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…