I love touring the world of retail, and for the past decade I've mainly focused on cities like New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Singapore, but once-glorious London is still on my radar. It had disappeared from. However, when I returned to London last July, I was pleasantly surprised. In short, summer in London was a great vibe. From the lively Sunday morning market to the refurbished Battersea Power Station, it felt like London was back to its old days.Covent Garden was so busy it even overtook Tottenham Road.
ken, a digital open art gallery. People were wandering the streets, browsing shops, enjoying the sunshine and the community. Here are some shopping highlights of my trip. Where community meets commerce: Battersea Power Station Originally opened in the 1930s, the newly refurbished Battersea Power Station is a great example of retail and community coming together in one beautifully designed development. is. We took a tube ride there to spend the morning and it was definitely worth the visit. Since Battersea Power Station reopened less than two years ago, major retailers have flocked to open innovative retail spaces and concepts. Featuring a Levi Tailor Shop where customers can have their denim altered and customized, Zara's flagship store inspired by famous architect Frank Gehry, bespoke fixtures, the UK's first Lacoste pod fitting room, and specialist areas. We have a store concept called Luc Club Lacoste. The brand's standard polo shirt. Aesop was my personal favorite. Its store design pays homage to Battersea's industrial history and takes inspiration from his mid-century science fiction films. It has a slightly retro-futuristic atmosphere. The wall display looks like a mirrored computer switchboard, and the sink almost looks like a control desk, with a giant spherical light fixture above it. When I visited in the summer, the Battersea Games were being held and the whole development was buzzing with activity. People played on a 3×3 basketball court, scaled a climbing wall, played table tennis and boules, and took classes in yoga, boxing, HIIT training, and more. There were also pop-up stores and classes from brands like Nike, Lululemon, and Under Armor. Tennis was also shown on the large screens at Power Station Park during Wimbledon. Meanwhile, audience members could sip gin and tonics from a giant art deco gin bath. A masterclass in excellent performance: M&S Food I was lucky enough to take a special tour of his M&S Food during my visit to London by his team and was impressed not only by the store itself but also by the way it was run. . His M&S store that I visited was renovated in his June, with one grocery department being expanded by his 30% and the other clothing department being reduced. Since then, the food business has grown twice as much as he did, and fashion continues to thrive, despite the loss of floor space. That's quite unusual. It all comes down to smart planning and execution. I was also very impressed with M&S' handling of their products. Beautifully branded and presented on the shelves, the Premium Series was truly the star of the show. Australia's best supermarket should lead with M&S in private label. My favorite part of my visit was watching the team's “rumble” which takes place three times a day before and after the busy season. During the Rumble, the team splits up to implement visual merchandising strategies to ensure the entire store is properly maintained throughout his day. M&S team members are stationed in different parts of the store during certain busy times to ensure they are always available to customers. Both ideas are simple, but very effective. The Next Generation of Department Stores: Flannel When we talk about the world's best department stores, we often bring up Britain's Selfridges and Germany's KaDeWe. While it's true that Selfridges and KaDeWe continue to offer great retail options, Flannels shouldn't be overlooked either. This is said to be an upscale retail experience focused on Gen Z, a demanding customer who has traditionally not been attracted to department stores. The business, owned by Frasers Group, is “riding the wave of new aspirational shopping” despite the cost of living crisis, chief executive Michael Murray said last year. Because Flannels' customer base consists of 18-year-olds to 30-year-olds, many of them still live in their homes and don't have to worry about things like rising interest rates, rent, and utility bills. Instead, they prefer to spend their disposable income on fashion, beauty, health, and wellness. In March last year, Flannels rebranded its Oxford Street flagship store as Flannels X, which the company describes as an “ever-evolving playground of pop-ups, gigs and branded experiences.” For me, the highlight of Flannels was the basement, a flexible event space that transports customers to new worlds through art, music, and fashion. This is a great and versatile space for Flannels, including hype, live acoustic performances, and digital art gallery exhibitions. Not many retailers have been able to successfully incorporate digital art into their products, but Flannels' execution shows it's done well and in the right way, and physical retail has potential. It is a space where NFTs can be realized and enjoyed by the masses. Since its inception, Flannels For the first time, we sold them outside the stadium. Other events include live music performances, make-up and hair, and more, including complimentary champagne. I also liked his merchandising, visuals throughout the store that showcased diverse and interesting ways to showcase products. The team did an amazing job incorporating amazing textures, shapes, and lighting throughout. Combine rich brocade prints with monochrome tiles and unexpected combinations of pattern and color. beautiful. New Luxury: Burberry If you want to see how a classic luxury brand has evolved and stayed true to its roots while speaking to a new generation of customers, look no further than the 168-year-old Burberry. The new 2,000 square meter store on Bond Street marks a major milestone for the classic British luxury brand, which will present its debut collection from creative director Daniel Lee. Elegance and style, including black-and-white checkered overhead lighting inspired by the company's signature branding and clever bespoke fixtures created specifically to showcase the company's hero product, the classic Burberry trench. The store is thoughtfully designed with a timeless feel. The design follows the brand, but is still flexible. Burberry can still go in many directions and Space will make it work. It's a wonderful canvas. The colors and shapes, such as the checkered flooring, are distinctly Burberry, but any product on the shelves can be showcased. Luxury goods are always the best in what a retailer has to offer and the Burberry His Bond His Street store is a perfect example of this. A true luxury store should have the highest possible aspirations. So if you want to know how to display your bags to the fullest, you need the world's biggest baddest brands to pull it off. This goes hand-in-hand with why we charge thousands of dollars for bags. This means you are paying for every part of the offer. So when your bag sits on a beautifully hand-polished brass plate rather than the everyday laminated wood, you'll understand why you're paying for it. Personally, this is one of the things I find most interesting about luxury. These are just a few of the stores I enjoyed visiting in London last year, and there were many other great retail experiences. Whether it's luxury goods, food or fashion, London should once again be on the radar of all retailers.