Posts Tagged ‘Retail
More than 21 details
Inspired by my love for shopping, we’ve been looking at the one place where branding really comes to life – retail spaces. Now, this series wouldn’t be complete without highlighting one of my most loved category of shopping – apparels. With that in mind, let’s look at one of my favorite stores.
Now, a store within a store concept is nothing new. In fact, in some ways, we may even be able to consider our earlier look of Victoria’s Secret and Pink to be an example of such. The idea of having a store within a store is to make sure that each segment of your shopper base feels like they belong. There is a section of the store that has been tailored specifically for them. I’m particularly intrigued by the effort put forth by Forever 21. Forever 21 started a single store carrying women’s clothing, accessories, swimwear, lingerie, and shoes. It has since expanding into various geographies and into various categories. Forever 21 owns a variety of retail format, including the original, the accessories only, the one for plus-size, the one for kids, and the one for men. Now, in its XXI Forever high square footage format, you will find all these stores in one. It is in these stores where the store within a store concept gets really interesting.
Now, at first glance, you may think you’re looking at pictures taken from two different stores. Of course, you know that they are simply two “stores” within a single XXI Forever store. The pictures above shows the 21Men store (also known as Heritage1981) and the For Love21 store for accessories. Now, as we have learned throughout the week, the devil’s in the details. And it is no exceptions in this case. The attention to detail is inspiring. It goes all the way from the merchandising to the shopping bag. As a man, wouldn’t you rather carry a more manly gray bag, as opposed to Forever 21’s signature yellow bag?
Takes Perfection to Make Perfection
Inspired by my love for shopping, we’re looking at the place where brands really come to life – retail spaces. Today, we’re looking at a retail shop that only sells the perfect toy.
Children are so imaginative, and a good retail space can really tap into this power. Build-A-Bear is the perfect example of this. It’s an interactive retail space where kids can make their own customized stuffed animal. Individual customization is the king of segmentation. It is the secret to make sure that your product is just absolutely perfect for this shopper. Founder Maxine Clark credits Build-A-Bear’s success to being able to connect with each consumer with his/her own perfect toy.
The process goes a little like this. You go in, and you choose an animal. Then you go record a voice, if you so choose. Afterwards, you stuff your animal, with a heart. After you have a fluffy animal, you go around the shop to find the perfect outfit (and these outfits are hung on a bear-shaped hanger. Now, that’s attention to detail). Finally, you name your animal and make it a birth certificate.
Now, this is a real involved process. So, store associates can play a big part of this experience. Remember the part where you’re stuffing the animal? A store associates help with the actual stuffing by working the stuffing machine (I don’t know the official name). In addition, store associates make each experience special. In the stuffing process where you insert the animal’s heart, the store associate would ask you to kiss it before putting it into the animal. Now, what can make this stuffed animal more special than that? Behind each special experience is an army of special store associates.
Retailing Angel
I am a girl. I like shopping. So, let’s dedicate a few posts to this favorite subject of mine, in the vein of looking at retail spaces. It is at retail where brands really come to life! And the first thing about branding is to make sure you’re talking to the right consumers. This is where I feel like a few retailers really shine.
Let’s talk about a branding Angel – Victoria’s Secret. It’s a brand that’s stands for femininity at its finest. It’s sexy, but not sleazy. It’s alluring. It’s everything a woman wants to be. But, what about those who wants to be a woman, but have not quite grown into it yet. Victoria’s Secret created Pink for this segment. It’s cute. It’s sweet. It’s age-appropriately feminine.
To get this branding into retail, Victoria’s Secret created two separate retail spaces. In some cases, these are actually separate stores. Often, they are attached storefronts with distinct branding difference. Victoria’s Secret resembles a fashion boutique with its cream wood paneling, while Pink perhaps resembles a girl’s college bedroom with pink wallpapers.
Store associates are vital to the Victoria’s Secret brand. Victoria’s Secret is a store that’s built with the comfort and ease of the shopper in mind, regardless of gender. If you’ve ever shopped for lingerie, you may realize that sizes are tricky. That’s why they only have simple displays of lingerie, but store associates are always on-hand to help. Store associates will help you figure out what sizes are right and pull the appropriate product from inventory. So, it’s not just the space, it’s also the people.
In this case, the branding comes through as well. The store associates are dressed professionally in black jacket and pant sets. However, in cases where Victoria’s Secret and Pink are separate stores and staffed separately, Pink associates are actually dressed in black hoodies and sweat pant sets, which are just more age appropriate. It is in this level of detail where you know how much thoughts have gone into each Victoria’s Secret retail space.
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeanne lives in NYC. 
