Category: retail brand heritage
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Is it easier to sell as ‘a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ than to build a new reputation?
The recent announcement that the Boohoo fashion group is being re-launched as the Debenhams Group is riddled with more irony than a Shakespearean play. But firstly, the purchasing of the key assets of one of the UK’s most loved department stores was undoubtedly a stroke of genius by Boohoo. Even at its demise it was…
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Vans West End: Owning & creating a customer destination
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, footwear, in-store services, internationalisation, leisure & sport, location strategy, new retail, product development, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail strategy, shop of the future, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store theatre, visual merchandisingThe brave & extraordinary Vans West End is a shop, a skate-park, an exhibition and a concert venue. Within this complexity it has a simple message for retail brands. “Customer community & loyalty must come through more than just selling product. It must come through ‘owning’ something which is central and essential to your customer…
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Finisterre: Owning a responsibility to protect and share the ocean.
in branding & visual communication, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fabrics, in-store services, leisure & sport, meaning in the retail madness, pre-loved, product development, re-sell, recycling, renting, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, secondhand, shop of the future, store experience, store theatre, supply-chains, sustainabilitySome brands sell products, whilst others sell passions. And in this consumer world of over-supply and product fatigue it finally seems that customers are being drawn to companies that were never really meant to be retailers at all. To call them ‘accidental retailers’ is really not fair, because in most cases they have developed assortments…
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‘Making the most of the winter blues?’ IKEA have it in the bag!
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, food & drink, home, in-store services, internationalisation, location strategy, packaging, personalisation, pop-up stores, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, shop of the future, store experience, store theatre, telling product stories, town centre planning, visual merchandising, windowsIKEA is so much more than a retailer of things. It is a business driven by a philosophy of innovation and ideas, and not least, a dry Scandinavian sense of humour. The brand will magnificently be seen in all of its glory soon, when it opens its London West End flagship store in Oxford Circus,…
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Søstrene Grene: Sisters delightfully doing it for themselves!
in accessories, assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer-engagement, fashion accessories, health & beauty, home, impulse retailing, internationalisation, jewellery, multi-category, new retail, packaging, Pinterest Gallery, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store operations, store theatre, sustainability, telling product stories, value retailing, visual merchandising, visual merchandising operationsSøstrene Grene simply means the Grene sisters, in Danish. However, when it comes to this wonderful retailer of everything from spices to pencils, candles to cardigans, that is the only thing which is simple or ordinary. As they say, this is a delightfully different store! The brand paints a picture of two sisters, Anna &…
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Never Knowingly Underestimate John Lewis!
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, in-store services, multi-category, omni-channel retailing, pop-up stores, retail, retail brand heritage, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, store experience, store theatreI’m not the only one to be impressed by the new John Lewis Christmas adverts. They are certainly a ‘nod’ backwards to their Christmas campaign peak years, a decade or so ago, but they also signal an exciting shift in strategy, and a bright future for this most trusted of brands. Listen to what I…
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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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Let’s not deny Gen Z’s the rite to discover and enjoy things for the first time!
Seeing the opening of the new Superdry Athletic Essentials shop in London Westfield reminds me of how cyclical the world of fashion, retailing and customer taste is. To many seasoned retailers and customers such as myself, it probably takes us back to the world where brands such as Hollister, American Eagle & Aeropostale ruled the…
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Is Responsibility more Natural to Customers than Sustainability?
Getting the message across to customers about sustainability is a challenge. Not only is it one of those words that can mean many things to many people, but it often involves technical data and scientific concepts, and is a nightmare to assess with its veils of spurious marketing claims and dubious transparency. So whilst many…
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Superdry Re-discovers its Private Passion
I was watching Julian Dunkerton unveil his new Superdry Athletic Essentials shop at London Westfield recently. This was a retail business leader who was upbeat and enthusiastic! For sure he was announcing Superdry’s latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) report of the year, showing that the fashion retailer is soaring above the 3%…
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