Brand Stores

“Flagship”, “lighthouse”, “high street store”, “community store”, “full price store”, “future store”, “factory outlet”, “concession store”, “outlets”, “brand experience shop”, “neighbourhood store … and many more creative terms exist in the brand lifestyle industry to describe one and the same location: A brand showcase to create a brand experience and generate sales and profits.

We saw far 1.000+ stores from inside, analysed financials of 10.000+ in close to 50 countries of all continents. And we learned over time, there are huge differences about good, bad, profitable or just huge expenses. At the end it all comes down to one important question: How much brand experience do you want to create, and how commercial you want it to be?

In this section, we share a little from our long journey in brand retail, and what differentiates successful stores from the others. Feel free to reach out and share your favourite brand store, your review or where you want us to take a look. We promise, if our travel passes that way, we take a careful look and share our observations.

Retailers are from Mars, Brands come from Venus, but Online being Centre of Gravitation

Hundred fifty years of brand retail strategy, yet still many big brands trial & error to grow successful. We explain why experience is no guarantee for success.

A look back at around 150 years of brand retail strategy reveals a path paved with unsuccessful attempts to grow. Brand retail strategies were diverse, but annual reports tell a familiar story: none of the major midmarket brands have really made it. As Polo Ralph Lauren (retail launch 1971), Nike (1967), Levis (1983) or Esprit (1986) can attest, even experience is no guarantee for success in retail, nor does it offer exemption from crushing setbacks.

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