Every quarter our on-the-ground teams around the world will review what’s happening at retail. From the latest store openings, to changing trends, shopper’s thoughts, and retail insights – we aim to cover it all.
Lego’s London takeover. After booming success of their Leicester Square store, London store, Lego opened their doors at the iconic Battersea Power Station. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Lego store without extravagant sculptures, themed areas, and plenty to make us feel like kids again. The store includes an interactive Battersea inspired mural and 3D model of Battersea Power Station. Is Lego competing against itself for best store in London? Modern Space Creative team are keen to investigate (which has nothing to do with playing with Lego…)
China took a leap forward in sustainable retail, introducing a platform to identify sustainable textile products. As the world’s largest producer and consumers of chemical fibres, a critical raw material in the textile industry, it’s promising to see initiatives which are going to make positive and lasting impacts when it comes to sustainability in retail.
Gucci took their shopping experience up another notch with a private clients-only store in Los Angeles. Introducing a new deluxe concept for the fashion phenomenon’s most premiere clients. Luxury lines the walls, and we don’t just mean the ‘stock’, with the shop floor dressed to the ceiling with lavish interior styled to fit the Hollywood surroundings. Further locations are expected in America followed by Milan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and arguably the capital of retail, Dubai. Will you be visiting?
Supermarket giant Tesco opened its first ever pub in London in celebration of King Charles III coronation. ‘The King in the Castle’ opened over a Bank Holiday weekend where consumers were able to raise a glass and celebrate the new King’s coronation. Tesco shone the light on the adaptability of modern retail as they served limited edition ‘coronation themed’ meals to the public, with all proceeds donated to The Prince’s Trust.
You’ll rarely hear us use the overused ‘experiential’ word, all good retail should be something of an experiment, but Coach really has taken us to new heights with CoachAirways Pop Up. A fully immersive shopping experience set inside a Boeing complete with a café for mid-flight refreshments once you’re tired from browsing their summer collection. Since the launch, Coach has seen a soaring response and certainly turned a lot of heads in fashion retail. What form of transport could be the next home for ‘pop ups’; bus, train or hot air balloon?
After developing over 80 large-scale models thanks to the worldwide phenomenon of Open AI’s chat bot ChatGPT and increasing ‘Phygital’ moments across retail in China by popular demand thanks to Gen Z. It leaves the question of what more does AI have to offer in retail?
China remains one of the world’s top investment destinations, Gen Z are hungry for luxury goods, consumers are migrating from online back to in-store post pandemic, so with the integration of developing technologies in retail, we can see why investors aren’t waiting around to join the dynamic economy.
POP! Yourself expansion! Famous Funko expands consumer creativity, introducing personalized figurines. What started as vinyl pop culture characters, is now meeting consumer personalization demands. 2020 saw the launch of a small program that enabled customer to create figurines of themselves in two of its stores. After booming success, Funko are launching the program online and select stores. How would you dress your POP! Yourself?
Swarovski continue to sparkle
