Filed under: content communities, Digital culture, Innovative retail, Innovative stimulus, Nice Design, Nice products, unbusiness | Tags: pop up retail, Rachel Shectman, retail ideas, retail interior, STORY retail concept
(Photo courtesy of Story)
Part retail visionary, part editor, Rachel Shechtman wants to make shopping fun again. Her new Chelsea, New York-based concept store, Story, isn’t just about shopping. It’s about the experience at the store, which changes its theme every four-to-eight weeks — merchandise, decor and all. Of course, the gorgeous gifts inside don’t hurt.
How did you get involved in “concept” shopping?
I’ve always been fascinated by the creative side of things, and the business side of things. [I got to thinking that] there’s been all this innovation online, but we live in real life. And other than the Apple store, it’s hard to really think of other innovative retail experiences. The concept [of Story] is pretty straightforward. I describe it in simple terms as a magazine that comes to life. Our version of editorial is the merchandise that we curate around a certain story, and the events that we also host during that story. Our publishing side of the business is our sponsorship. Benjamin Moore was the sponsor for our “Color” story, General Electric [sponsored] our “Making Things” story. Our holiday story will be in partnership with Hewlett-Packard and Quirky.
When will the holiday story begin? It opens November 14.
It’s called “Home for the Holidays”—the store’s going to be designed like an apartment. The whole concept is a gift guide that comes to life. So our dining room will be “something for everyone.” Our playroom will be for the kids. In the men’s study, you’ll have a pool table. We’ll have a hot chocolate stand on weekends, and [you can] make your own ice cream.
What have been some of your favorite concepts that you’ve done so far?
My favorite one is whatever the next one is, because all we’re doing is snowballing our learnings and our experiences from each story to become better storytellers. People always say, “who’s your market?” And I always say I only have two rules. Every story needs to appeal to someone between the ages of 5 and 80, and there has to be something for sale that’s $5, and it can go as high as $5,000.
Why do you think pop-up shopping resonates with sponsors and with consumers, especially at the holidays?
If you think about it, we have our mobile devices, and our iPads, and everything around us, and we get new content every two seconds. Everywhere we look, there’s news and there’s information. And yet, you walk into a store on a Monday, and you walk into a store on a Friday, and it’s the exact same experience. So I think what works and resonates for us, is that we’re always changing, even within a story. We will put in new items in week three that weren’t in week one. The truth is that all we’re doing is mirroring behaviors and patterns in other parts of people’s lives in an experience that no one has delivered yet. And I also think that as people have less time—and the ultimate luxury on the planet right now is time—they want more out of their experiences. In the past, you could compete on price, quality and service. I think what people compete on now is surprise and delight, and the experience factor. For us, I think that’s what makes people come back.
As both a retailer and a shopper, what are you seeing for the holidays that is a bit different this year than in years past?
With all this change—you have an election, a horrendous natural disaster—the focus to some degree becomes less on material luxuries and more on the luxury of time and place and people. I think products and experience related to that
will become important.
Source: Huffington Post
Here > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/concept-shop-story_n_2103800.html
Filed under: Emergent media, Future of Media, Innovative advertising, Innovative marketing, Innovative promotions, Innovative retail | Tags: conversion marketing, Eightbar, future of retail marketing, hursley park, IBM Hursley Park, retail trends
I’ve also just come across another piece from eightbar. For those of you who only know eightbar as the common eightbar blues chord progression, eightbar here is the unofficial blog of cool and interesting things from the creatives and techies at IBM’s Hursley Park Laboratories in the UK.Filed under: Futures, Futurists, Innovative retail, Innovative stimulus | Tags: digital platforms, future of retail, innovative retail, mobile phone use, retail game, retail trends, target consumers
A good pointer from Linked In I looked at this morning was this article on the 14 Transformations that will define the future of retail shopping in 2020. If you’re in the retail game or just focusing on conversion more than just consideration, have a sticky beak, it’s an interesting read >
14 Transformations Define Future of Shopping In 2020 By Brian Regienczuk
The lines between online and offline shopping will continue to disappear as we move closer to 2020. There will be many transformations: tagging things you like on the street, on shows you watch and items in ads you see. This will streamline much of how we shop; getting shoppers to physical stores that carry things they like, telling stores more about what their target consumers want, and allowing each shopper to emerge in virtual shopping experiences.
Join the transformation in how we shop by 2020, and bring your own thoughts and links to the table at the end. (more…)
Filed under: Food trends & info, Innovative retail, Nice Design, packaging | Tags: Amelia Lackmann, innovative packaging, innovative retail, Nikki Green, The Little grocer, visual merchandising
Check out The Little Grocer in Armadale Victoria for some really cute interiors by interior stylist Nikki Green along with a really sweet ongoing window display by Amelia Lackmann. Great eye candy.
Filed under: Innovative retail | Tags: catherine conway, eco retail, eco retailing, innovative foodstore, innovative retail, unpackaged, wholefoods
I’ve been travelling for the past few weeks and have returned with a goody bag of interesting innovation ideas, great branding examples and unusual products from the US and UK. First cab off the rank though is this gorgeous little store I found in Clerkenwell, London called Unpackaged. It’s run by a clever little lady named Catherine Conway who started it as an eco-friendly low-fi approach to grocery shopping.
Catherine Conway, founder of Unpackaged, says ‘Unnecessary packaging is a waste of resources and a waste of money. Unpackaged is about rewarding people for reusing their containers and doing their bit to tackle our wasteful culture. We all know that packaging increases the cost to the environment and consumers’ pockets. At Unpackaged, we take the costs of packaging out of the equation and help people save money and the environment.’
From an environmental point of view it’s spot on; it hosts loads of delicious healthy goodies in large containers, jars and pump packs and customers are encouraged to bring their own containers and refill in a bid to reduce household waste. From a general retail point of view it’s another example of a cracking eco retailer who has managed to take eco-friendly out of the hippies-in-hessian niche and present itself as a gorgeous and stylish little grocer. For those of us who have some conscience about the ten thousand kilos of rubbish we produce each year, it’s a great opportunity to cut back our waste even more. Even if you’re not so environmentally inclined but love a stylish grocer with pared back wholefoods and a real low-fi sense of style, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
I loved this store both for its eco efforts but also for its understated style.
Filed under: Innovative retail, Innovative stimulus, Marketing to women, new product | Tags: beauty, beauty industry, cosmetics, Innovation, innovative services, Marketing, women
borrowed from Mark Drasutis @ Flickr
Ladies’ beauty salons are all the same - they talk about the miracles of some facial treatment or other, offer a variety of backrubs, take care of a bit of hairy leg action & generally try & flog you a bunch of product
with anti-aging properties that don’t work but will somehow help you to retain that special glow. Yawn…
When you take a squiz at teen products on the other hand, you’d think that a 16 year-old’s life consists mainly of acne, smelling good & well…acne.
Oh and everybody’s capturing the essence of pomegranate or some made up patented ingredient but just quietly, we think the beauty industry needs to lighten up…
We’d create a beauty salon just for teenagers because when you’re 15 & you’ve just been dumped via SMS, the best revenge is to show up at the next pashfest looking like the cat’s meow.
We’d offer a range of chick only services like::
* The – I’m so over him – facial
* The – I’m gonna get me some action – make over
* The – omigod it’s my first wax – waxing menu
* The – at least my nails look good – manicure & pedicure
Is there another part of the market your business is not personally servicing? If you put yourself out on a limb & went after one new target – how would you woo them?
Filed under: Asia, Designers, Innovative retail, Innovative stimulus, Nice Design | Tags: commes des garcons, fashion, Innovation, innovative, Japan, Retail, style, Tokyo, visual merchandising
There’s something refreshing about a retailer who doesn’t just let it all
hang out for the world to see. The windows of this Commes des Garcons store are like a great first date outfit, you can see enough to know you want to see more but
not enough to satiate the appetite.
It’s almost as if they’re teasing you with a little peek but you have to
go inside to see the full story. You see, sometimes its better to leave a little to the imagination. A glimpse of skin is always sexier than getting an eyeful of the whole booty.
What if we took this idea someplace else . . Why not create a stylish fruit & veg store where you don’t actually show the fruit & veg? When people enter the store they are met with boxes upon old fashioned boxes containing fresh produce. People can read where the products come from, there’s a description of how delicious they are & the price point indicates they’re good quality. But you can’t see what you’re actually purchasing.
The philosophy of the store would be :: we’ve selected the best produce available for you, if you think that you can pick better fruit & veg out of some dumpster in a supermarket then you’re in the wrong store friend.
Think about how can you flirt with your customers? How can you play on their imagination & curiosity to drive demand? You need to make customers want you. Throwing yourself on someone is not only embarrassing, but lessens your chances of scoring.
Filed under: creativity, FMCG innovation, Future of Work, Genius, Innovative retail, Innovative stimulus, Nice products, unbusiness, Work Futures | Tags: blog, blogger, creativity, idea, ideas, Innovation, random ideas, the innovation company, what if, what if they did, whatif, whatiftheydid
Looking for a bit of Friday folly to procrastenate over while I garner the energy for another crack at work this afternoon, I stumbled across a new blog called ‘What If They Did’ – it’s basically a bunch of ‘what if’ ideas, a collection of random thoughts across all categories & platforms.
At first I thought might be an informal blog from someone at WhatIf The Innovation Company, after all, it would sit perfectly under their banner as a way of creating dialogue beyond the company lines. But no, it’s actually written by two creatives out of London who are using it as a playground to stash their collection of random ideas.
So whether you’re after a wacky idea for a particular category, or simply want think more laterally about how you go about generating ideas, this site is worth a look.
I love this idea for a lucky dip on the Skye Remote Control and when you think about it, it’s not so different from the concept behind iPod’s shuffle.
Check it out here
Filed under: Innovative retail, Nice Design, Nice products, Nike, NikeId, Sneakers, Urban lifestyles
I met 
up with a mate of mine from the UK recently and we were talking sneakers. I myself am not a major sneakerhead but am quite a fan of Nike kicks. Having both designed our own shoes at NikeID, we were lamenting the first pair of shoes we’d each designed and how embarassed we were when they arrived in the post. After much laughter we agreed that designing your first pair of sneakers is not unlike your first kiss. . there is much anticipation and excitement in the lead up but the end result is . . disappointingly lame. Perhaps the excitement is overwhelming and delivers an expectation that the experience cannot possibly beat. Perhaps it’s lack of experience or confidence that ruins it, either way it was comforting to know that I was not the only one which had mourned that missed opportunity to create something spectacular.
And just like the first kiss, now that it’s over with I’m itching to get back into an ID lab and get my hands on another pair. Having spent considerable time thinking the experience over and looking at what makes a really good sneaker design, I’ m sure that the next time the opportunity presents itself, I shall refrain from jamming my name down the tongue of an unsuspecting sneaker and instead take my time and go slow.
Now if only Nike would bring their ID lab to Australia . . .
Filed under: Asia, Designers, Digital culture, Geek stuff, Innovation, Innovative retail, new product, Nice products, Telco research
Korean handset manufacturers are losing overseas market share. “Ask Korean cell phone makers why they’re losing their market share overseas, and they will tell you it’s because of their focus on top-end products or the strong won”, JoongAngDaily reports. “Some industry analysts, however, take a different view. According to a report released by the research institute of LG, Korean firms are falling behind because they are oblivious to changing consumer demand and because excessive diversifying is eating into their cost competitiveness. The institute noted that today’s consumers are more interested in the “emotional” characteristics of cell phones such as the brand, design, and how the phone feels to the touch, whereas Korean firms are preoccupied with adding new functions. The think tank also criticized Korean firms for having too many models.
Above Story lifted from here
In 2003 Marc Newson designed The Talby for the Japanese market. A stunning handset that looked absolutely beautiful. I remember it because I wanted one so badly. Given the Japanese obsession wtih hyperfunctionality, it was no doubt, crammed with geek goodies. But gee it’s a good looking piece of equipment.
With mobile phones moving further and further down the functionality spectrum, bigger cameras, better screens, more WAP, IMS and other fancy acronyms… when will they stop? I’m looking for a new handset now to replace my Motorola Razr and can’t find any phones that don’t have the fancy bits. For every trend there’s a counter trend, LoFi mobile handset anyone?
