Fashion footwear retail giant Schuh is embracing the Christmas spirit in a big way this year with a just-launched 360 marketing campaign ‘Past, Present(s), Future’, premiering on major broadcast channels from 10 November.
Image: Schuh
And while joining department store group Fenwick in choosing Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ as its seasonal theme, Schuh’s has chosen an updated storyline to deliver the same inspirational message.
Working with its creative agency ZAK and directed by London-based creative director Henry Dean, the campaign explores “the joy of Christmas gifting at every stage of life”.
The ad follows Cazzie, “who has lost her love for Christmas”. Guided by a “stylish spirit guide” Marley and a reflective voiceover, she embarks on “a journey of rediscovery”. Through “striking point-of-view shots”, the ad captures her near past, “the excitement of receiving gifts as a teenager… and her near future, highlighting the joy of perfecting gift-giving for her own children”.
Through this lens of “nostalgia and transformation”, the character “reconnects with the magic of the present: trying on fresh pairs of shoes, celebrating with friends, and enjoying Christmas with her chosen family, where everyone is free to be whoever they want to be”.
The ad closes on “scenes of laughter, gift-giving, and, naturally, really great shoes – a celebration of rediscovering the true spirit of Christmas”.
The campaign launches with a 30-second storytelling video across social channels and premiering on broadcast channels from 10 November. This includes ITVX, Channel 4 Streaming, and Sky VOD, alongside premium subscription services Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+. The campaign will also run across YouTube, YouTube Shorts, VEVO, Reddit and Twitch.
In addition, Schuh said it’s also “stepping into new territory” with strategic podcast sponsorships, “connecting with Gen Z and family audiences through some of the UK’s most popular shows”, including Saving Grace, The Girls Bathroom, and Parenting Hell, “all ranked within Spotify’s Top 100”.
Supporting the campaign, Schuh will also roll out a suite of owned activity across social, digital, and physical touchpoints. This includes just-launched hero social content, creator-led storytelling, and an out-of-home activation in Manchester.
Neil Partington, chief retail officer at Schuh, said: “The Past, Present(s), Future campaign is ultimately a celebration of gifting. The campaign adopts the ethos of our ‘Same, But Different’ creative platform, championing the message that there is no one way to be this Christmas.”
It’s not just major UK shopping centres that are enjoying strong letting percentages. As part of its ongoing repositioning, Northern France’s Les 3 Fontaines has now fully pre-let 110,000 sq ft of outstanding retail space, operator Hammerson said.
Image: Hammerson
The final unit has been signed for a Nike store which will join Primark as anchor tenants when the new stores opens in 2027.
Located in Cergy, Val d’Oise, the Les 3 Fontaines destination comprises 1 million sq ft of prime retail space, including 350,000 sq ft added in 2022.
Between then and 2024, annual footfall has risen 15%, reaching 13 million annual visits. Growth continues, with year-on-year visitor numbers up a further 3.4% so far in 2025, Hammerson said.
Other recently-signed retail brands include Aroma-Zone, a leading natural beauty brand in France, while Inter-Actif, an official Apple Premium Partner, will also open next month.
Since the beginning of the year, 20 long-term leases have also been completed with €36 million (£31.60 million) in contracted rents.
The destination features 200 occupiers, including Sephora, Adidas, Mango, Footlocker, and Zara.
Grégoire Peureux, chief operating officer at Hammerson, commented: “Achieving 100% pre-letting for this latest repositioning epitomises our asset and leasing strategy. Our success is driven by creating attractive spaces that generate demand, broaden the appeal of our destinations, and grow rental income and value. With further openings and more leasing to come, our momentum continues.”
Growing your own business is a difficult art. This year, French premium lingerie label Livy is expected to top the €24 million mark in gross revenue, driven by rising organic sales and new store openings in France and abroad.
A look from Livy’s Signatures range – Livy
Livy’s strictly French success story in the high-end lingerie segment began in 2017 with founder Lisa Chavy, backed by the Etam and Vog groups. In order to bolster its development, last year Livy hired Julie Pellet, formerly head of growth, product marketing Southern Europe, at Meta, as managing director. Just under a year later, and even if Livy is still thriving, Pellet has stepped down from the post. “We’re still very much on the same wavelength, but I think it was a little early in the company’s trajectory to introduce a managing director role,” said Chavy. “I’m upgrading [Livy’s] staff’s skills, and we’re recruiting new heads of retail, wholesale and digital,” she added.
Livy has hired Audrey Azria, formerly in charge of retail for western Europe at British lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, a sign that Livy is planning to expand the footprint of its collections, which blend glam lingerie, ready-to-wear and chic lifestyle products. The new heads of digital and wholesale will be tasked with boosting Livy’s online business and forging relationships with new partners, notably with international department store chains.
Earlier this year, Livy carried out a funding round to support its expansion plans, and is now tweaking its market positioning to a more upmarket one than in its early days. It will also need to revamp its store fleet in order to fit with the new positioning. “We’ve closed the stores in Beaugrenelle and Passy in Paris, which were no longer consistent with our style. We’re now performing best [with stores] placed alongside those of luxury labels. We’ve opened in Monte Carlo and Nice, because our swimwear range is extremely successful. In Saint-Tropez, we increased our revenue by two and a half times over the previous year, and we’ve had good results in Marbella,” said Chavy.
In the same vein, Livy is set to open in the Alpine resort of Courchevel this winter, and is planning further expansion outside France, aiming to open a second store in London, and new stores in Milan and Rome.
Among the highlights of the next edition of children’s fashion and lifestyle trade show Pitti Bimbo—its 102nd event, taking place in Florence, Italy on from January 21 to 22—will be a new collaboration with the Spanish brand Bobo Choses. In recent years, Bobo Choses has become “the emblem of a new and multifaceted approach to childrenswear,” according to the organisers of the Florentine fair.
Pitti Bimbo 102 unveils a collaboration with the Spanish brand Bobo Choses
The partnership will give rise to a new area, the name of which has yet to be revealed, where, alongside the new collections, events, and presentations curated by the participating brands will take place. For now, Maison Mangostan, Mini Rondini, Piupiuchick, Tinycottons, The New Society, and True Artist have confirmed their presence in the new space.
Following its debut last June, Piazza Pirouette will also return for the winter edition. Curated by Katie Kendrick, the project will transform from a bustling summer market into a winter fairy tale in which to discover new collections from labels such as Goldie+Ace, Sticky Lemon, Stych, Paade Mode, Halcyon Nights, and Bundgaard. At the centre of the Piazza, a new showcase will allow buyers to discover a selection of the latest finely crafted products, ready to order, from brands such as Blue Francis, MoiToiNous, and Forivor, among others.
Finally, Pitti Bimbo 102 will also host a new edition of the collaboration with The Family Circle, the Hamburg-based marketplace founded by Nadine Jung, known for its carefully curated selection of accessories and lifestyle items.
“At the beginning of November, the cross-functional Pitti Bimbo team is engaged in a European roadshow (Naples, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, to be followed by Milan at the end of the month), during which it is presenting the highlights and features of the next edition while at the same time gathering feedback, suggestions, and impressions,” said Antonio Cristaudo, commercial director of Pitti Immagine. “This format, launched last spring with the aim of fostering open dialogue among Pitti Bimbo exhibitors, buyers and journalists brought together side by side, has created the ideal conditions for these new relationships. We are seeing strong support both for these and for the continued presence of the show’s most established brands, such as the Miniconf group (iDo, Ducati, Sarabanda, Minibanda, Roy Roger’s), the Falc group (with the brands Falcotto, W6YZ, Naturino, Flower Mountain for Naturino), the Artcraft International group (with the brands Canadian, Crocs, Heydude, Colors of California, Mou), and, among others, Bugatti, Escada, and Aigner.”
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