retail brand heritage Archives

Introducing the new book ‘Meaning in the Retail Madness’

How 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, and why products and shops are not necessarily made for each other anymore.It supplies a-

What makes a retailer essential?

What makes a retailer essential? Our viewpoint of what an essential retailer is has been re-focused by the covid19 era. Consumer goods were put into perspective within the wider social context. The people in our lives, and those who effect our lives, were recognised with a new clarity as being essential. The existential threats and the exciting opportunities now emerging for many retailers have been growing for some time. What-

Retail Stores or Retail Brand: What drives customer loyalty?

It’s an interesting discussion. What drives a customer to a specific shop? Is it the individual store itself and the experience in it? Or is it the wider retail brand and its portrayal to the customer? It’s particularly relevant because currently everything in retail is up for change. Loyalty is in the balance. So, lets take the individual store. The correct way to deliver this is to create an amazing experience-

Retail Metamorphosis: Lessons from Disruptive Lives

Retail Metamorphosis: Lessons from Disruptive Lives Hot on the heels of seeing the new John Lewis TV advert, here am I, watching a TV programme on caterpillars, butterflies and a variety of other creatures. And I’m thinking, as I ponder the challenges confronting the retail industry, that businesses would do well to learn a little from nature. A lesson in lifestyle From caterpillar to butterfly, the most common metamorphosis, the-

Nudie Jeans: The Antidote to Mass Merchandising

The Morning Post:- 12th August “Nudie Jeans: The Antidote to Mass Merchandising” If you want to experience something which is so far away from mass merchandising as it is possible to be then look at Nudie Jeans, and if possible, visit one of their stores. Nudie Jeans is a Swedish clothing brand originating in Gothenburg, founded in 2001 by Maria Erixon, a former employee and AD of Lee Europe and Swedish-

Dyson: Designs on Disruption a Retail Lesson for Us All

The Evening Post:- 3oth July “Dyson: Designs on Disruption a Retail Lesson for Us All” For those people who have been in the retail business for more than a few years, or have been working in a traditional retail business for what might seem more than a few years, it must appear as though disruption in retail is only for others! However, many so-called disruptors are simply self-evangelists of their-

The Shop at Bluebird: A Playground of Wonders

One of the pleasures of shopping in the physical world is the joy of discovery. However it’s not often that you stumble upon a completely new concept store in central London, especially not a 1,500 sqm one. Welcome to “The Shop at Bluebird” nestled in Floral Street, a stone’s throw from Covent Garden Piazza. Described by its creators Dalziel & Pow as a ‘playground of wonders’ it certainly creates a-

“Selling other Peoples’ Stuff! Is it the end of Generic Retailers?

The Daily Post:- 23rd May “Selling other peoples’ Stuff! The end of generic retailers? So what are the common threads amongst many of the retailers suffering in the current market climate? They’re certainly well publicized. Of course there are the issues with over-sized expensive store portfolios, a slowness to embrace omnichannel, a lack of consumer confidence and a dearth of disposable income…but certainly at the epicenter of the evolving shopping-

Future of Visual Merchandising: Tim Radley- Retail Design Expo

“The Future of Visual Merchandising: – Are we there yet?” Tim Radley, CEO VM-Unleashed Speaking at The Retail Design Expo 3rd May 2018 – 10-40 am Olympia, London You don’t need me to alert you to the fact that retail is in very unchartered territory at the moment as a combination of e-commerce & social media, expensive store portfolios, business rate adjustments and the customer’s changing behaviour towards almost-

Hope Springs Eternal with the Beauty of a Retail Calendar

The Morning Post:- 5th April “Hope Springs Eternal with the Beauty of a Retail Calendar“ Helping a retail client to exit the Easter promotions and move into a mid-season sale the staff, and even the store itself, naturally succumb to some mild form of “Post Event Syndrome.” For sure April brings showers, certainly in the UK, but it also closes an intense period of retail activities driven by a condensed-