LONDON — After the year Selfridges has had internally, with Central Group taking control of the luxury retailer following Signa’s restructuring and reorganizing its head office, it’s about time for a little levity.
And it arrives with a festive new campaign titled “Showtime!” filled with drama and extravaganza across the store’s Christmas windows, featuring a cast that includes Santa Claus, a Christmas Tree Duva and a Stand-up Comedy Snowman, as well as set pieces hand painted by painter Queenie Ingrams and props from Matilda Greenwood.
On the fourth floor at Selfridges, the stage musical “Cabaret” that’s currently playing at The Kit Kat Club in London will be taking over the space with a Champagne bar from Moët & Chandon.
The show’s set and costume designer Tom Scutt has reimagined the floor with a whimsical and flamboyant take where spontaneous performances will be taking place.
Cabaret: The Kit Kat Club at Selfridges will remain open for five weeks.
TIM CHARLES
Despite COVID-19 variants, supply-chain woes and Russia’s war in Ukraine, revenues at Selfridges‘ four U.K. stores jumped 29 percent to 843.7 million pounds in the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, while pretax losses narrowed.
According to the most recent filings on Companies House, the official registry of U.K. businesses, shoppers flooded back into Selfridges’ stores, particularly the flagship on Oxford Street in London and the unit at Royal Exchange, Manchester, once the omicron strain of COVID-19 receded and lockdown restrictions eased.
The uptick in sales helped contribute to the reduction in pre-tax losses to 37.9 million pounds from 121.5 million pounds in the previous period. Much of the company’s cost base is due to property, and Selfridges said that a rise in finance costs was offset by a decline in rental expenses during the period.