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: FMCG innovation, Innovative stimulus, new product, Nice Design, Nice products | Tags: innovative packaging
I know it’s not fashionable in this eco-ridden-hessian-wearing-let’s-eat-organic-and-recycle-the-packaging-and-omygod-didn’t-you-bring-your-own-shopping-bag age but..I love a bit of fabulous packaging.
Don’t get me wrong I care about the planet and try to do the right thing. I have for instance a total of about 35 Coles eco shopping bags sitting in my kitchen as we speak [I keep forgetting to bring them so I buy more each time I go] which I get isn’t the point by the way, but even just walking to the car with those cheap plastic bags which are so eco terrible makes me feel less whole some how…
But I digress. The point here is that there is beautiful packaging in the world. You wouldn’t know it at Coles in Surry Hills and it sure isn’t on the shelves in my local Woolworths either but for those of you who are very much into package design, here are a few of my favourite links.
The DieLine site is without a doubt the best site I’ve seen for packaging porn. Look at the image above, who ever thought butter could look so good? Check out the sites and bookmark them for the next time you’re looking for a little eye candy or perhaps some stimulus for a preso or a workshop.
The DieLine is brilliant, full of good res packaging design images [free to search]
Global Package Gallery is another one full of product examples from around the globe [free trial then subscribe]
Another site is Under Consideration although not as good as DieLine [free to search]
Filed under: FMCG innovation, Food trends & info, new product, Nice products | Tags: FMCG, grocery, innovative pet products, pet category
what the . . ?
We know people love their pets and we also know that the pet industry is closely following the baby industry in its overpriced indulgences. Now we all want to apply the same quality of care to our pets as we would to our family or ourselves.
With wellbeing products on the increase it’s no wonder the pet care industry is following suit. It’s not enough to just have a friendly pet or even a stylish pet, now you need a pet who can perform at optimum levels & reach his or her own personal potential. After all, you can’t be the fastest pup in the park if you’re not feeling your best now can you?
Whilst the pet care industry has already developed food for bone growth, weight loss & tooth protection – most food is limited to obvious functional benefits.
What about mood food for pets? Supplements or treats that address anger, stress or other negative behavioural issues. After all, no one wants a grumpy puppy or an A.D.D. hound.
Whatever you can get away with selling to people, you can almost certainly get away with selling for pets. It goes without saying that in the era of celebrity canines, anything goes. Better still, take the behavioural angle & sell it back to humans. Can you imagine a cereal that was targeted at teens to alleviate that grumpy
school morning attitude? With the right products, there’s no reason why everybody can’t play nice…
Filed under: Designers, FMCG innovation, Food trends & info, Innovation, Innovative marketing, Innovative promotions, Innovative stimulus, Marketing, new product, Nice Design, Nice products | Tags: FMCG, Innovation, innovative packaging, new product
While you can’t judge a book by its cover, we often judge food by its packaging. One dollars worth of spaghetti sure looks a million dollars with a bit of fancy pants wrapping doesn’t it…Never underestimate the importance of appearance when it comes to food, or anything for that matter…
Why do pet care companies always put an animal on the front of their pet food? The dog can’t read but the owner can. Why are we packaging pet food for the pet? They know what dogs look like, talk to them in their own language.
I’d take a premium supermarket pet food brand & stick it in a stylish black tin with silver labeling & discrete branding with no visual reference to animals. Risky you say? I doubt it.
And another thing… why do washing detergents all use bright colours & show water or clean clothes? We make our decisions on what detergent to buy on the perceived quality of the brand. In the absence of any
laundry powders which don’t present pictures of clouds or water gushing through logos, let’s be honest, we pick the one we think looks more sophisticated or innovative or expensive than the rest.
Why not take washing powder & stick it in a metal canister that sits proudly on the laundry shelf instead of embarrassingly in the cupboard? Or better still, cook some good looking detergent granules &
put the stuff in a stylish transparent container.
For a fresh spin on packaging, make it design-orientated not product-orientated. Just because you’re selling pasta doesn’t mean you need a fat Italian & a bunch of tomatoes on the front. Lord, this is 2008.
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?
Filed under: creativity, Designers, Digital culture, Geek stuff, Gen Y, Innovative advertising, Innovative marketing, Innovative retail, Nice products, Social, Trends stuff, Urban lifestyles
Call me a nerd, call me a super geekazoid but I love the idea behind Startup Schwag™ . This little pint sized beauty is a web2.0 startup schwag tshirt of the month club. Bucking the trend of oh-so-cool fashion logos, most of us reach for the unbranded threads that fly under the radar of the try hard cool club. The Sabas or the Alannah Hills or the Edwins, where logos are vulgar but anyone worth their weight in coke can tell where it’s from just by the cut or the fabric or the way it hangs….
Well subtly is out and logos are back in nerdtown. Startup Schwag™ is based on a simple, wonderful idea recently abandoned by RubyRed Labs in San Francisco: Valley Schwag.
You pay a monthly fee and every month you get sent a logo t-shirt of one of the hottest web startups around. Whether it’s del.icio.us or Techcrunch or Digg, you get to be the first to wear a nerd brand splashed across your chest and who cares if no one knows what it means? That’s not the point is it? So go on…talk nerdy to me..
Check it out here :: Startupschwag
Filed under: Asia, beta, Digital culture, Emergent media, Geek stuff, Innovation, Innovative gaming, Nice products, Second Life
For those of you Second Lifers who are waiting for the next big thing, the first 3D virtual platform from Chinese has just entered public beta testing.
HiPiHi works in a similar way to SL, users can create & customise avatars, own virtual land and share or build pre-fab objects in a similar way to the SL prim system.
If truth be told it looks very similar to SL but we’ll have to wait & see how far it takes the metaverse beyond what’s currently on offer.
The bad news is that whilst the the Beijing based company is looking to cooperate with “global leaders in the Internet and communication industry to establish a set of relevant hardware and software standards for the development of the 3D platform”, they still don’t yet support the mac platform.
Nevertheless this is a market where more than 20 million Chinese game regularly, spending almost US$500m. Although the government in Beijing was reported to be introducing controls to deter people from playing longer than three hours, the measures were designed to combat addiction to MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing games) such as World of Warcraft and Lineage II.
Given that metaverses are time intensive games and in fact, depend very much on the amount of time spent in-world (especially for those residents operating genuinely viable virtual businesses), it will be interesting to see how HiPiHi tackles the big men up top.
One to watch. Check it out :: HiPiHi
When your screen is white – an empty word page, or the Google page, your computer consumes 74 watts. Yet when it’s black it consumes only 59 watts.
Mark Ontkussh wrote an article about the energy saving that would be achieved if Google had a black screen, taking in account the huge number of page views, according to his calculations, 750 mega watts/hour per year would be saved.
In a response to this article Google created a black version of its search engine, called Blackle, with the exact same functions as the white version, but with lower energy consumption.
Check out the full article :: EcoIron
