Research tells us happy customers buy more. This happy elevator moment was spotted by BFF at Ikea (Springvale). #VM #podfinds #Ikea
This Way Up
Following our successful hoarding treatments a couple of months ago (all the tenancies have been leased since our approach to selling empty space was implemented), DFO SouthWharf approached POD to devise a campaign to activate the Homemaker Mall on Level 1.
Our solution was based around the message "this way up" given that a lot of visitors to the Centre failed to connect Homemaker was above DFO. Clusters of custom-made ply crates displaying "new shipments" of furniture and homewares in mix and match stories show customers how to make furniture and accessories work together.
"Love a Statement Piece" is the launch campaign running throughout the month of November. POD in conjunction with leading interior designer Cameron Comer is running Express Styling Sessions on the weekends. Cam is the interiors 'Wiz' and within a short space of time is showing customers how to re-work a room and use a couch, rug, lamp, cushion or splash of colour to create a style statement at home.
New directional signage (crates with retailer logos and wall treatments), bright blue arrow treatment on stairs and the all media graphics were designed by POD and part of the upgrade package. A big thank you to all the retailers who jumped on board to supply us with some great products; our lovely client, Jess Harney, for such a fun job to work on and the tres talented Comer & King for another fab VM collaboration!
#podfinds #homemakerSW #comerandking
FYI ... this is what the mall and signage looked like before our make over!
The Master Storyteller
It's an overwhelming understatement to say "Ted Baker gets what retail is all about".
If they were handing out the Pulitzer to authors of 'brand experience' then Ted would have a swag of them in a heap of different categories (drama, fiction and public service for starters). Every store tells a unique and highly detailed story.
From big picture thinking to fine grain detail Ted nails it at every touch point. Watch "The Making of Tedbury" (the Bluewater store in the UK) and you'll understand what I'm on about.
The investment in creativity, design and execution excellence is an absolute stand out on the global retail stage. Take a deep bow Ted Baker. #podfinds #tedbaker
www.youtube.com/user/TedBakerTV
A Happy Little Find
Loving the happy little graphics done by Tandem E Tandem for Happy Little Dumplings. You can find HLD in happy little locations around inner Brisbane.
A couple of the above images via www.tandemoniumblog.com. #dumplings #brisbane #cheapeats #podfinds
A Grand Design
POD, in collaboration with Comer & King, popped on our safety vests and waved the magic merchandising wand this week to produce the display stand for Lisa Ellis Gardens at Grand Designs Melbourne. We must have done a good job ... it stopped Kevin long enough to get his photo taken with our very happy client, and talented landscape gardener, Lisa Ellis. #granddesigns #pointofdifference
Forbes retail forecast & DJ’s newbie are worlds apart
About 25 years ago, a Texan friend shared the advice passed onto her from a stylish Aunt who enjoyed a successful career in a service role. Her advice was simply ... "Darlin' put on some lipstick, smile and be nice". Whilst retailing is a complex business in 2013 being nice is not a bad starting point for a service mantra. As such, I thought I would share a precis of this Forbes article and then some pics of the new David Jones store at Malvern Central.
Forbes: It's the Customer, Stupid!
A survey of stores and customers, conducted by TimeTrade (July 2013), gleaned insights from over 1,000 customers and 60 retailers including CVS, Neiman Marcus and Macy’s found that the key to winning in the retail game is to treat people well ie. ‘happy customers buy more' .
Customers surveyed said the number one thing missing from their shopping experience is the personal touch that in-store personnel offer (or could offer). 33% of customers want a more personalized experience; 30% want smarter, more helpful employees and 29% want faster customer service. 80% will abandon an in-store purchase if they have to wait more than five minutes for services like helping them find products, answering questions or checkout.
Of the retailers surveyed, 80% revealed that sales increase by 25 to 50% when customers are assisted by product experts. About 10% to 12% of shopping is conducted online and they expect this to continue. Mid-way through 2013 retailers reported that 83% of their sales took place in the physical store. About 3% of their sales came from mobile phone purchases and expect that metric to almost triple in 2014.
TimeTrade does not forecast the end of retail, rather an upgrade to the shopping experience. In the future customers will be treated to service reminiscent of the Apple Store, with knowledgeable, attendant customer service reps and scheduling.
“If you’re a shopper and you’re going to (spend) the energy and effort to go to a store, you’re probably going to walk into that store and get that Genius Bar experience where they know you’re coming, they know you’re in the store, they’ve allocated someone to service your requests, they know all about you ... we have Retailers telling us that there will be retail locations that they create that only serve customers who have arranged to come in". TimeTrade thinks that’s the way it will work in future.
Source: www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/09/22/its-the-customer-stupid/#!
David Jones - Malvern Central
Is it any wonder DJ's sales performance continues to plummet. Their newest, smaller format store at Malvern Central (ground floor - ex Target site) appears to be the same as any other store (cosmetics, apparel, accessories, homewares, childrens ware etc). I did a quick walk through yesterday. Not a 'meet or greet' or "service pulse" could be detected. I spotted the usual suspects ... staff behind counters failing to engage with (potential) customers, not one of them spoke to me or made eye contact.
Wifi is the entry message. A desk with two computers can be found instore to look/buy on line (poorly executed at that) ... really ... that's it for innovation? This 'lack of service' format will surely become a fossil in the future. Maybe the well-healed Malvern set will keep the DJ's dinosaur limping along for a bit longer? Who knows? What I do know is they should have read about my shoe experience at Lord & Taylor in NYC and be using technology on the floor to make the shopping experience a whole lot more convenient along with providing engaging experiences in store (couldn't find any of those either). As a general rule I only report on positive and engaging retail finds and leave it to others to dish up disappointment. Soz about that.
As an aside note, AMP have done a rather nice job of the centre ambience upgrade. #davidjones #malverncentral #amp #podfinds
POD obsolete?
An article from Inside Retailing by Brian Walker (Retail Doctor Group) that I thought worth sharing with POD bods:
"The real DNA of a branded retail experience is increasingly less about having a different offer to your competitor. In fact, I am starting to realise that a traditional point of difference (POD) in a business sense is a reasonably static interpretation, with the only catalyst that creates momentum being innovation and reinvention. Many differentiated businesses in product range and even store experience have fallen by the way side. Why is that?
In today’s world of copy and replication, large retail environments of homogenous offerings claim their point of difference on brand, product, service, or location differentiation. But instead, what we have is a largely vanilla style of being different to our neighbouring retailer.
Two factors are emerging to ensure that not much remains of what was. Speed and impact are the crucibles upon which successful customer facing business is being built upon.
Firstly, speed or simply doing it faster than others – speed in brand impact, creating and innovating a product or service, faster internal processes, business information systems, initiation and response, delivery and communication, driving a faster customer experience with response and action in real time, and ruthlessly driving a faster ratio of productivity – faster to be trusted (an integral part of the commercial equation).
It’s interesting to see how many organisations value zero defects, and high internal and external speed to the point of measurement and reward. I wonder if online retailing has reinforced this aspect of speed for us.
Impact is an equally critical mandate for a retailer, or more precisely the effect or impression of one thing on another: the power of making a strong, immediate impression.
Consumers increasingly search for retailers based on a premise of speed to them in an intimate and direct way, coupled with an impact that invites them to be part of that retailer’s tribe. Being known for something, owning the space, creating impactful events from strategy to instore experiences, and having a culture of impact fuelled by speed and not constrained by management creates the genesis of a truly great fit retail business – think Zara, Apple, Virgin, Google, Facebook, Westfield, Walmart, Ikea, Tiffany & Co, Costco, and the list goes on. Sure, these brands have plenty of copies present and emerging, plenty of would be’s, but what really separates them from their competitors is not the traditional axis of differentiation, but rather the strands of speed and impact within their DNA."
Good Things in Small Packages
Botanica seems to operate on the philosophy "less is more". It is a tiny shop offering a small range of super fresh salads, savoury tarts and gluten free goodies for sweet tooths. No seating or espresso machine, this is all about good food to go. Gorgeous packaging and a steady stream of customers makes me suspect Brett and Alison Hutley have a hit on their hands. Head to 1 Enoggera Terrace Red Hill (Brisbane) - the gluten and diary free big chewy chocky biscuits are worth the trip alone! Botanica is right next door to Bowerbird Collections (see post below). www.botanicarealfood.com.au
Bespoke Little Bird
At first glance Bowerbird looks like another 'lovely' interiors store. I quickly discovered the mother and daughter talent behind the counter makes this little nest of stylish things for the home a stand out. Peta Sweatman is a ceramicist who hand makes the bespoke lamp bases that are a feature item. Shades in all sorts of designer fabrics add the finishing touch. With most things made (and made well) in China these days it is refreshing to find someone bucking the trend. The pony painting is hues of blue also caught my eye. Turns out Peta's daughter is the artist. She will take a portrait or photo of a favourite pet and turn it into a work of art with her paint brush and acrylics. Affordably priced, her work would make a great anniversary or special occasion gift. You can find Bowerbird Collections at 1 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill, Brisbane. Ph (07) 3368 3241. www.bowerbirdcollections.com
The Milan Book
After almost five years in the making, my 'bestie', Robyn Lea has launched her sumptuous, stylish and all together fabulous behind the scenes book on Milan. It's a pastiche of part diary, part discovery of hidden gems in this magnificent city and mostly drool worthy photos that make me want to book a flight back there right now.
Launching into a hugely adventurous project just as the GFC hit meant there were plenty of high hurdles to jump along the way to put this book on the shelves (if it was an Olympic event she would take Gold for passion and persistence). I have watched her push on to complete the project whilst juggling her photography work, family (the youngest bambini being only 6 months old when she commenced the project) and uprooting the family from Melbourne to move to New York two years ago (I get tired just thinking about everything that she has had to contend with). For me personally, I played a supporting role that included 3 trips to Milan to assist with production and plenty of 'ground support' here in Melbourne (I had a slight misdemeanour with the law a few years ago and found myself reliant on the trusty old treddlie for transport for a 3 month period ... I recall a very fast peddle to the post office with a print copy of the first draft tightly sealed in an express envelope to get it to a potential publisher and meet the postie's pick up deadline with about 2 minutes to spare ... her car was missing in action that particular day ... funny when you look back, but definitely not funny at the time!).
Robyn's stunning photographs and words have been woven together, turned into pages, bound and covered by ERD, a leading design studio, in Melbourne. The commitment of studio founder, Emilio Roccioletti, and the skills of Rossana Di Risso and Gabby Tedesco have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition (Rosanna, Robyn and Leo at Berkelouw Books on Thursday - bottom picture above). "Love their work" pretty much sums up how I feel about them partnering with Robyn on this project.
Having already launched in Milan, London and New York, this week it's Melbourne's turn. You can purchase copies from Minimax (Robyn will be there signing books from 6pm to 8pm this Tuesday 20th August) or the city's most stylish store of archival and cutting edge fashion, Madame Virtue 5 Crossley Street Melbourne (Robyn pictured above signing copies at their little soiree last Saturday), Berkelouw Books in Australia, Barney's in New York, La Rinacente in Milan and Indigo Books in Canada. It is also available on Amazon (search The Milan Book by Robyn Lea).
www.robynleaphotography.com and www.erd.net.au
No guesses what I'm giving for gifts this Christmas ... and the silly season will be here before we know it. The book will make a stunning and treasured gift for Christmas, a special birthday or anniversary (and a great corporate or VIP client gift now that I think about it!)
ORDER YOUR COPY DIRECTLY
Australian residents can order a copy directly from ERD in Melbourne, who will package it up very nicely and pop it in the post for you. The Milan Book RRP $95.00 + postage as follows: $15 for Melbourne & Victoria; $20 for Sydney & NSW, ACT & Adelaide & SA; $25 for Brisbane and SE Queensland; $30 for Northern QLD, NT, Perth and WA. Email emilio@erd.net.au, with the subject title MILAN BOOK ORDER and the lovely crew there will sort it out for you, pronto!
They will also supply to fashionistas and style setters in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and all other fabulous Asian cities. Email ERD for postage details or if you are interested in being a stockist in Asia (I am sure it would fly off the shelves at Lane Crawford and Joyce!)
European and USA orders can be ordered directly through Robyn Lea Photography. Email the gorgeous Marina for details on postage etc. marina@robynlea.net
