Store Concepts
Individual Retail – Now More Than Ever!
How a life-threatening pandemic that had best remained script material for science fiction novels is also an urgent invitation to a reset of owner-operated retail stores. (more…)
Cheese Please! A Lesson in Brand Building
How to turn cheese from an every-day commodity into a sought-after lifestyle brand? Join us for a brand building lesson from Cheese & More by Henri Willig.
BIOGENA – a unique retail concept and multichannel execution at its best
How the small Austrian company shook up the distribution of an entire market
Holzmarkt: Retailing Berlin Style
Ready for your trip to Berlin? If you want an authentic taste of Berlin, be sure to stop by this great retail insider tip: Berlin Holzmarkt, in the former East of the city.
Growth in Saturated Markets: Dreams in Chocolate and Ice Cream!
Selling chocolate in Europe is tough because growth in saturated markets is tough. Three case studies show how chocolate and ice cream manufacturers grow successfully by diversifying their assortment.
Rapha is not a brand, it’s brand community management at its best
How does a small UK cycling apparel brand become the global benchmark for brand community management? Here’s why brands around the world use Rapha as a best practice case study.
In case a cycling jersey isn’t yet part of your casual wardrobe, this story about brand community management may change that when bike apparel may well set trends in mainstream clothing by 2025.
Scan, Shop, Go – Omnichannel Best Practice Retail Made in Germany
After three years of research and testing 80 omnichannel services, fashion retailer Bonprix has opened a world-class omnichannel best practice store in Hamburg.
There can no longer be any doubt: the future in retail is neither pure online, nor strictly brick & mortar, but omnichannel retail tapping into the best of both worlds. But the challenge remains to find the best ways to balance the two. And Hamburg is likely a witness to what can currently be considered global omnichannel best practice.
Inspirational Business Model for Omni Channel Retail
The need for constant innovation in retail is a call to action. I’d love to motivate retailers to execute their innovative spirit with simple acts of creativity.
One option is to develop your customers’ new favourite place, spaces where the community meets to share common passions in a relaxed atmosphere while experiencing brands and their product offerings.
Culinary Treats & Shopping
The way to a customer’s heart is through their stomach! Culinary treats have the potential to increase conversion rates and average ticket size for retailers. Success isn’t guaranteed, but these factors significantly reduce the risk of failure.
More and more retailers, shopping centres and cities invest in new, attractive and unique food and beverage concepts. These concepts often differ in level of integration between culinary treats and shopping.
Global Retail Best Practice
The likes of Amazon and Alibaba open tech-heavy brick & mortar stores, but best practice commercial brand retail still happens elsewhere.
Early sales reports indicate that 2018 was a good year for large parts of the lifestyle brand industry. Almost 4/5 of the top 100 European and US American lifestyle brands had a growth year, and for the most part did better than in 2017. This was despite a global department store fallout and online growth and was largely based on store growth.
Does Your Store Give Digitally Savvy Customers What They Need?
What are today’s online consumer needs and how can physical store formats cater to them? This article discusses recent case studies including Amazon Go, Alibaba and many more.
Goats on a Roof! And What’s Your USP?
As far as unique selling propositions go, goats on a roof are pretty unique. And this offline-only retail location on Vancouver Island has turned them into a long-term success story without selling a single goat.
Once upon a time there was a tiny fruit booth near the Trans-Canada Highway that served Vancouverites en route to their weekend and summer houses as well as tourists exploring an island full of natural beauty. That was back in the 70ies when Kristian and Solveig Graaten, who had migrated from Norway 20 years earlier, decided to start a small retail business on Vancouver Island.
In the meantime, this little fruit stall has become the queen of retail locations and one of the most frequented tourist attractions on Vancouver Island: The Coombs Old Country Market.
The Paul Smith Store in Berlin
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…)
How to Create Memorable In-store Experiences
As the future of physical stores is subject to heated debate, we draw on psychological research to help you create more memorable retail experiences.
The Physical Store Is Dead, Long Live the Physical Store
Technology has been at the centre of attention for quite some time in the retail world. Whether by the means of new digital distribution channels like marketplaces or technological elements like smart mirrors and augmented reality tools, a lot of pressure is put on good old physical stores to reinvent themselves.
Back to the Colors at 83 – Happy Birthday Luciano Benetton!
Benetton Group co-founder Luciano Benetton celebrated his 83rd birthday on Sunday, a few weeks after reinstating himself as executive chairman of his brand. A signal of hope in fashion-wise overburdened times.
Offline Retail: Get Out of the Comfort Zone!
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.
Best Practice Brand Retail Flagship made in Berlin
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.
How A Store Became an Art Installation
Store art: individual retail becomes an iconic brand worthy of conservation. How German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann’s former shop is transformed into an art installation at Munich’s Lenbachhaus.
Inspiring Brand Retail Best Practices for 2018
Pick the brand retail best practices from 24* cities and 6 topic areas that will work for you. To a good start and comp growth in your new business year!
It was a good year for the brand lifestyle industry in Europe and the US. Reading interim reports suggests that the majority of top brands have grown despite challenges in wholesale and full price retail distribution. While not true for all, this goes to illustrate another year of beautiful distribution complexity and financial challenges.