The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay Co will convert parts of some department stores into co-working spaces, which will be managed by office-sharing start-up WeWork, the companies said, at a time when many employees are negotiating remote-work policies.
Hudson’s Bay will open its first five co-working offices, named SaksWorks, across the Tri-State area including Fifth Avenue Flagship in Manhattan next month. The luxury retailer plans to launch more office spaces to target people who work remotely from the suburbs.
The work-from-home lifestyle has weighed heavily on WeWork by reducing occupancy and increasing operating costs, while low traffic at brick-and-mortar stores hurt sales at department stores in the United States.
Like many retailers, Hudson’s Bay has also been trying to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by bolstering its digital business as well as forming new partnerships, including one with fast-fashion brand Forever 21.
WeWork, meanwhile, said on Monday that it partnered with real-estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield to help landlords and businesses create a hybrid, flexible workplace.
In March, the start-up had agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that valued it at $9 billion.
By Praveen Paramasivam; Editor: Sherry Jacob-Phillips
Learn more:
The Role of the Office in a Post-Covid World
As vaccination rates rise, offices re-open and employee expectations around flexible working models grow, business leaders everywhere are asking the same question: what’s the role of an office in a post-Covid world?
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The US Federal Trade Commission filed a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday, charging the online retailer with harming consumers through higher prices in the latest US government legal action aimed at breaking Big Tech’s dominance of the internet.
Malls across the US have been ‘flash robbed’ by groups of about 20 to 30 suspects stealing retail merchandise.
BoF Careers provides essential sector insights for fashion professionals in retail this month, to help you decode fashion’s retail landscape.