Category: store experience
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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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Strategise your Springtime to grow perennial brand loyalty and commercial success.
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer-engagement, impulse retailing, personalisation, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, social savvy, store experience, store theatre, visual merchandisingSpring is such a fantastic time with its warmer weather and lighter evenings. It is also a great opportunity for retail businesses, full of seasonal events and celebrations. We have Valentine’s Day as the early flyer, followed by Easter, May Day, and the wider heralding in of Spring itself. And you don’t have to look…
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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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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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My exciting collaboration with the London College of Fashion for 2023
in accessories, assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, disruptive retail, fashion accessories, fast fashion, footwear, jewellery, kids fashion, ladies fashion, leisure & sport, luxury, menswear, new retail, product suppliers, re-sell, recycling, renting, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, shop of the future, store experience, store theatre, supply-chains, sustainability, telling product stories, visual merchandisingPleased to announce that I’m working with the London College of Fashion again this Autumn, as part of their Collaborative Challenge Industry Partner Programme. The fashion industry is more exciting and dynamic than ever. Students entering this world, across a wide range of disciplines, now need to be fully prepared and be able to collaborate…
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Is it right to celebrate beautiful retailing, from less than beautiful retailers?
in branding & visual communication, brave-words, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fast fashion, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, pre-loved, product suppliers, re-sell, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail organisations, retail strategy, secondhand, store experience, store theatre, supply-chains, sustainability, visual merchandisingIs it right to celebrate beautiful retailing, from less than beautiful retailers? This is a conundrum I consider every time I come across an amazing new shop, but from a business I prefer not to buy from. Can creativity be tainted by its retail context? In the same way that we are often told to…
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Lush cleaning up with festival-goers as it evolves ‘Customer location planning’
in accessories, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, health & beauty, high street planning, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, omni-channel retailing, pop-up stores, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, shop of the future, store experience, store theatreBeauty brand Lush has recently been in the news with its pop-up shops & shampoo parlours at some of the UK’s largest music festivals, notably WOMAD & Bluedot. Never a brand to stand still, this is an innovative move that is based around some very sensible strategies, and a realisation that being a successful retailer…
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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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Marks & Spencer looking good, by making ‘Less look commercially attractive!’
in assortment structure planning, customer experience, fashion accessories, food & drink, high street planning, home, kids fashion, ladies fashion, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, multi-category, omni-channel retailing, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, shop of the future, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store theatre, town centre planningMarks & Spencer continues to impress with its sales figures and market share across fashion and home, as well as the more predictable food category. And whilst few would argue that they have the most exciting shops on the high street, the ambitious and highly successful store regeneration program is already reaping rewards, and putting…
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How dull must the future of fashion seem to Generation Z!?
in customer experience, disruptive retail, ethical retailing, fashion accessories, fast fashion, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, re-sell, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, secondhand, shop of the future, store experience, sustainabilityI wouldn’t imagine that too many GenZ’s have seen the latest ‘Top 30 Fashion Retailers by 2026’ report from Retail Week, or indeed read Retail Week at all. If these 18-24 year olds did read it, then I’m sure their hearts would plummet at a top 10 filled with the old bastions of retail, topped…
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