New York State of Mind

Hi from New York!

Absolutely amazing couple of days jam-packed with store visits to Soho, mid- town and Up-town. We have attended presentations from a wide range of sources including Google Retail and Bloomingdales.

Truly inspiring - from the big end of town to smaller boutiques - there's a story in every store you visit.

Here are a few snapshots of ideas I've loved:

Disney - for making their store into an immersive and media rich brand space:




Apple in Grand Central station - for incredible use of space and design:




Clinique for awesome use of technology that delivers customers with the solutions they're looking for:




Duane Read for their concept store where they're implementing Google Wallet and Hologram technology under one roof:




Eataly for their creation of a truly impressive and unique eating and fresh food space:





Just a small sample of what I have seen.

Retail in NYC is big in both its ideas and application. Superb VM and store-as-story space. Heaps of digital integration - its all about delivering value through a seamless customer experience.

Heading to London tomorrow. Will update more from there!


Posted from my iPhone

Location:New York

Tokyo: the power of retail-as-experience

First day on the ground in Tokyo. Super inspiring with top speakers including founder of Wonderwall who do all the interiors for Uniqlo flagships. We were privileged to hear first hand about his design philosophy and inspiration which has led to the iconic interiors.

So many great take outs - one of my favourites being a reminder that:

"Retail is not just selling the product. It's an experience"

Went and checked out the Uniqlo flagship store in Ginza. It's a 12 floor masterpiece that has the most spectactular interior layout -  sensory, visual retailing at its best. From the street, the design gives the illusion of 6 floors with turning mannequins in every window.

Incredible use of digital signage, LED and product-as-VM.

Can't wait for day two. Will update more as I can!

World Retail Study Tour 2012

The Westfield World Retail Study Tour is about to kick into gear again.
This year the group will be visiting retailers in Tokyo, New York, London, Paris and Milan.

Looking forward to updating as I go....watch this space!

Spotted in Sportsgirl

Check out great integration of QR codes instore at Sportsgirl ...

More evidence of digital layering into physical spaces to create a richer shopping experience and link offline/ online. This was a key theme on my recent world retail study tour looking at best practice in retailing.





- Posted from my iPhone

Happy Pills in Barcelona

As part of the Westfield World Retail Study Tour, we went to Barcelona for the final leg of our journey last week. Heard from many fantastic retailers including Zara and Tous to Desigual.

Along the way we spotted this store concept - 'Happy Pills'. It's fun, simple and creative. In effect a "pick n' mix" lolly store, they've wrapped it up in a pseduo-medico theme (all in bright pink and white) with the underlying premise of "happiness." As you can see from the pic above, the stores are squeezed into tiny little spaces - even wedged between buildings. Environments are very clean and bright - with cheeky packaging to match.

A fun concept - one to watch.

QR code

Seeing QR (Quick Response) codes crop up everywhere. Today found this one - advertising a store in SOHO that's currently for rent. Wanted to share as I thought it took advantage of a simple, clever use. Imagine wider application of this into realestate signs.....let me know if you spot them further in this context?

VIP Plectrums by Ben Sherman

From Ben Sherman comes VIP Plectrums...

Spotted this in Carnaby street a couple days ago and loved it. Fantastic instore execution driven by a great integrated idea. Brings financial support and cause focus for their charity partners - Lifebeat and Trekstock, whilst creating a platform from which to launch their Autumn 2011 collection.

A whole variety of artists have come on board to donate their plectrums - which you can then bid on via online auction, starting May 29. Think: Keith Richard, Duran Duran, Coldplay....list goes on. They're featuring framed plectrums in their store windows which look fantastic. I also love their application of digital touchpoints in-store - their use of QR codes is simple genius.

Hope they do really well with this one. Brilliant concept. Beautifully designed and executed.