Category: branding & visual communication
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The White Company: Living life in the Soft Lane!
There surely cannot be a better example of why online retailing will never replace the physical store than The White Company. The recent opening of the extension of Westfield London sees the latest incarnation of the home retailer, now lifestyle retailer, inviting the customer to literally dive into the sumptuous textures and fabrics that make-up…
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Hope Springs Eternal with the Beauty of a Retail Calendar
Helping a retail client to exit the Easter promotions and move into a mid-season sale the staff, and even the store itself, naturally succumb to some mild form of “Post Event Syndrome.” For sure April brings showers, certainly in the UK, but it also closes an intense period of retail activities driven by a…
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The New Era of Retail Collaborations: Sports Direct & Game!
Roaming through my rather cavernous Sports Direct in search of school sports supplies, I was considering the proposed collaboration between Sports Direct and Game. The idea is to share retail space and bring their brands together under one roof. It makes complete sense, serving different retail and leisure needs but to the same customer,…
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“Global Local Retailing” – Familiarity & Contempt in the Backyard
The combination of a powerful global brand with local creatives, craftsmen and manufacturers has to be a recipe for success in this international world with its ironically specific local tastes. Passing through central London on an Oxford Street East to West route taking in the crisp morning air it seems that the better US brands…
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Saving & Making Money from New Store Concepts & Re-fits!
We may all be forgiven for believing that physical stores are dead-in-the-water of the tidal wave of retail revolution carrying all convention before it on a journey to outlet oblivion.However it’s very much a matter of saving theatrics for new store concepts rather than dramatic and premature obituaries. But, before we get down literally to the…
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Are you truly a Retail Brand or just a Product Provider?
On the surface this may appear to be a question stimulated by the omnichannel evolution. In truth it has always been an important question however in previous times with a less demanding customer and a lower level of competition, being a retail brand was a less pressing consideration and the repercussions of not having a…
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E-commerce efficiency: Facilitating your failure?
Don’t get me wrong I’m a believer in e-commerce and an avid online shopper, and I get as frustrated as the next man or woman when it comes to inefficient websites, product misinterpretation and expensive and extensive delivery times. And of course, efficiency is an absolute essential to any online retailer, and will make the…
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Celebrating Omnichannel: Exorcising the ghosts of Christmas past, present & future…
So the winner yet again this Christmas was online retail. Also, apparently and a little contradictory, Amazon was at the same time killing off retail itself, which is a little strange considering that the last time I logged on to Amazon, it was indeed a retailer. It all makes for good headlines, even if…
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Great Yarns: The Untold Riches of a Humble Past
The last decade has shown us that brands need to connect very strongly on an emotional level with their customers in order to survive and flourish. New brands arrive with a fanfare of future expectations, but equally valid and valuable are the stories behind the brand evolution and history. It almost seems that the more humble…
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Loaf at your Leisure: Disruptive Relaxation
Loaf, in a purely traditional definition, is a retailer of sofas, beds and furniture. However in the context of the traditional way of doing business it is a disruptor of the highest order bringing new ideas, imagination and inspiration to the table of home retailing. To begin, Loaf is not just a clever name…
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