Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Womenswear designer Nguyen Hoang Tu has opened his first physical store in Vietnam’s most populous city, Ho Chi Minh. Designed by Red5 Studio, the luxurious concrete space includes design elements such as shards of glass as well as a narrow, zigzagging pathway that leads visitors around the store as though they were on a runway.

The young Vietnamese designer, whose garments have featured on fashion platform Not Just A Label, offers a space that would not look out of place in the fashion hubs of Paris or Milan.

As explored in our Young Vietnamese Luxurians tribe, the luxury market in Ho Chi Minh City is thriving, creating opportunities for high-end brands that are looking to move into Southeast Asia.

Berlin – Online fashion giant Zalando has entered the beauty market with the launch of its new vertical. The retailer will stock cosmetics, hair and skincare products, fragrances, accessories and tools from brands that vary from the mainstream to the niche. Included in its listings are brands such as L’Oréal and Maybelline alongside Korean cult brands such as Missha and It’s Skin.

Alongside its online offering, Zalando has announced the opening of a beauty concept store later this year in Berlin. The offline space will act as a space for product launches, tutorials and advice from beauty experts.

‘The lab environment will put the beauty-savvy customer first, offering a tangible product experience through a curated beauty assortment,’ explains Claudia Reth, vice-president of category specialties. ‘We can test digital use cases in an offline setting and get to know the beauty customer even better.’

US – In a civically minded approach to business, ride-share app Uber is expanding its public-private partnerships with the launch of Uber Health, a new service dedicated to transporting elderly people to their hospital appointments. Launched in response to figures showing that 3.6m Americans miss doctor’s appointments annually due to a lack of reliable transport, the service aims to increase attendance by providing a more reliable mode of transport than traditional taxis.

Healthcare professionals can order and manage multiple rides through the dashboard. Transport can be booked up to 30 days in advance, allowing the journey for follow-up appointments to be scheduled while patients are still at the healthcare facility. Like all Uber rides, payment is made seamlessly through the app, negating the need for cash or separate card payments.

See our Healthcare Market for more on how a new group of forward-thinking brands are helping to revolutionise the sector.

A new report from NPD Group, in conjunction with Women’s Wear Daily, has found that shoppers are increasingly concerned by the functionality of clothing and how it will fare in poor weather conditions. The research found that one third of respondents’ annual spending on apparel is weather-related. The survey also found that consumers’ attitude to fashion is becoming much more practical as they prioritise other spending, such as a Netflix account, and only purchase garments as a necessity.