Sep 3, 2026 · 18 min · 9 segments
Department stores may not be dying, they may simply need to reinvent themselves. Martin Newman and David Boynton explore why some iconic retailers have struggled while others continue to thrive, from…
David BoyntonHostMartin NewmanHostPeople have been predicting the death of the department store for, well, pretty much as long as I've been in retail, and that's a fair amount of time.
And yet every Saturday, certainly when I go there, Selfridges is absolutely buzzing, Harrods is packed, and Cadivé, well, it remains one of Europe's great retail destinations.
We've confused the failure of some department stores with the failure of the format as a whole.
And as we've touched on before, the real issue is they've stopped tolerating mediocre retail.
It's digitized the original department store idea, one trusted destination, thousands of brands and one checkout.
Theatre, retail theatre, hospitality, driving trust, curation and human expertise.
If I want printer ink, I don't need an experience, but if I'm buying a luxury watch, fragrance or a handbag, I often do.
Most of what it sells is available online, but that's beside the point, right? You go there for discovery, you go for the food hall, the atmosphere and the pleasure of spending time there.
People have been predicting the death of the department store for, well, pretty much as long as I've been in retail, and that's a fair amount of time.
And yet every Saturday, certainly when I go there, Selfridges is absolutely buzzing, Harrods is packed, and Cadivé, well, it remains one of Europe's great retail destinations.
We've confused the failure of some department stores with the failure of the format as a whole.
And as we've touched on before, the real issue is they've stopped tolerating mediocre retail.
It's digitized the original department store idea, one trusted destination, thousands of brands and one checkout.
Theatre, retail theatre, hospitality, driving trust, curation and human expertise.
If I want printer ink, I don't need an experience, but if I'm buying a luxury watch, fragrance or a handbag, I often do.
Most of what it sells is available online, but that's beside the point, right? You go there for discovery, you go for the food hall, the atmosphere and the pleasure of spending time there.
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