social savvy Archives - VM Unleashed

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-

In 2023, Keep your ‘Retail Feet’ firmly on the Ground. Physical is back with a vengeance!

It’s the time of year when the Christmas period sales results come in, and the assessment of winners and loses takes place. It is an interesting challenge this year as we are comparing 2022 to 2001, and also to pre-lockdown 2019. There is rich and unique analysis that can be drawn from this double comparison. My own Top 5 conclusions… The ‘Pureplay bubble’ has dramatically burst. Physical retail, in one-

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-

Is eBay the Sustainability Hero of Black Friday?

In 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 significant movement, and re-sell was still largely restricted to charity shops, eBay was at the-

Discussing ‘Experiential Retailing’: Hotel Chocolat – ‘Vertically Integrated Indulgence’

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 Hotel Chocolat, a brand that not only transformed the ways to create, package and display chosolate, but also revolutionised the vertical supply chain behind the beans. Hotel Chocolat is-

Read “Creating Customer Lifecycles:” Coat Paints – A Brighter Future!

Join me, Tim Radley, in “Meaning in the Retail Madness,” discussing how considerations about the product lifecycle must now be extended forwards to the customer purchase, their relationship with the product, and its disposal. The retail lifecycle must evolve into the customer lifecycle. Solutions must make more use, and more uses, of what the customer buys. Turning away from the throwaway, embracing and enjoying what we have. The terminology needs-

‘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-

Discussing Sustainability & Ethical Retailing: Elvis & Kresse – ‘Masters of Slow Fashion’

Listen to myself, Tim Radley, on the Louise Lally podcast, discussing the world of retail sustainability, from diverse shopping channels, rental & second-hand resell, to on-demand manufacturing & the virtual inventory, and how sustainability, ethical governance and diversity are intrinsically linked. Join the free podcast now through this link…https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ua8ca-1307ed8 The podcast features a discussion on Elvis & Kresse. Their story is fascinating. Several years ago, they discovered that the London-

Discover a ‘Five-Star Christmas: “Meaning in the Retail Madness”

“An excellent read *****” “Valuable reference for anyone in retail *****” “This book is more relevant now than ever! *****” ‘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 blueprint for retail’s new ‘agile-