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Jun 27 2023
In this episode we dive into the captivating world of department stores, focusing on luxury and fashion, and discuss what it means to do retail with a purpose and responsibly embrace new technologies such as AI. To talk about it all, we had the pleasure of interviewing Selvane Mohandas du Ménil, Managing Director of the International Association of Department Stores (IADS) and well-known specialist in luxury distribution and fashion retailing, having worked for big names in luxury such as Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rikyel and D’Orsay Parfums.
“The only thing I know about retail is that I don’t know anything,” begins the interview with our guest, who has learned over the years that nothing is definitive in retail. Even luxury, which for many years seemed to be “very immune to crises”, is no longer so.
Retail has changed a lot in the last decade, or rather, the environment in which it operates. The culture has changed, technology has developed very fast, and consumer demands have increased. In this scenario, “retailers have to be adaptable”.
“Increasingly leaders in retail are being asked to take positions and to step up when it comes to social topics”, states Selvane as an example of the recent shift in retailing. And this responsibility asked of retailers involves everything, including the adoption of new technologies. And they know it.
That’s why some are getting ahead of themselves. “Ikea is now talking about responsible AI ”, says our guest, “to make sure that AI is going to help employees and not make them disappear”. And according to him, this mentality is going to expand more and more in the industry.
In any case, Selvane is convinced that the salesperson will always be needed, for things the online or AI will not be able to fulfill. However, where we will really start to see the impact of AI is behind the scenes.
“Especially for department stores, it’s going to be extremely interesting for them to work on the behind the scene processes, because it’s all about optimizing, or making more efficient, or even replacing existing ways of doing the business and leading operations”, he affirms.
Ultimately, for Selvane, the retail of tomorrow is a retail that is committed, purposeful, uses tech and innovation responsibly, and creates a community around it. “The retailers that want to survive tomorrow, they have to have a purpose, they have to have values”, he explains, “because purpose and values help to craft an audience and a community”.
Listen to the full conversation to find out everything Selvane Mohandas shared with us. And don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode of RETALES, from retailers to retailers.