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RIP: The late Terence Conran’s once high-flying Habitat is no more

Inside Retail

Europe-based home furnishing chain Habitat has shut down all of its operations, just a month after collapsing into receivership. Conran opened his first store in Chelsea to market his Summa range of furniture. The company’s trustees have initiated a final liquidation due to the lack of cash flow and a recovery plan.

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World-first Ikea Close to You concept opens in Hong Kong

Inside Retail

Home furnishing giant Ikea has launched the world’s first Ikea Close to You concept store inside the Market Place grocer in Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay. The new store was opened alongside Bread Pantry at the Market Place Discovery Bay launched last Friday (October 1).

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Ikea launches AI-powered mixed-reality experience

Inside Retail

This is a significant investment for Ikea in cutting-edge digital AI technology which is market-leading for a home furnishing retailer in Australia,” said Giovanni Rutigliano, Ikea Australia’s digital manager.

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NRF: Retail Sales Rose 17.7% YoY in March as Recovery Accelerated

Retail TouchPoints

YoY; Furniture and home furnishings stores: Up 5.9% YoY; Furniture and home furnishings stores: Up 5.9% Supermarkets and similar retailers avoided lockdowns and benefited from customers stocking up, which negatively skewed March 2021 results. For instance, clothing and accessory store sales were up 18.3%

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Retail appointments of the week

Inside Retail

Kulle said he was honoured to take up the role, and that he is excited to help drive international momentum in the business’ US launch, as well as help turn it into a global leader in home furnishings.

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China’s Antimonopoly Fine Leads to First Quarterly Loss for Alibaba Since Going Public

Retail TouchPoints

billion ) buoyed by the consolidation of the Sun Art supermarket business, in which Alibaba took a controlling stake in October 2020. Overall, online physical goods GMV grew 21% YoY in fiscal year 2021, driven primarily by the FMCG [ fast moving consumer goods ] and home furnishings categories. billion yuan ( $109.5

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Vietnam’s Vincom shifts focus from expansion to upgrades

Inside Retail

Vincom is easily the largest mall developer and operator in Vietnam, and wants to focus less on new development this year and more on a trifecta of objectives aimed at its existing mall fleet: driving rental growth, upgrading its market positioning, and strengthening the shaky operating metrics of elements of its far-flung portfolio.