In a new program called "Reinventing Normal," two experts on retail innovations discuss whether department stores have a future -- or if they are doomed to be a relic of the past.

Landini Associates creative director Mark Landini, a global powerhouse in reinventing and designing retail formats, frames a conversation about department stores -- and possibilities for their renewed success today -- with the noted retail futurist Howard Saunders. 

For example, they consider whether department stores can remain relevant in an Internet-enabled world. What’s their place in an age where consumers can buy anything from anywhere? The two experts consider whether department stores are “hostage to their leases, spaces and (recent) history,” and how to reinvent their roles as “slaves to brands -- or imaginative curators.” The discussion highlights how “pop-up stores seem to have replaced department stores as places for creating an atmosphere of ‘awe, joy, discovery and marvel’ drawing crowds and generating sales.”

Landini’s guest on the podcast series debut, Howard Saunders, travels the world talking and writing about the future of retail. He is known for challenging convention and motivating retailers, across all categories, with the innovative and the brave, to help them navigate the choppy waters that lie ahead. He is the founder of consultancy Twenty Second & Fifth Ltd., which has helped some of the world’s biggest brands revaluate retail and navigate this brave new world. (See www.22and5.com/author/howard/ for more details.)

The podcast, "Reinventing Normal: Do Department Stores Have a Future?" can be seen at this link. Future guests will include retail journalist Barbara Thau and workplace futurist Richard Watson.

A team of designers and strategic thinkers from around the world, Landini Associates delivers multi-skilled works melding strategy, architecture, interior, graphic, product, furniture and digital design. Most of the firm’s projects engage all of these disciplines, and currently they are working in Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, Canada, the U.K., Europe, Asia and the UAE. Landini Associates works across all sectors of retail and hospitality, and the firm is globally renowned for their work in food and retail clients including Loblaws (Canada), McDonald’s (global), Marks and Spencers (UK), Walgreens (US), Esselunga (Italy), Emart (South Korea), ALDI (Australia and China), David Jones (Australia), and Selfridges (London), among many others.

Reinventing Normal: Do Department Stores Have a Future? - MarketScale