Category: brave-words
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How can a truly sustainable brand embrace the concept of growth?
As with all things sustainable the answer is often complex and multi-layered. This question is no exception. Just like many consumers I’ve sifted through all the general data and detailed product specifications to try to work out how sustainable a brand, or a individual item actually is. How much damage am I doing to the…
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Body Shop: Seeking a change in fortune for this rough-cut diamond
in branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, health & beauty, impulse retailing, in-store services, packaging, product suppliers, recycling, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, store theatre, sustainability, telling product storiesWhere do you begin with the story of Body Shop. So many twists and turns, and so many lessons. Anyone who remembers the 1980s and 1990s experienced a totally new retail concept. Body Shop was way ahead of its time in the world of conscientious cosmetics and toiletries. It was primarily a producer, ensuring that…
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Time for us to create our own certainty in this world of retail uncertainty.
If there has always been one certainty in the retail industry, then it is uncertainty. We deal with customers who are unpredictable. We forward guess every season in terms of what we should stock in the hope we can sell it. We are at the mercy of the weather, the geo-politics of the world and…
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The rental generation swapping their investment in products for the ownership of their occasions?
Clothing rental in particular has always been linked to occasions. Brands such as Moss Bros just about cornered the market for formal menswear and weddings. A niche market indeed. So, unless marriages are significantly on the increase, it seems logical to assume that the rapid growth in fashion rental must be linked to a shift…
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Why Sook still inspires a new generation of omnichannel retailers?
in branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer experience, disruptive retail, high street planning, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, omni-channel retailing, pop-up stores, pureplay, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, retail-regeneration, shop of the future, store experience, town centre planningIt is now a month or so since the sad news that Sook, the one-stop pop-up shop provider, announced it was closing. And whilst there have been many new players and initiatives in the pop-up market over recent times, from traditional property agents looking at flexible and short-term leases through to markets and trader communities…
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How quickly is your business able to act and to change?
As we all know retailing is a very dynamic beast. And the rate of change just keeps accelerating with new operating models, technologies, assortment supply chains, and voracious customer appetites showing no sign of slowing down. Be honest. How well are you able to react and change to customer demands and the retail markets around…
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In a cynical 2024, follow your own advice and be your own best influencer!
The world of influencers and brand advocates is often viewed just as something born out of the mysterious new world of social media and pureplay retailing. And in the relatively short history of digital marketing, influencers have been shown to work dramatically well to increase customer visibility and commercial performance. Take the mercurial rise of…
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TFB: The Fashion Blueprint is community in the right place at the right time.
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer experience, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, ladies fashion, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, multi-category, new retail, pop-up stores, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, shop of the future, sustainabilityRetailing is so much about communities today, wherever you look. The processes of being a retailer and even being a shopper have become so complex, so confusing, and so utterly saturated that it is barely possible to sell or buy anything as an individual. More than ever we need the help of others. Particularly as…
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Harri: With creativity comes responsibility.
Harri is already a household name to many, yet he is only 3 years out from graduating from the London College of Fashion, and 2 years on from founding his fashion brand. Clearly Harri was always a mavaric, seeing the world and his work through a particularly individual lens. His graduate collection, ‘Let’s put him…
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London College of Fashion’s inspirational designers light the way for new students.
in accessories, branding & visual communication, brave-words, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fashion accessories, footwear, jewellery, ladies fashion, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, pop-up stores, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, shop of the future, sustainability, telling product storiesOne of the biggest thrills of being involved in the London College of Fashion Collaborative Challenge is meeting the amazing young designers from the LCF alumni. It re-enforces to me the fact that fashion is not about the process of buying & merchandising, it is about the inspirational people who put their heart and souls…
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