Category: sustainability
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Why Independent Retailers need to be Less Independent!
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, health & beauty, high street planning, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, retail-regeneration, store experience, sustainabilityIt was my great pleasure to be the guest of Health Stores Ireland, at their “Putting Our Best Foot Forward” gathering, in Shannon last weekend. The health store sector is perfectly placed to grow and flourish in a world where consumers are increasingly looking to be more proactive in their health, wellbeing, fitness, and mindfulness.…
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How ‘Passion Supply Chains’ enable Local Independent Retailers to compete commercially and win!
in assortment structure planning, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, food & drink, health & beauty, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, packaging, product suppliers, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, space planning, store experience, store operations, supply-chains, sustainability, telling product storiesI’m often asked how small independent retailers can compete against the scale efficiencies and operational expertise of larger chains. There are in fact, many ways, but always my first answer is about being authentic, about generating a unique passion. That ‘passion’ must be genuine. It needs to be engaging and infectious. And that can only…
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What can ‘we hardened retail professionals’ learn from the students at the London College of Fashion?
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, disruptive retail, fashion accessories, footwear, kids fashion, ladies fashion, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, new retail, omni-channel retailing, pop-up stores, product suppliers, recycling, renting, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, store experience, store theatre, sustainability, telling product storiesMy collaborative project with the London College of Fashion has come to an end, for this year at least. Sad to say goodbye for now, but what an amazing and rewarding experience for everyone. The student’s final presentations were professional and polished. I can honestly say that I have sat through far worse presentations from…
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Invisible Technologies that turn ‘Product Graveyards’ into ‘Perpetual Distribution Centres!”
in analytics, assortment structure planning, disruptive retail, internationalisation, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, omni-channel retailing, product suppliers, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, space management, space planning, store operations, supply-chains, sustainabilityIn the annual debate about the best use of retail technology budgets, heads are often turned by the ‘sexier’, and highly visible software solutions that enhance the visual interface and the customer experience. The rise of pureplay, the need for graphic stimulation, digital interaction, and brand immersion, all catapulted augmented and virtual reality to the…
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Is 2024 the year when being a “Worthy Retailer” is no longer enough?
in assortment structure planning, customer experience, customer service, disruptive retail, in-store services, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, omni-channel retailing, product suppliers, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, space management, space planning, supply-chains, sustainabilityThere are many examples, from politics to business, where those who were at the forefront of driving change failed to benefit from the arrival of those changes. New retailers, born from the ambition to create a world of sustainable shoppers and ethical businesses, have stood out from the traditional crowd of retail alternatives. Namely the…
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Can we find hope for ethical retailing in the fallout from Black Friday?
in analytics, assortment structure planning, fashion accessories, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, multi-category, omni-channel retailing, product suppliers, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, social savvy, supply-chains, sustainability, value retailingBlack Friday is generally recognised as the epitome of mass-market retailing, a customer celebration of huge price reductions, and the shifting of eye-watering volumes of merchandise. For retailers a big blow to margins, but the salvation before Christmas in terms of units sold, and this year an opportunity to offload unprecedented unsold, unwanted overstock to…
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Is eBay and its ‘Luxury Exchange’ the new face of sustainable ownership?
in accessories, branding & visual communication, brave-words, customer service, disruptive retail, fashion accessories, footwear, in-store services, jewellery, ladies fashion, leisure & sport, location strategy, luxury, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, omni-channel retailing, personalisation, pop-up stores, recycling, renting, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, social savvy, supply-chains, sustainability, website excellence, windowsIs eBay and its ‘Luxury Exchange’ the new face of sustainable ownership? The recent initiative from eBay only to promote re-sell products for Black Friday has re-established the brand as a genuine and very significant player in the world of sustainable retailing. A market that is set to grow rapidly as a hybrid of reselling,…
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Is eBay the Sustainability Hero of Black Friday?
in assortment structure planning, brave-words, disruptive retail, meaning in the retail madness, multi-category, new retail, product suppliers, recycling, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, social savvy, supply-chains, sustainabilityIn case this sounds far-fetched we should remember that eBay began life as the online equivalent of a glorified car-boot sale. We all spent time selecting our target products, planning our bid strategies, and we passed some enjoyable and exciting times counting down the auction clock and firing in our last-minute offers. Before sustainable retailing became a…
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“2p or not 2p:” What is the point of Ultra-Fast Fashion?
in assortment structure planning, fashion accessories, footwear, ladies fashion, meaning in the retail madness, menswear, product suppliers, recycling, renting, retail, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, supply-chains, sustainability, value retailingThis story begins with a Channel 4 documentary behind the scenes of the world’s largest ultra-fast fashion retailer. Against a backdrop of endless working hours and horrendous working conditions, apparently each worker earns as little as 2p for every garment they stitch and sew! The next chapter takes us to the inventory bloodbath of what…
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Discussing ‘Experiential Retailing’: Hotel Chocolat – ‘Vertically Integrated Indulgence’
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, food & drink, impulse retailing, in-store services, meaning in the retail madness, new retail, omni-channel retailing, packaging, personalisation, product suppliers, retail, retail brand heritage, retail businesses, retail management, retail organisations, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, social savvy, store experience, store operations, store theatre, supply-chains, sustainability, telling product stories, visual merchandisingListen to myself, Tim Radley, on the Louise Lally podcast, discussing the much vaunted but little understood concept of ‘Experiential Retailing!’ Join the free podcast now through this link…Retailing with Meaning Ep1 Store Concepts (podbean.com) The podcast features a discussion on Hotel Chocolat, a brand that not only transformed the ways to create, package and…
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