Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Olivier, great to see you again. I think it's been a year since we last spoke.
Yes. Good morning, Roman. Welcome in Bloomingdale's.
Absolutely. And I think the last time we spoke was also, of course, the big window unveiling that you do every year here at Bloomingdale's flagship store in Manhattan. And this year, of course, it's a big takeover, a big partnership that you've had all year long with Burberry.
Yeah. Oh, we've been working like for a year and a half to build this partnership and to make that happen. Such a special moment, this holiday moment, this window unveil. It's really a big deal for Bloomingdale's and always a great moment for all our ecosystem and all our stakeholders.
You know, I was speaking with the CEO of Burberry. I was teasing him about an American basically taking over one of the most iconic British brands. And, of course, you're a Frenchman who's now running one of the most iconic American retail brands out there.
But there are a lot of parallels between what each of you do, particularly when it comes to the type of consumer that you're trying to appeal to. It's luxury, but it's broad. It's diverse, I should say, right?
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Chapter 2: What insights does Olivier Bron share about consumer spending?
It's a very long history, long legacy. And we're both working on reinventing the future of this brand and preparing the future. So that's really, really amazing. But you're right. There are a lot of, you know, it's two icons united together about storytelling, about heritage, but also about innovation. This is really what we're building.
Well, talk a little bit more about that because as we start to talk about these legacy brands that sometimes fall out of favor and then we see this resurgence in them. I know a lot of that is because of the work that you do behind the scenes. Some of that are just cultural shifts.
When you look at the recent success that Bloomingdale's has had, reigniting sales growth and just getting people to talk about Bloomingdale's a lot more, what drove that?
I think it's really about coming back to the origins. What we want to build right now with the team is actually rebuilding the next golden age of Bloomingdale's. We heard a lot about Bloomingdale's in the 70s, in the 80s, when it was really the place to go.
Chapter 3: How is Bloomingdale's partnering with Burberry this holiday season?
And actually, right now, what we're trying to build is really recreating this destination, Bloomingdale's. And we're an icon, but we have to reinvent ourselves. It's also what Josh is doing with Burberry. This is what we're aiming to do at Bloomingdale's.
with one key focus is actually enhancing, bringing back customer experience, customer delight in our stores, and really based on building relationship, connections, etc. This is what is making us different.
So what do you want your stores to be? And not just the flagship. I know the flagship is always going to be the jewel. It's always going to have the best of everything. But as you look at your stores around the countries, the ones that are in smaller cities, smaller markets, what do you want those stores to be?
You know, my dream, I think for both our brand partners and our customers to be the destination when you come to New York, but also our local stores in the different regions. It's really to be the destination. My secret dream is actually when customers on Saturday noon close the door of their house, the first thing that actually they think about is actually coming to Bloomingdale's.
Whether they spend or not, just spending time, enjoying being there, connecting with people, seeing new things, newness, finding a small product, a big product, but just being astonished by what's happening, that's what I would love people to feel.
Do you feel customers still want to come physically into stores like this, particularly department stores, I should say?
Yeah, I'm absolutely convinced about that. You know, it's not because we're living in a digital world that actually people will stay in their home, not leaving their house and just being on their couch, on their sofa with their computer. I think people need connection, they need relationship, even more than before.
Now that we have these digital devices and all these social medias, etc., I think people seek for relationship. And this is what we're refocusing on right now, is bringing experiences. Not only great products, but really bringing experiences that create the conditions of relationship. People want to connect, and we want them to connect at Bloomingdale's.
I want to talk about the relationship that you have with your brand partners, because when we talk about the evolution of the department store, one thing that hurt it was the idea that a lot of brands started selling on their own, whether their own stores or eventually obviously with their own e-commerce operation.
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Chapter 4: What strategies is Bloomingdale's using to enhance customer experience?
Obviously, in the holiday season, a lot of attention gets showered upon Bloomingdale's, primarily for the window unveiling and everything else. Once the holidays are over, how do you sort of keep that momentum going?
I think, you know, it's a, yes, holiday moment is a special moment. And when you love Department Store, you love that moment. This is the moment where actually customers, brand partners, colleagues are all together and celebrating this great moment. This is the peak season in terms of sales, but it is the peak season in terms of experience, in terms of joy.
And this is what we want to bring to our customers. Ultimately, we're selling products that people don't really need, so they feel good and we want them to feel good. So it's such a great moment. But actually, the momentum that we're saying didn't start for holiday. It started, you know, months and years ago, and we just keep the pace right now.
So we have new events, we have new marketing activation that are coming. We have new brands coming in the store right now. We have new ideas. So I think it's just a kickoff of what's coming. And 2026 is going to be a great year for Bloomingdale's.
I want to just talk a little bit about the window displays, not only what you're doing tonight for the big unveiling, but year round. I mean, you obviously have a nice rotation over the year. And I know people who will deliberately make sure they walk down Third Avenue or Lexington Avenue out of their way, on their way to work or wherever, just to see those windows.
Where does the inspiration for that come? Is that a decision that you are involved in making or do you leave that to your creative team?
No, I think our creative teams come, you know, each time they're coming, you know, four, five ideas and we have a creative committee and we select what are the most relevant one because it has to be relevant for our customers.
It has to be relevant from a product and assortment perspective because we want to bring exclusive products, collabs, et cetera, which is very important to create more differentiation. It has to make sense from an activation, energy, vibe, et cetera. It has to be in the moment. It's a complex process and we're involving all different functions of the company. It's a year and a half process.
We already know what's going to happen in 2036. We're already working on what's going to happen in 2037. So it's a long and very exciting process.
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Chapter 5: How does Bloomingdale's plan to attract customers to physical stores?
It's a humble ambition that we want to achieve, but it's really bringing Bloomingdale's to the international standard of department stores. Really creating a destination, not only for US and New Yorkers or US shoppers, but for international shoppers. We want them to come and check what's happening at Bloomingdale's. And it's exactly with this vision that we're renovating this 59th Street flagship.
so we started from the top shoe floor with the now luxury radio wear and you're going to see it's going to be like a total reinvention of the codes of bloomingdales so we are not forgetting the legacy and what we used to be but it's really bringing this flagship to its new era so that's going to be very very exciting and we have more to come we also have more brands coming in so you know we opened like louboutin four weeks ago we have a big uh a new opening at chanel a duplex turn house that we're gonna build in we're building in the
in this building and just opening today. That's very, very, very exciting.
All right. Well, Olivier, you've done a lot so far. I know it's a busy time for you and congratulations on everything that transpires tonight and into the holiday season. I don't know if you made your wish list yet for Christmas. Anything on your list?
Absolutely. But I think the best for me would be like, you know, the joy in the business and everything that's happening and everything being happy together. That's really what we want to do. All right. Thank you, Roman. Thank you very much. Happy holidays. Happy holidays. Thank you. Thank you.
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