ladies fashion Archives

eBay: First to sell the new story of second-hand

Once again, I find myself agreeing with Murray Lambell, UK general manager at eBay. Not only with his words and insights, but with the actions that eBay are taking towards operating and flourishing in a better and more sustainable retail future. Last year eBay promoted only re-sell products for Black Friday, opened a Luxury Exchange to verify and facilitate the sale of second-hand designer accessories, and they also sponsored Love Island providing-

Charity Super.Mkt: ‘Cometh the hour, cometh the people!’

Followers of sustainable fashion cannot have avoided the opening of the first multi-charity department store, at the Brent Cross shopping centre, in North London. Ten charities are represented in the store, including Age UK, Cancer Research, Shelter and Traid. It has opened to much fanfare in a former TopShop unit and is not just remarkable in terms of its size and collaborations, but in the fact that Brent Cross is-

What can ‘we hardened retail professionals’ learn from the students at the London College of Fashion?

My 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 professional businesses. Whilst I would like to take some credit for my input into their-

Can we find hope for ethical retailing in the fallout from Black Friday?

Black 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 clear the shelves for the next year’s refill. Dreaded by advocates of sustainable & circular-

Is eBay and its ‘Luxury Exchange’ the new face of sustainable ownership?

Is 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, upselling, recycling, and rental. The common thread is the principle of buying less and using-

“2p or not 2p:” What is the point of Ultra-Fast Fashion?

This 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 has become Black Friday. For ultra-fast fashion, this is not about exclusive product drops and-

Discussing ‘Experiential Retailing’: Next – ‘The Smooth Operator’

Listen 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 Next, a highly successful mid-market clothing & home brand, but not one you would usually associate with the expression ‘Experiential Retailing.’ The fact is that a great customer experience-

Discussing Visual Merchandising & Shop Design: Zara – ‘A Storyteller by Design’

Listen to myself, Tim Radley, on the Louise Lally podcast, discussing the future of visual merchandising, and the changing world of physical shop spaces for both large brands and small independent retailing. Join the free podcast now through this link…Retailing with Meaning Ep2 ”Shop Merchandising and Display” (podbean.com) The podcast features a discussion on Zara. For me their name represents so much more than fast-fashion. They are restless innovators, from-

Discussing Visual Merchandising & Shop Design: Abercrombie & Fitch – ‘Creating Theatres for Retail’

Listen to myself, Tim Radley, on the Louise Lally podcast, discussing the future of visual merchandising, and the changing world of physical shop spaces for both large brands and small independent retailing. Join the free podcast now through this link…Retailing with Meaning Ep2 ”Shop Merchandising and Display” (podbean.com) The podcast features a discussion on Abercrombie & Fitch. For me their name still stirs up magic and wonder, despite their slow-

‘Is Brand more important than Product?’ A question for students at the London College of Fashion (LCF)

The LCF student’s collaborative challenge module is now entering the creative phase. Always a fascinating period of any project, when all of that valuable research and benchmarking needs to be translating into customer facing outputs. The students are so tech native that visual imagery and social media communication is second nature to them. It is the polar opposite to me and many of the lecturers who were initiated into retail-