What: Tomás Platovsky will become corporate general manager of Falabella Retail on 1 October, succeeding Francisco Irarrázaval after nearly two decades with the company.

Why it is important: The appointment signals continuity through internal promotion at a moment when Falabella Retail is pushing to nearly double its online sales share and deepen its digital-physical integration.

Tomás Platovsky will become corporate general manager of Falabella Retail on 1 October, succeeding Francisco Irarrázaval after nearly two decades with the company. He joined Falabella in 2007 as Diadora brand manager, quickly moving to lead the sports division before overseeing stand-alone stores, regional management in eastern Chile, and commercial roles across Chile and the region. He later became regional commercial manager for Chile, Peru, Colombia and Argentina, then general manager in Chile, before taking on his new corporate role.

Before Falabella, Platovsky worked at Banco Security and at Lounge, a specialty-store chain where he managed supplier relations in Europe and China; an expected partnership through stock options never materialised, prompting his move. He studied Business Engineering at Chile's Pontifical Catholic University and later completed an AMP at Harvard.

His mandate now spans deepening digital transformation — with online sales potentially reaching half of total revenue — alongside e-commerce, marketplace sellers and Sodimac across Chile, Peru and Colombia, plus evaluating inorganic growth and new stores, particularly in Peru. His appointment followed strong 360-degree performance reviews and was approved by the boards of Falabella Retail and its parent group.

IADS Notes: Francisco Irarrázaval's departure after six years as Falabella Retail's corporate general manager, and Tomás Platovsky's appointment as his successor, were reported by La Tercera in September 2026, which detailed the incoming leader's mandate across Chile, Peru and Colombia. The digital push Platovsky is expected to accelerate builds on momentum already visible at Falabella: Perú Retail reported in September 2026 that the group's technology investment rose 60% during the year, funding AI-driven personalisation, a Sodimac virtual assistant and logistics efficiency gains that are converting spend into measurable returns. The regional priority placed on Peru echoes a wider pattern among Latin American department-store groups, with Modaes reporting in August 2026 that rival Ripley posted a 59.8% second-quarter profit jump on 13.5% growth in its Peruvian retail business, even as its home Chilean market softened. Platovsky's rise through internal promotion also has recent regional parallels: a Press Release in August 2026 announced that Central American group Almacenes Siman had named a 14-year internal veteran as its new CEO, continuing a broader trend of family- and institution-anchored succession among Latin American department-store groups.

Challenges for Tomás Platovsky, new leader of Falabella Retail

What: John Lewis has launched an in-store hologram activation at its Oxford Street flagship to mark Dyson's entry into oral care with its £420 CameraJet toothbrush.

Why it is important:  It reflects how department stores partner with manufacturers entering entirely new categories, using flagship real estate to generate buzz and credibility for a brand's first move into unfamiliar territory.

Dyson unveiled the CameraJet earlier this month, a toothbrush that films the inside of users' mouths as they brush, offering what the company calls "coverage mapping and personalised feedback." Dyson said the device took six years to develop, with its research showing that people consistently miss plaque between their teeth. Founder and chief engineer James Dyson said the goal was to solve three problems at once: helping users see the gaps they miss, remove plaque more effectively, and improve overall cleaning performance while brushing.

John Lewis is marking Dyson's entry into this new category with a dedicated in-store display, including a pop-up in the bathroom area of its Oxford Street store. Shoppers entering through the Holles Street entrance will be able to see a projection. John Lewis said it wanted to "deliver something disruptive to bring breakthrough technology like this to life" and create "a genuine moment of discovery" for customers.

IADS Notes:  The Dyson hologram activation extends a pattern of premium-positioning moves John Lewis has pursued over the past year. The retailer's revamped stores already carry a "premium" retail media proposition designed to attract high-end advertisers and elevate the customer journey through its first-party data and expanding portfolio of exclusive brands (Retail Week, November 2025). That same period saw John Lewis build a direct-shipping supplier platform with Mirakl and luxury footwear brand Russell & Bromley specifically to speed the onboarding of premium brands, part of a wider ambition under Peter Ruis to elevate the fashion offering and double the division's business (Fashion United, October 2025). The Dyson hologram fits the same logic in a new category: rather than advertising space or brand assortment, it uses in-store spectacle to stage a premium personal-care launch and reinforce Oxford Street's role as a showcase for high-end category entrants.

John Lewis launches hologram activation with Dyson's £420 toothbrush

What: John Lewis Partnership's pre-tax loss widened to £124m for the 26 weeks to 1 August 2026, up from £88m a year earlier, even as Partnership sales rose 2% to £6.3bn.

Why it is important: The results show that even 2% Partnership sales growth cannot offset the increased cost of doing business, deepening losses just as Will Kernan takes over John Lewis department stores from Peter Ruis and inherits the newly launched Rise turnaround plan.

John Lewis Partnership's loss before tax and exceptional items widened to £124m for the 26 weeks to 1 August 2026, from £88m a year earlier, even as Partnership sales rose 2% year on year to £6.3bn. Sales at the John Lewis business itself fell 2% to £2bn, which the retailer attributed to the discretionary market becoming more challenging.

The John Lewis brand's adjusted operating loss widened to £83m, from £53m, reflecting softer trading, cost growth and continued investment in the brand's transformation. The retailer leaned into targeted promotional and clearance activity while maintaining what it called disciplined stock management, under which full-price sales grew 5.5%.

Chair Jason Tarry pointed to strong customer satisfaction and better performance at transformed stores as grounds for confidence, while stressing that the Partnership's employee-owned structure lets it take a longer-term view on losses. John Lewis said it remains cautious for the second half, with its full-year outcome hinging on peak trading, though it described itself as well set up for Christmas.

The results follow the departure of John Lewis managing director Peter Ruis on 6 September, replaced by non-executive board member and former River Island chief executive Will Kernan.

IADS Notes: John Lewis Partnership's widened first-half loss and the leadership handover from Peter Ruis to Will Kernan extend threads already in play across recent coverage. The Rise turnaround plan Kernan now inherits was set in motion just before this week's results, with chair Jason Tarry targeting over £100m from a unified loyalty scheme and £180m from retail media against a weakening UK consumer backdrop (Financial Times, September 2026). Ruis's own exit, confirmed as an orderly, board-level succession with Kernan stepping up from a non-executive role (Fashion Network, August 2026), was read at the time as a test of continuity precisely because it landed just ahead of interim results — a contrast drawn explicitly against Harvey Nichols' distressed sale to Frasers Group, which exposed how unevenly UK department stores are weathering the same conditions (The Guardian, August 2026). Tarry's framing of the Partnership's employee-owned model as what allows it to take "the longer-term view" on losses echoes an argument the business has made before: when it reinstated a modest 2% staff bonus in March 2026, it did so alongside a £21m pre-tax loss tied to technology write-downs, explicitly balancing profitability against that same ownership ethos (Fashion Network, March 2026). The "increased cost of doing business" Tarry now cites is not a new pressure either: a 6.9% shop-floor pay rise announced in February 2026 came with an acknowledgment that H1 2025 revenue had grown 5% while profits were hit by Extended Producer Responsibility charges and National Insurance costs — the same structural cost inflation now weighing on the half just reported (Press Release, February 2026).

John Lewis losses grow amid increased cost of doing business