THE CONRAN SHOP EXPERIENCE LONDON

THE CONRAN STORE

CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE,
LIGHTING AND GIFTS.



www.conranshop.co.uk

www.conran.com
www.weareconran.com

Talking about Conran, is talking about Terrence Conran.  Probably, one of the the most creative, energetic, and multi talented persons of the UK.  Starting his initial design career in 1956, by opening his first London design practice, we mainly know him, through his very successful international retail chain HABITAT, offering this modern contemporary design household goods and furniture. 
His experiences goes, from architecture and interior design of buildings, houses and restaurants (even managing them) to writing and publishing books.  His own particular idea and feeling of bringing a kind of clean and pure lifestyle design, has brought him many merited awards.  Although, the Habitat chain does not belong to him anymore, he and his family still dedicates their energy with the same style and perfect taste.  Today, the company is operating with various stores under the name 'The Conran Shop', offering a mixture of contemporary design items, mixing up their own home brands with designer labels, respecting this timeless Conran lifestyle.

Next to its stores, the company also operates into industrial building interior and consumer product designing, creating  private label product groups for various international retail chains like Marks and Spencer, JC Penney, etc... (see images on the left of the latest JC Penney home collection)
As born retailers, they also manage a very important restaurant retail business.

If you go to London,...this has to be one of your obliged retail stops....

RETAIL IS JUST DETAIL, IDEAS TO SELL MORE...

SIMPLE IDEAS TO SELL MORE INTO YOUR STORE
WEEK 1

Like mentioned before, here you can find our weekly ideas and tips, to sell more into your store.  We have divided the ideas into groups. Sure, you remember our Retail Pyramid, where we explained you the importance of the employees, products, systems and clients and the impact of those on the results.

- Employees

- Products

- Internal Systems

- Clients

So, each week we will present them, by group.  Here they are....

Employees, idea 1

A vision without action is a dream, an action without vision is losing time.  An action with vision is right to the target.  Everybody in the company, needs a target, a clear vision in its work, a kind of identification and or satisfaction, a feeling that we are or have realized something in our work.  Very important that the employees know the vision of the company and that they feel identified with it.

They like to belong to it.  So,..ensure your company vision is clear and that your people know it.

Clients, idea 1

Fidelizing you clients is probably one of the most important things in your store, especially today with a lower flow of customers, due to the economical situation.  One of your main company targets, should be creating and maintaining a continuous communication and relation with your consumer, sending them regular valuable information, tips, promotions, presentations,....etc..in order to build up this permanent link.  By creating a kind of membership, captivating the client, when his is paying, by offering the store client card, you start to create this valuable relation between both. By using the latests forms of technology like Facebook, Twitter,...), you maintain the client informed and create added value towards your store and or brand. Those clients are the best ambassadors of your business and are going to promote your product through their contacts.  At the end,..more clients and more sales.  However, don't  forget,...the client always wants 'value for his money'.

Products, idea 1

As already mentioned before, today, to be successful, you have to be different than others,..different in your concept, product, price and service. The key of your exit, lays for a big part in offering something, sticking out above the usual.  

In a todays complicated market, 'sensitive marketing' is very important and a reason why clients go to your store, to buy your product and not to another store. Today, we like to feel again,..something different,..some value,..some memory,...some identification,...

Does your store has this difference?

MUJI, A GIANT JAPANESE RETAIL COMPANY

MUJI....THE NO-LOGO, NO-BRAND QUALITY GOODS COMPANY...

Originally started as simple product group in a super market chain in Japan in 1980, offering basic cheap good quality products, wrapped up into a simple plain brown paper with red writing, in order to lower the selling price. By cutting all the unnecessary costs like fancy packing, extra costs for branding...the main purpose was offering exactly what you see is what you get.

Although its primary products group goes from food, kitchen appliances, coffee, stationary, florists, cars, managing campus sites and recently housing construction,..and are mainly focused on the Japanese market, they started there first international store in London in 1991, by offering a new concept, based on the no-brand strategy, spending little on advertising and using the need of the anti-brand movement at that time. 
The global desire of return to simplicity in daily life...this kind of minimalistic, Bauhaus life style. By offering simple quality products that are basic and necessary in daily life, respecting the environment, reducing waste by offering simple packing and by using standard minimized production manufacturing, all presented into a kind attractive basic concept (simplicity, light, design objets, minimalistic open spaces, industrial looking), they concurred the world by opening stores around the planet.  

Today, they operate more than 400 stores, around the planet, offering basic household products and have become a name into the design retailing, by being awarded various design prices (the Thonet experience) and creating their own design participations.
Muji.. or the Japanese way of life, the concept of simplicity, tranquillity, peacefulness and serenity.  Worth while a visit...
www.muji.com

OUR WEEKLY RETAIL VOCABULARY LESSON

Each week, we will take you into the world of retailing, explaining the business vocabulary, related to retail.  

our weekly retail vocabulary lesson
week 1









NEVER-OUT LIST : Mainly used by retailers, for the best selling high volume items.  By keeping stock of those products, they are ensured to be always available and presented in the store.  So never out of stock.  Very important, as often stores lose a lot of money, not having those popular items in stock.

IMPULS PURCHASES : When customers purchase products or services, without any planning or intention to buy before, mainly influenced and pushed by media like television, internet,..etc...Also,
the position of this products in the store is very important.  Mainly, they are put at the end,..when people are going to pay.

LEADER PRICING : In order to create traffic into the store, some products in the store are offered with lower margins than other products.  Through media, the intention is, to attract the consumer to the store and the hope to sell the more regularly priced goods and services in addition to the special offers.

RETAIL IS JUST DETAIL

THE SMALL DETAILS, HOW INSIGNIFICANT THEY ARE, CAN BE THE KEY TO THE EXIT OR THE FAILURE OF YOUR BUSINESS.... 

COMING UP... WEEKLY SIMPLE IDEAS TO SELL MORE IN YOUR STORE.....

ZARA,...THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

ZARA...WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THEM...

If we would like to talk about a successful story in retail today,..we have to talk about Zara. This Spanish retailer started in 1975 and has become a world leader in the fashion retailing industry.  Originally, it started with a small store in La Coruña, Spain, rapidly expanding, based, on a new way of doing fashion retailing,...offering fashion items at competitive prices,...using the just-in-time system, which was used mainly by the car industry. (Toyota)

Instead of making mayor part of their production in low-cost countries, they focused their collections on quick response (so short lead times), more fashionable clothes, bigger choices and styles, by producing, mayor part of their products in nearby owned factories or subcontractors in Spain and or Portugal. (who work almost exclusively for them)

This almost vertical operation, has abled them, to react very fast on the todays situation of the market, (especially in fashion, where everything depends a lot on the current trends of the day, weather conditions,..) offering small quantities (avoid them to get an excess of non sold items, at the end of the season), but very fashionable product groups, within 4 weeks, in their stores, creating like this, a continuous flow of new products and clients, repeating their visits, each week, to see and buy the latest fashion items.

In order to catch the latest trends, the stores and their staff, are playing a vital role, as they, through the latest technology, transmitting continuously, the latest needs and desires of their clients to the central office.

It is rare, to see reorders and every week, you can find new items in their stores.  This, together with their concept (this kind of luxury boutique feeling atmosphere, on top prime locations), has created of Zara, to what it is today.

Everything is based on lean management, quick response and decision making, speeding up the creating and the development process.  A real well developed ZARA COMPANY CULTURE.

The continuous renewing of their various concepts (under the name Inditex, you can find Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti, Lefties,.Zara Home, Uterque,..) and the launch of the online business, by using the latest new ways of cross channeling, where all forms of possible retailing are combined and working together, are allowing them to serve the todays and future clients the best possible way.

Although their sales has recently stagnated in their local home markets (also due, for a part, to the difficult local economical European situation), they have increased their turn-over by expanding and using a very aggressive worldwide expansion plan.

Definitely to be followed.....
www.zara.com

LOODS 5, AN INNOVATIVE DUTCH RETAIL CONCEPT

LOODS 5
A DIFFERENT WAY OF RETAILING

In line with our retail concept of the month,..especially as we already mentioned before...TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT... we dedicate this special to Loods 5, a Dutch lifestyle, decoration and furniture concept.  Perhaps not that much for its products offer...as the items sold, are mainly quiet basic and can be found in each lifestyle and decoration store,...but more for its originality, concept and product presentation.

Loods 5 acts as a kind of big showroom (industrial looking warehouse), cash and carrry,...offering a wide range of different products of various importers, suppliers and wholesalers, who actually wanted to get rid of their overstock and not sold items.  Those companies are renting a space at Loods 5 (there actually more than 200 suppliers), offering their products at their stipulated price.  Loods 5 takes care of the complete layout, sales staff, marketing en management, en exchange of % on the sales of the goods.   The fact that their are so many suppliers and the continuous flow of new products, together with this well thought en very attractive concept, makes it complete.  The store is divided into a kind of Ikea, concept looking store, (but much more attractive and not that stereo type and clean) where the client has to follow the routing, passing by the various product groups like furniture, kitchen, bath and bed accessories, kitchen, design, lighting, art...and at the end the coffee shop.  Although, it was originally seen, more, as an outlet, they started to offer day to day collections at regular prices.  (maybe this could give you some bad surprise ....).  Today, they function more as a regular furniture and decoration store and also offer the latest collections, next to their special offers.

Nevertheless, it is definitely worthwhile a visit, just for seeing, the way they have set up their concept and the beautiful use and presentation of the products.

Go and visit them...and or surf to www.loods5.nl and read their blog.  Very interesting tips.