Category: telling product stories
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Enable yourself for 21st century retail: How to think & act like a ‘Digital-first Retailer’
What is a Digital-first retailer? What does digital-first, or being digitally led, actually mean? They are the buzzwords of the moment, the latest in a lengthening line of technology originated expressions that have in turn become essential to retail. It is the supercharged increase in digital retail sales that has prompted a spiraling interest in…
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Apple: a business designed on simplicity
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, internationalisation, location strategy, meaning in the retail madness, omni-channel retailing, social savvy, space management, space planning, store experience, store theatre, technology & electrical, telling product stories, windowsApple: a business designed on simplicity The best advice I ever received in Design College? Keep things as simple as possible. The temptation always when seeking beauty through design is to add more ‘beautiful’ elements to it. In fact, the way to design beauty is to be brave enough to remove as much as you…
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Lush Pastures New: More than Merely Cosmetic
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, health & beauty, impulse retailing, in-store services, packaging, personalisation, Pinterest Gallery, retail, retail brand heritage, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, social savvy, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store operations, store theatre, sustainability, telling product stories, visual merchandising, windowsSimply as a concept Lush began its life as one of the most innovative and exciting brands ever conceived. In a world of copycats and unsubtle insurgents it’s easy to forget that the idea of tasty toiletries dressed up as fresh fayre, chalk-boards championing cosmetic concoctions and bath-bombs transforming every aquatic adventure all came first…
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Apple Digital Garden: A Natural Evolution
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, in-store services, internationalisation, leisure & sport, location strategy, omni-channel retailing, packaging, personalisation, Pinterest Gallery, product suppliers, retail, retail brand heritage, retail strategy, sales promotions & events, shop of the future, social savvy, space management, space planning, store experience, store layout, store operations, store theatre, technology & electrical, telling product stories, visual merchandising, windowsIt is a fair claim to say that Apple revolutionised retail just as it had with entertainment, work and communications channels before. This visionary business realised that the value of theatre and physical interaction was at the core of the retail experience; and that immediate sales were only a secondary objective for directly owned stores…
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Centrifugal Celebration: Dyson’s Hair-Raising Experience
in branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, internationalisation, location strategy, packaging, Pinterest Gallery, product suppliers, retail, retail brand heritage, retail strategy, shop of the future, space planning, store experience, store layout, store theatre, technology & electrical, telling product stories, visual merchandising, windowsTo call the new Dyson experience on Oxford Street a museum would be to relegate its content to the realms on history whereas this celebration of centrifugal forces is a testament to the extraordinary inventions of the future. This world-renowned company has of course cut its technological teeth on sucking seamlessly and extraordinarily efficiently every…
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Italian Export: Satisfying the Appetite for Eataly
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, food & drink, high street planning, in-store services, internationalisation, new retail, product suppliers, retail, retail strategy, space planning, store experience, store layout, store theatre, telling product stories, visual merchandisingItalian cuisine has always travelled well, but its global reach and reputation has been taken to new levels of excellence by the Eataly concept, combining its prestigious packaged products and finest fresh fayre with a variety of eateries from formal restaurants, to pizzerias and casual coffee bars. From New York to the New East it continues…
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Introducing the new book ‘Meaning in the Retail Madness’
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer-engagement, disruptive retail, food & drink, health & beauty, high street planning, ladies fashion, location strategy, multi-category, omni-channel retailing, personalisation, pop-up stores, retail brand heritage, retail-regeneration, sales promotions & events, social savvy, space management, store experience, store operations, store theatre, telling product stories, town centre planning, visual merchandisingHow to be an essential retailer Every retailer must now be essential, supporting the emotional lifestyle and well-being of the customer, as well as simply supplying products.‘Meaning in the Retail Madness’ explains how touchpoints have replaced channels, how linear supply chains will become circular, why assortments are increasingly virtual, how physical is turning to local,…
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The Land of Creativity: The Future for Visual Merchandising
The Promised Land of Creativity: The Future for Visual Merchandising There’s always much talk about the future of visual merchandising but surprisingly little about the evolution of the role of the visual merchandiser. It’s almost as though beautiful stores happen by magic. And that misconception is certainly one that still holds back the VM profession,…
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Packing the Hackett Punch: Attending to Vending Detail
in accessories, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, fashion accessories, footwear, in-store services, leisure & sport, luxury, menswear, packaging, personalisation, Pinterest Gallery, retail, retail brand heritage, store experience, store theatre, telling product stories, visual merchandisingValue is not a reality of price alone but the perception of benefit over price. Perception in itself can be the clear communication of reality or the addition of emotional attributes that ultimately constitute brand value. For a retailer like Hackett in a competitive swell of quality menswear brands using every available tool to enhance…
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Hunter Gatherer: More than Just a Rainy Day
in assortment structure planning, branding & visual communication, customer experience, customer service, customer-engagement, fashion accessories, footwear, location strategy, Pinterest Gallery, retail, retail brand heritage, retail strategy, store theatre, telling product stories, visual merchandisingA perennial problem for any noteworthy brand with a reputation built on an icon is the development of a wider commercial proposition away from the sanctuary of its established safe-haven. Hunter rules the rainy roost for premium Wellington boot buyers and is currently circumnavigating the choppy waters of expansion developing an assortment for the wider…
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