Department stores race to attract younger shoppers
12 July 2021
Companies see Gen Z as the next big cash cow. Struggling department stores are now getting into the race to court them.
What’s new: Nordstrom said Monday it notched a deal with ASOS — the online, budget-friendly fashion house that's laser-focused on young shoppers and boasts millions of active customers.
Why it matters: Luring this cohort is pitched by department stores as part of a cure to reverse their decades-long slump. Actually getting them in the door could be a heroic feat.
- "There’s a big opportunity for us to be more meaningful to 20-something customers and to young customers,” Peter Nordstrom, the company's chief brand officer, told the New York Times.
But, but, but: "It is a very big pivot. If you ask Gen Z where they shop, department stores are not on their radar," says Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData.
Deal details: Shoppers who want to pick up or return ASOS merchandise will have the first opportunity to do it in person — in Nordstrom stores.
- Nordstrom also gets exclusive retail rights for two underlying brands, Topshop and Topman. (No word on the financial terms.)
The backdrop: Rival department stores have tried to stake a claim with Gen Z.
- Macy's launched a slew of "Instagrammable" store concepts in 2018 — with a clear eye on shoppers of the future. But that's since "faded into obscurity," says Saunders.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.