While luxury brands clearly prioritise growing own and operated retail, successful premium brands (i.e. VF or LEGO) invest in growing both. But professionalising partner retail remains a challenge for many brands.
There are many reasons why it makes sense to conquer a market through reliable retail partners. Besides the shared risk, lower investment and faster growth, you may want to benefit from your partner retailer’s deeper understanding of the market – the local players, dynamics (e.g. real estate and channel development) and consumer behaviours – before opening your own retail stores. (more…)
Three years after H&M gave up on like for like reporting, they stopped publishing monthly sales figures altogether. H&M follows the path of other well-known retailers that no longer publicly report monthly details of their like for like retail performance. (more…)
Reading about brand distribution in India lately, has meant encountering an endless stream of comments filled with superlatives. For example:
Jan 2014, Berlin: Three years earlier, a French outerwear brand* signed an exclusive partner store distribution agreement for southern Germany. Visiting the newest German store, the French CSO realises locations continue to be rather ‘cheap’ and off the High Street. The distributor argues that the brand doesn’t pay High Street rents.
May 2014, Dubai: The CEO of a Swedish womenswear brand* is on vacation in Dubai and realises his long-time Middle East distributor is also managing 10 other brands. The brand’s previously exclusive position is diluting as the distributor’s new favourite brands get the better locations in the new malls opening up. (more…)
Italy – birthplace of coffee culture and until now a ‘Starbucks-free nation’ – will host the first coffee shop of the Seattle coffee chain, right in downtown Milan! Swiss giant Nestlé first entered Italy in 1999 and opened a Nespresso flagship store (out of 6 worldwide) in Milan last year, now another big player is daring to do the impossible – the equivalent of selling ice to the Eskimos. (more…)
Brand distribution is in its ‘direct to consumer’ era, with most investments going into own stores and own online distribution. Still, wholesale and especially partner retail continue to be vital and often commercially more successful.
