are much more than a shop, it’s a social place, a community – a compelling and memorable destination”. Retail re-imagined.

Welcome to the sixth edition of our Selfridges Group newsletter, The Quarterly.

In this edition, we are looking at how our banners are pushing boundaries to propel the retail industry into the future. From imagining the concept of ‘store of the future’ to offering products that ‘define gravity’, our banners continue to implement innovative ways to provide our customers with elevated shopping experiences.

The annual Employee Opinion Survey was rolled out across our Group this month. Your insights and comments help us to define our people plans for the year ahead, and the survey is a vital measure of the success of our initiatives. Thank you to all who participated.

I’m excited to see another team member who has moved within our Group tell their story this month. Judy Cheng transferred to Selfridges Group this spring. Judy is one of the seven team members who has relocated through the LEAP programme this year. If you are interested in a move to another part of our Group, please browse all open vacancies on the Selfridges Group website www.selfridgesgroup.com, or contact talent@selfridgesgroup.com.

As ever, let us know if you have any feedback or ideas for improvement – we value your input.

Alannah Weston Deputy Chairman

The Quar terly

Byline

Being responsible retailers

Brown Thomas Launches CREATE

HoltRenfrew.com Now Live!

Retail re-imaginedEvery day we wake up to another headline of store closures, familiar brands going bankrupt or dire predictions of a “retail apocalypse”, “death to the department store”. Undoubtedly the face of retail is fundamentally changing.

Message from the Deputy Chairman

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In this issue:

pg3Jet off in style with Gravity

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Brown Thomas Launches CREATE

At the end of May, Selfridges was named Best Department Store in the World for 2018 at the Global Department Store Summit (GDSS) in London.

Selfridges is the only department store to have been recognised globally by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS) four times in this way -

in 2010, 2012, 2014 and now in 2018.

Selfridges was previously awarded ‘World’s Best Department Store Campaign Award’ for their EveryBODY campaign in 2017 and ‘World’s Best Sustainability Campaign by a Department Store’ in 2016 for Buying Better, Inspiring Change!

At the heart of this summer’s campaign titled ‘Create 2018’, there is a strong focus on promoting the sustainable Irish design community. For example, the “Made to Sustain” element showcases use of sustainable design principles, low impact materials and circular fashion.

The campaign also set out to help consumers learn about the designer’s sustainability journeys and how they believe the fashion industry needs to change for the better. Shelly Corkery, Fashion Director at Brown Thomas said: “We are passionate about promoting Irish design and discovering new and innovative designers is so exciting! CREATE is the first to find the most exciting and newest talent to showcase the best emerging designers in Ireland!”

Best Department Store in the World 2018!

Selfridges & Co is named

Alla Sinkevich exhibits her NCAD final year collection ‘Existential Nomad’

You could say we’re (Lady) Gaga for Una Burke Michelle Kearns, majestic bird headware

Selfridges MD Anne Pitcher at GDSS 2018

Holt Renfrew – Store of the future

A store of the future offers a more flexible, agile and enhanced customer experience. To lay this foundation, Holt Renfrew is undergoing a major retrofit of their technology infrastructure - from inventory management (SAP) to re-platforming their e-commerce and replacing the Point of Sale (POS) solution in their stores.

In addition, Holt Renfrew is also looking at elements such as updated renovation plans, streamlined cash wraps, dedicated Holts mobile devices, enhanced data security initiatives and so much more!

If you’re interested in a

LEAP opportunity; check out all of the banner vacancies at

www.selfridgesgroup.com/careers/jobs

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You can now live-out your wildest James Bond dreams with the Gravity jetpack suit, available at Selfridges for a cool £340,000. The 3D-printed suit allows you to fly into the sky at the touch of a button.

Selfridges is the first ever retailer to offer Gravity Experience Days for individuals looking to learn how to safely pilot a human flight enabling jet suit. All this continues to demonstrate why Selfridges is

the destination for extraordinary (and gravity-defying) customer experience!

Founded in 2017 by Richard Browning, Gravity has grown from its humble beginnings into a multi-million dollar organisation with influence that spans the globe. It aims to augment the body and mind with a suite of patent pending

technology to enable unparalleled human flight and currently has projects across search & rescue, tactical mobility and entertainment.

A pioneer in natural luxury skincare, Tata Harper creates her products without using synthetic or artificial chemicals. Marrying the latest skincare technology with the finest ingredients, every product contains a complex formula sourced from a catalogue of over 300 innovative raw ingredients, from over 68 countries from around the globe.

The new counter in the Arnotts Beauty Hall will carry the largest range of Tata Harper products in Europe.

Speaking on the official launch at Arnotts Beauty Hall, Tata commented: “We are so excited to be launching into the iconic Arnotts, our first counter in Dublin! We created a space using natural elements inspired by our farm in Vermont and incorporating interactive technology in Arnotts’ new Beauty Hall. I’m thrilled to have Arnotts as a partner and to offer 100% natural and nontoxic products to this new market.”

To honor the last stage of the Tour de France, Brown Thomas and Arnotts held their first group-wide charity fundraising event in July with each of their 7 stores taking part in a spinathon over the course of 8 hours. 2300 kilometers were cycled and they raised an incredible €7,300 for their chosen charities!

“ The 3D-printed suit allows you to fly into the sky at the touch of a button.”

Tata Harper launches in Arnotts Beauty Hall

Jet off in style with Gravity

Judy’s Group career to date:

2018 Financial Planning & Analytics (secondment) – Selfridges Group

2017 Business Controller of Buying & Merchandising - Holt Renfrew

2016 Business Controller of eCommerce - hr2 (Holt Renfrew)

2015 Analyst of Financial Planning & Analytics - Holt Renfrew

What have been your career highlights? In 2017, I helped bring WeChat Pay and AliPay to Holt Renfrew; we became the first luxury retailer to launch these payment solutions in Canada. The journey began in 2016 with focus groups to understand how sales associates and personal shoppers catered to international customers. We quickly learned that WeChat was the key communication tool used by international customers. To capitalise on this opportunity, we ramped up internal resources and engaged with 3rd party vendors. We successfully launched across 9 stores and saw an immediate uptake.

In 2018, I was given the opportunity to come to Selfridges Group through the LEAP programme and I didn’t hesitate to jump at this once in a lifetime experience!

What is the best careers advice you have been given? That you are the driver of your own destiny.

It may sound simple but it’s really about setting both long-term and short-term career goals; and frequent check-ins with yourself to adjust when necessary.

Describe the experience of living in London and working in Group Finance. It has been so great working with Group Finance and to work side by side with the colleagues that I have been familiar with since my time at Holt Renfrew. I really value the opportunity to continue building my work relationship with Group Finance and also establishing new connections with banner finance communities.

London is a beautiful city with a lot to offer; whether through its rich history, arts and culture, parks, events, shops and world renowned brands. I have a passion for running and London probably has one of the biggest running communities in the world!

What made you want to stay within the Group rather than move to a different company? I think there are a lot of opportunities between banners where we can learn from each other’s best practices. I love the fact that we there are so many opportunities for knowledge sharing amongst the banners and that we are able to learn from each other’s best practices.

Tour de Arnotts & Brown Thomas

Career Case Study

Tata Harper

A live demonstation of the jetpack suit at Selfridges, Oxford Street.

This quarter, we talked to Judy Cheng

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The most sustainable and energy neutral distribution centre in the Netherlands!At the start of 2018, de Bijenkorf announced their ambition ‘to build the most sustainable and energy neutral distribution centre in the Netherlands!’

In order to achieve this ambition, de Bijenkorf aims to receive the highest ranking (5 stars) from BREEAM, which is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method of projects, infrastructures and buildings.

To receive a 5 star ranking from BREEAM, de Bijenkorf has been taking several measures into consideration when building the centre. This includes building with responsibly made materials, utilising solar panels on the roof to induce energy, and collecting and re-using rainwater for toilet flushing etc.

Furthermore, de Bijenkorf is innovating in their mechanical processes to enable more sustainable growth. For example, they have implemented efficient packing machines that save material and minimise the amount of empty space. There will also be a sorter system that will deliver efficient service to their shops as well as online customers to optimise the total returns process.

Construction of the new, sustainable distribution centre has started and it is expected to open mid-2019.

Sustainability CornerHoltRenfrew.com

Now Live!

Holt Renfrew successfully relaunched their ecommerce website at the end of August! The revamped site includes a wider assortment of transactional products across multiple categories. Customers can now experience an elevated omnichannel shopping experience as they explore their offerings through carefully curated product stories.

Holt Renfrew has embarked on a digital journey, and have lots of “firsts” planned to inspire customers along their shopping journeys. Their next stop is to include additional categories and products to be offered both online and in-store. Even more stunning editorial and trend stories that will engage new and existing customers with the Holts brand to come.

Check out the new site at www.holtrenfrew.com!

Buying Better – Inspiring Change is how we describe our approach to responsible retail within Selfridges Group. It’s our recognition of the actions we can take and the influence we can have in making sustainability central to the retail experience. It is also in response to customers’ expectation for us to contribute more to society and the environment, and to lead change in the luxury retail sector.

Getting our own house in order is critical and as a Group, we have set ourselves ambitious targets to reduce our carbon, waste and water footprint across all our activities. This being said, our house is a house of brands and the things we buy and sell are where the biggest impact and the biggest opportunity for change exists.

Make sustainability part of the customer journey, offering insight and choice, whilst actively encouraging conscious consumption and sustainable behaviours. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 53 million tons of clothing are produced each year, and 87% of this ends up as waste. De Bijenkorf’s ‘Fashion Exchange’ campaign tells this story and promotes responsible consumption. Did you know that the perfect wardrobe consists of just 37 pieces?

Being responsible retailers and advocates for change requires us to use our platform and our voice to:

Engage our brand partners, promote transparency and traceability across our supply chains. All banners are working with brand partners towards using SEDEX, a platform that gives visibility to the ethical performance of brands.

Support and amplify best practice, innovation and emerging talent where we see it and accelerate the pace of change. For example, Selfridges’ newly launched Bright New Things online edit champions 4 emerging brands for their unique creative potential and their contribution to the Selfridges goal: to make 50% of products better for people and planet by 2022.

Engage our brand partners

Make sustainability part of the customer journey

Support and amplify best practice, innovation and emerging talent

Ideas, questions or feedback? https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/N5KSVQF