Category: branding & visual communication
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A Soliloquy to Visual Merchandisers and the beauty they bring to today’s ‘Shops of the Future!’
in accessories, assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, fast fashion, ladies fashion, luxury, menswear, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, shop of the future, space planning, store experience, store layout, store theatre, telling product stories, visual merchandising, visual merchandising operations, windowsVisual Merchandising, like any other function within a retail business is having to adapt in response to the paradigm shifts that are occurring in the retail industry. Those changes are becoming a revolution, not an evolution. What began with globalised supply chains, fast fashion, the advent of ecommerce, pureplay retail, has accelerated into social and…
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It is simply ‘Common Sense’ to balance ‘Artificial intelligence’ with Retail People.
in analytics, assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer experience, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, personalisation, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, shop of the future, technology & electricalAnother day, and another AI (Artificial Intelligence) story. It would seen that necessity is overtaking novelty if the volume of copy is anything to go by, even if the specific needs are still often very much in the cloud. Undoubtedly recent history will repeat itself, with investment and popular hysteria chasing the latest billion dollar…
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Arming yourself with ‘Added-value’ propositions in the war on low price
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, health & beauty, meaning in the retail madness, product suppliers, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, store experience, supply-chains, value retailingIn these ‘cost-of-living’ times I am reminded of one of my first lessons in retail. The difference between price & value. They sound similar and considering how often the word ‘value’ is misused, as in ‘value retailers’ who are in fact ‘low price retailers,’ anyone would be excused for thinking they are the same. I’ve…
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In today’s ‘Shop of the Future’ do you spread visual merchandising more thinly or indulge in its richness?
in branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, fashion accessories, fast fashion, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, new retail, omni-channel retailing, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, shop of the future, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, technology & electrical, visual merchandising, visual merchandising operations, vm operations, windowsVisual Merchandising, like any other function within a retail business is having to adapt in response to the paradigm shifts that are occurring in the industry. Those changes are becoming a revolution, not an evolution. What began with globalised supply chains, fast fashion, the advent of ecommerce, pureplay retail, has accelerated into social and rich…
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The Age of the Retail Creatives is upon us. “12 questions that will shape your visual merchandising career!”
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, fast fashion, ladies fashion, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, new retail, omni-channel retailing, personalisation, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store operations, store theatre, telling product stories, visual merchandising, visual merchandising operations, vm compliance, vm operations, VM Selling Toolkit, windowsIt will be my great pleasure to speak at the International Display Conference this week. The 2-day event in Dublin, promises to bring together some of the brightest lights in the visual merchandising industry from all corners of the world. My subject?“12 questions that will shape your visual merchandising career!” I have been presenting on…
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“You Reap what you Sew!” – Do Boohoo’s woes signal the end of lazy fashion?
in accessories, branding & visual communication, ethical retailing, fast fashion, footwear, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, product suppliers, pureplay, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, supply-chains, sustainability“You Reap what you Sew!” – Do Boohoo’s woes signal the end of lazy fashion? Extraordinary revelations from the house of Boohoo, the extreme, low-priced, pureplay, fast-fashion retailer. Amidst falling revenues, it has decreed to its suppliers that they should accept a 10% reduction in their fees for orders that are still in production. As…
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Ben Francis, Gymshark and why ‘The physical world is a great place to do business!’
Gymshark – ‘The physical world is a great place to do business!’ As you may know, I am a great advocate of Gymshark and its founder Ben Francis. For those of you who are not familiar with either, Gymshark is now one of the leading gym wear brands in the world valued at over $1…
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Time for consumer brands to find their ‘Meaning in the Retail Madness.’
Time for consumer retail brands to find their ‘Meaning in the Retail Madness.’ It would be fair to say that the retail industry has lost its way over recent years. In my own work, I have become increasingly disillusioned with the strategies and operational practices of businesses that have grown to ‘love volumes over value’…
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John Lewis: ‘Out-of-sight, out-of-mind!’
in branding & visual communication, customer service, high street planning, home, in-store services, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, multi-category, omni-channel retailing, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, store experience, town centre planningJohn Lewis: ‘Out-of-sight, out-of-mind!’ Tunbridge Wells, or to be correct Royal Tunbridge Wells, is John Lewis heartland. If you were designing the perfect town for the values and qualities of the brand, the lifestyle, the demographic, the income levels, then you would create Tunbridge Wells. Tunbridge Wells had a John Lewis shop. We had a…
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The ‘Passion Supply Chain’ delivering customer engagement and commercial success.
in branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, meaning in the retail madness, personalisation, product suppliers, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, store experience, store theatre, supply-chains, telling product storiesThe fundamental purpose of any retailer is to bring together a physical customer and a physical product, irrespective of whether the sale is made in a physical shop or online. A successful supply chain is therefore a pre-requisite for any retail business. However, managing the ‘beast’ of the supply chain to ensure customers and their…
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