An article by Tim Radley in VM&RD Magazine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was fortunate enough recently to be invited to speak at the\u00a0In-Store Asia event in Mumbai. What I found was energy, enthusiasm and real excitement about the future of Indian retail and this great industry in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consequently I wrote the article on “What is the Future for Visual Merchandising?” as a first collaboration with VM&SD Magazine, India’s only magazine to focus on all aspects of retail design and visual merchandising in the context of branded shopping environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “What is the future for visual merchandising?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Part 1: “A big question often requires us to go back to basics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The answers to the questions, \u201cWhat is visual merchandising?\u201d and \u201cWhat problems and opportunities are retailers facing today?\u201d are essential to understanding the future. Are the two answers compatible and what can visual merchandising offer to help retail in general?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Essentially, visual merchandising must remain steady on its two foundation stones \u2013 product and people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Firstly, whilst we may all have our own definitions of what visual merchandising is, the reason for its very existence is product – the selling process of bringing product and customers together. Forget product and you forget visual merchandising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Future visual merchandising must strengthen its value by remaining focused on product orientated questions<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practice today is imaginative but always focused on product. Categories are being used for power authority such as huge colour spectrums of summer shoes in Carrefour, or to project choice and range in a much more subtle way as Sephora\u2019s beautiful eye-lash display illustrates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in the complexity of product displays heroes come shining through such as the iconic Converse shoe and the ever-refreshed lingerie heroes of Victoria\u2019s Secret. Display whatever product story is appropriate to your brand proposition, but remember that product is always appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, forget people and forget VM!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part 2 to follow shortly or view the whole article on pages 8-10 of this month’s VM&RD Magazine.\n
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