‘Shopping should be fun’
(HARRY GORDON SELFRIDGE)
S
elfridges is a department store selling high end and luxury goods in its stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester as well as online to over 60 countries worldwide. Selfridges is well known for its great shopping experience, high quality products, good customer service and the heritage and therefore has a very good reputation among customers worldwide. Founded in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge who said: ‘I am prepared to sell anything from an aeroplane to a cigar’ Selfridges nowadays offers a great variety of products and is known for its innovative approach to fashion, art and design and stocks the best designers and the hottest new brands. The brand itself has a long-standing tradition for unique displays and unusual exhibitions which makes a visit at Selfridges not only a shopping day out but also an all day experience. The food hall, the restaurants and the roof garden café also enhance that experience and make the customer stay in-store longer. Throughout the year Selfridges has lots of different events going on to inform customers about new innovations and technologies or to just to make them engage with brands and their new products. These events as well as the artistic exhibitions attract customers from all over the world and makes Selfridges to one of the most exciting shopping destinations in the world since Harry Gordon Selfridge said ‘shopping should be fun’.
O
xford Street runs through the heart of London and is known as one of the main shopping streets in the city. Attracting all market segments, tourists as well as locals enjoy shopping there due to the diversity of the stores brought together next to each other. Lots of restaurants, bars and café’s around also make it convenient for a shopping day. Customers have the opportunity to have a shopping break by having a coffee at Starbucks or go for a drink in a pub after a long day. Oxford Street is easily accessible through tube and bus with the main stops Bond Street, Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road. As a result, Oxford Street has a really high footfall and is one of the busiest streets in the city. The London Selfridges store is also really close to Bond Street the home of the most prestigious retailers and a muchloved destination for socialites and the international jet set. Bond street’s high profile customers however may also enjoy shopping at Selfridges because of its shopping experience and as it combines everything under one roof.
S
elfridges has 6 different floors with womenswear spreading over two floors, the 2nd and the 3rd. The second floor is presenting the major design companies like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Ralph Lauren etc. who are all having their own ‘brand rooms’ within the space. The 3rd floor is used for contemporary design and is showing younger designers as well as diffusion lines. The bigger brands are again allowed to create their own design for their spaces. Smaller designers and start-offs share a space which is designed with a bright orange floor and brown wooden applications making the space look innovative, young and fresh. All the different brands have the same metallic rails and hangers which make the clothes talk to the customer. Each brand has a sign showing the brand logo and they also have the opportunity to distinguish themselves through little props. The space is next to the escalators making it a spot in the eye and makes the customer want to browse around and stay in-store as long as possible. The counters are integrated in the in-store design to not distract from the products. But the purchase is a very important part of the Selfridges shopping experience because it is a great pleasure to walk out the store with the yellow Selfridges bag for a lot of people. Bproof will be situated on the 3rd floor next to other young designer and upcoming brands. Visual Merchandising is used to make the brand stand out of the crowd.
S
elfridges who was named the best department store in the world 2012 (Business Wire London, 2012) understands how to let its windows stand out of the crowd. Its displays does not only attract its high profile customers but also those who are interested in the art it is presenting in the windows as well in store. The shop windows can be seen as a ‘selling tool’ (Portas, 1999:8) that tries to get the customers in the shop and as an advertising tool is creating ‘dynamic images’ (Portas, 1999:10) that tell a story to the customer. Customers get drawn into the shop and then might make an impulse purchase or browse further on. Selfridges and Bproof are collaboration on window display designs. The idea is to make the customer aware of the new technologies Bproof is working with and draw them into the shop to look at the actual products.
T
he website has a minimalistic luxury design with a clean and easy to understand navigation for the user utilising a mega-menu to present the different shopping options. These menus consists of brand rooms (which are presenting each brand in a suitable way and makes it possible for brands to differentiate themselves), subcategories and addendums such as in-store services (drawing the customers into the store) and the products of the months which are presented on the home screen and is pushing customers to purchase one of the ‘must haves’. The product pages are clean and sparse focusing on the product pictures with more details available as an overlay. Further to this, a size guide is available where appropriate, as well as stock availability indicator to add urgency to the purchase. The section ‘Selfridges says’ informs the customer why the product is a ‘must have’ and why it definitively should not be missing in every wardrobe. Selfridges is now also offering international delivery to over 60 countries which makes their products available to customers worldwide. International customers who usually shop in the Selfridges store in London therefore get the chance to keep on shopping at Selfridges even from home. It is also a really great opportunity for Bproof to gain further recognition in abroad countries.
#BProof
L
iberty is situated off Oxford Street a little bit hidden which makes it less noticeable for tourists and new potential customers. Liberty is more settled than Selfridges and has a long year heritage. Whereas Selfridges is selling the dream, Liberty is showing the ‘how to’. In Liberty all brands are presented in a similar way with no distinctions between prestigious brands and new brands and as a result rather creates a selection of items that suits the Liberty customer.
H
arvey Nichols which is situated at Knightsbridge is the main shopping destination for high profile customers. The area around the shop is as prestigious as the shop itself. The brand is not interested in attracting a broad range of customers and they also do not engage with tourists browsing around the shop. Shopping at Harvey Nichols is a luxury experience enhanced through a beautiful restaurant and an affluent atmosphere.
D
over Street Market in the heart of Mayfair is attracting a very specific customer who perceives himself as fashion forward and innovation and who wants to buy a product that makes him stand out of the crowds. The store is the smallest compared to all other department stores but has an artistic approach which is also reflected in the window displays. However, Dover Street Market is not really for browsing, if you go in you are intended to buy which can create an intimidating shopping experience. All those different brands are very effective department stores that are working with different tools to attract their target customers and to get new potential customers in store.
‘Dum Spiro Spero - While I breathe, I hope’ The Bproof’s DNA is inspired by a juxtaposition looking at current social developments. Since our modern time faces constant change and uncertainty nobody really knows what the future will be. However, we as humans have the great gift of hoping and always getting up again whenever we fall, as we have nothing to lose. Though everything is transient and nothing will last forever we hope for the best and we are always looking for something to hold on to.Bproof is about making the wearer feel secure and give them something they can rely on. The brand’s DNA is also reflected in the use of fabric. The base layers are created out of very soft, floating materials like silk jersey whereas the outer layers are created out of protective new high technology fabrics like Softshell and Primaloft.
‘She was beautiful, but not like those girls in the magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for that sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile even if she was sad. No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks.
She was beautiful, deep down to her soul’.
‘The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.’