Wednesday 23 June 2010

Heres to You Mrs Robinson...

Mary Portas is my retail crush. Her career in retail started off in visual merchandising, and her big break came  at Harvey Nichols, where her creativity and passion were credited with turning around the brand's fortunes -with exceptional window displays (that became part of guided tours of London no less), the championing of young designers, and of course getting all that free publicity on 'Absolutely Fabulous'.. She was invited to join the Board of HN before even turning 30, and eventually left in 1997 to launch her very successful retail consultancy Yellow Door. And the rest as they say, is history.

She is undeniably a fantastic role model for women in retail, and whilst I could sing her praises all day long (the bitchy asides on Queen of Shops make the show worth watching alone); actually, that's not what I wanted to cover today.  Mary's next TV project is a topic close to my heart. She is tackling the invisibility of the mature female consumer on the High Street- a subject I covered in my MBA dissertation two years ago.

The statistics look something like this. Due to higher birth rates in the post-war years (the 'baby boomer' generation), increasing life expectancy, and the current slower birth rates;  the proportion of  the population which is over 50yrs old is greater than ever, and is set to continue rising. These 'baby boomers' have re-defined our expectations of older people and most importantly have a considerable financial influence (the over-55s control about 80 per cent of the country's wealth).



And yet. Studies have demonstrated that the mature female is continuing to get the 'cold shoulder' from marketers and researchers, and that the fashion retail sector in particular has been slow to respond to the lifestyle changes of this customer. Basically they don't really know what the older female customer wants, and they don't appear to care much either. Which of course anybody with a mother who has tried in vain to find a 'Mother of The Bride' outfit that wasn't lilac, or ruffle-y, that made her look good- not mutton but not lamb either, would already know.

My research demonstrated that the modern mature female have myriad and complex considerations when deciding what clothes they want to buy and wear; and this is probably why they have not to date been tackled in earnest by retailers, despite their considerable financial pull.

They want to look and feel good- glamorous, sophisticated, smart, in an age-appropriate way. Quality, fit, and fabric are crucial- they want classic, well made pieces, cut impeccably to soothe insecurities about aging bodies. Older women are influenced by celebrities and designer style as seen in magazines and the internet, and also inspired by their peers and family (the invaluable mother daughter shopping trips). They don't feel catered for by the majority of high street brands, due to the distinct lack of the following: suitable products, older models in marketing campaigns; older shop assistants offering meaningful advice etc.

And at the end of the day who wants to try to come up with a marketing message that addresses all these requirements and concerns, when they can keep making clothes for twinkies by ripping off celebrities and luxury fashion designers?

Well. some retailers have bee trying hard to address this issue- M&S with their multi-generational ads, showing they can be a credible destination for you and your daughter, Wallis with their range designed and modelled by Yasmin Le Bon, who may be a supermodel but at least is 45 yrs old.
Other retailers such as Whistles, Jigsaw, and Reiss avoid directly marketing to specific age ranges, and instead focus on creating a brand identity and image (in Reiss' case- "individual, stylish and sexy clothes") that appeal as a lifestyle choice that can appeal to customers of varying ages.

But there are still not enough fashion business producing clothes and marketing campaigns that appeal to older women. Cue Mary, who wants to challenge perceptions in fashion- that youth is sex appeal, middle-age is crinoline or worse- invisible, by opening a shop that will radically reinvent how fashion is sold to older women.

And if anyone can do it....

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Everyone's got World Cup Fever!

In honour of all that imminent footie, and because I won't be blogging for at least a week while I'm away (somewhat unfortunately timed to coincide with the start of the World Cup, how did that happen..) a themed post...

Firstly. As one with usually only the most passing of interests in football, concepts such as the Off-Side Rule remained a inalienable conundrum to me, until I heard the shoe shop analogy.. Prepare to be enlightened, and for those who already know football's mysterious secret, check that I've got it right...

We're in a shoe shop. The Till is the Goal, and the Cashier is the Goalkeeper.

If you are in the queue for the till and you are not the first in line, obviously if you're in the mood for a splurge you can get a friend to get you more shoes and pass them to you without causing any problems, so that scenario is OK.
But if you are at the till already and your friend is trying to passes you the shoes, then that's a issue- it's going to cause a hold up and people will start moaning, so that scenario is not OK.  And in fact that is off-side.

The offside rule requires two people between you and the goal when you receive the ball to be on-side. One of those is typically the goalkeeper. And now it all makes perfect sense...



And this leads me not quite seamlessly on to a slightly more relevant point.
The World Cup kicks off in two days, and retailers are frantically hoping that it's going to kick off a shopping frenzy, after the British Retail Consortium reveals that sales rose only 0.8% last month. Businesses are counting on the heady mix of summer weather and football fever to encourage us to spash our cash with gay abandon. But, whilst it's estimated by Verdict Research that UK retail expenditure will see a £1.3bn boost during the World Cup, it's certainly not all good news for our retailers.
Verdict believe that the benefit will be far from blanket, with the additional expenditure seen primarily in the food and grocery sectors, (all those burgers and beers), with a small increase in clothing and footwear (England kits for the optimistic) and that for example electrical retailers should not count on seeing the same astonishing sales that the 2006 World Cup drove, as the demand for new tedchnology is lower in the current economic climate.
They also warn that the towncentres will be badly hit, as people are more inclined to stay at home, and spend their money locally, during this football season, and finally that the homewares/furniture/diy market will suffer the most, nobody has the time or the inclination to put up a wardrobe when there's World Cup action to catch.. Or something.

It will be interesting however, to observe the impact of e-commerce on these predictions, given that UK online retailing has seen a annual growth of 21% according to eMarketer over the four years since the last World Cup. This will inevitably mean that more people will be logging on during matches, at half time, and at full-time for a victory shop, a commiseratory splurge, or perhaps just a purchase borne of boredom and quiet desperation.

I suspect that not for the first time e-commerce will come to the rescue, proppping up otherwise potentially disappointing sales- here's hoping this World Cup season will bring good fortune to both the UK retail industry and whoever you're supporting.

Good Luck to both!

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Have you heard the one about the Buyer and the Merchandiser?

I've always liked this joke, although admittedly it's not Laugh Out Loud funny. More quiet chuckle... And even then it's probably a bit niche...

A Buyer is flying in a hot air balloon and realises she is lost. She reduces height and spots a woman down below. She lowers the balloon further and shouts: "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am?"
The woman below says: "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be a Merchandiser.." says the Buyer.
"I am" replies the woman. "How did you know?" "Well" says the Buyer, "Everything you told me is, technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."
The Merchandiser below says ". Hmm. You must be a Buyer.."
"I am" replies the Buyer, "But how did you know?" "Well", says the woman, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problems. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault!"


 
I do have a point here somewhere... About the traditional model of Buyer and Merchandiser; and how these may need to evolve as the industry changes.

Whilst every B & M department that I have worked in or had exposure to has had a slightly different balance of responsibility/accountability between the buyer and merchandiser for planning, product selection, stock control and supply chain management, in simplistic terms the two roles are fairly clearly defined.

The Buyer primarily has responsibility for sourcing and building a comprehensive, well-balanced range based on their knowledge of the market, trends, competitors, customers- one that is both popular and profitable.
The Merchandiser is accountable for stock management of that range- placing the right stock in the right place at the right time, based on forward planning, and ongoing supply chain management, and stock control, to drive sales and minimise mark-down. Clearly- both of these roles are equally crucial for success.
 
But things are changing. Retailers are starting to see the merit of a more local approach to ranging- in which they recognise that not all their customers are Identikit up and down the country, and that a buyer in a Head Office in London may no longer be best placed to identify all the product needs of a local customer base. This is something that forward-thinking Zara was quick to pick up on. Their store managers have much greater accountability for their range, and not only feed back as to the successful lines/ranges, but also have the autonomy to order stock for themselves based on what they have observed is working, what they need.
And as for the merchies.. Well as Merchandising systems become ever more sophisticated, with increasing intelligence applied to buying, allocation and replenishment decisions, with price and stock optimisation tools making recommendations for optimum prices and stock positioning.. and with more focus on local management of range and stock... Where does all this leave our humble Merchandiser?
 
This evolution is probably inevitable and unavoidable to some degree. Across industries there has been a necessary swing away from the homogeneous 'one size fits all' approach that assumed that all customers could, and indeed would be happy to, be treated the same, with the associated cost benefits for the business.
This has been replaced by a more local, global approach ('glocalisation') which I guess is what I think will be required for UK Retailers. We will always need a central B&M team, to make central, strategic decisions about the proposition, the range, and how it is managed through its lifecycle. But if there is more of a nod to the local variations in customer base and consumer requirement, and this is managed by those who understand the difference best (the store), then this helps the buyer to stay in tune with their customer base, and to continue to meet their needs. And if systems continue to make merchandising decisions easier by provide more information, more recommendations, this is probably fine too, as it frees up the merchandiser to focus more of their time on the most important bits of their job- meaningful analysis, strategy and planning.
 
And thus perhaps the Buyer will know more, the Merchandiser will be more useful, and the joke will be rendered redundant....

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Made in England...

My new favourite TV programme 'High Street Dreams' last week featured an interesting case study that got me thinking.

One of the prospective entrepreneurs was Beryl, a young mother producing wonderful scarves- hand-knitted in the U.K. to the highest standards (by local grannies no less!) from thick merino wool- beautiful, high quality, and durable. But boy were they expensive. To be able to offer a high quality piece of  knitwear, hand-made in the U.K. our budding entrepreneur had to charge up to £200 a scarf. Ouch. You've got to really love a scarf to pay that much...

Yet, although Beryl could get such an item manufactured in bulk in China, and with a lower grade wool, to sell in this country at a much more accessible pricepoint, in much greater volume; the lady was not for turning. She was adamant that she did not want to compromise the USP of her products- the quality, durability and sustainability that was only possible with goods lovingly produced in the U.K.

And I think she had a point, ( High street fashion retailer Jigsaw agreed- placing an order for 200 pieces to be stocked in their stores), one which relates to a larger issue we have in the U.K. presently.

Where possible we must move away from our reliance on goods mass produced at low cost, low quality, and low reliability from the Far East. There are important economic reasons for this e.g.
Our dependance on imported goods leaves us vulnerable economically, we need to support UK enterprises to aid growth in this country, and we need to re-build our manufacturing industry in this country to reduce our dependance on Financial Services... etc


But as important for me as these, is the fact that we need to become more socially aware and responsible in our shopping habits.
The environmental cost of our obsession with buying low cost, low quality items is significant- the use of resources in manufacture, the freight of imported goods, and also in the disposability of the items- their requirement for more regular replacement (buy cheap, buy twice as they say) and impact on landfill.
The human cost is also not to be forgotten- in terms of the exploitation of the workforce that allows some factories to churn out goods at such low cost, and also consideration of the safety breaches regularly reported in low quality imported goods.

And finally- it's a matter of national pride! Back in the days before I was even a twinkle in my mother's eye, the U.K. had a manufacturing industry known for design, quality and durability, which is now all but gone, with those still around struggling to survive. We should be proud to support local industry- where we can afford to pay the extra cost for the design, quality and durability that British manufacture affords, we should- it will pay for itself in more ways than one.

On trips to Ireland I've always been quietly impressed by the undeniable sense of 'collectivism' (a focus on the community/society, group goals- the whole being greater than the sum of its' parts etc) within the country, exampled by the many 'Buy Irish', 'Support Your Local Farmers'  etc signs within shops and supermarkets.

I'd like to think that the current economic climate is causing us to re-evaluate our purchase priorities, and that perhaps as we think more about what we buy, our focus will change from individualism (focussing on the individual goals and desires) to considering the wider impacts our purchasing decisions can make.