Category: fashion
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Are Trump’s tariffs a test of our true appetite for circularity?
in assortment structure planning, circular retailing, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fashion, fast fashion, internationalisation, meaning in the retail madness, product suppliers, re-sell, recycling, renting, repair, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sustainabilityThe continuing trade wars led by Trump’s tariffs have the stock markets tumbling, whilst manufacturers, producers and retailers are re-calculating their plans to continue turning a profit, or even to survive. We have governments throwing out ethical & sustainable policies as they scramble to get the best trading deals for each country. And we have…
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No.13: Fashion themes must be ‘Moments through Time’ not just a ‘Moment in time!’ – ’52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’
in analytics, assortment structure planning, customer experience, fabrics, fashion, fashion accessories, multi-category, product development, retail organisations, space management, store operations, store theatre, supply-chains, telling product stories, visual merchandising, visual merchandising operationsPost No.13 in the weekly newsletter series: ‘52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’ You too can have ‘The Perfect Shop’ by this time next year! Our fashion shops must stimulate and they must inspire. In contrast to categories, ‘themes’ with coordinated options of different categories are an essential part of this inspiration. Themes can inspire…
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No.12: Category stories are not boring! They add power & authority to shops. – ’52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’
Post No.12 in the weekly newsletter series: ‘52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’ You too can have ‘The Perfect Shop’ by this time next year! There’s a popular mis-conception amongst retailers that category displays in shops are not the most exciting way to attract customers. Facing after facing of the same product in every colour…
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Have we all forgotten our responsibility to enjoy our clothes?
Behind the eye-watering figures that illustrate our voracious appetite for new clothing, the success of the fast-fashion & ultra-fast-fashion industries, and the shocking volumes of clothing that go to landfill, sometimes without even being worn, is the fact that we have forgotten, or perhaps never appreciated, the responsibilities we have when we buy an item…
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No.11: Avoid Visual Chaos in your shop. Display only 3 types of product story! – ’52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’
in assortment structure planning, customer experience, fabrics, fashion, impulse retailing, packaging, retail, sales promotions & events, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store theatre, telling product stories, visual merchandising, visual merchandising operations, vm compliance, vm operations, VM Selling Toolkit, VManalyticsPost No.11 in the weekly newsletter series: ‘52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’ You too can have ‘The Perfect Shop’ by this time next year! What do we fill our stores with? The literal answer, of course, is products. However, if you want to be a successful retail business with profitable shops then it’s important…
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Can our closet wars help us to select our sustainability battles!
I love this chart! It was produced using Globaldata research and is now more than 5 years old. It predicted what types of retailer our fashion wardrobe would be bought from, up to the year 2028. As we stand here in 2025 we can now see how accurate the predications were. Even if we consider…
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No.08: ‘Visual Merchandising: Open this box of delights with care!’ – ’52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’
Post No.08 in the weekly newsletter series: ‘52 Steps to the Perfect Shop!’ You too can have ‘The Perfect Shop’ by this time next year! Now that we’ve started working in linear metre ‘Product Story Blocks’ we can really start to plan and control the visual look of our displays. As we are hopefully learning,…
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Why an unlikely alliance of Donald Trump & Taylor Swift could put an end to Shein!
Please excuse the dramatic title for this post. As it currently stands there is as much chance of Mr Trump & Ms Swift collaborating together, as hell freezing over. (Although that does seem more likely than it did a month ago! ) The point is that if you want to curtail the ultra-fast fashion machine,…
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Is a global fashion business without global creativity the biggest waste of human resources?
I’ve always found it very strange that many of the factories that are required to churn out mindless, repetitive fashions for global brands, are in countries which naturally have the most beautiful fabrics, designs, colours, fashion sense, and artisan skills to create extraordinary and original clothing. It is even stranger when you consider that the…
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“Shein don’t Cheat, they Compete!” – Discuss…
in assortment structure planning, ethical retailing, fabrics, fashion, fast fashion, internationalisation, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, product development, product suppliers, pureplay, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, social savvy, supply-chains, sustainability, value retailingAnd then suddenly from the Shein silence, the non-communication with government committees, potential shareholders and the general public, we have Peter Pernot-Day, Shein’s head of strategic and corporate affairs in North America, the UK and Europe, speaking to delegates at Retail Week’s Live 2025 conference. Firstly, thank you to Retail Week for sharing his speech…
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