Signals

In 2023, Selfridges reported a 29% increase in revenue to £843.7m ($1.09bn, €985m) for the 52 weeks ending 28 January 2023, according to The Industry, making it the second-largest department store in the UK after rival Harrods.

But Selfridges’ success is not merely a result of its history. The brand strives to differentiate itself from competitors in both physical and digital retail spaces. First, it understands the importance of creating Hyperphysical Stores (making the bricks-and-mortar experience more engaging, sensorial and memorable). Second, it curates culturally astute products and experiences. Third, it reaffirms its position and legacy as a landmark destination and a trendsetter. 

‘We want our stores to be spaces where people can experience an instant buzz when they walk through the doors,’ Leonie Foster, COO of Selfridges, tells LS:N Global. ‘Whether that’s through the brands we stock, artists we collaborate with or unexpected experiences we offer. We know that energy is something this audience really loves about Selfridges.’

Our Brand Innovation Debrief: Selfridges report analysed how, amid a global decline in department stores, Selfridges defies the trend through innovative strategies and a bold vision for the future.

As the holiday season approaches, Label Emmaüs, the community-centric e-commerce platform of the French Emmaüs movement, has launched Christmas Backstories, a bold campaign to redefine second-hand gifting. In a culture dominated by fast fashion and low-cost products, the initiative seeks to inspire people to embrace meaningful consumption through the power of storytelling. 

Using AI, the campaign creates narratives that reveal the emotional value of second-hand items, transforming them into unique gifts with rich histories. ‘By adopting AI, Emmaüs is training its companions to use tomorrow’s digital tools,’ says Ludovic Chevallier, director of Havas Paris Social, who partnered on the campaign. 

Label Emmaüs’s marketplace now offers more than 2m second-hand items catering for a growing number of consumers who prioritise sustainability. According to a recent Ifop study, 43% of French people, particularly younger generations, have already embraced second-hand gifting. 

Maud Sarda, co-founder and director of Label Emmaüs, emphasises the social and environmental impact: ‘Buying new, low-cost items en masse is the worst gift. Second-hand items have proven durability and fund projects with ecological and social impact.’ 

Explore our Resale Redux report to understand the surge of the resale market and Gen Z’s desire for sustainable fashion.

The Upstream app, which is only available in the UK at present, self-defines as the ‘world’s first fashion streaming service powered by music and video’ and allows consumers to access fashion in the same way they stream music. 

Upstream’s subscription model, which had its trade launch in July 2024, enables users to access clothes on a monthly basis. 

Subscribers start by ‘streaming’ the clothes at home before deciding whether to purchase or extend the rental period. Priced at £24.99 ($33.03, €29.61) per month, the system operates on a ‘coins’ basis, with each subscriber allotted 500 coins each month. With these coins, users can access products up to the retail value of £250 ($330.33, €296.23) from brands including Aries, Martine Rose and Pop Trading Company. A pay-as-you-go option costing £34.99 ($46.20, €41.60) per item per month is also available.

The platform specialises in surplus stock from various seasons. Returns are easy, with re-usable packaging and pre-paid shipping. Each returned item is sustainably cleaned and sent to the next buyer. Users can make purchases (known as streaming) within the app without any commitment to buy. The longer they stream the item and hold onto it, the lower its price drops, aligning with secondary market pricing.

In August 2024, LS:N Global sat down with Upstream to discuss how Gen Z’s love for clothes, music and community can and will disrupt e-commerce. Access the full interview with Upstream now.

Amsterdam-based Random Studio, in collaboration with Nike House of Innovation, has re-imagined the Paris-based store as an embodiment of the brand’s Holistic Fitness campaign, shifting the focus from movement to feeling. The redesigned space now acts as a living organism shaped by the power of breath, and invites customers to explore wellness through product innovation and breath work skills.

Interconnecting aesthetically and energetically, the space reflects the soft materiality of new products and the vitality of breath. A window display featuring mannequins in dynamic yoga poses celebrates the power of collective breath, leading visitors to the centrepiece: the BreathLab.

Guided by shifting light, visitors embark on a breath work exercise while a thermal camera captures their changing breath rate, projecting it as a unique ‘aura’ portrait. The space itself transforms in synch with the aura portrait, culminating in a collective gradient of breaths displayed on the walls of the BreathLab.

This immersive experience encourages visitors to explore their breath and collective energy, embodying Nike’s commitment to holistic wellness and innovation, and showing how a store can transform to offer consumers Retail Therapy.

Now that you know what shaped 2024, discover what’s on the horizon. Download our Future Forecast 2025 report comprising 50 new trends across 10 key consumer sectors, insights from our analysts and interviews with global innovators.