Eyestop

Developed in collaboration with the Province of Florence and local transport authority here is Italy's answer to bus dwell time boredom. Eyestop, developed by MIT's SENSEable City Lab, is an exploration into the next generation of smart urban furniture; it aims to enrich the city with stae of the art sensing technologies, interactive services, community information and entertainment. The project is partially covered with touch sensitive e-INK and screens so that it can deliver information seemlessly.

Storm in a DD cup

Recently Marks and Spencer announced that they were to put a £2 levy on all bras over a DD cup. Why you ask? Well that’s exactly what the British public said and rebelled against the giant retailer through an 11 000 strong campaign on facebook!

Beckie Williams, founder of the Facebook group ‘Busts 4 Justice’ and a 30G herself, was so infuriated by the policy that she bought a share in the company with the intention of confronting chairman Sir Stuart Rose at the next annual meeting in July.
But she won her battle as Marks and Spencer admitted it had "boobed" and promised one price would fit all.

A spokesman said: "We've heard what our customers are telling us that they are unhappy with the pricing on our DD-plus bras and that basically we've boobed."
He added: "So from Saturday May 9 no matter what size you buy, the price is going to be the same. We're not going to cut the quality though - they'll still be made to the same high standards so you get the best support on the high street."

Once overturned Marks and Spencer invited Miss Williams to be interviewed on national morning television and backed up their defeat with a 25% off all lingerie offer until May 25th. Sales have apparently rocketed since that announcement.

Supermarket giant Asda entered the fray by unveiling a £4 bra in cup sizes A to F in its George range.

What a great example of both strategic pricing by ASDA and Marks and Spencer turning what could have been a nasty piece of PR into a hugely successful and positive display of goodwill.

Every great store tells a story

In a previous blog I spoke about retailers going ‘back to basics’ and re-assessing the truth of their core brand DNA. In an attempt to get consumers engaged in that brand they are finding new ways through VM to unveil their brand through story telling. This was a trend that was emerging throughout the US but seemed a lot more developed in the UK market.

I’ve already given you the example of Selfridges in London, a wonderful and elegant execution of story telling. Celebrating 100 years they are telling their story through elaborate VM, unique partnerships and a museum style gallery.



Other retailers who are using this technique are the supermarkets. Take Trader Joes in the US as an example. Each piece of signage explains a little more about the products – where they came from, what they once were, the name of the maid who milked the cow to give you your half fat pint. I exaggerate, but you get the picture. The execution is also very believable. Each piece of POS and price ticketing is individually hand written. It’s incredi
ble how compelling that is when you are following their story around the store.



Suit Supply In the UK also has a charming story to sell. Their current VM highlights the history and roots of their brand. A Dutch company with clear strong connections to South Africa. So each graphic in store, each piece of POS and their catalogue highlight stories from young African men. Each shot at their homes wearing a suit of course.



New Look in London another good example. An incredibly low priced fast fashion brand whose VM competes with high end retailers. Each department in New Look is ornately designed with beautiful furniture, wooden floorboards and intriguing VM. The shoe department has thousands of pairs on display in a boudoir style setting. The décor tells the story of good quality while the prices speak for themselves.

The Body Shop has always done a great job of story telling throughout all of their VM. Even their reluctance to advertise has a story behind it. They’d prefer to spend their advertising budgets on helping and developing areas around the world where they source they products and ingredients. If you ever get the chance to visit ‘The Body Shop’ factory in Littlehampton, Sussex, UK Id highly recommend it. The entire factory tells the Body shop story from start to finish.



As I’ve mentioned, it’s no longer enough to just sell product in stores. Customers need a reason to visit. They’re becoming savvier, less tolerant and see through the marketing jargon. As a result retailers have to become more transparent in their offering, and what better way to do that than through compelling stories. Every retailer has a unique proposition, the key is to identify it, use it and tell your individual story.

Diversification is key.

I was reading an article in the Daily Mail this morning that hit on a trend I’ve seen emerging throughout the US and UK retail market. It said:

Top entrepreneurs say their businesses are weathering the storm of recession helped by diversification, though they admit that their growth will be harder to achieve in the next three years.

Three quarters of the respondents listed in the annual Real business/LDC Hot 100 league of fast growing businesses say they have kept or increased their sales projections despite the economic climate. And while unemployment is hitting 9% in most countries, the hot 100 say that they have not made any redundancies in the past 12 months and three quarters say they would still have started a business today – even in the midst of recession…..

This years list includes the upmarket handbag and luggage group Radley and co, retail pharmacy Pathvalley, helicopter charter business Von Essen Aviation and ES group whose lorries ferry stage equipment for performers such as Madonna to concerts.

Interestingly some of the big retail players are following this model, helping themselves weather the recession. Zara clothing for example have branched into homewear, Pottery Barn into a kids range, Jaeger have launched Jaeger black, Jaeger London and Jaeger men, Victoria Secrets have launched PINK, KaDaWe in Berlin have crèche facilities, a spa and restaurant plus banking in their department stores, as have Tesco in the UK who are predicted to be one of the biggest high street banking chains in Britain in 3 years. ALDI supermarkets sell holidays, ASDA advertises houses for sale, Sainsbury’s are trialling GP’s in 16 of their stores. TopShop offer a nail service in store, personal shopping, hair and make up plus pic ‘n’ mix sweets.

What’s interesting however is that the recession is seeing some of these diversifications of brands reuniting in one store to cut down on rental spaces. Not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. If the premise is to keep customers in store and engaged for longer, what better way to do it than by offering a better variety of services. If I can shop, get personal style advice, coiffure my hair, have a manicure and eat Bassets liquorice allsorts I could happily stay all day!

Trying something new... part III

The third retailer worth mentioning in my innovations hot list is a company called Suit Supply.

The Dutch menswear chain’s quirky new London store provides a modern showcase for its classic formalwear.

Chief executive Fokke de Jong says the message is simple. “The London concept is the same as the international stores,” he says.

“Most suit stores try to look classy with a lot of wood, a bit like a gentleman’s club feel. Our stores are very fresh and light, so it’s clear cut what we sell and do. We tried to use a mixture of cold and warm materials, so we’ve included elements such as a faux-leather cash desk and counters.”

The modern, minimalist concept is swung into stark relief by the bank of retro-look sewing machines, a prominent feature at the front of the store. As well as reinforcing the retailer’s “proper tailor” image and its made-to-measure and bespoke shirt service, they also highlight its customer service-oriented point of difference, with on-the-spot alterations offered in less than 30 minutes. If customers are left waiting for longer than half an hour, they do not have to pay for their alterations.

Below the machines, a contemporary-style LED display displays the names of customers awaiting alterations with the estimated time of arrival of the tweaked garment. De Jong says: “One of our key points is giving customers good-fitting suits, so we have the tailors at the front.”

The store also has prominent graphics that are regularly refreshed with imagery that is often provocative, such as a shot of a naked girl riding a unicorn, or south african men shot in their hometown wearing bright tailored cut suits. This campiagn tells a story of 'Suit Supplie's' Dutch heritage.

Ties are folded to create a multi-coloured tile effect along the wall at the back of the ground floor, while rows of shirts offer a similar effect at the front. Suits are located in the basement, and are displayed anonymously in rows on rails with no branding or pricing, only trendy downlighting to highlight the product. Chrome spotlights and strip-lit mirrors feature throughout.

“The lighting is very conspicuous because we want the customers to see how the suit fits all round,” says de Jong. “We have three mirrors so you can stand in the middle to see what you look like from the back.” Standing in the middle of these mirrors you pull a cord and a cylindrical column descends from the ceiling forming a unique changing room concept in the centre of the store.

Despite its bespoke location, price-wise the retailer is more akin to the aspirational high street brands. “An average off-the-peg suit will cost £199 to £250,” says de Jong.

“The prices are competitive, but we’re not a discount suit shop. We don’t make a big thing about the price. We don’t go on Sale – you know what you’re going to get and you don’t have to wait for a discount to get a good suit. A customer should immediately see what we are about and think: ‘If I can’t get a good-fitting suit here, I can’t get it anywhere.’”

Trying something new... part II

The next retailer I really want to highlight for it's innovation has the capacity to revolutionize book stores of the future. Well aside from Amazon having taken over the retail book world I mean.
Blackwells in London has a unique installation in it's stores that could potentially change the face of bookstores in the future.

And it's name? The espresso book machine.

Frustrating 'out-of-print' and 'out-of-stock' books will become a thing of the past with a new machine that prints books on demand. In the future, any novel, manual, journal or academic title, no matter how old or new can be printed in just under five minutes. On, 24 April 09, Blackwell launched the Espresso Book Machine® (the "EBM") at its London flagship store in Charing Cross, which currently holds more than 400,000 publications. By summer there will be over a million titles available, the equivalent of 23.6 miles worth of shelving or over 50 bookshops rolled into one, in a machine the size of a photocopier.

The EBM is able to bring many rare texts back into production, Selections of rare books printed on the Espresso Book Machine such as The Oxford Poetry book, a title that Blackwell first published in 1915 that contains one of Tolkien's 1st poems "Goblins Feet", along with providing access to a huge range of current titles from all the major publishers. At the press of a button, people can now access paperback copies of their favourite classics, psychological thrillers, contemporary 'whodunnits' or previously hard to find books, whenever they want. This can all be done by selecting titles in-store or with the online catalogue which is to be added to www.blackwell.co.uk over the coming weeks.

Aspiring authors can also take advantage of the new EBM technology, uploading their work in person from a CD or flash drive, to see their written creations professionally printed, bound and trimmed into perfectly packaged library-quality paperback books indistinguishable from traditional published works.

Adding to an already impressive list of benefits, The EBM also boasts green credentials by removing the need to transport books great distances and saving on tons of CO2 emissions. It ensures that the number of books printed matches demand therefore eliminating the pulping of millions of unwanted books each year.

Phill Jamieson, Head of Marketing at Blackwell, comments: "The Espresso Book Machine will offer more choice to consumers and ultimately change the publishing and book retailing industry. For book lovers it is able to bring rare works back into production and aspiring authors will be able to see their own work in print. By helping to eliminate unwanted returns, this will also help to reduce a book's carbon footprint. For Blackwell, the EBM is the perfect complementary service for its customers, offering instant, flexible and easy access to a far greater number of books."



Browse content available for printing on the espresso book machine online at www.archive.org

Trying something new... part I

While in London and the US I have been keeping my eye open for new innovative retailers who are trying something different. You can't go past 'apple' as one of the biggest innovaters in this field, however in the following few blogs I want to tell you about some of the upcoming unique concepts in the market.

One of those in the US is a company called Comptoir des cotonniers. The brand is owned by 'Fast retailer' and recently bought out the high end label 'Theory'. They also bid to buy 'Barneys' but sadly missed out.

At Comptoir des Cotonniers, their unique strategy is based on the truth that mothers and daughters like to shop together. Their whole brand premise is centred around this notion and so everything in store has been thought about with that in mind. The changingrooms are larger, allowing for mums and daughters to give their opinions on each others outfits. They also keep their price points around the US$100 mark with top end fashion staying under the US$200 price point.

London calling

In the past few days I’ve heard from several different people about the state of the retail landscape in the UK. From retailers themselves to digital specialists and even the queen of UK retail, Mary Portas herself. I’ve seen insane window displays, interacted with screens, designed trainers and even met Jimmy Choo, who coincidently didn’t offer me a pair of shoes but did comment on my legs! Now that’s a compliment any girl will take.



So what’s happening in the UK?

In the past year the UK has seen its worst year for profits. Several iconic high street names have left the retail environment. Brands that have helped shape Britain in the last 20 years like Woolworths making 27 000 people redundant last year when they closed their chains. Zavvi closed down shutting 104 stores and Adams also shut 140 stores. Unemployment is currently around 6% but forecast to exceed 9% by the end of 2009 or 3 Million people.

Whilst that all sounds doom and gloom it seems that people in the UK are now just fed up of being fed up. They know the economy is in the gutter but are no longer stressing about it. A sort of resignation and humour to just get on with it. In fact the recession is being seen as quite a positive thing, it has by default flushed out all the crap, smaller, unsavvy retailers from the market leaving a landscape of serious, clever and edgy brands.



And, they have to work harder. Britons are a cynical, disbelieving lot who see through marketing, don’t like being sold to and expect, not just enjoy, but also expect a lot more from retailers before they’ll spend their money. And retailers here are responding. The whole retail market place is changing globally, customer behaviour has evolved dramatically and retailers really have to adapt to these changes or force being flushed out of the system. Take Abercrombie and Fitch in the US market for example, they refused to react to the recession and customer evolution and look what’s happened to them, GONE!

So what are the key players doing to increase footfall and sales?

We now have a generation of shoppers whose discretionary income is somewhat lower than it once was; yet the big stores are still packed. Why? Because they create a reason for customers to visit. Let’s face it; no one needs another pair of trousers, another t-shirt or pair of trainers. Consumer behaviour is more and more being driven by desire, a desire for product, a desire for an experience and a desire for entertainment. Take Selfridges for example, as part of their 100-year celebrations they have taken the iconic yellow bag (pantone 109) and created a month long event in store entitled ‘Big Yellow’. The entire storefront has creative interpretations of the colour. In addition various brands were asked to create a bespoke item in the colour pantone 109 to show on display in the gallery. Jimmy Choo created a pair of yellow shoes, Louis Vuitton constructed a chandelier from bags, Mac had artists making living yellow mirror balls out of 2 scantily clad male models, book signings occur on level 1, stage shows in the basement plus a whole history of Selfridges through the years. As you can imagine, it was packed. People want a destination to go to, they want theatre, visual stimulus, inspiration and whether they need it or not I can guarantee you they’ll buy something.



I could go on but I’ll save some of those other interesting ways retailers are addressing this shift in future blogs. On to Berlin…

Prada - Soho NYC

If you've never been to the Prada store in SOHO NYC, it's really worth a visit.
It's the no.3 Prada store in the network, after NYC's 5th avenue store and the original store in Milan. Their customer base split is 65% female and 35% male. Interestingly enough the male section is actually at street level. This was a strategic move for menswear last year as it was felt men would suit shopping in an open plan area more and women prefered the privacy of the downstairs area.

There are a number of unique attributes about this store. Firstly as you enter, a wall spanning the entire length of the store greets you. This wall is a handcrafted piece of art from floor to ceiling reflecting the current collection and is replaced each season.



There is a 'wave' area right in the middle of the store which hosts a number of private shows and ticketed events. The 'wave' is made of zebrawood and when an event is being held a stage platform rises out of the floor with a huge LCD screen beneath it.



The entire store has been designed to change with the season. Each shelving piece is hung on cages from tracks in the ceiling. They are actually the same design as in a car manufacturing plant. This means that each shelving piece can be moved around freely. The lower levels of the stores are divided into individual rooms hosting different lines from the season's collection. The walls to these rooms are also all on sliding tracks allowing the size of each room to change according to the level of stock/space required.

The VIP areas are sectioned off booths where people can enjoy a personal shopper choosing their pieces carefully based on their desire. The changing areas in these booths have not only 360-degree mirrors but also a camera that sits behind you projecting an image of the back onto a screen in front.

Possibly the most talked about area that most people have heard about is the infamous changing rooms in the main area of the store. These are clear glass panels that frost up when you touch a sensor inside them. 7 or so years ago when these first appeared in Prada stores they were deemed to be at the cutting edge of retail technology. An area which Prada feels they want to reassess and improve on today. So much so that they are currently working on an interactive display to feature on the main wall as you enter the store as part of their 2011 seasonal collection.

The last thing to note is that every creative decision is based of the seasons catwalk fashion show, from the look of the advertising, the uniforms worn by sales assistants to the complete in-store design.

With such a uniquely designed store you can only ask the question 'what next'? Well word has it that in development for Prada's next flagship store is a completely interchangable environment. Constantly wanting to update the store with the seasons fashions, Prada are developing a store with 4 main mechanical parts. Each of these parts with form the fixtures and fittings of the store and be able to rotate, turn and twist to enable a new environment to be created each season. So there you have it history in the making, you heard it here first!

America on sale

I heard a fact a yesterday from the Chairman and CEO of Williams Sonoma, Howard Lester that US retailers in general will have made losses of around 25% from mid 2008 to the end of 2009.

Obviously there have been a number of ways that these retailers have had to combat the hit to their bottom line. Restructuring has been the obvious one I have heard. Companies are using their assets and working smarter. As a result unemployment has now risen to $5.1M people or around 9%. Companies are changing they way they do things, finding new ways to cut expenditure to adapt in to this new economy.



Another tool being used in this environment is the good old SALE. In an attempt to fight for the consumer’s dollar, some retailers are cutting into their margins just to get people into their stores. Take Saks on Fifth Avenue as an example. Last Christmas they advertised 70% off their entire store! Macy’s is permanently on sale. I’ve seen $5 deals across stores here, BOGOF deals on clothing lines, 40-60% off, then another 10% already marked down prices when you get to the checkout. But what does that do to a brand and the effectiveness of a sale? Well we’re seeing a number of retail outlets fold, Abercrombie and Fitch, Dockers. Pottery Barn (who are part of the Williams Sonoma group) have tried 30% off the range in store but it doesn’t work. If the whole of the US is on offer consumers begin to expect such low prices all the time, which is clearly not sustainable to retailers.




So the key is to use a sale selectively and strategically. Nordstrom and Bloomindales now only have 2 sales per year, a Stocktake sale at the start of the year, and mid season sale half way through the year. Macy’s yesterday had a 1 day sale which they heavily advertised online and TV. By doing so retailers give their sales more credibility and therefore gives the customer more sense of urgency and excitement. Moreover it’s usually used on stock which are just out of season or need to be shifted, stock that has already been accounted for so it doesn’t hurt their bottom line as much.

In my opinion some of the better strategies some retailers are addressing the problem with are:

• Through selected offers via their loyalty programs
• Interest free periods
• Free shipping within the US
• Targetted eDM’s based on individual customer profiles from the local store Manager
• Guarantees on items
• Good returns policies

All of these are methods of adding value, value around their brand to give customers a good experience so they will come back for repeat business and spread the word.

Old Navy goes 'Back to Basics'

Without a doubt, retail in the US has taken a huge hit in the global financial crisis. As an example Westfield in the US has already decreased it's net worth by 10%. Perhaps though what's more interesting is the reaction that some of the big players have had in an attempt to combat further revenue loss. In 1993 we heard the phrase 'back to basics' being used in UK politics by John Major. A moral campaign designed to retrieve the governments perceived ability to safeguard public finance. Now in the US there is an obvious trend to head just that way.

After years of diversification and experimentation with company models, retailers are once again going back to the core truths of their brand. Take the classic American clothing brand 'Old Navy' for example. Old Navy (owned by the GAP group) has a long heritage in the states and is now the largest apparel brand in North America not to mention the fastest retailer to reach $1 Billion in sales. With so much competition in the market Old Navy found themselves branching out to be everything to everyone – fashion for the masses. In doing so however they were losing the identity people had come to know and trust and therefore losing traffic into stores. In fact they lost as much as 100 million footprints, which equates to 8 times the number of visitors to Disney World each year! So Old Navy had to reinvent itself and become top of mind with its customers again.


How did they do that?
By drilling down back to their DNA and developing a comprehensive picture of their target market and their needs, Old Navy realised that what people wanted was the trusted traditional brand they once knew. Great quality classics at reasonable prices. That personality archetype was summed up in 4 DNA strands. They wanted to be a brand that was:

• Value – they knew they couldn’t always be the cheapest brand on the market, especially with the likes of Wal-Mart selling clothing lines. They did want to offer their customers the best quality at the best price however.
• Family Brand
• Fashionable – Ideally they wanted customers to think ‘here’s an incredible offer at an unbeatable price’ and tell their friends what they’d purchased
• Fun – As the core essence to the brand, they wanted to reinvent the irreverence that the brand originally stood for. It’s the one unique attribute that sets Old Navy apart from its competitors.

So a new mission statement was created

Save fashion from its current place in the lowly grocery trolley so that consumers can say once again ‘I got it from Old Navy’



After years of evolution within their range and logo, Old Navy went back to the very first logo design that customers recognised and kept their model much simpler.
Their new advertising campaign reflects this quirky irreverence, true American brand identity but does so with an engaging and powerful retail idea. They created a whole group of characters with mannequins who parody celebrity gossip magazine. As celebrities are such a driver for fashion trends now what better way to drive the retail message than through the fictitious dramas that surround their lives. It is a compelling and humorous direction that delivers on their core brand values whilst keeping a strong retail feel and price focus. The touch points to this campaign were TV, in-store catalogue taking the feel of a gossip mag (each shot was part of a saga and all were shots of the mannequin characters not traditional models), in store the group of mannequins welcome you at the entrance and, online a coupon treasure hunt website was created with traffic being directed from the TVC.

Within 1 hour of the ad going on air, 2000 coupons were found online and research has shown that people once again identify with the brand, remembering the ads and feeling that they were clearly focused on the price.

And it’s not just retailers who are going ‘Back to Basics’. Customers are aswell. With less discretionary income consumer choices are leaning towards key quality items in neutral colours that will have longevity. There is less desire for quirky prints and outrageous colours. Good quality basics in classic styles and colours. And that is where traditional American brands like Old Navy are making a comeback.