Paul Smith Store in Berlin (photo: brand experts)

The Paul Smith Store in Berlin

Unique Retail, , , , , ,

Paul Smith has just opened his first Berlin store, and it wouldn’t be Paul Smith (or Berlin) if the store and its location were just ordinary.

Sir Paul Smith is a British designer of extraordinary fashion for men, women, children, and accessories. He has been for some 40 years, and in various collaborations he designs pretty much anything that can be designed. In an interview, he recently described himself as a ‘strange designer’. A few weeks ago, he opened his first small but nonetheless great Paul Smith store in Berlin. (more…)

Adidas Best Practice Brand Distribution Strategy

Best Practice, , , , , , ,

Aiming for the world’s most affluent consumers in highly competitive environments: Adidas’ ‘Top City Strategy 2020’ is at halfway, what is best practice and what can you learn for your business?

It’s widely known that consumer markets and brand distribution channels have fundamentally changed over the past 25 years in more ways than anticipated. Fact is, the internet as a distribution channel grew from 0 to commonly 8-15% of sales. But far more relevant from a commercial and strategic perspective is that many formerly emerging countries, especially China and countries in the Middle East and Central Europe, grew to 30-40%  of total sales and profits in lifestyle brand distribution.

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fashion size finding

Size Matters! 4 High and Low Tech Solutions for Fashion Size Finding

Distribution Excellence, , , , , , , ,

Fashion size finding remains a challenge for retailers and consumers. Choose the right fit for you from our shortlist of size finding technologies.

Finding the right size is of course crucial when shopping for fashion. It is therefore no big surprise that failing to find the correct size or fit is the reason that consumers mention most frequently for aborting a shopping experience, both online and in brick and mortar stores.

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Branding in 3D: How Edited Retail is Catering to the Attention Economy

Brand Strategy, , , , , , ,

Technology and new expectations have made confident, purposeful ranging a more valuable asset than ever before. In the attention economy, edited retail rules!

Utah is, perhaps, one of the last places you might expect to find achingly trendy sneakers and urban wear. Yet for KITH, the arid terrain of Canyon Point UT is much more than a lookbook location. (more…)

Duty Free Tourist Retail Dubai Airport

7 Key Success Factors for Excellence in Tourist Retail

Exploring Markets, ,

Affluent tourists are sought after shoppers and a retail market’s most attractive segment. What does it take to grow your tourist retail sales?

Those of you working in travel retail know Global Blue. The company services tourist retail around the globe with VAT refund services. In this way they collect valuable information about a very precious consumer group. With more than 30 years in that business, they have collected a lot of valuable consumer information. Global Blue have shared some of their insights together with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). This post takes an in-depth look at an example of these insights: the habits of Brazilian consumers and their luxury spending. (more…)

Global Market Expansion map with pins

What’s Hot in Global Market Expansion

Exploring Markets

Global market expansion as a strategic project is constantly evolving. What are the latest trends in terms of country mix, location, and digital disruption?

Despite significant political and economic uncertainty, retailers continue to cross borders into new markets and pursue a global market expansion strategy. However, significant industry and macroeconomic challenges remain for retailers, forcing brands to proceed with caution on their expansion course. While what questions to ask and what choices are best always depends on your particular expansion focus, country mix, location, and digitalisation are factors to take into consideration.  (more…)

(Photo: Gaurav Vaz)

India’s Fashion & Retail Sector: An Overview

Exploring Markets, ,

Private consumption driven economic growth, a population of 1.3 billion with huge linguistic and social diversity… amongst other challenges and opportunities to consider before entering India’s fashion retail market!

A € 575 Billion consumer retail spending, growing to reach €975 Billion by end of 2022 and very favourable demographics make India one of the world’s most promising and exciting retail markets for years to come. With India’s fashion retail segment at about € 52 billion in 2017, and poised to cross €85 billion by end of 2022, India offers great opportunities for European and other international brands.

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attract new customers

Offline Retail: Get Out of the Comfort Zone!

Unique Retail, , ,

An open letter to all offline retailers on how to attract new customers in the face of online competition (if you’re not too tired for a pillow fight).

It’s a sunny afternoon and I’m on a business trip somewhere in Bavaria. As the phone rings, a local German radio station wants a short interview. ‘Tomorrow is the Day of Online Shopping …’, they say. ‘Did you proclaim it?’ I ask.  ‘No, it is a conference in Berlin. We want to report on it and would like to get a statement from you on what e-commerce means for physical retailers and how they can attract new customers’, explains the editor, and we arrange a second call later that day.

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Engaging Associates: Best Practice Retail Operations at Polo Ralph Lauren

Best Practice, , , ,

Your KPIs, dashboard and performance management are in place, but your retail operations are missing that final touch? This best practice story shows how new technologies can help you win at associate engagement too.

Put yourself in the shoes of a senior vice president of outlet retail for a lifestyle brand in Europe who runs a few stores across several countries. Your stores are commercially successful, and your brand is an anchor tenant for many landlords. But you observe that you could do even better by becoming more engaged in retail operations. Are you tempted to push that old KPI and performance management button to reach your full- and part-time store associates? And, how well has that worked out for you in the past?

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retail strategy burberry

Burberry: Classic Design with a Future-proof Retail Strategy?

Brand Strategy, , ,

An inside report by Cate Trotter on the strengths of Burberry’s retail operations.

Burberry made headlines when Marco Gobbetti replaced Christopher Bailey at the head of the company, and when Riccardo Tisci was named as Burberry’s new designer. In the context of the management change, the question whether the successors can fill the shoes left for them has been raised time and again. Cate Trotter believes they can, as the brand’s strength extends beyond fashion statement or management and lies in Burberry’s retail strategy.

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Unique Retail, Ampelmann brand flagship

Best Practice Brand Retail Flagship made in Berlin

Unique Retail, ,

A unique brand story from a small Berlin Brand and inspirational example that excellent retail flagship are not just created by multi billion corporations..

A couple of decades apart, two designers cross Berlin streets and leave their mark. The first designs a lasting cultural icon for a nation behind the iron curtain. The second saves it from oblivion by turning it into an iconic brand.

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Digital Brand Distribution f

E-Commerce Platforms: Challenges & Opportunities for Brands

Distribution Excellence, , ,

Large platforms like Amazon, Zalando or Asos increasingly dominate digital distribution. Should brands be worried?

In their report The state of fashion, published in late 2017, McKinsey point out that online shopping is increasingly dominated by large platforms like Amazon, Zalando or Asos. After reading this report, I’m surprised to not hear more reactions from the fashion industry – particularly from brands, as the report concludes that working with these platforms has become a ‘necessity’ for them.

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