news bites: February 2013

February 13, 2013 | By Shannon Kelly
 
FOOD x FASHION
Supermodel Karlie Kloss and Superchef Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar have teamed up with American Express to gift 31,500 of Karlie Kookies in various NYC locations today, February 13th {Trendland}. Available online here.
 
FASHION
  • Nicholas Kirkwood has teamed up with UK department store Selfridges to launch a new shoe line inspired by the new film "Oz The Great And Powerful," {Vogue UK}
  • According to the ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index: Holiday Retail Edition, nearly 70% of survey respondents engaged in  "showrooming"— using a mobile phone while in a retail store during the 2012 holiday season —  and most of those consumers (62%) accessed that store's site or app. {PR Newswire}
 
FOOD
  • Preserving and fermentation will be featured in the upcoming issue of David Chang and McSweeney's quarterly journal, Lucky Peach. {Eater}

  • Nestlé is launching a new digital scanning system in the UK, designed to provide customers with smartphone access to nutritional information. {Food Manufacture}

CULTURE
  • Greta Garbo's wardrobe and extensive couture collection is the subject of a new exhibition opening in London at Belmacz Gallery. {Vogue}
Tags: fashion, food, showrooming, sweets, limited time offer, QR codes, holiday, art, couture, london, nyc, mobile, eCommerce

connect the dots

October 10, 2012 | By Shannon Kelly
NM holiday
Is it just us or does the art direction and graphic design for Neiman Marcus' 2012 Christmas Book remind you of another luxury department store's campaign? Take a look.
 
 
Those animated brightly colored dots could use S-A-L-E lettering.
 
Tags: campaigns, holiday, design, fashion, womenswear, department store, menswear, retail, seattle

fuzzy felts

October 2, 2012 | By Shannon Kelly
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols
 
Harvey Nichols announced their holiday merchandising theme today with news of a Christmas pop-up shop in Retail Week.

Richard Morris, Finance & Operations Manager at Harvey Nichols, said: “This year’s decorative theme is fuzzy felts, drawing on the nostalgic childhood favourite craft pastime. Customers can expect to see over-sized fuzzy felt characters and shapes throughout the unit.“
 
Sounds like Harvey Nicks is taking a note from Stella McCartney's spring/summer 2009 runway show. In October of 2008, the designer presented her collection in front of giant Fuzzy-Felt backdrop courtesy of the artists Jake and Dinos Chapman.
 
Fuzzy Felt might seem like a extremely DIY theme for a luxury retailer but we're willing to bet that the installation will translate more as pop-art canvas than craft-store cardboard.
 
{source: Retail Week}
 
EDITORS NOTE 10.22.12: The Harvey Nichols Merry Hill location uploaded a few photos of the fuzzy felts theme from the pop-up concept. Check them out here.
 
Tags: merchandising, visual merchandising, retail, holiday, popup retail

accessorizing

December 7, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
 
Make-your-own customizable necklaces are emerging as strong holiday trend at various retailers including Anthropology (above), Urban Outfitters, and Madewell. 
 
From a simple dog tag to personalized charms, mainstream retailers are hoping to tap into sentimental consumerism with private label products. The range of influences include decorative pendants with letters, numbers, animal figures, astrological symbols, religious references, and natural stones on fine chains.
 
These eclectic trinket themes and charmed arrangements denote a personalized talisman and "found" aesthetic with merchandising reminiscent of keepsake curio cabinets.
 
The DNA of this trend includes designers such as Jennifer Fisher, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Kimberly Baker, and Jennifer Zeuner, as well as branded jewelry from Tiffany & Co., Juicy Couture, Marc Jacobs, Dogeared, and Pandora.
 
Tags: retail, merchandising, trends, visual merchandising trends, holiday, jewelry, accessories

Bergdorfs goes to the dogs

November 28, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
{photo: Bergdorf Goodman}
 
We are loving the Bergdorf Goodman holiday video Unleashed, featuring a pack of dogs who take over the department store to select gifts for their owners (BG is a dog-friendly store). Dogs had free run through the store, thanks to the Humane Society of New York, and the results are heartwarming. Check it out for yourself. 
 
 
Tags: holiday, retail, department store, nyc, promotion, pets, gift guide

posting results

November 28, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
Predictions are only as good as sales at the register. Here are selected results according to independent researchers.
 
 
Thanksgiving weekend sales set records
- US consumers flooded malls and took to the Internet during Thanksgiving weekend, spending a record $52.4bn. Retail sales climbed 16%, and shoppers spent $398.62 on average, up from $365.34 a year earlier, according to the National Retail Federation and BIGresearch, reported Bloomberg. {source: Bloomberg}
- A record 226m people went shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend, compared with 212m last year, the National Retail Federation said. {source: Bloomberg}

Shoppers allocate money to "couch commerce" on Thanksgiving Day
- For the 24 hours of Thanksgiving Day, same-seller gross merchandise value for retailers selling through Mercent Retail increased 18% relative to the same 24-hour period in 2010. {source: msnbc}
 
Online black Friday statistics
- Web sales on Black Friday surged 26% to $816m and 18% to $479m on Thanksgiving Day, said research firm comScore.{source: Bloomberg}
- Black Friday sales increased 6.6% to the largest amount ever, $11.4bn, ShopperTrak said in a statement yesterday. Foot traffic rose 5.1% on Black Friday, according to the Chicago-based research firm. {source: Bloomberg}
- For the 24 hours of Black Friday, same-seller online retail gross merchandise value for merchants selling through Mercent Retail increased by 23% relative to the same period in 2010. {source: msnbc}
 
Overall holiday spend
- The National Retail Federation did not raise its estimate for holiday spending: a 2.8% increase in sales, or about half of last year’s 5.2% gain. {source: Bloomberg}
 
Tags: holiday, statistics, retail, eCommerce, shopping

countdown to a very Gaga xmas

November 9, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
Barneys New York has offered up a glimpse of it's collaboration with Lady Gaga.
 
A "12 Days of Gaga" countdown started today, lasting until November 21 — when Lady Gaga's Workshop will open at the Manhattan flagship. Until then, the retailer will debut a product a day from the workshop, reported Women's Wear Daily.
 
gaga cookie
{photo: Barneys.com}
 
Today's limited edition product is a hand-decorated cookie with face of Lady Gaga wearing telephone hat for $15.00.

Additional merchandise, according to WWD, includes chocolate “poker face” chips, disco stick lollipops, hair-bow headbands and press-on nails, Roald Dahl books, candy lipsticks and malted milk balls, as well as a $95 Barneys flagship snow globe topped by a Gaga figurine, a handmade chocolate skull for $68 and a claw-like Christmas stocking for $65. Barneys will donate 25% of all sales in the workshop to the Born This Way Foundation.

Barneys entrance on 60th Street will be decorated with a giant neon Gaga monster framing the doors, and the fifth floor is being transformed into a parkland of sculptures with eight stations. “We have a candy shop, which is a sculptural piece that holds the candy; the boudoir, this giant wig that will host all the makeup, fake nails and lipsticks; the spider with Gaga’s face with all the fake jewelry and stuff, and this giant pop-up book for all the books Gaga chose,” installation artists Eli Sudbrack told WWD.
 
Since the initial announcement, we have been intrigued by the potential of this campaign in comparison to the 2010 concept. It comes as no surprise that the workshop has been planned for nearly a year and we can't wait for the windows to be unveiled on November 21st.  
 
Visit Barneys.com or Gagasworkshop.com for more outstanding visuals, clues, and limited edition product launches.
Tags: holiday, limited time offer, retail, nyc, sweets, food, department store

one sweet pop-up

November 5, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
Dylan's Candy Bar
{photo: WWD}
 
Dylan Lauren, chief executive and founder of Dylan’s Candy Bar, has a sweet tooth for holiday retailing.
 
Lauren will open a 7,000 square foot pop-up shop at 42nd Street and 6th Avenue — complete with a lollipop, gumdrop and candy cane encrusted, life-sized gingerbread house as the centerpiece — for seven weeks beginning November 21st. The large temporary outpost will be half of the size of her Manhattan flagship store (15,000 square feet) located on the upper east side.
 
“When customers walk through the doors I want them to feel like a kid again,” said Lauren to WWD. “The pop-up store will be filled floor to ceiling with candy.” According to the article, customers will be able to decorate a candy Christmas tree as part of the interactive experience.
 
As fans of her branding, wholesale growth, and overall retail merchandising, we expect big things (and crowds) from the installation. If anyone can make a pop-up feel fresh and special, it's this Sugar Plum Fairy.
 
{source: WWD}
Tags: popup retail, sweets, retail, branding, merchandising, holiday, seasonal

window dressing: Selfridges

November 3, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly

The Selfridges window displays are without a doubt some of the most extraordinary in retail but very rarely does a creative team share the process behind them. To kick off the Holiday season (a.k.a. retailers top sales generating period), the luxury fashion department store is embracing transparency with a stunning time-lapse film showing the journey of the 2011 White Christmas display.

We love the on-trend use of winter white on the apparel, accessories, and tabletop. Moreover, the presentation feels rounded and true to our economic outlook with less of a focus on extravagant parties and more of emphasis on home, security, and longevity.

 
Tags: trends, holiday, retail, london, new media, branding

news bites 10.25.11

October 25, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
holiday shopping trends
A collection of statistics and predictions about the most wonderful time of the year...
 
FOOD
- Consumer spending by destination: According to SymphonyIRI's Holiday Shopping 2011 survey, 88% of holiday meal shoppers will frequent grocery stores, while 45% will shop in club stores, followed by mass merchandisers (41%), supercenters (37%), dollar stores (8%) and drug stores (7%).
- Respondents in new research released from Accenture highlighted rising food bills (46%), gas prices (41%), concerns about the economy (39%), and home energy bills (38%) as the biggest factors that would negatively affect their holiday spending.
 
FASHION
- Online holiday sales poised for growth with promotion-heavy tactics like free shipping according to the National Retail Federation. Nine in 10 online retailers (92.5%) say they plan on offering the service at some point and more than half of retailers (52.9%) plan to start their online holiday marketing and promotions by Halloween (up from the 40 percent who planned to do so last year).
- Share of wallet: 52% of consumers plan to spend $500 or more on gifts this season according to PriceGrabber. Of those surveyed, 36% said they will spend less than $500, and 12% indicated that they do not have a budget.
- Retail finance study reveals retailers generally pessimistic about U.S. economy: 76% of Retail Executives Expect Financial Crisis Will Extend into 2012 or Beyond, 74% See Holiday Retail Sales Improving Slightly or Staying About the Same as Last Year and 63% Believe Change in Health Care Costs and Regulations Will Be Negative for Their Businesses.
 
CULTURE
- Get mobile friendly: Using mobile phones to comparison-shop or tablet computers to do research is becoming more popular. More than one-third of tablet owners, 34.8%, said that they plan to buy items on their device according to a National Retail Federation report.
- Year-round purchasing: Almost half of consumers have been looking for deals throughout the year when shopping for those on their holiday gift list, while just 18 percent are planning to wait to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday according to a Offers.com/Ipsos study.
Tags: retail, food, fashion, shopping, trend projections, Culture, mobile, promotions, holiday