Luxury concept stores analysis polimoda shen by Queeny Siobhan Shen

If the shoes f it.

Mary Kandalaft Chieh Yu Shen 2016

Polimoda International Institution Luxury retail management

Contents Abstract.................................................................................................6 Group motivation................................................................................8 Introduction........................................................................................10 Entrepreneurship...............................................................................12 a)Starting idea b)The name c)The Entrepreneur History..................................................................................................16 Business objective ............................................................................20 a)Mission b) Vision Brand Experience..............................................................................22 a)Brand Identity b)Brand equity c)Brand Value The business.......................................................................................30 a)Business structure b)Business influences Legal – logo – trade mark.................................................................32 Financial...............................................................................................34 Business Model..................................................................................36 Monster................................................................................................38 Reference Market...............................................................................42 a)Positioning map b)Benchmarketing

Brand & Product information in store...........................................46 a)Store products b)The store Brand and price positioning online & offline..............................50 a)Pricing strategy – online and offline b)Product pricing Target customer.................................................................................54 Distribution Model offline & online...............................................56 a)Distributing channels b)Development & expansion Marketing............................................................................................62 a)Visual merchandising b)Shopping experience c)Online & offline promotions d)Customer relation Service e)Special event or activities E-commerce strategy........................................................................82 a)E-com website analysis i.The online story ii.Website sections b)Online target c)Social media SWOT................................................................................................104 Conclusion.......................................................................................106

Abstract

concept store has a purpose of selling in a place where new ideas are put together. It has a tendency to propose a new shopping experience for shoppers around the created theme. Innovation, creativity and the genuine of the concept store are the DNA of it that differentiates it from any other retail or department store. The Purpose of this project is to develop a deep analysis for two different conceptstores by looking into their business idea, structure, strategies, policies, retail channels and products. Also, it will identify the business from the marketing perspective considering its target customer, offered services and promotion activities.

isiting both actual boutiques 2 months ago for the first time made us curious enough to work on analyzing the businesses and search inside it.

This project doesn’t relay on how successful the 2 businesses are in the current market. However it focuses only on analyzing the 2 concept stores and compare how each one operates differently from the other based on 2 main criteria of: 1: Start up concept store and well-established concept store 2: Two different countries in Europe The first concept store that this project is analyzing is “VIAJIYU” start up business located in Florence, Italy. The second one is “UNITED NUDE”, a well-established business located in Amsterdam, Netherland. Choosing 2 stores located in different countries in Europe will give a better understanding on how concept stores are operating and how they might differ to be received by customers from one country to another.

“VIAJIYU” Is a new shoes concept store. After working closely with the business as an Intern for 2 months by one of our team members, we found that “VIAJIYU” has a lot of potential to grow as a business in the Italian shoes market because of the way it operates and functions. “VIAJIYU” spotted our eyes for this project because of its business idea, boutique design, its services and its retail channels. On the other hand, “ UNITED NUDE” is one of the hippest concept stores in Amsterdam. " UNITED NUDE" is re-inventing shoes design and using new technology to manufacture such as 3D printing technology. Unlike traditional, they collaborate with designers to turn their concepts into products. Haute Couture runway shoes with Iris Van Herpen and the Nova Shoe by Zaha Hadid are some of United Nude's recent highlights. With over 10 years of experience in 3D printing, United Nude is now a regular collaborator with 3D printing market leader 3D systems. In this project, both primary and secondary data are used. Primary data consist of interviews and observations, and secondary data are based on books and online research.

Group Motivation

This project was developed by teamwork collaboration between Mary Kandalaft and Queenie Shen. With 2 different personalities, nationalities, cultures, education background and work experiences made working on this project quite phenomenon and enriched the content of it components by combining both skills into one piece. Both of us have different strengths when it comes to project work. Mary has the business background and she is experienced in marketing and word editing. She is able to bring the reader into the desired atmosphere easily by her tempting writing skills. On the other hand, Queenie is skilled at Photoshopping and art designing, she plays with visual design to attract readers. Both of us have professional skills and indeed brought out the best for our project.

The project processes to our team was well organized and led. The work was managed to be done on phases within the past two months. We both were glad that it went smoothly, on time and exactly as planned. After agreeing on the project outline and structure, our team made a decision to work on the research phase for this project separately for the first month. Each team member worked on 1 specific concept store, gathering and collecting all the needed information related to it and identified its identity, strength, weaknesses and operating strategies. That made us be able to have 2 different point of views on the analysis process of the project. In the second phase we started collecting and combining all the information together dividing the work equally between the team members in order to come up with the best outcome for this project. In the third phase we started working on the documents designs including the book and the power point presentation. 9

Introduction

VIAJIYU

UNITED NUDE

VIAJIYU is luxury concept store was founded in August 2013 by Nicole Still. The boutique is located in the heart of a luxurious area at Piazza Santa Trinita, Florence, Italy. VIAJIYU sells only ballerina pumps that are hand made in Italy and made to order for blazer women. VIAJIYU loves high heels but doesn’t sell them. The USP of the concept store is that customers can customize their flat shoes style, color, trim and material with the expertise assistance. VIAJIYU empowers women to design their own shoes to make them able to create their one of a kind shoes. Also, for ultimate luxury, VIAJIYU shoes are not mass-produced but hand crafted by the world’s most and best shoemakers.

UNITED NUDE is an iconic designer footwear brand known for powerful architectural styling. UNITED NUDE was launched by Rem D. Koolhass and Galahad Clark in 2003 with the “Möbius” shoe. Koolhaas' formal training in architecture provides the creative genius behind a totally unique look in the footwear business. Since joining the Max family in mid 2008, UNITED NUDE has shown phenomenal growth and is now a major presence in the modern shoe design sector. The USP of the concept store is the intersection between architecture and shoemaking. UNITED NUDE has flagship stores in Amsterdam, London, New York, Beijing and Vienna. In addition to more than 6 other stores spread around the world. The UNITED NUDE trades in 5 product categories as follows: • Footwear – Woman/Men collection • Watches • Accessories – Hats/Bags • Furniture • Cars

VIAJIYU A: Starting idea: VIAJIYU is the story where old meets new and East meets west.

Entrepreneurship

Nicole the owner used to travel for work 6 months out of the year to Asia with her high heels on. She traveled to Mumbai, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Seoul. In April 2012, and specifically in Tokyo when Nicole and her friend Lauren couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to find a restaurant on their first night. Nicole made a mistake of wearing high heels. It was tough for her to walk on the uneven sidewalks of the city. And it was even tougher to catch her flight on time when there is a 30 minutes walk from the departure gate in the biggest airports in the world wearing high heels. She learned the hard way and now she never travels without her flats in feet and high heels in the bag. And that was the beginning of the story behind creating the luxury Italian brand.

B: The name:

C: The entrepreneur:

VIA (vee-uh) is the Italian word for "road."

Nicole Still is Australian. She owns 2 businesses other than VIAJIYU. She is the founder of Drink Digital aged 5 years and Co-founder of The Balmain Boat Company aged 10 years. She is a Journalist, writer and storyteller first and foremost, and an accidental entrepreneur second. Nicole worked for TIME Magazine in New York City as a journalist then she worked as a consultant and now a shopkeeper.

JIYU (zhoo) is the Japanese word for "freedom." VIA + JIYU (vee-uh-zhoo) means "The Freedom Road." It refers to the road taken by glowing women. A road where women travel to make their own unique choices. This road will definitely lead to a new adventure, experience and creation.

"I started VIAJIYU because I wanted to connect women around the globe through their love of shoes and, start a conversation about what modern feminism means today.â&#x20AC;? The VIAJIYU founder.

UNITED NUDE A: Starting idea: Love and pain inspired young Dutch architect Rem D Koolhaas (Creative Director and Co-founder of UNITED NUDE) to create the innovative footwear concept store named United Nude. It was a Cinderella story when Rem created the first shoes “Möbius” hoping to win his lover’s heart back. His romantic inspiration appeared to run out at a reality. Galahad Clark (Founder and seventh generation shoemaker from England) saw the “Möbius” shoe model and he was convinced immediately. Rem and Galahad created UNITED NUDE, with their unique talents and shared vision. UNITED NUDE launched the Möbius shoe in 2003, which since then has been recognized as a design-classic. That made UNITED NUDE also became the leader in architectural footwear.

B: The name:

C: The owner:

At first Rem&Galahad wanted to call it 'Nu,' which means 'now' in dutch, 'naked' in French and 'woman' in Chinese so 'naked woman now,' but they couldn't get the trademark for 'Nu' so they turned it around and it became 'united'. After that, one of Rem professors was a fashion consultant who used to be the right hand of Jil Sander and she helped Rem with the name and said it should be called 'united something' and then...nude. Rem and Galahad went back to the naked bit and said â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you start a name the first thing you do is figure out if you can get the name and if you can get the dot com, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty clear that you can get the name and now almost 10 years later, we still like the name.â&#x20AC;?

Rem D. Koolhaas is a Dutch architect. He has master's degree in architecture from the Technical University of Delft in Holland. Rem came from a family with a lot of designers. His uncle and his father were an architect and his mother was a graphic artist. While he was still a student, he worked at several architecture firms, including OMA. Also he worked on the Prada store in New York. Galahad Clark is a British shoemaker. He is a member of the family that controlled the Clarks shoe family for seven generations that is considered as an empire.

History

VIAJIYU

2013

2014

First pop-up store in Shanghai

2013

VIAJIYU partnered with the factory

VIAJIYU launched its UK service

2014

First conceot store in Florence

2015

VIAJIYU became an independent entity

February 2013, VIAJIYU partnered with the factory, which manufactures VIAJIYU and some of the world's most wanted luxury brands. The factory turned down the owner twice before they reached an approval decision to be VIAJIYU shoemaking partner. May 25, 2013 VIAJIYU launched its first pop-up store in Shanghai with a Chinese website: VIAJIYU.cn August 8, 2013 at 8 p.m., VIAJIU opened its first concept store and permanent boutique at Piazza Santa TrinitaÂ in Florence, Italy. At the same year, VIAJIYU launched its international online store. In summer 2014, VIAJIYU launched its UK service. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still currently by private appointment where customers can contact the brand by email or via a virtual appointment. Also, VIAJIYU hosted private events in Henley-on-Thames and Notting Hill. January 1, 2015, VIAJIYU became an independent entity with no debts, no investors and completely self-funded. From 27 Nov 2015 to 28 Feb 2016, VIAJIYU organized a promotional tour in USA. Now VIAJYU is a 2 years and a half baby.

UNITED NUDE

2007

2009

UNITED NUDE x Charlic Koolhaas

2006

UNITED NUDE x Dr.Sky Li

2010

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

UNITED NUDE x Antoine

2009

UNITED NUDE x K-SWISS

2011

2010

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

2011

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

2011

UNITED NUDE x Mattijis

2006-2007, “Dr. Sky Li” - United Nude’s PR Manager by day, and photographer by night. Sky Li’s photos give a sneak-peek at the behind the scenes action at United Nude photo shoots. 2007, UNITED NUDE teamed up with the provocative Chinese photographer for a series of daring photos edited by Charlie Koolhaas. 2009, UNITED NUDE teamed up with American tennis shoe company K-Swiss and through collaboration created the K-Swiss Block. 2010, For Autumn/Winter 2009-2010 United Nude made a series of boots for up-and-coming Dutch fashion designer Antoine Peters. The Shar pei boots are decorated with Antoine's striking arrow prints. Feb 2010, after two successful collaborations with Dutch fashion designer Antoine Peters, UNITED NUDE and Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen joined forces to create shoes for Iris van Herpen’s Autumn Winter 2010 collection. July 2010, Exceptional creativity and Exceptional compatibility, United Nude makes their second collaboration shoes for Iris van Herpen’s Spring Summer 2011 ‘Crystallization’ Collection. Jan 2011, this was UNITED NUDE's third consecutive collaboration with Iris van Herpen, designed exclusively for the show and produced in a limited edition of only 12 pairs July 2011, the curved heels were designed using CAD. Prototypes were then 3D printed and subsequently laminated with carbon fibre for strength. Specially for Iris van Herpen’s show was again created in collaboration with UNITED NUDE. 2011, the footwear for the SS12 show was especially designed by UNITED NUDE in collaboration with Mattijs. Jan 2012, the shoes with ten sharp teeth to each foot – the product of van Herpen’s fifth successful collaboration with UNITED NUDE.

2012

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

2013

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

2012

UNITED NUDE x SHOE STIDUO

2013

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

2012

UNITED NUDE x MASHA MA

2015

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Herpen

2013

UNITED NUDE x ZAHA HADID

UNITED NUDE x MUTATIO

2014

UNITED NUDE x Iris van Hepen

March 2012, The United Nude x SHOE collaboration .Unsurprisingly, this moving work of art was the talk of the town. On the sides of the car SHOE painted his “UNUNUNUNUNUN” pattern, standing for “UNRULY”, SHOE’s Amsterdam based gallery, for SHOE’s obsession with UN-words and for “UNITED NUDE”. July 2012, for Iris van Herpen’s AW12 “Hybrid Holism”.“Thorn” shoes, the product of van Herpen’s sixth successful collaboration with UNITED NUDE. 2012, SS13 her shoes are made in collaboration with United Nude. After several elaborate design sessions the design took shape. Leathers in nude and navy, chromed heels in silver and electric blue perfectly match the garment palette. Appearing on the catwalk, the shoes will be limited edition and only available at UNITED NUDE and select high-level retailers. Jan 2013, UNITED NUDE and Iris Van Herpen continuing the collaboration for the seventh season.Iris van Herpen explores the idea of electricity and the light it creates. Experimenting with its use in the field of creation, this collection seeks to portray its tangible movement and power. 2013, Zaha hadid and Rem d Koolhaas of UNITED NUDE are delighted to announce the new collaboration. The NOVA design incorporates intricate striations juxtaposed with dramatic realignments, establishing a direct formal relationship with the shoe’s primary structure and expressing the dynamic forces applied by every step of the wearer. July 2013, the shoes were inspired by the dramatic banyan tree and looked as if they were naturally grown, rather than digitally created. The eighth successful collaboration with UNITED NUDE. 2014/03 “BIOPIRANCY” - United Nude collaborates with Iris Van Herpen for shoes completing her collection for its 9th consecutive time. Biopiracy Boot and the Biopiracy peeptoe ankle Bootie, both on staggering 7 inch tall platform cantilevered heels. Sept 2015, Francis Bitonti Studio has teamed up with United Nude and 3D Systems for the release their collection Mutatio. The collection includes a shoe developed in collaboration with United Nude. The project is a speculation on the future of customization -- each shoe in the edition is unique generated by an algorithm developed by the designer.

Business Objective

VIAJIYU

UNITED NUDE

Nicole created VIAJIYU for 2 reasons. The first is to create a movement of trailblazing women to feminism and start a conversation about how we can create a better future for women globally that is aligned with their ambitions. The second is to create the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most amazing flats to save womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feet so they can keep pace with men

Rem D Koolhaas and Galahad Clark founded the UNITED NUDE to reinvent shoes giving women around the world a new meaning of elegancy and style. Creating new shoes with different stories.

a) Mission

a) Mission:

Empower women to create their extraordinary shoes and take them to extraordinary places.

Creating elegance, innovation and design to turn catwalk oddity into street credibility.

Vision

To create a brand that is a movement that connects trailblazer women through their love of shoes.

Vision

Expanded UNITED NUDE product categories to become more of a lifestyle brand

VIAJIYU

Brand Identity

VIAJIYU Personality is about Feminism and trailblazing. It is a brand that is created for women, who appreciate luxury, dare to be different and seek for originality. VIAJIYU wants to be perceived by consumers as a movement brand. The store carriers the same owner believes of every woman can create her own path, no matter how hard it was, every woman should create her own path in life and she doesn’t have to follow the crowed, she only has to wear her VIAJIYU shoes and let the journey begin. The DNA of the store doesn’t rely on the store concept only but also on those women who are part of VIAJIYU. VIAJIYU has a luxury classic image and trades in 1 product category only - Footwear –flat shoes designed for women who travels, work and play. Basically, VIAJIYU has an altered product for the today’s modern women. VIAJIYU loves high heels but doesn’t sell them. VIAJIYU visualize its name in a classic and simple font in black letters using a direct clean and branding over its communication – black and white. Bold and store descriptive hash-tags such as: “#madeinItaly, #nohighheels” are also used to distinguish VIAJIYU in its communication to highlight what the brand stands for. VIAJIYU family reflects its store identity; VIAJIYU team is small in size, it consistents of less than 10 part-time people and only 3 full-time people on the ground. VIAJIYU has lovely team members; all are baby boomers with an average age of 40 years. Experience is all what matter in the business and the owner believes that any one can be taught to use a laptop or iPad but can't be taught experience and attention to detail. VIAJIYU team speaks Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, French, German and Polish but no Italian yet, which makes it challenging to an Italian, store to get the locals attention. However the store provides shopping guide translated to different languages in the store for customers via Ipads. Not only that, also VIAJIYU is a knowledgeable store with a well-experienced team. Going deep in the business management tools and techniques, VIAJIYU is technology friendly. All the team members use Ipads within the store for all the communication materials with customers when it comes to show them the shoes collection, different styles and for placing their custom made orders. 22

Brand Experience

Brand equity:

Brand awareness: VIAJIYU has low brand awareness. It is considered new in the market and lack the customer recognition in the region. In another world, Italian customers are still not educated about the store concept. Customer Loyalty: VIAJIYU has “fans” and “super fans”. Fans refers to those trailblazer women who buy 1 pair of shoes and the second refers to those who buy more than 3 pairs of shoes in 6 months time. Brand Image: Luxurious and classic image. Product usage: Simple, colorful and classic designs. Practical and comfortable shoes suitable for travelling, work and daily wear.

Brand value:

Imagery: classic and a slow fashion luxury image. Feeling: women who know VIAJIYU are in love with its story. VIAJIYU is impressing and at the same time overwhelming to have that much of colorful materials and styles choices to choose from when it comes to design the shoes. Product: known to have a quality-customized product worth its fairly premium prices.

UNITED NUDE

Brand Identity

The UNITED NUDE’s personality: Elegance and Innovative. UNITED NUDE’s has clear conception and Innovative Design. It is a luxury store specialized in high heels and design. UNITED NUDE is not a conventional footwear store. It offers architectural shoes that make each item a piece of art. UNITED NUDE is an intelligent store, yet attractive and elegant. UNITED NUDE provides value for both money experience and shoes fashion taste, but at the same time synchronized with the international trend, and is affordable luxury. The DNA of the store lies in “The designs” that at the same created the brand signature in many shoes pieces. United Nude has an open mind towards creative talents. Those minds that can create fashionable design in a balance with architecture, modern approach. That made UNITED NUDE work spaces very vibrant almost like a laboratory. Following that, UNITED NUDE originates from collaboration: A Dutch architect and an English shoemaker started a brand and shook up the world. In the process of their partnership they have worked with editors and writers on magazine concepts, with industrial designers on furniture and car design, with fashion designers, with other brands, with photographers, manufacturers, and curators: collaboration continues to be at the heart and soul of UNITED NUDE’s existence. UNITED NUDE often came up with avant-garde footwear designs, at times created in collaboration with maverick figures such as Antoine Peters , Zaha Hadid and Iris van Herpen are some of the highlights of UNITED NUDE. UNITED NUDE is interested in technology as well and that is shown and used in their products. The store has used many different technologies and techniques that appeared to be their signature designs and part of their brand identity. The 3D printing is one of the most innovative techniques used in UN shoes. UNITED NUDE was able to provide their customer “The New look” , different shoes model than the mass market and unusual material which is light and solid. Sending the concept of “we are not fashion shoes designers. We are doing something interesting, and you are wearing our combination of architectural into fashion. 26

b).

Brand equity:

Brand awareness: Throughout the years (13years) UNITED NUDE has become a leader in creative collective that gathers architects, fashion designers, magazine editors and photographers. Customer Loyalty: Most of UNITED NUDE customers like to live in the atmosphere of technology world. There’s not much brand can to the same as UNITED NUDE. As the same time UNITED NUDE expanding their category from only woman’s foot wears to men’s wear and accessories such as watches and even cars. UNITED NUDE is sending a concept of their brand and the reason why the customers become loyal is because they like the idea. Brand Image: UNITED NUDE is the intersection between design and fashion. Product usage: Edgy, colorful and stylish designs. Practical and comfortable shoes suitable for work, special occasion and red carpet.

c).

Brand value:

Imagery: The store has a dark-shop concept. It’s completely dark in all areas other than those where the products are showcased and literally highlighted. Wide variety of shoes, from injection molded shoes to highend carbon fiber heels. Feeling: People on the street will comment on the innovative and geometrically strong designs. Normally, the shoes are more casual, but always with an architectural twist. That’s what makes it so special. Product: Most of UNITED NUDE clients have their own balanced opinion about design. United Nude has a perfect balance between concept, style and comfort. The products are innovative and rare, those are more likely to attract a like-minded client 28

VIAJIYU

Business structure

VIAJIYU concept store is a family business. Nicole Still and her husband own it. However, it is completely managed by Nicole. VIAJIYU operates as a private company (Pty Ltd) and the website is owned and operated under the same company. The company is registered as an Italian company. VIAJIYU business structure operates as a sole proprietorship. The website: VIAJIYU reserves the right to make changes to the Site. The Site, including all of its information and contents, such as text, data, characters, artwork, images, photographs, graphics, music, software and the HTML used to generate the pages is VIAJIYU property or that of our suppliers or licensors and is protected by patent, trademark and/or copyright under Australia and/or foreign laws.

Business influences

Its women inspire VIAJIYU. It is a concept store that is made by women and for women to connect their love to their feminine side through their shoes. VIAJIYU aspirations come from it glowing women, women who can tell stories and inspire other women to make a change and let the world knows whom they are.

The business

UNITED NUDE

Business structure

MAX ORIENTAL Group is the world-renowned footwear group, in cooperation with 45 international design brands, currently has nine independent brands. HIGHLINE UNITED CHINA belongs MAX ORIENTAL Group's retail business units, the goal is to provide value for money experience, both shoes fashion taste, but at the same time synchronized with the international trend, and is affordable luxury. HIGHLINE UNITED CHINA currently has more than its own brands from different countries, one of them is UNITED NUDE. MAX ORIENTAL Group HIGHLINE UNITED CHINA as a strong backing support, with excellent team of designers from around the world, raw material sourcing base, production, processing and sales team. By integrating the whole industry chain, quality control of all aspects of the introduction of world-class customers both fashion sense and design sense of the high-quality shoes and accessories. "Value for money" is the core philosophy and commitment to customers.

Business influences:

UNITED NUDE inspiration is specified in 2 criteria, “emotions” and “real objects”. Emotions are how the business started. Not only that but UNITED NUDE is also influenced by where the stores are located. Its flagship store in Amsterdam has the right place for it where it can reflect the store authenticity. “Real Objects” inspire UNITED NUDE by how things are made, by the materials, by shapes, by the look and by how it is possible to make it. Both elements are combined with architecture. 31

Legal - trade mark

VIAJIYU

UNITED NUDE

VIAJIYU is trademarked registered in 5 different countries: Italy, Australia, UK, USA and china. However, VIAJUI only has a physical store in Italy, which is their first and flagship store. The Australian company owns VIAJIYU. Nicole chose Australia because she is familiar with the Australian business law and it was easier for her to establish the business.

UNITED NUDE has changed the logo three times during the past 10 years. At the begging, Rem D Koolhaas wanted to name the company NU. But the trademark search provided some issues,so he decided to truth letters around and there it is UN.UNITED NUDE was the best thing with fitted the initials. The first logo register in 2002, have been use until 2004. The second one is in 2005, a U.S. federal trademark registration was filed for UN UNITED NUDE by United Nude Ltd. . The current federal status of this trademark filing is CONTINUED USE AND INCONTESTIBILITY ACCEPTED. The UN UNITED NUDE trademark is filed in the category of Clothing Products . The description provided to the USPTO for UN UNITED NUDE is Footwear, namely, boots, shoes, sandals and slippers. The third time is in early 2016, UNITED NUDE register a new trademark, a U.S. federal trademark registration was filed for UN UNITED NUDE by United Nude International Limited. The current federal status of this trademark change to NEW APPLICATION FILED. The UN UNITED NUDE trademark is filed in the category of Jewelry Products . The description provided to the USPTO for UN UNITED NUDE is Precious metals and their alloys and goods in precious metals or coated therewith, not included in other classes; jewelry, precious stones; horological and chronometric instruments; watches. Both second one and the third correspondent listed for UN UNITED NUDE is Allen J. Baden of Edge Law Group. 33

VIAJIYU

Financial

VIAJIYU is not financially stable as it is still considered start-up business. Whether the concept store is financially successful or not, for VIAJIYU the experience is priceless. VIAJIYU needs to sell 10 pair of shoes per day in order to survive and keep the lights on. At the beginning, VIAJIYU achieved 15,000e gross sale in the first month at the store with limited stock and without any promotion. Having no stock and inventory model, no marketing activities and promotions, makes VIAJIYU expenses limited and expected. The store expenses include, the store rent of 4250e per month, cost per shoes 90e per shoes (approximately), salaries 9500e, other expenses of 1000e. Analyzing the business from the 80/20 rule, VIAJIYU 80% of sales come from 20% of trunk shows in winter. With a small team, VIAJIYU closes its store in Florence from November till March to arrange for trunk shows and that what makes 80% of VIAJIYU profit during the year. How? VIAJIYU sells during the 4 months more than 560 pair of shoes (140 per month), which makes their gross profit around 168,000e. Not only that trunk shows has an effect on sales numbers but also they create a customers base of super fans - repeated customers for the next season.

UNITED NUDE Reference to santandertrade.com, the Florentine purchasing power is 82.5e. This measure could help to identify the consumer ability to buy VIAJIYU products. However, VIAJIYU account on tourist to sell their products to. In summer, the store has sales of 3 pairs of shoes per day that makes it 90 pair of shoes per month and 27000e per month. These numbers are usually generated from their best sellers of the rounded toe wedge shoes and it 3 best sellers colors of black, midnight and neutral. VIAJIYU sales on the website is almost nothing, it present 1% of its business sales. The below table represents VIAJIYU income and expenses statement as per the above in 1 month period during summer time. (the numbers are approximate)

UNITED NUDE is in a constant growth and ongoing success that is able to achieve fantastic sales figures. In 2015, UNITED NUDE sold over 200,000 pairs in their 4 flagship stores. Taking an average product cost of 650e (including limited edition products) that would make revenue of 130,000,000e per year. UN best sellers are “The fold” shoes that is one of the main reasons for that sales number. Taking Amsterdam store as an example: By dividing the above number into 4 (4 flagship stores located in Amsterdam, London, New York and Beijing), each of the countries where the flagship stores are located has a different purchasing power from the other. For example the purchasing power in London is 21.8% lower than Amsterdam, while New York comes first and Beijing the last in order. Analyzing the business from the 80/20 rule, UNITED NUDE 80% of the brand growth and success came from design collaborations. The buzz of the recent highlights that was made by the brand recent highlights of the nine successive Haute Couture shoes with Iris van Herpen, Lady Gaga’s Fame shoes and the Nova Shoe by Zaha Hadid, was able to drive this big number of sales and elevate the brand to become the shoes architecture leader.

VIAJIYU

TRAILBLAZER

VOYAGE

Business model 36

EMPOWERMENT

UNITED NUDE

THECHNOLOGY CHASER

HEAD TURNING DELIGHT

Ambient Techno

The monster characterizes VIAJIYU and UNITED NUDE concept stores in a feminine figure. The monster reflects VIAJIYU classic, elegant and feminism image represented in the curvy lines and Black & White colors. Moreover, UNITED NUDE is symbolized in the architectural elements and look featuring the dress of the monstermonster,which being tied up in the in the form of construction. The monster body and head gesture convey the strong, confidant and independent personality along with upper class status for both stores. Putting both concept stores related elements to their identity in one component, creating a struggling atmosphere to tie up with the idea. The two concept stores are bonding to each other in the represented monster.

Monster 38

HIGH PRICE

CONSERVATIVE

Reference Market 42

AVANT GRADE

LOW PRICE

HIGH PRICE

CONSERVATIVE

AVANT GRADE

LOW PRICE

Brand & Product

VIAJIYU

Store products:

Colorful flat shoes that have a classic design identify VIAJIYU products. The shoes are hand-made in Italy. The shoes are foot friendly and comfortable for long hours wearing and travelling. VIAJIYU uses 100% leather of goatskin for its shoes. All those create the product value and enrich its high luxurious quality. VIAJIYU flat collection is limited and consists of 2 main styles, flat and flat wedges. Each of those 2 has sub categories of rounded toe, pointed toe, peep toe and open toe. Also, the shoes can be made in different leather patterns such as Vilukid, hydra, Varanus, Karung, Savanna, Burma, Calfhair luxe , Raffia and Patent. All the material are available in many different colors of Neutrals, Metallic, Tan, Black, Midnight and wild colors. VIAJIYU has half sizes from 34 till 46 (European sizes)which considered very rare to any other shoes store.

The stores:

Originally, VIAJIYU didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t plan to open any physical store, the online store was the only plan but because customers were not welling to buy their first shoes online, Nicole decided to open the store near to its factory in Italy. VIAJIYU shoes can be found in their first and only flagship store in Florence, Italy. VIAJIYU store has an ideal location next to the legend Ferragamo store in Florence. VIAJIYU organizes to open pop-up stores in different countries worldwide in order to reach the maximum potential client as possible.

UNITED NUDE

Store products:

High heels shoes with stylish and iconic designs are what represent UNITED NUDE products. The shoes are hand made in China Who said that stylish shoes couldn’t be comfortable! Although the shoes look very edgy in design, they are comfortable in wearing during working hours. The collections include sandals, high heels and flat shoes in different toe shapes, wedges and classic shoes and ankle boot. The UNITED NUDE store displays different heels height shoes, Heel heights are as followed: High (90-130mm = 3½ -5½ inch), Mid (65 mm =2½ inch), Low (10-18 mm =½-¾ inch), Ballet(30mm). The shoes sizes are available from 35 to 41. Each collection plays with different materials, color paths of the models and rematching with the height of shoes. UNITED NUDE uses different material for their shoes such as fiberglass, carbon fiber and different kinds of leather. Now in 2016, UNITED NUDE still has a wider variety than VIAJIYU with 30 shoes models in the store for women and men collections beside accessories.

b) The menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collection consists of sandals, desert shoes, classic and casual shoes. All the shoes are available in 40 to 46 sizes. The styles are classic modern with a mix of different colors. Different kinds of material are used in one shoes like foam rubber, different kind of leather, mirror leather and fabric. Moreover, accessories can be found in UNITED NUDE store as well for men and women. The collection includes watches, hats, belts, bags, backpack, bracelets and wallets. The designs for the entire accessories category are also inspired by architectures adding a unique touch for each item.

The stores:

UNITED NUDE products are sold in over 50 territories and 600 points of sale across the globe. UNITED NUDEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s store location strategy is in tourism city wherever is known for a great mix of boutiques selling international brands. UNITED NUDE located in hottest shopping district in London, New york, Beijing, Vienna, Tokyo, Osaka, Tel Aviv, LJUBLJANA and Moscow. UNITED NUDE Flagship store in Amsterdam is located in the prestigious city center address of Spuistraat 125. Unlike the other entire stores worldwide, it opens seven days a week. Also, there is a showroom above the shop for retailers wishing to carry UNITED NUDE stock, the store fulfills the function of display vehicle for prospective trade buyers as well as shoppers.)

VIAJIYU

Pricing strategy – online and offline

VIAJIYU follows “customers based” pricing strategy. The store recognizes their customer income level and their willingness to spend. Also, the store considers its customers expectation of price in order to reflect the luxurious and high quality product image. However, VIAJIYU considers the cost of production and shipping within the product pricing calculation. VIAJIYU follows the same pricing strategy for the e-commerce as well and both the online and offline stores have the same product pricing. The e-commerce accepts 10 different currencies and the currencies conversion difference (to the euro since the expenses are calculated in Euro) is also included within the expenses cost. Since VIAJIYU has a different case than UNITED NUDE with only one store located in Florence, Italy, VIAJIYU made sure to position its prices to be reasonable and compatible within its luxurious location between the other luxurious brands plus to match the brand image and the made in label by setting high prices yet less than competitors.

Product pricing offline and online

。Price in Euro (€) Products in store:

。60% Ballerina flat 。40% Wedge

Brand & Pricing UNITED NUDE

Pricing strategy – online and offline

Product pricing offline and online

UNITED NUDE follows a “Cost-based pricing” strategy considering the geographical approach as well. UN products production are based on technology techniques and collaborations with designers, that made them set their premium prices by adding a profit percentage on top of the cost of producing the product with an attention to the countries where the product will be distributed since they have more than 11 stores worldwide. The UNITED NUDE E-commerce has the same pricing strategy as well. That ends up selling both products online and offline at the same prices. UNITED NUDE accepts three different currencies on the official website: USD/GBP/EUR. Moreover, as at the moment UNITED NUDE Flagship stores in New York, London, and Amsterdam, all of these three stores are in charge the international orders in different regions. • New York- North and South America.Canada (State tax will apply to orders placed in the New York state.) • London- UK.Ireland • Amsterdam-Europe.Asia.Africa.Australia (Order outside EU & USA, import duties / taxes might be charged.)

。Price in Euro (€) Products in store: 。80% Women's foot wears 。13% Men's foot wears 。7% Accessories

VIAJIYU Demographic Elite class women aged 35+ Mostly Baby boomers Feminist Get high income Well educated Have a career or own a business. Can afford high-end price. Geographic Chinese, Italian and tourists (mostly American) are VIAJIYU main target. Plus, women all over the world who shops online. Live in the city and in fashionable capitals that appreciate the made in Italy label. Behavioral VIAJIYU woman is traveller either for leisure or business. She seeks for adventures and new experiences. She dresses well, trendy, sophisticated and wears fashion that suits her lifestyle. VIAJIYU woman like to do things differently, hence she dare to be different and unique. VIAJIYU woman likes to shop luxury products online. She is a kind of woman who is able to surf the net and have an access to social media platform and be active on them. Psychographic VIAJIYU woman is strong, modern and independent. She is able to make her own decision and knows exactly what she wants in life. VIAJIYU woman doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow the crowed; instead she creates her own path. 54

Target customer

UNITED NUDE Demographic Stylish and sporty men Aged 21-60 Edgy, young and modern Female Aged 21-60 Education Undergraduate and above Working class to upper class Have a high Income range

Geographic UNITED NUDE customers are those who live in an urban setting, most likely fashion capital UNITED NUDE customers are mostly European, Asian and American.

Behavioral UNITED NUDE customers have a luxury, unique and practical lifestyle. UNITED NUDE customers work in managerial position, in fashion and attend fashion weeks or work as a lawyer or investors. Also, they might be famous, well-know people in society or a celebrity. UNITED NUDE customers are travellers who are open-minded and follow international trends. Psychographic UNITED NUDE customers are independent, self-conscious and not afraid to experiment different styles. UNITED NUDE women is classy and has a strong personality.

Distribution Model

VIAJIYU

Distribution channels

VIAJIYU only distributes its products to the customers through its direct channels. 1: At VIAJIYU flagship store in Florence, Italy 2: At VIAJIYU E-commerce â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www.viajiyu.com When it comes to each channel goals, VIAJIYU store main objective is to create unforgettable shopping experience while the online store goal is to tell the store story and list VIAJIYU products.

Development & expansion:

Currently VIAJIYU is not thinking of opening any other store in Italy or in Europe since it is still a start up business. Adding new styles to the current collection is VIAJIYU plan for this summer where a flat sandals category will be added to the collection. VIAJIYU dream is to open another physical store in Paris. However, this dream still needs long way to be achieved and it only can be done after the store build a strong brand awareness and achieves financially stability. In 5 years expanding plan of VIAJIYU, China is the next goal to reach by selling the business concept and strategy to a Chinese company but not the name. Also, that only can be done after the store boost its brand name and build well-known name worldwide.

UNITED NUDE

Distribution channels

UNITED NUDE distribution channels consist of direct and indirect channels. Direct channels: 1: UNITED NUDE has 12 direct DOS in 10 countries, those include 4 flagship stores in Amesterdam, London, New york, Beijing with one concept store in Vienna. The other 7 stores are located in: Tokyo, Osaka, Tel Aviv, LJUBLJANA and Moscow. 2: UNITED NUDE has an E-commerce where their latest collections can be found through www.unitednude.com.

Development & expansion:

UNITED NUDE plan is to achieve sales of over a million pairs of shoes in five years. That includes more store opening and geographical expansion in Europe and Asia. In line with the business vision of becoming a lifestyle brand by expanding their products category to include: more furniture, objects new accessory lines and adding more cars to the UN portfolio.

Indirect channels: 1: UNITED NUDE products can be found on online retailer websites like, Tmall for china customer https://ununitednude. world.tmall.com 2: Department stores such as: Gallieries Lafayette in Paris and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Taiwan.

Marketing 60

VIAJIYU a) Visual merchandising Since VIAJIYU has only one physical store, its visual merchandising approach differs from the UNITED NUDE as the last has more than 15 stores. We have to say that not all the UNITED NUDE stores are consistent and have the same visual look and layout as each store space has its own customized solution. However, all the stores have the same visual merchandising concept and strategy.

External display:

Signage: VIAJIYU store signage is the first attention element to the store. The signage has the store name “VIAJIYU” that has a white backlight. The signage is designed in 2D on a black background. It is located on the upper part of the store door and doesn’t cover the whole store external window, as its design doesn’t allow for that because of the separating pillar between the store door and the store window. That, sometimes makes the name invisible for the walkers to notice the name depends on the direction they are coming from as it is more noticeable for people who are coming from the right side of the store (the Ferragamo store side).

Window display: “Impulse buying” is what VIAJIYU window display reflects. VIAJIYU has open back windows to make the entire store visible to the walkers from outside and show transparency to the inside atmosphere to let the shopper experience in the store to be seen by the people who are walking in the street. This strategy allows customers to feel the store mood from outside by making them feel the experience already from the outside. However, the store still features conventional window display to show its core product displaying different styles and colors of VIAJIYU ballerinas. The flat shoes are displayed on an old and classic sewing machine that gives an impressing of the Italian hand made heritage. The displayed shoes are chosen based on the season trendy colors and what attracts the tourist the most Since the store with its concept is still new, Nicole, the owner, made a smart move where she wrote on the outside window couple of words that transmit what the store is about. She chose words like “no high heels, made in Italy, made to order” with the use of the social media hash tag to drive people to search on the social media and know more about the store.

The Window display doesn’t often change, almost once every quarter. That is because VIAJIYU target are tourists more than locals so rarely for tourists to pass by the store twice in 3 months. Otherwise the window display might change in fewer periods when the shoes are not noticeable and fewer customers are entering the shop. Observing the store from outside for at least 4 hours in total, 90% of the people who walk into the same street where the store is located stop to look at the colorful flat shoes, to read what is written of the glass window and to take photos!

II.

Interior structure:

Store layout: The store is almost 72m² divided into 2 sections: Section1: the store: The store itself is divided into 3 different rooms, the product display area and 2 order rooms where the real experience occurred. The store has a clean and clear design with white and bright walls and soft lighting. Long mirrors are located in different areas of the store for customer use when fitting the shoes. Once the customer open VIAJIYU door a bill rings twice softly, it is to give an alert for the sales person that a customer came in. once the customer step inside the store, she is already in the product display area. A projector is located in the display are that is used to display different VIAJIYU products for customers. Also, plasma screens and Ipads are located in the store for both, the sales person and the customer use. 1 of each medium is replaced in each of the 3 rooms. When the medium is not of the use by the customer the sales person, they are used to display products synchronized with the projector. The “grande Su Misura room” (Custom large room in English) is located on the right side and the “Piccolo Su Misura room” (Little Tailor room in English) is located in the front.

A mix between oldies and new classic English music are always played in the store, soft but still can be heard without being noisy. Songs like: “That’s life” for Frank Sinatra “Anything goes” for Tony Bennett & lady Gaga,

Section 2: workshop and back office. A white curtain separates the “Piccolo Su Misura room” from the place where the creativity comes from. This area is for VIAJIYU team. It is equipped with all the tools and technologies needed to keep the business running, from PCs to the cup of coffee. It is the place where VIAJIYU team meet, does the planning, communicate, brainstorm, place & arrange orders with suppliers, update the website and many more. In the same area of the back office, a special area is dedicated for interns and students who attend an internship program and they are welcomed to join VIAJIYU team and be introduced to the business operation system.

They are displayed in a symmetrical balance and placed either in the front side or the side of the shoes. Spotlights with soft lighting are used on the shoes to show the actual and real color of the item. The overall theme allows attracting customers’ attention and gives a feeling of restraint and classic atmosphere.

Products Display: At VIAJIYU, the product display strategy is not a complicated one. It has an easy and clear pattern. Basically, the products are displayed on white wall shelves and on big classy glass table located in the middle of the store. The products are displayed based on the flat styles. Each group of style is displayed together, that makes it easier for the customers to choose when they want to order there shoes. The white shelves create a balance with the VIAJIYU colorful flats. 65

The shopping experience in the store

VIAJIYU made sure to create a remarkable shopping experience for each customer by appreciating each customer and dedicate time. Nichole created a sales pattern methodology to ensure delivering a valuable and consistent shopping experience. How VIAJIYU does that! After creating “impulse buying” the customer made the choice to open VIAJIYU store door. At that time a soft bill rings twice, it takes few seconds for the customer to be greeted with the word “Welcome to VIAJIYU” by the store team or even by the owner sometimes. Another case scenario which is more preferable by VIAJIYU team is when customer set an appointment earlier through viajiyu. setmore.com. Setting an appointment makes the visit to VIAJIYU store more personalized when the customer enters the store because the team is ready and they are expecting the customer that allows them to call them by name from the beginning of the shopping experience. Once an appointment is set online, VIAJIYU team does a small research about their customers before the appointment online and on Facebook that give the team more understanding about their customers personalities

and styles in order to serve them better. After that, the customer is guided inside the store and been introduced to VIAJIYU products by making sure to mention that the store has “made in Italy, made to order flat shoes and no high heels”. The next step is when the customer decides to complete her shopping experience at the store, 2 things VIAJIYU team makes sure to do are: First, Got the customer comfortable and seated by leading them to one of the “made to order rooms”. As soon as they are their, they will be asked if they would like to have a coffee, water and the WIFI password! Second, get the customer be distracted by the shoes colors by letting them experience the first step of customizing their shoes. The customer will be given an Ipad that has many different colors and a catalogue for the pattern to choose from. Starting the shopping experience with colors is because colors tell a lot about the person personality that gives the chance to VIAJIYU expert to know the customer personality in order to offer them their shoes style preference and of course without forgetting to include the customer age and outfit style.

During that time the customer is left alone to choose the color and the material and the sales person is getting the drink. After that, VIAJIYU expert will ask the customer what color they chose, the size and their preference of style â&#x20AC;&#x153;round toe, pointed toe, peep toe, classic toe or low pointed toe. Then VIAJIYU sales person sets the Ipad on the chosen color, material and style from a wide set of collection to give the customer sometime and an idea to decide how she wants to design her shoes. During that time the sales person gets some shoes from the shelves that thinks would suit the customer based on her personality and chosen preference to try and see how the actual and final result will look like. Once the customer makes her decision and reaches a final decision on how her shoes will look like and of course with the sales person support and advises. The order is replaced through the Ipad. The customer enters her personal details and pays. Then, the customer is accompanied to the door, greeted and wished a pleasant staying in Florence. In couple of words, the shopping experience at VIAJIYU is like a mission start restaurant or like a boutique hotel. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how Nicole always wanted it to be.

Online & offline promotions

VIAJIYU doesn’t offer any kind of promotion online or offline or doesn’t run any marketing activities at this point. The store believes that their shoes are fairly priced plus VIAJIYU has limited collection with limited styles and the store cannot sacrifices to run any promotion in order not to affect the sales out of the promotion periods. Also, another point of view, VIAJIYU is luxury store that should have exclusivity and uniqueness that shouldn’t be run the same way of the mass stores. When it comes to increasing sales, VIAJIYU counts on the world of mouth, trunk shoes, walk in visitors.

Customer relation Service

As a luxury store, VIAJIYU offers its customers different tailored and integrated customer services online and offline. VIAJIYU gives its customers an option to book for their store visit ahead of time by setting an appointment online via VIAJIYU. setmore.com or phone +39 055 290 380 and they even have an option to choose their shopping assistant. Not only that but also, customers can book a virtual appointment via skype or Facetime WeChat or your favorite video calling app if they are not able to visit the Florence store. If the customer never did a video chat, VIAJIYU team is always there to show them how it is done. Pampering the customer more, VIAJIYU can arrange for private fitting at the customer hotel room in Florence if they can't bear to fight the crowds in Florence. That can be done by emailing the address and a few available times to: Florence@VIAJIYU.com For UK customer, VIAJIYU offers a private appointment booking through +447595466341 or email ellie@VIAJIYU.com. When a VVIP customer is expected to visit VIAJIYU, the store closes its door during the visit so that the customer would feel her privacy, appreciation and gets all the attention from the team.

VIAJIYU store team desires to be relationship-centric with its customers in order to exceed their expectation and leave them with unforgettable experience to talk about. The shopping experience at VIAJIYU store is based on the psychological approach that makes the store team understand their customers more and hence to serve them better in order to be able to satisfy their needs and of course sell more. However from the customer point of view, they will feel appreciated, happy, amazed and thrilled from such an organized and sophisticated experience. The shopping experience at VIAJIYU is one to one service which gives the customer an option to ask questions and know more about shoes, the experience is not about selling shoes but is more about building relationship with customers and about educating them about the store and about shoes and which in turn enriches their shopping experience. Also, since 95% of VIAJIYU customers are tourist, the team is aware of the fact that each customer differ from another in the language, culture, sophistication level, education about shoes and luxury. That makes kind of challenging to VIAJIYU team to study different culture and be clever in the way of delivering its services to match each customers shopping behavior.

At the store, the Ipads are equipped with guide material in more than 7 different languages, Arabic, English, Chines, Japanese, Russian, French, Taiwanese, Italian and Spanish. Having make it easier for tourist to understand the store concept and give the ability to communicate with the store team more effectively. Tourists who made orders at VIAJIYU store donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about their package delivery because VIAJIYU take car of this part by shipping the pair of flats once they are ready to any country worldwide and free of charge.

Special event or activities

VIAJIYU organizes "trunk shows” in a way to promote the store, build awareness and get people to know the store concept closely. Trunk shoes usually take place twice a year in US. The next tour will be from the 8-26 August 2016 in the Boston/NYC areas and also from the 5 Nov 2016 - 15 March 2017. Also, VIAJIYU organizes to open pop-up stores in different countries worldwide such as in Shanghai, china and Paris, France in order to reach the maximum potential client as possible. As part of VIAJIYU social responsibilities, the store is involved in community activities that are aligned with its identity and values. 5% from store profit is donated to the “Girl effect” organization” annually. Nicole (the founder) and VIAJIYU believe that The Girl Effect is designed to be pushed and advocate for greater recognition of her talents and potentials. Following that perception, VIAJIYU supports girls around the world through annual donation to the “Girls effect”. The organization trusts that girls are the most powerful force who are able to make a change on the plant. VIAJIYU believes the same and also, changing one girl life can change the world.

1-4 POP - UP shop in Sganghai,China 5-8 POP - UP shop in Paris,France

UNITED NUDE

a) I.

Visual merchandising External display:

Signage: The signage of the store is always in black and has the store name/ logo written is white. It is designed in 2D format with nothing special, keeping it simple and elegant. Mostly the signage is located on the upper side of the store and centered. The signage is repeated if the store has 2-display windows like the one for the Amsterdam store. The signage is clearly readable and noticeable by the street shopper so it is not difficult to recognize the UNITED NUDE store.

Window: Like VIAJIYU, UNITED NUDE has an open back window that enables window shoppers to see the entire store from inside. That allows the customer to feel and experience the inside store shopping environment from outside. Also, have such a structure give the store a lively and active feeling. The windows have straight fronts. They are clean and completely transparent. This type of window needs an attention catcher element that pulls in the customer as the product to be visible from the outside of the store and UNITED NUDE has it! The latest collection of the store and special limited editions are the ones displayed on the windows. The store uses cube boxes in different heights to display the shoes on and sometime they are covered with glass boxes to give the impression of specialty and uniqueness to some icon products. The window display changes once there is a new collection coming to the store that means it changes 2 to 4 times a year by each SS/AW or limited collection. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We end up breaking the rules of the shoes, not for the sake of breaking them, but simply by not knowing them.â&#x20AC;?___ Rem D Koolhaas

II.

Interior structure:

Store layout: The stores differ in sizes but all have wide spaces enough to display more that 50 pairs of shoes and for the shopper to feel free walking around. The Amsterdam store has 2 floors. The UNITD NUDE flagship store is Amsterdam has it all. It has the DNA and the characteristic of the brand. The first impression of UNITED NUDE store (in Amsterdam) is the darkness, with a brightly back-light curved wall that follows the perimeter at the rear of the store. The store has a “Dark shop” where it is basically designed as a theatre and the products are the performers as the show itself. The products are showcased in geometric shaped boxes and literally highlighted with a colored backlight. The most important element is the trademarked wall “The Wall of Light”. It is a computer LED controlled wall that is a very low-resolution screen where each pixel is basically a little box with a shoe in it. It can run low-resolution images or animations on the screen that looks very like a very abstract sort of pixelated color scheme. Another design feature of the store is the small goods elevator that leads to a stock room above the main floor.

Customers can find the collection in the store as per the below: 0 floor has cash desk / men’s collection /window display with the latest collection. The accessories are displayed on the wooden stairs. On the way up to the first floor where women’s full collection are there, UN brochures can be collected from the stairs stands. Having such a combination of the store layout creates for the customer an entertaining and theatrical shopping experience. Also, in line with the store dark experience, music of chillstep is played in the store. The tracks are composed by UNITED NUDE and can be found on https://soundcloud.com/united-nude

Products Display: At UNITED nude, all the stores have the same product display strategy where the store uses 2 ways of displying the shoes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; either in the wall light boxes or on dark table boxes. Because of the darkness and the boxes LED lighting, it is kind of hard the shoes real color to be seen so the customer should have to wait until the colors turns into white in order to see the shoes real color. The products display has the same strategy of the window display where it chnages 2 to 4 times a year but by SS/AW or precollection. The wall are used for items to be displayed by model, starting from basic black model to seasonal colors. And the tables are used to display items by collection and special limited collection.

The shopping experience in the store

UNITED NUDE Amsterdam store is open 7 days a week to welcome anyone in the city. Once the customers enter the UNITED NUDE store, the LED lighting wall will catch their attention right away. Seems like there’s something magical about to happen. Customers consciously follow the light as if they are in a museum; the shoes are displayed in show box, with the lounge music. At the same time the sales person come to the customers greet them and welcome them to the store and offer them help in case they have any questions or requirements about the brand or the product. The sales are able to talk fluent English and Dutch with eye contact. If the customers don’t know any thing about the brand then sales person start to tell the story. From the beginning to materials and the main concept of the brand, they build a idea in customers mind, make them understand the meaning of UNITED NUDE, understand the products then have the desire to purchase it. There’s a mirror wall link the whole space, the customers will feel the shopping area is endless. The sales persons are willing to look stocks for customers until they find the perfect size and

style the customer is looking for In order to deliver a satisfactory shopping experience. Also, the sales person introduces the new collection and lead the customer to where it is located. At the end of purchase, sales will guide the customers to cash desk, follow the stairs. The wood floor makes the atmosphere more settle, compare the tempting lighting wall, it makes people feel safe. And the UNITED NUDE shopping experience will be very charming. Due to the high traffic in UN stores compared to VIJIYU, the shopping experience is not fully tailored, however the brand identity does exist in every visit.

Online & offline promotions:

Online: UNITED NUDE gives its customer “Special offers” via the official e-commer website. Need to subscribed the detail about e-mail address/country/gender. To get promotion code.(The discount code only for select items) Offline: UNITED NUDE offline promotions are limited to organizing an outlet pop-up stores where customers can find UN women’s and men’s collection up to 70% off. This kind of promotion is organized every 2 end of season.

Customer relation Service

Although UNITED NUDE is a bigger than VIAJIYU, in turns that they have much more customers. UNITED NUDE providing an impressive shopping experience that matches the brand luxurious image. UNITED NUDE always works on providing a friendly and welcoming environment in their store for the customers by choosing the right people who are able to deliver that feeling to UN walk in customers, Ensures ease of customer shopping experience and who are able to assist them to find what they are looking for. UNITED NUDE can manage for customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; special orders when it comes to the shoes stock availability, sizes and adjustment. UNITED NUDE customer relation service is not limited to the offline store but it is also offered for the online store. UNITED NUDE website has a specific email for customers to send their special requirements at: customerservice@unitednude.com

Special event or activities:

UNITED NUDE focuses on opening pop-up stores and exhibitions in many different luxury locations around the world between Europe, Asia US and UK . Mainly such pop-up stores are organized to promote new collection and limited edition. UNITED NUDE organizes different special fashion event within its stores around the world. The most phenomenal one was in Tokyo at Omotesando Hills where Vogue had their main stage event during Vogueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s international event and Anna Wintour was present. Also, lately UNITED NUDE participated in Milan Design week 2015 when they presented the 3D system.

1POP - UP store in London,UK 2POP - UP store in Tokyo,Japan 3POP - UP store in Seaul,Korea 4POP - UP store in Paris,France 5POP - UP store in Miami,USA 6POP - UP store in Taipei,Taiwan

E-commerce 80

VIAJIYU

a) I.

E-com website analysis The online story

Initially, VIAJIYU started with the online business store. The plan was to sell flat shoes online only and Nicole never planed to have VIAJIYU physical store. The online store got the supplier attention to start business with VIAJIYU. However, the online business didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work well as no one would buy the first VIAJIYU made to order shoes online. The owner invested 60% of the business capital on the website and the app. After that, Nicole realized that she needs to open a physical store in order to introduce VIAJIYU to the market and that what she did. It was pivot and a new unexpected direction for the business.

II.

websitesections

VIAJIYU website is easy to navigate and follow between pages. It is full of information and answers all the questions that a visitor would ask. The website conveys the same physical store concept of customizing the shoes. The website focuses on the white areas and it uses the same color and info-graphic approach that the store has with colors and identity. Also, the website has the same font interaction with relevant to the actual store of using social media hash tags. The website supports videos which is considered up to the luxury website trend. However, no many videos are available on the website. The website is supported with a live chat, where the visitor can chat and consult VIAJIYU team by either logging in via personal email or Facebook account. The online store has a free shipping service worldwide. The website has only English version and no any other language are available.

In the home page, pictures for the latest design of VIAJIYU shoes can be found. Also, the home page has a section linked to the VIAJIYU social media (twitter, Instagram and Pinterest) where it publishes the latest post on the linked platforms. That gives the website the impression of liveliness and interaction with customers. The visual merchandising on the website is very close to the one in the website. Shoes style, colors, material and shapes are categorized the same way done in the store. However, the website includes a section for â&#x20AC;&#x153;inspirationâ&#x20AC;? that has a ref picture for shoes that were customized by previous customers and that is not available in the store. In the home page header, the visitor can choose their preferable currency by choosing from different 10 currencies. The login button, creating a VIAJIYU account with the shopping bag, search bar and free shipping are positioned on the right side of the same location.

As any other website, VIAJIYU online store misses the emotional factor along with the reality feeling.

The menu sections: VIAJIYU has the common horizontal text navigation menu. It includes the below sections: 1. Shop section that leads to product listing page where all VIAJIYU shoes styles and colors are displayed with prices and product description. 2. our story section that is based on the VIAJIYU story telling approach that tell the store concept, idea, vision and how it started 3. Craftsmanship section: that shoes a video about how VIAJIYU products are produced in its Italian factory. 4. Inspirations: this section is kind of similar to the “shop” page content. However, what differentiate it from the “shop” page is that it lists VIAJIYU shoes that were customized by customers where they mixed and matched different colors, bows and hardware. 5. The made to order section is the last section in menu that lists the different ways of how the customer can order and customize her shoes along with VIAJIYU services on how she can arrange for an appointment.

The footer section of the home page includes information about: customer care, size chart, contacts, shipping agreement and details, about the store, newsletter subscription, clickable VIAJIYU social media icons, sitemap, terms of use and privacy policy. What is interesting that when it comes to customer care, VIAJIYU website offers many different service in different countries to help customers in: • Placing an order • Tracking your order • Arranging a return or exchange • Choosing the right size and fit • Managing VIAJIYU account By emailing VIAJIYU team to Florence@VIAJIYU.com or via contacting phone number in Italy, UK, USA and Australia.

Header

Navigation menu

Footer

Listing & Products page: Currently there are 500 items listed on the website and 200 are coming for the upcoming season. The shoes are listed in 15 pages; each page has 36 different products. Each product has a picture (size 240x126), name, price and toe style description. The product picture is taken from the side for only one pair. The shopper has an option to filter their preference from color, style, material and occasion which is easier to find what the customer is looking for. Once the viewer clicks on the product, she will be directed to product page where it includes:

More and bigger pictures of the product taken from different angle and shots. The pictures are located on the left side of the page as where usually people have the first look on when they open the page. The viewer cannot find a picture for the model wearing the shoes that make kind of difficult how the shoes will look like on feet. • Product name that is inspired by Italian cities names like Roma, Siena, Venezia, Milano, Como, Portofino..etc. that makes it more relevant to tourist and at the same time fun to explore and educate them about Italy. • Product description that includes, the shoes style (wedge or flat), pattern and leather name, the finishing/ trim style, the sizes for the sole, wedge, neck and back. The made in Italy label is also mentioned in the product description. They also mention the kind of feet that fits the shoes the best like wide or slim feet. • Product price that can be changed to different 10 currencies. • Available sizes • The product story and design inspiration. • Made to order section where the customer can customize her own shoes. • Travel tips: since each product has a name inspired by an Italian city, the website gives the customer a travel tip related to the shoes city name and talk a bit about the city. • Detail and care section that mention the place of production, 100% leather and that the product includes pinstripe shoe bag. • The delivery and return policy is repeated on each product page. •

Also, an interactive and a smart move at the same time, the viewer has an option to share the product they like whether they buy it or not on twitter, Facebook, pinterest, tumblr and google+. 87

Payment methods: VIAJIYU website offers different payment methods by suing Credit card (Visa/ Mastercard, American express,..etc, paypal account and bank deposit. The website doesn’t include GEO pricing. Visitors have no only one version of the website no matter where they located. That makes VIAJIYU products have the same price no matter which county the customer is logging in from.

Return Policy: The website returning policy are listed as well where customers can: • Remake the shoes: customers can return the shoes to VIAJIYU in an unworn condition and the store will remake them free of charge in a different size. • Repairing the shoes: customers can take their pair of shoes to a local shoe repair in their city and VIAJIYU will cover the costs of adjusting. REFUND. Return the shoes to VIAJIYU in an unworn condition and the store will refund 100% of the paid price. We have to say that the overall layout of the website is not up to the luxury standard yet especially when it comes to pictures resolution, copy content and products listing. VIAJIYU is completely aware of that and they are planning to release the new update in couple of months.

b) Online target: VIAJIYU online target is the same as its physical store. VIAJIYU still wants to get the trailblazer women attention from all over the world. Those who look for new adventures and those who let the road of new adventures lead them. The only one thing that might differ is that the online store is created for technology users and likes to shop online rather than visiting store that might be very small group of baby boomers that VIAJIYU store target.

Social media strategy

Official website â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www.viajiyu.com VIAJIYU as many other luxury brand has a presence on social media, however it is not the store priority right now and it will be in the future. The store believes that the social media has an amazing affect on the business by then. A different case from UNITED NUDE, VIAJIYU is not active on its social media pages and that explains its small followers numbers. VIAJIYU is presence on the below platforms:

2300 likes on the VIAJIYU page. The page was created is 2012. Usually the facebook page is used as VIAJIYU dairy where the store posts on it when they have a special announcement or event. Also the page is linked to the Instagram account where the same Insagram posts are shared on the FB page. The page has 1300 followers with 535 posts. VIAJIYU posts 3 times a week on their account which is not much. The posts are about their shoes, inspirational quotes and other female lifestyle related posts. Mostly the posts has colorful look and feel. VIAJIYU says that the store is found by a lot of their visitors through the Instagram page. The account has 87 followers, 2 likes, 818 pins and 18 boards. The account is used mostly to tell stories about VIAJIYU different shoes style, inspiring VIAJIYU women, the owner and many more.

The account has 323 followers with 287 tweets. The tweets are mostly about VIAJIYU store announcement like opening hours, opening days, how to take an appointment, best seller .. etc. VIAJIYU YouTube channel was created since Dec 2012 and has 3,095 views. It has 17 videos about the team, shoe making and VIAJIYU team.

The account has been created in Dec 2012. Also, it has the same content of Instgaram page.

When it comes to social media, no matter whatsapp in mobile or emails communication, the visual part reflects VIAJIYU personality. That gives female customers a feeling of belonging to the store and another feeling of motivation to take the next step in life. When it comes to the written content, VIAJIYU keeps on using on their social media the same hash tags used in the store communication like: #madeinitaly #flat #madetoorder #shoes. The major use of the written content on social media is the hashtags. In general the posts have no description when it comes to a product posts. Moreover, Having such few posts in 2 years and a half with the minimal interactive on posts by the few followers, we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say that VIAJIYU sales and brand awareness building are driven by its social media.

UNITED NUDE

a. i.

E-com website analysis The online story.

UNITED NUDE website is created to support the offline business. Having an E-commerce in the European market is essential and it is the trend for luxury brand. The website is designed to sell shoes directly to consumer. The e-commerce is able to ship to almost anywhere in the world, thus extending the reach of UNITED NUDE beyond their physical stores. The website also promotes and shapes the UNITED NUDE brand.

Website sections:

UNITED NUDE website is simple, clear, basic and easy to follow. The website doesn’t show the architecture and creativity elements that are represented in the physical store and product design but still uses boxes (same concept of the store design) in order to show the different website content on the home page. The website uses white as main color of the store and not black as the same as the offline store. The website doesn’t include any videos that shows how the production process is made, it uses pictures only. Also, it doesn’t have a live chat. The E-commerce offers a free shipping in EU and North America. The website misses the customer care section where they don’t provide any information for customers on how they can help them during their online shopping experience. The website is available in one language version which is English only. The home page has pictures in boxes (triangle shape) that show the latest collection, seasonal collection, men, women and accessories collections, latest collaboration, about the brand and shops. Above the fold (what you see before scrolling down) 2 product focused sections and “time based” promotion for a product. Upon clicking through these promotions, the user finds a selection of shoes which they can buy from the website and have

delivered to their desired destination. Below the fold - gender f o c u s e d p r o m o t i o n a n d accessories. At the moment UNITED NUDE are promoting the “low res” car story, which helps to build their brand identity. When it comes to visual merchandising, there is a huge gap between the UNITED NUDE website and the actual store. The whole look and feel of the website, completely differs from the actual store. The website has a very classic mood and colors while the store has a clubbing mood. However, the products are still divided in the same way of the store based on the collection where in the men, women, accessories and limited edition collections have separate sections. The website has no any creative or up normal idea to display it products online while the actual store does. In the home page header, the logo is centered in the page. The visitor can choose their country and preferable currency between 3 different currencies USD/GBP/EUR from the currency tap. Store locator is located above the currency tap on left side of the header. On the right side of the header sign in, search/help and my basket taps can be found. 93

The navigation menu: UNITED NUDE as VIAJIYU has the horizontal list of text navigation, the same includes: 1.Special offers - Promotion code for select products. From the website you can chose view by New arrivals, best sellers, category, color, size or price. 2.Women - Women’s collection. All shoes display by model. At the left side have a TIFF image keep changing 5 different products to catch customer’s eyes. From the website you can chose view by New arrivals, best sellers, category, color, size or price. 3.Men - Men’s collection. At the left side have a TIFF image keep changing 5 different products to catch customer’s eyes. All shoes display by model. 4. Accessories - At the left side have a TIFF image keep changing different products to catch customer’s eyes. The accessories include back-bags, watches, hats, bracelets, hand-bags, wallets, belt. There’s special sign for “New ” and “Just in”. 5. Limited edition - Limited edition for sale. 6. Brand - From here we can know About UN, collections for the beginning, collaborations, in the press, UN shops world wild, concept, news about UNITED NUDE. 7.News - The news about UNU+ITED NUDE from brand concept to latest news all include.

In the footer section of the home page, the below tap can be found: 1. Contact us - For any questions regarding UNITED NUDE's Online Shop. Including website feedback, sales & distribution, UN retail stores, media & press contact. 2. Jobs - Job openings in UNITED NUDE world wild. 3. Terms&Conditions - Delivery & cost, return or exchange, payment, ownership. 4. Newsletter - Sign up to receive news, inspiration and exclusive promotions. 5. In the press - Press book and editorial, link to Pinterest.

Header

Navigation menu

Footer

Listing & Products page: The products page includes 4 catalogues: Women, men, accessories, limited edition. Each catalog has all the items in one page. At the left side there’s a TIFF image (size1050x1050) keep changing in 5 different products. Each product has a picture (size 500x500), model name, price and color description. The product pictures are taken from the side for one single shoe. Once the customer clicks on the product, customer will be directed to another page where it includes:

Full size picture (size1800x1000) about the product in 6 different angles. Also can zoom in or zoom out. The pictures are right in the middle of the page as anyone can directly see it when they open the page. There’s no any picture of model wearing the product, however it’s very easy to find one in the website but not in this page. • Product information includes the idea of the product, collection name, shoes style, pattern and leather name, leather color, lining and all the materials made the shoes. Also, the occasion of use is mentioned to most of the items. • Product price that can be changed into 3 different currencies (EURO/GBP/USD). • Available sizes and the number of quantity customer need. • Size and fitting. Customers can see full-size and fitting guides in here. • The delivery and return policy is repeated on each product page. • Also attached the social media link that customers share the product they like whether they buy it or not on twitter, Facebook, pinterest. •

Return Policy: The website is very clear with the return policy and exchange. • Unsuitable items may be returned or exchanged within 20 days of our dispatch date. • Exchanges for another size and/or color in the same style of shoe will depend upon in-stock availability. • All returns will be accepted and processed within 5 business days of delivery and refunded only via the original form of payment.

Payment Methods: UNITED NUDE website accept different payment methods by credit card or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American express and pay pal account. • EURO for order placed in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia • GBP for orders placed in the UK and Ireland • USD for orders placed in North and South America The UNITED NUDE website meets the luxury standers a bit more than VIAJIYU because of using the luxury website trend of white colors, its simplicity and high quality picture content. However it lacks the creativity and uniqueness aspects that are match the online store with the brand identity.

Online target:

UNITED NUDE online targets are the same as its physical store when it comes to men and women persona. Moreover, the website geographical targets differs than its physical store since it is reachable from all over the world and not only where the stores are located. The website needs customers who know how to shop online and familiar with digital technology.

Social media strategy

Official website - www.unitednude.com

There are 250000 likes on UNITED NUDE Facebook fans page which created since 2009, every 3-5days will have new post about products, new collections, editorial, stores all over the world and so on. There are 301000 followers on UNITED NUDE official Instagram, actually UNITED NUDE has 8 different official account on Instagram, defined by region such as UN_Tokyo, UN New York. That enables a more effective communication with the followers where each account speaks different language based on its region. The posts on Instagram were all about products. There are 190000 followers on UNITED NUDE Pinterest. There are lots of stories can be tell on Pinterest, such as the process of 3D printing, limited editions, materials, textures and the inspire thingsâ&#x20AC;Ś

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There are 118000 followers on UNITED NUDE twitter which opened since 2009, until now there are 4062 tweets during past 8 years. Most of posts were about the back stage of UNITED NUDE, such as sample sales or special events, re-twit others clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statue or editorial from magazine, also the latest news about UNITED NUDE. UNITED NUDE channel was created in October 2011 and it has 208 subscribers and 250,945 views The channel started two years ago. Until now UNITED NUDE has 7 videos, about the collaboration, laughing video, new products, LORES CAR project, ..etc. UNITED NUDE has their own soundcloud account where they compose their own music to be used in the store.

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UNITED NUDE social media visual content is 95% about their products. They post a clear and simple picture about the product and sometimes with a model. The social media written content includes around 2 lines product description with its design name. Also, they use hash tags starting with #unitednude then the collection year and another hash tags descripting the main elements of the shoes such as: #geometric # pump. Each post has a clickable link that leads to another page where the audience can know more about the product or the post story. From both stores analysis, it is obvious that UNITED NUDE is way to active than VIAJIYU on social media and they know what they are doing to get the maximum use of their social media platforms. They have a good number of like and comments on their posts with many questions about the sizes and prices. That can indicate that UNITED NUDE social media has an effective part when it comes to its sales and product promotion. Also, we have to say that the UNITED NUDE has a higher brand and product awareness than VIAJIYU that make people more interactive and interested with the store activities on social media.

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SWOT analysis VIAJIYU

Strengths Presence in one of the fashion cities •

• Italian • High

price

hand-crafted shoes

quality with affordable

Unique business concept of customizing shoes •

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Weaknesses • Lack

of brand awareness

Low social media followers and interaction •

• Building a non-Italian brand

within the Italian culture considered a minus point. The oline store is not up to the luxury standards, needs updates abd imporement. •

Opportunities Chinese expansion would boost company growth •

The store location has a great opportunity attract tourist and targeted customers •

Threats • Possibility

to be imitated by big brands that have much power in the market Competing with luxury brands •

UNITED NUDE

Strengths • Exploring a new function of fashion in sculpture. • Forefront of 3D technology and capitalizing on it • Appreciated by a wider audience, not just fashion enthusiasts. • Making social commentary. • Archetype is connected to the branding concept, product and a[trophy] sculpture. • Feasible with sponsors • Linking aerologists through social media [free advertising]

Weaknesses • Made in label doesn’t reflect the high quality for a luxury brand •No control on online selling point that affect the band image for selling products on websites like amazon or eBay.

Opportunities • Create future sculpture projects • Be remembered for creating global awareness through fashion sculpture • Create more language versions for website to reach wider customer scale worldwild.

Threats • 3D printing is becoming cheaper and cheaper, lowering barriers to entry for people making similar products.(Many designers start to use 3D printing) • Rising wage prices in China could squeeze margins.

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Conclusion

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VIAJIYU and UNITED NUDE have main different characteristics when it comes to the brand awareness, financial numbers, customer service delivery, product variety and in the way that the business operates. The two concept stores differ in business size and age. Although UNITED NUDE has no long history yet (founded 2003), their designs made it possible to create the brand name and positioned their name as one of a leading architectural shoes brand in the shoes market. While VIAJIYU is 2 and a half years old, it still have a long way to go in order to build its brand name to be able to compete with the big luxury shoes brands. Having one physical store for VIAJIYU with full owner attention and much less traffic in it compared to UNITED NUDE, made it possible for VIAJIYU to create a customer centric, personalized and satisfied tailored shopping experience that matches their luxurious brand identity. While UNITED NUDE left the shopping experience to be remarkable with the store dark design and not the service as VIAJIYU. Having UNITED NUDE stores spread worldwide, returned to the business with an impressive sales numbers per year and way much higher than VIAJIYU sales numbers. We also don’t have to forget the impact of celebrities and big designer names in the store products creation. We believe that the fact that VIAJIYU has 1 product category and limited product collection is a good strategy for the business as a start up as that would help the store to build its brand image and to be well-know as made to order flat shoes store at this stage. Also, for a new store, that will reduce customers’ confusion with the store lines and products. UNITED NUDE was able to take their business a step further than VIAJIYU because of the business experienced talents, brand position and name power. VIAJIYU has a great potential to grow in the luxury market because of the mind set of the owner, customers feedback about the store and the products, having a loyal repeated customer’s purchases and the unforgettable shopping experience at the store. UNITED NUDE has a very clear vision of where the brand want to reach and a set plan for keeping the business going more successfully.

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