Category: retail
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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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Why we should all be talking ‘Best-seller materials’ and not ‘Best-seller products?’
in assortment structure planning, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fashion accessories, fast fashion, footwear, ladies fashion, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, new retail, pre-loved, preorder, product suppliers, re-sell, recycling, retail, retail businesses, retail strategy, secondhand, supply-chains, sustainabilityI was asked yesterday what circular fashion production and RFID tagging had to do with better ‘best-seller’ product selection, less worst sellers, and therefore less waste and all the sustainable benefits of that. The answer is nothing. RFID is an identification and data tool. The skill of designers & buyers, supported by predictive analytics, is…
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The ‘Phantom Thread.’ The most valuable technology of our modern lives?
in analytics, assortment structure planning, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, internationalisation, ladies fashion, luxury, menswear, new retail, personalisation, pre-loved, product suppliers, re-sell, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail strategy, secondhand, supply-chains, sustainability, technology & electricalLet’s be clear. Sooner or later, either through choice, customer sentiment, or legislation, we will all be selling less things. Certainly as ‘retailers as a whole’ and, as individual businesses. This will be the ‘Journey of a lifetime’ for a retail industry built on volume growth, and a distinct change of direction for the journeys…
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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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ADIAMELIAS: Allowing the supply chain to make, not break, your brand proposition
in accessories, assortment structure planning, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fashion accessories, ladies fashion, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, personalisation, preorder, product suppliers, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, supply-chains, sustainability, telling product storiesI’ve been talking to a lot of people recently about the supply chain, how to reshape it, and how to make it an intrinsic part of your brand, if not actually the USP of the proposition. For too many years the general mind-set has been to simply source and ship from wherever we can get…
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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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Marks & Spencer shows that retailing is ‘A game of two halves!’
in analytics, assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, food & drink, health & beauty, high street planning, home, in-store services, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, multi-category, omni-channel retailing, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, retail-regeneration, store experience, store layout, store theatre, visual merchandisingIt has been an interesting few years for Marks & Spencer, and a month of vindication for its commercial strategy as it once again returned to the FTSE Top 100 of the UK’s largest businesses. It’s digital-first strategy has seen it put its customer, and it’s knowledge of the customer at the heart of everything…
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For any students or retail entrepreneurs who would like some guidance in their work, then please reach out.
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, brave-words, ethical retailing, fashion accessories, footwear, health & beauty, home, jewellery, kids fashion, ladies fashion, leisure & sport, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, pop-up stores, pre-loved, re-sell, recycling, renting, retail, shop of the future, social savvy, supply-chains, sustainability, visual merchandisingIt is always a great pleasure to support students and young retailers. The learning process is definitely 2-way. Hopefully the students gain from my own experiences and advice, whilst I certainly always find it so refreshing to listen to, and understand the influences and opinions of our next generation of retail entrepreneurs. Tilly is a…
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Time to ‘realise’ your most valuable assets. Invest in people as the heart of your brand.
The sad demise of famous retail brands over recent years has shone a light on the relative value of the assets of a business. With the likes of Paperchase, Made.com, Top Shop & Debenhams amongst those looking for buyers the split between those investors interested in brand assets and those interested in physical assets such…
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Anyone can sell more by reducing the price, but only the wise make money from it!
There’s a lot more to price than reducing it, even when we are living in a ‘Cost of Living Crisis!’ And in fact the clever thing is not to reduce prices, but to avoid reducing them. It is a route that is more difficult and more longer-team to achieve but it offers a sustainable strategy…
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