No.1 Spring Edition
Counter Culture A new era in retail excellence and brand delivery – the journey begins here.
Shop Talk. It’s vital that brands invest in developing their people. Only then will they create a lasting difference.
Bland Consistency. Complacency kills retail. Positive change and great customer service starts here and it starts now.
Re-New York. Innovative US retailers signal growing optimism and a hint of better things to come in 2014.
Sales Assistance. Whatever your brand delivery or VM training needs, discover effective development solutions to suit any budget.
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Defining Moments 1993—Present
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Visual Thinking celebrate 20 years of retail performance improvement. Macy’s become first retailer to adopt Apple’s innovative iBeacon.
Paul Smith announce ambitious plans to re-enter lucrative Chinese market. Burberry open ground-breaking multi-media store on London’s Regent Street. Wal-Mart celebrate 50th anniversary.
Abercrombie & Fitch open first flagship store in Southeast Asian flagship.
Zara open its first store in India.
Topshop open first US store in New York.
Waitrose open first UK convenience store Little Waitrose in Nottingham. Woolworths UK collapses. One of the biggest recorded UK business failures.
Tesco launch USA neighbourhood grocery store concept Fresh & Easy.
Uniqlo withdraw from UK market before returning 5 years later.
The Body Shop taken over by French cosmetic giant L’Oreal.
Safeway grocery stores disappear from the UK.
Apple opens its first European store on London’s Regent Street.
Selfridges open flagship store in redeveloped Bull Ring, Birmingham. Black Friday becomes US retailing’s busiest shopping day of the year. Sears Group sell Selfridges & Co. Our Price closes; ending 30 years of high street music retailing.
Arcadia, the UK’s second biggest fashion retailer, aquired by Sir Philip Green.
John Lewis launch online store: johnlewis.com Simply Food grocery concept opened by Marks & Spencer. Apple open their first store in the US.
C&A announce withdrawal from the UK.
B&Q open in China. Wal-Mart enter the UK with acquisition of ASDA.
Marks & Spencer become first UK retailer to record £1bn profit. Amazon launch in the UK.
Arcadia created after Burton Group is demerged.
Starbucks launch first coffee shop in Asia.
Tesco announce launch of ‘Clubcard’ loyalty scheme.
UK Sunday trading laws relaxed paving the way for 24-hour shopping culture.
Visual Thinking founded. Clarks open Clarks Village, the UK’s first outlet shopping centre.
Forward The retail landscape in 2014 is unrecognisable from just a few short years ago. The way in which brands sell and people shop have changed dramatically. But while no one can deny there’s a revolution going on, the fact is we’ve been here before.
the established retail order while too little is placed on improving the customer experience. And this begins with effective brand delivery and visual merchandising. To drive real change, an expert impartial viewpoint can be an invaluable asset. We work with you to address the complex challenges that may be holding your business back and help you arrive at a practical strategy for growth. At the heart of our work is the principle that every member of a retail team is first and foremost a shopper and, as such, results are best achieved by ‘thinking like a customer®’. For more than 20 years, it’s this unique approach that has led the world’s major brands to regard us as the go-to retail consultancy – and it’s a fact we’re very proud of. Over the following pages, we’ve handpicked what we consider to be some of the most important topics and examples of VM and retail excellence from around the world. Thought-provoking and insightful, they demonstrate our belief in retail’s ability to constantly reinvent itself and re-engage with its customers - the brands, the places and the people that inspire us to succeed and make us passionate about what we do. The future is within. Enjoy the read.
Karl McKeever Brand Director
Retail needs investment. It needs reinvention, new ways of thinking. This is where Visual Thinking comes in.
Life moves in circles, never in a straight line — George Davies, Britain’s outfitter
Our work at Visual Thinking has always revolved around an appreciation that trends are cyclical. There’s no doubt that many retail brands have had their confidence dented by the recession. However, for the more perceptive players, the structural changes that are taking place in the sector present a once-in-a-generation opportunity for change. To drive genuine change, however, brands need to create a clear road map for the next stage in their journey. Just as importantly, they must also ensure that the reasons for change are fully understood and supported throughout the organisation, because even the best brand vision can become derailed by complacency and poor planning. For many businesses, 2014 promises to be a springboard to better times. But if they are to realise their full potential, experience shows us they must aim higher and demand more. This means facing up to the challenges of competitors and understanding consumer needs. Retail needs investment. It needs reinvention; new ways of thinking. It’s time to challenge traditional approaches and create an experience that is more in tune with what customers actually want, and to be relentless in the pursuit of excellence. By making stores easier and more enjoyable places in which to shop, it’s possible to achieve a quantifiable commercial advantage. But to make this happen, retailers must provide their people with the right support. This is where Visual Thinking comes in. In our experience, too much energy is wasted on worrying about threats to
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Prague is fast establishing itself as a major location for international retail brands. And Visual Thinking is at the heart of the action. Our European VM consultant Lukáš Šmíd considers the city’s evolution and vibrant new shopping scene. An important element in VT’s work is the array of emerging markets in which we operate. Retail expansion across Central Eastern Europe has seen our team of in-house VM consultants grow to include a permanent presence within the region, based in Prague. It’s a reflection of the significant changes that have taken place in the Czech Republic over the last 20 years, as well as the growing importance of developing commercial markets that are internationally recognised by VM and retail standards. The Czech Republic is central to Visual Thinking’s plans to expand further into Europe. Both were founded in 1993, and in our minds will always be linked with a sense of vibrant optimism. Few changes in the retail landscape have been as dramatic as those seen in Prague with the fall of the communist regime. Borders were thrown open and new opportunities were to be found everywhere. Take fashion retailer Pietro Filipi, which is now a major Czech brand; whereas in 1993 it was one of a handful of small entrepreneurial retailers that were just starting out. Prague today is a retail city for the 21st century. Over the last 20 years, the Czech market has become a key destination for foreign retailers looking to expand their international store operations. In 2010, for example, the prestigious Palladium Centre in Prague became home to Tesco’s first standalone F&F store. Today, Marks & Spencer operates ten stores in Prague alone and many more across the region. Other international retailers have also arrived, providing home-grown Czech retailers with stiff competition, but also a valuable source of inspiration: the influence of Puma, Adidas and Reebok on brands such as Bat’a and Alpine Pro is clear; while retailers such as Zara and Gant have had a marked visual impact on Pietro Filipi and Blažek. This vibrant blend of heritage and innovation has already placed Czech retailers on a fast track to growth. Now, at the start of 2014, it’s entirely possible to believe that the country’s significance as a European retail powerhouse has also only just begun.
To find out more about Lukáš and the other consultants in our team visit: visualthinking.co.uk/our-people
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Shelf Life — Two Decades of Retail Fashions come and go: clothes, music, cultural icons – all those musthave producs you wanted at the time, and then cringed at ever having owned. Yet while over the las twenty years we’ve seen momentous changes, shopping continues to inspire.
Personal Shopping
Designer Democracy
Taking Stock
Then — Twenty years ago segmenting your customer base was a relatively simple and logical exercise. Customer profiling would be based on generalised demographics built around nationally captured data. There was little or no individuality involved.
Then — Historically, the term ‘designer’ referred exclusively to high-end products, accessible only to the wealthy. Few top brands were available outside of the capital and they had little in common with mainstream high street stores.
Then — Customers accepted that if a product wasn’t on display, it wasn’t available. And you certainly wouldn’t expect there to be any more to a range than was displayed instore, so you wouldn’t ask.
Now — Shoppers today are much more individual in the way they live their lives, and this is reflected in their buying habits. Society has also seen some dramatic changes: more women working, more single parents, a larger gap between low and high earners. All of this makes it harder for brands to profile their customers: there is no longer any such thing as an ‘average’ person. This makes it more vital than ever to invest in understanding your customer and tailoring your retail development to meet their needs.
Now — Harvey Nichols took a risk in 1996 when it opened its second store not in London, but in Leeds. Today, brands such as Zara, Topshop and Primark employ the same VM standards once reserved for premium luxury brands, and on a global scale. Many mainstream brands have also introduced top level ranges that are linked to designers and celebrities – think Designers at Debenhams, Stella McCartney at Gap Kids, or Gok Wan at Sainsbury’s.
Now — Today, ‘click and collect’ order points mean that shoppers benefit from up-to-theminute information on stock availability as well as having access to a wider choice of products beyond those stocked instore. Retailers also benefit from this technology, as it enables them to manage their stores more effectively and offer better customer service. However, high VM standards and trained staff remain vital to helping customers navigate product ranges, ensuring that the shopping experience is as easy and convenient as buying online.
Brave New World
Scratch the surface and we discover that technology has not led to a revolution, but rather an evolution in retail. The delivery may be different, but fundamentally it’s the same as it always was. Brands may offer discounts in return for likes on Facebook or followers on Twitter, but essentially it’s just another way of promoting word of mouth. Mobile vouchers are a newer version of cut-out coupons. And is online shopping really so different from catalogue shopping? At Visual Thinking we ask our retail clients to ‘think like a customer®’, because nowadays their customers are just as likely to be retailers themselves - nearly 30 per cent of Chinese white collar workers have now opened their own shops online. Such changes mean that our view of what constitutes a fulfilling retail experience has also shifted. Today’s shoppers want to be participants, not just spectators, and the ‘feel good’ element is just as
likely to be defined in terms of personal satisfaction as much as the ‘things’ we purchase. One example is the mail order industry. Many traditional mail order businesses have now moved online, but also newer and more targeted catalogues have emerged - such as Boden, Toast and Lands End - and all focus powerfully on selling a lifestyle image to inspire shoppers to buy. But while shoppers may soon be buying more with their phones than their feet, too many retailers are being blinded by the use of technology for technology’s sake, without fully understanding the role it plays in improving the customer experience. Technology really is just another way of delivering messages to shoppers. What does this mean for visual merchandising? The fact is, technology has made good VM more important than ever. It has made us more connected, more informed and, crucially, more
Technology has made us more connected, better informed and, crucially, more impatient. We expect to find what we want and we want it instantly.
impatient. We expect to find what we want and we want it instantly. We no longer tolerate poor display standards or indifferent customer service. We’ll search for an item in a store, and if we can’t find it we’ll quickly move on until we do. To compete in a digital world, investing more in instore staff training has become indispensable - because a well-informed and caring human being is always going to be better at making a sale than any cold and lifeless computer screen. The most effective brands have long been adept at combining the familiar with the new. This allows their customers to feel reassured while at the same time always experiencing something exciting instore. At Visual Thinking we bring our passion and expertise to the task of improving the shopper experience, aligning policy with behaviours to inject new life into your brand and increase retail performance.
Connecting Shoppers
From QR, Blippar and NFC to mobile marketing, interactive digital screens and virtual mirrors; we’ve created a profile of the latest in retail technology and how it’s bringing new life to our shopping experience in the unwired world...
Adidas NEO, Germany Adidas NEO takes window shopping to a new level with an interactive digital window concept that connects to smartphones. The technology allows shoppers to connect with the window and sync any item placed in its shopping bag with their mobile, ready to save, purchase or share.
C&A, Brazil One of the key challenges facing the retail sector has been connecting effectively with social networks. Then along came Facebook-connected coat hangers! Yes, you read that right. C&A’s recent concept in Brazil is currently being tested at the brand’s flagship store at the Iguatemi Shopping Centre in São Paulo.
Audi City, London This stunning automotive cyber store features Audi’s entire model line-up, and several hundred million vehicle configurations, all under one roof. Combining craftsmanship, visual theatre and precision HD technology, this instore digital experience allows shoppers to browse virtually in realistic 1:1 scale.
Moo.com, London This experimental physical store brings the brand’s online layout to life through a series of interactive installations. One wall references drop-down menus of its website. Customers can also bookmark things they like via QR. It’s full of playful idea that transcend the cold efficiency of the virtual world.
“Visual Thinking challenged us to do better and created a focused team to get things right” — Adidas
The way we shop is changing. High street stores no longer have a monopoly on our buying habits. New technologies mean we can shop anytime, anywhere. It’s great for shoppers, but it’s creating anxiety and even fear among some retailers.
Our Fantasy Mall Ever dream of having all your favourite shops in one place? Introducing our own virtual shopping mall, filled with all the retailers we love the most. If you’re looking for the ultimate shopping experience and world-class VM standards and service, you’re in the right place.
Lane Crawford
Apple
Burberry
Coach
Prada
Livraria da Vila
Department Store
Electronics
Menswear
Accessories
Womenswear
Books
Our first choice to anchor our mall would be Asia’s Lane Crawford, whose stores can be found in China and Hong Kong. Its store at ifc mall, Central, is beautiful, with great VM, top brands, a definitive look and amazing atrium displays.
No mall would be complete without an Apple store. Category leadership, best in class and original out-of the-box-thinking; the pioneering brand continues to dominate, with great VM and matchless service. Often copied but, to this day, never equalled.
Burberry’s stores offer a brilliant combination of British garment heritage and technological innovation. Embracing the best of old and new, the retailer is a survivor, re-imagined and reborn for the future, constantly delivering new relevance for new shoppers… a bit like us.
A long-term advocate of innovative VM, Coach has been an ambassador of outstanding product presentation and sector leadership for many years: delivering a thoroughly cohesive brand message, above and below the line.
Prada stores demonstrate exceptional commitment to product and style through consistent global brand delivery - exclusive, yet accessible, with just the right balance of celebrity appeal.
Tucked away in São Paulo is a book store that boasts outstanding retail architecture, products and service, all delivered with a unique ‘brand handwriting’ and signature style to create a definitive bookshop experience like no other.
Casa Palacio
Whole Foods Market
Aesop
BMW Boutique
La Rinascente
Personal Grooming
Automotive
Torvehallerne KBH
Home & Furniture
Food Designed to make shoppers feel like they’re at the home of a friend (with great taste) rather than in a shop, Casa Palacio is a stunning new retail concept store in Mexico City. Covering three floors, it carries products from over 60 brands, including: Fortnum & Mason, Ralph Lauren Home, Christofle, Hermes, Baccarat, MoMA, Assouline and Rizzoli.
A big retailer with respect for the little guys makes this a firm favourite. Its company values in regard to animal welfare, pesticide use, packaging and recycling have to be admired. The same goes for its brand delivery: newer stores have now updated the tired ‘folksy’ American look, but retained their commitment to leadership in product presentation.
Department Store
Fresh Market With its imaginative and thought-provoking stores, this Australian retailer’s stylish artisan products and minimalist packaging has a unique brand image which is more pharmacist than beauty industry: the thinking person’s grooming brand.
BMW’s Paris boutique reinvents the customer experience for buying a car. Illustrating a deep understanding of brand, customer and commitment to continuous innovation, the store delivers a leadership ‘best in class’ retail brand experience.
The Danes have served up a contemporary take on the fresh market concept. Modern retail design and outstanding product presentation are matched by entertaining and engaging stall holders. The outdoor market is everything a distinctive micro retail and independent-based retail concept should be. No tech, just 100% real people and real, wholesome food.
Every mall needs two anchors. Next on our list would be Italy’s La Rinascente. When the Milanese store was refurbished it became an example of how great modern architects can be engaged to create inspiring retail environments. We love the outstanding attention to detail throughout the store, combined with brilliant VM and customer service.
Shop Talk Long away days and being talked at in cramped training rooms just don’t cut it anymore. Today’s retail training demands active learner involvement and creative, thought-provoking content...
ing more readily available, for it to make a positive difference trainers must still have the relevant expertise. This means being able to constantly reinvent content and delivery to keep the appeal fresh, and create an environment where ideas can be shared in a dynamic and engaging way.
It’s vital that retailers care as much about the people who interact with their customers as the customers themselves. Only then do we see lasting change.
Finally, if our twenty years in the business have taught us one thing, it’s that well-trained and well-informed people perform better and sell more. To this end, it’s vital that retailers care as much about the people who interact with their customers as the customers themselves. Only then do we see lasting change.
Diary Planogram Here’s a hand with your retail knowledge intake over the coming months, from international conferences and exhibitions to industry awards. The places to be, and the places to find out more.
Visual Language Euroshop 2014 16-20 February 2014 Messe Düsseldorf, Germany euroshop-tradefair.com
Retail Week Live 12-13 March 2014 Hilton London Metropole, UK retailweeklive.com
Marketing Week Live 25-26 June 2014 Olympia Grand, London marketingweeklive.co.uk
Retail Week Awards 2014 13 March 2014 Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London retailweekawards.com
VM & Display Show 29th April - 1st May 2014 Business Design Centre, London vmanddisplay.com
World Retail Congress 29 September - 1 October 2014 cnit, La Défense, Paris worldretailcongress.com
We share our expertise with clients on every continent. Here are some of the locations we’ve worked in during the last 12 months: Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Bratislava, Brno, Budapest, Chicago, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Gdansk, Krakow, Lodz, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Moscow, Oslo, Paris, Plzen, Prague, Riga, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Tallinn and Tokyo.
“Thank you for delivering a world-class training” — Harley-Davidson
Staff training is a perennial issue in retail but, while it remains as essential as ever, the way it is delivered has evolved beyond recognition. Twenty years ago, training sessions typically happened away from the store. But it’s now recognised that training staff remotely is generally more expensive and less effective than keeping it instore. The fact is the new world of retail demands a new kind of training. In today’s cost conscious climate, and with operational constraints on time, retailers must find different ways of developing their people’s skills and, where training is concerned, less is definitely more. Smaller, shorter, highly focused instore training sessions are more suited to the needs of modern retail, and it’s now possible to equip people with new skills in just hours, rather than days. For training to be effective, it must now go beyond the scope of conventional task-based learning and give people the skills to excel. Seizing the advantage in a highly competitive retail marketplace calls for a do-it-now, do-it-better mentality: store presentation, visual merchandising, creative display and customer service are all hands-on skills. This means that people no longer just ‘attend’ a training session, but get actively involved. Delivery methods have also changed. ‘Physical’ training is now backed up with online tools and e-books, and combining live group training with remote self-learning packages has enabled it to be delivered at a faster pace. But while changes in technology have made train-
Normal VARIED Consistent DSame IFFERENT L A U ID IV D IN Ordinary B E S P OKE Standard G N I K N I H T VISUAL Conformist Disruptive
BLAND
If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just — Anita Roddick, original eco queen
Brand Consisency
As we head into 2014, the outlook for retail remains unpredictable. The brands which prosper will do more than get the basics right. They’ll create experiences that defy customer expectations and venture boldly into new territory…
It was once accepted wisdom that the continuing success of any brand depended upon consistency. Sadly this no longer applies. For while consistency may be a vital component in the overall approach to brand marketing – such as in customer service, quality control and pricing – from a merchandising perspective it can too easily translate as complacency. As we all know, complacency kills retail. Any retailer who is serious about growth must accept that being ‘good enough’ is no longer a guarantee of survival. And, as the recent demise of so many high street names shows us, no brand is invulnerable to change. The economy may be on the up, but retail still has much to do if it is to reverse the damage caused by the recession. And this calls for action. Because the days of large multiple retailers rolling out the same
store formats up and down the country, year on year, are now consigned to history. Shopping behaviour, demographics, economic conditions and technology have all combined to change the visual language of retail. If they are to survive and prosper, brands must rise to the challenge, and this begins with implementing an effective VM policy. Sadly, it’s the one area that few do well. The key to success is flexibility. All too often, brands become locked into a repetitive cycle of indecision, of robotic conformity, of playing it safe. But the best brands challenge themselves in the good times as well as the bad. It isn’t just about daring to be different. It’s about having a good idea and continually striving to make it better, about exploring ways to improve the customer experience, and
Any retailer who is serious about growth must accept that being ‘good enough’ is no longer a guarantee of survival.
never tiring of perfecting better ways to keep people coming back. Shoppers are attracted by innovation, not consistency. It’s time to see, think and act differently and to go beyond accepted notions of ‘best practice’. To achieve this, brands need to invest in the right expertise. Every year Visual Thinking helps retailers redefine their VM strategies by introducing new ways of thinking and creating engaging experiences that awaken customers’ love for shopping in their stores. We work with you to help make your brand great (or revive your brand to make it great once more!). Positive change for your customers starts here and it starts now. And we’re here to help make it happen. Be brave. Be rewarded.
Favourites List
Nick Lodge
Kirsty Kean
Lynn Butler
Helen Bonser
Senior Brand Consultant
VM Consultant
VM Consultant
VM Consultant
A childhood fan of Lego, I’m now revisiting the brand with my son. Lego continues to evolve and inspire imaginations: a mark of any great brand. Its timeless simplicity carries through into its standalone retail experience, even with the integration of shopper technologies like augmented reality. The result is an engaging customer experience and great service, upholding the Lego brand values superbly.
The first time I visited Anthropologie in New York, it totally changed my perception of retailing. In particular I enjoy the exploratory feel of the design and layout, which works very powerfully on the shopper. With all those rails, boxes and drawers to search through it invites you to continue looking, in the hope that you’ll discover that elusive ‘must-have’ item. The message to customers is ‘shop everything and everywhere’.
Where Jo Malone is concerned I’m an advertiser’s dream. The brand never fails to work its seductive magic upon me, and I always end up buying and adding to my ever-growing collection. The brand’s clean and effortless visual delivery means I simply forget all the tricks of the trade and succumb to the shopping experience. And, in case you were wondering, yes, I always keep the perfumed tissue gift box and ribbon.
I’m a big fan of Cath Kidston. A pioneer of the vintage and shabby chic look, it’s a quintessentially British brand with a quirky edge. 20 years on, it’s more popular than ever: buoyed by the trend for all things ‘vintage’. Famous for its distinctive iconic prints, the number of stores remains relatively small scale. It speaks volumes about the strength of the brand that it does not feel the need to appear on every high street.
To learn more about the Visual Thinking consultants, visit: visualthinking.co.uk/our-people or better still get in touch and meet them in person.
Changing Rooms
Trends may change, but retailer needs remain the same. The time-honoured principles that we apply to every new visual merchandising brief are as relevant as ever. While the physical store and customer experience remain a vital part of shopping, many of the traditional approaches to retail merchandising are being re-evaluated. Despite this, the core theme of our work – creating shopping environments that customers are happy to shop in, because happy shoppers buy more – will always remain unchanged.
Branch Presentation Development Comprehensive VM and retail policy review, followed by the creation of new VM communications tools and training support to deliver effective retail policy implementation by branch teams.
VM for Tu Clothing Developed new VM policy solutions for Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing brand re-launch. Development of Tu VM Manual and VM training support for store management, clothing department colleagues and regional field teams.
Online Policy & Learning Tools Developed and launched innovative e-learning platform to showcase VM best practice within various store formats, incorporating a combination of interactive 360° motion photography and still images, with voiceover training modules.
Sony BRAVIA Brand Audit Conducted a comprehensive European VM insight activity over a six-week period, comprising visits to eight EU countries and 70+ technology stores to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of Sony BRAVIA product presentation instore.
Happy Shoppers Buy More. VM, brand delivery and retail performance improvement. A great customer experience starts here.
visualthinking.co.uk
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The only way to do great work is to love what you do — Steve Jobs, visionary geek hero
It’s a fact that effective retail communication leads to better brand delivery. From well designed retail policy information and VM manuals to training support tools and seasonal launch materials. Our comprehensive range of VM training products continue to give people the tools they need to see, think and act differently.
—M&S, Shanghai
Bagging Area
—All Saints, New York
The globetrotting nature of their work means that VT consultants spend much of their time out of the office. Going away is always made that bit easier when accompanied by their favourite things. Here we share some typical contents from our well-travelled hand luggage. Well Heeled. Always pack a pair of Camper shoes. They epitomise comfort and Mediterranean style. Camper stores are as distinctive as their shoes. One of its latest, on 5th Avenue in New York, features over a thousand ghostly white resin models of the brand’s iconic Pelotas shoe projecting from the walls. It’s very impactful. Reading Matters. Our VM travels take us to many different countries. So spending hours on a plane is common. It’s why an Amazon Kindle is one of our ultimate companions on long journeys. Never far from our side, it has quickly become the market leader. The brand’s retail ambitions to find a truly differentiated instore idea certainly makes for an interesting read, too. High Energy. When travelling, we’re never sure when, or even what the next meal will be. In case of emergencies, we suggest carrying some dried apricots and unsalted nuts from M&S. They’re a healthy alternative to junk food and snacks - and really tasty too! Uncommon Scents. When it comes to fragrance, think citrus notes: both Acqua de Parma and Paul Smith Sunshine work well. It’s the perfect excuse to visit the brand’s store in London’s Mayfair. The atmosphere is urbanely relaxed and perfectly captures the air of refined eclecticism for which Paul Smith is renowned. Looking the Part. Business clothing is more casual these days, which is a shame because we like to look smart. Try classic brands with a contemporary style twist. For men’s casual wear, we’d choose Calvin Klein and G Star, while our female consultants can be found in Ted Baker, Reiss and the resurgent French Connection. Hold All. Our brand director Karl McKeever was an early adopter of the man bag. From departure gate to arrival lounge, and for essential duty-free shopping, his Bally, Coach and Mulberry bags have long been indispensible travel companions. For luggage, his classic GlobeTrotter suitcase (above) has notched up incredible air miles. Nothing else compares.
—Thomas Pink, Hong Kong
—Next, Dubai
—Topman, São Paulo
Export Market For all large retailers, keeping their store standards, VM and customer service consistent across just the one country can be a difficult task. When stores go international, achieving success across borders requires new levels of aptitude and efficiency.
Whatever the market, delivering a brand consistently across borders calls for a carefully considered strategy – it also means mastering the delicate art of the international sell. Global retail currently has a foot in two dramatically different worlds. While many countries are taking their first tentative steps on the road to economic recovery, others, such as Russia, China and Brazil, are booming and on full throttle. On a quest to capitalise on these new markets, many UK retailers have now gone global, with brands such as Burberry, Marks & Spencer, WHSmith and Clarks all expanding overseas, and they remain bullish about their prospects. Despite a few much-publicised misfires, most notably within grocery retailing, even the unpredictable US market is witnessing the arrival of British brands, with Topshop currently leading the way. The global landscape has seldom looked more promising for retailers seeking new opportunities, but to be confident
of success they need the right tools. Propelling a brand into a global marketplace is not without its dangers, and making the leap can be daunting, not least when overcoming cultural barriers. In particular, tailoring retail and VM strategy to suit local needs and buying habits can present a significant challenge. Understanding cultural and behavioural differences among shoppers and how these might affect sales is a key part of our work at Visual Thinking. We like to think of it as global experience, combined with local expertise. The world may feel like a smaller place, but wherever the region, whatever the sector, being fully equipped to meet local challenges and deliver consistent retail standards is key to success.
—Burberry, Chicago
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Looking for fresh inspiration? Each year our global VM projects involve us taking hundreds of photographs. We now have an archive of over 20,000 retail images, and they give an invaluable insight into international retail design, as well as charting consumer trends over the last 20 years. Our image library offers a fantastic resource for stimulating new ideas, and photos are now available to purchase on a royalty-free basis. To find out more, simply get in touch with us. Contact our marketing team for ordering details on: +44 (0)1788 543 331
A Vision for Change — Karl McKeever in Profile A self-confessed perfectionist, Visual Thinking’s brand director is known for getting things done. His unique approach to visual merchandising has earned him a devoted clientele among some of the world’s best-known retail brands, and he is a leading authority in his field...
Karl began his career in retail at clothing chain Next - and in a typically unorthodox fashion: “I took the then Next HR manager’s bank card hostage when, as a student, I was working on the checkout at Sainsbury’s,” he recalls. “I refused to return it unless she granted me a job interview. Remarkably she agreed. The interview landed me my first job as Next’s first male retail management trainee. I am to this day still enormously proud of the opportunity offered to me. In career terms, it was the opportunity of a lifetime, in what would turn out to be one of the UK’s most exciting and successful new retail brands”. Karl was shortly offered a leading role in the brand presentation team, where he worked on development projects for future Next brands; Next for Men, Next Interiors, Next for Children and Next Cosmetics. “The Next experience was so instrumental to my career and thinking,” he says. “I spent my formative years working alongside the likes
Visual Thinking Resume
of Tricia Guild from Designers’ Guild the team behind Molton Brown - and Tim and Fiona Slack from Ryder Footwear. These were the leading retail minds of their era. It would be the equivalent of working for Apple today. I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I learnt a lot, and I’ve never looked back.” Before going on to found his own consultancy, Karl held key VM roles for a number of leading retail brands, beginning with Principles, where he was headhunted to introduce new visual merchandising and retail policies to support the chain after its previously successful launch. Whilst there, he helped get the brand back on track, working with the VM team to consolidate what was to become the first ‘real fashion’ brand in the Burton Group. After time with premium home decoration brand Jane Churchill Limited, Karl then went on to head-up visual merchandising at Paperchase, following its acquisition by WHSmith. Paperchase
1993 — Holds launch party at the Royal Society, where the retail royalty of the day are invited, and turn up (all 180 of them). The event is a huge success and Selfridges, Levi’s and Rockport are added to the VT client list.
was being refocused to become a leading fashion stationery brand. Whilst here, he worked with an outstanding team of brand professionals including, among others, the highly talented Flo Bayley. He was involved in all aspects of the brand repositioning, translating the brand vision into new VM policy and retail practices instore. Driven by a desire to share his experience and skills with a wider audience, Karl was now ready to move on to new territory. Visual Thinking was born of a sudden realisation, and in the unlikeliest of settings. “I’d dropped by a historic country hotel for afternoon tea,” Karl recalls: “It was in Buxton, Derbyshire. Tea was served in an elegantly refurbished drawing room. It had clearly cost tens of thousands of pounds to restore to such an impressive standard. But then the tea arrived. “We were served by staff who clearly had no knowledge or awareness of their role. Not only was the service brusque
1995 — Relocates to Leicestershire, with purpose-built building designed to facilitate large-scale training for blue chip retail brands.
and inattentive, the tea was terrible, served without any care on dirty tableware that had no connection or relevance to the hotel interior design. “The service did nothing to match the environment, and in a most glaring way.
My frustration is that the UK has great brands and people, but it seems we lack the determination to excel. We’re good at building empires, but not so good at sustaining them.
1996 — Karl takes sole responsibility for the business, as the head of the management team. Visual Thinking becomes a limited company and exceeds £1m turnover for the first time.
2001 — Launches leadership and development programme for M&S. The door also opens to work with Gap and Timberland.
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Highly Rated
When it comes to spreading the word about the benefits of better brand delivery, few do it better than Visual Thinking.
Here we were in this magnificent setting, and this was the best they could come up with? It made me want to make the experience much better. But it also got me thinking. “Just like the management of this hotel, to compete effectively, retailers desperately needed to develop their teams as to what their brand stood for and how to do the right things well. Because it wasn’t that the staff at this particular hotel - or indeed anywhere else - were necessarily ‘bad’ at their jobs; they simply lacked the awareness, knowledge and skills to deliver. Here was the gap in the market, my light bulb moment.” The rest, of course, is history. Over 20 years, Karl and his team have helped define instore operations for some of the top names in retail. His ‘thinking like a customer’ approach to VM has become an industry byword, as has his trademark project sign-off: ‘looks good, feels great, sells more’.
2004 — New Year’s Eve sees the first of many national newspaper full-page spreads, with Karl revealing the secrets of visual merchandising in the Daily Telegraph.
“We have sprinkled acronyms (which I generally dislike as they also add complexity), such as SILIBI ‘See it, Like it and Buy it, to help land many practical concepts for better VM and retail delivery into organisations all over the world. If there is a vocabulary for successful retailers, I have certainly added a few words of my own.” Visual Thinking’s portfolio has since grown to include brands across the international retail spectrum, ranging from fashion and automotive through to homeware, telecoms and bookshops. Recent projects include an integrated VM training and communications programme to support Marks & Spencer’s ambitious customer experience transformation plans, as well as the launch of children’s retail brand Baroue in Kuwait, a flagship project. The company was also responsible for supporting the launch and ongoing development of Sainsbury’s TU clothing brand. And, since 2008, has been involved in an end-to-end VM pol-
2008 — HarleyDavidson becomes a client and VT starts to handle the end-to-end VM programme for every new dealership around the world. Still ongoing, this campaign has taken the team to every continent.
2010 — On the back of one of his many magazine columns, Karl is booked into the Newsnight studio for the ‘Election Special’ to discuss The Psychology of the Polling Booth.
icy development and retail delivery for Harley-Davidson, which has been rolled out in dealerships on every continent around the world.
If my work at Visual Thinking has a legacy, it will be that retailers around the world are now more knowledgeable and better skilled to succeed.
Since we began in 1993, our brand director Karl McKeever has become a leading media voice on the subject of retail excellence. Chosen by Alex Polizzi to appear as a retail expert on each series of the popular BBC2 series, The Fixer, Karl played a key advisory role in transforming the fortunes of the featured retail businesses. His appearance on BBC1’s hit show The Apprentice was another TV highlight. Sitting alongside fellow judge Ed Burstell, managing director of Liberty, and other members of the judging panel, Karl was asked to advise Lord Sugar on the retail concepts presented by candidates to help decide the finalists. Visual Thinking’s thought-provoking insights also feature widely in the media including The Daily Telegraph, Sky 1, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and The Independent. Karl was also interviewed for British Airways’ Business Life in-flight magazine, as well as contributing a monthly column for influential industry journal, Retail Focus. www.retail-focus.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
Courtyard Bridal
Kettley’s
Oak Garden Centre
Props & Frocks
One to Watch 2013 — Visual Thinking celebrates its 20th birthday. It’s fair to say a lot has changed since we began our journey. Think back to (gasp) a time before the iPhone. In fact, back to the year the Internet was born. Yes, we have been around for that long.
Discussions to secure future media appearances in 2014 are already at an advanced stage. We’re excited to say that details about forthcoming involvement on national TV will be announced soon, once again allowing Visual Thinking to raise awareness about the importance of effective retail strategy and visual merchandising principles. Be sure to watch out for us.
Store Directory
Every consultant who joins us at Visual Thinking arrives with a wealth of experience behind them and a successful and fulfilling career ahead of them. Here are some of the retailers they’ve worked for: Ann Summers, Arcadia, Aurum Holdings, Bank Fashion, Cath Kidston, French Connection, Gap Inc, House of Fraser, Joules Clothing, Levi, Mamas & Papas, Marks & Spencer, Molton Brown, Next, Paperchase, Ralph Lauren, Rohan, Ronhill, Sk:n, Thomas Cook, Thorntons, Timberland, Walt Disney Company.
—Harley-Davidson, Tallinn
Back to the Future Career Development
Retailers come and go, and come and go again. Of those who survive, only a few remain truly inspiring. And while with time they may have changed, the story behind their success is a familiar one.
Andrea Moore Former Marketing Director, Cath Kidston I became part of the Visual Thinking team back in 1997. In my time there I was responsible for activating a variety of brand development, leadership skills and VM training programmes for clients including Carphone Warehouse, M&S and Rockport. My journey with Visual Thinking opened the door for a move to Levi Strauss as European Trade Marketing Manager, although I left with a heavy heart because I enjoyed my time there enormously. Working out of Brussels, I went on to head up product range development and marketing of premium concepts, including Levi’s Vintage Clothing, even managing European advertising and helping to launch the brand’s first e-commerce site. Having grown up with Levi’s iconic advertising it was a real achievement to be part of the team involved in delivering a new multichannel marketing model. A few years later, I moved back to London to drive brand strategy within the UK and Ireland. During this time I led the project to complete a major refit of its Regent Street flagship store. After 11 years I left to join Molton Brown as VP Global Brand Management, before moving again to take up the role of Marketing Director with Cath Kidston, where my efforts were focused on strengthening the brand proposition, driving global consistency and marketing effectiveness. I still refer to the principles of visual communication, at the heart of VT, which quickly became instinctive. The support and backing of Karl during my time in the fast paced, high calibre and passionate culture that is Visual Thinking set me up with a broad insight into many leading retail brands and gave me confidence to take risks along with the determination to push through high standards and persevere with the things I really believe in.
The majority of retailers and brands that have disappeared from our lives have done so for a reason. Often they’ve simply reached the end of their natural life. Though more seriously, on other occasions they’ve failed to keep abreast of the times. But while retail brands must continue to innovate and stay at the forefront of technology, they should never neglect the past. The relationship in retail between past and present success is a reoccurring theme. Leading brands such as Harley-Davidson, Levi, Heinz, Coca-Cola - the list goes on - all sell powerfully on their heritage, and the likelihood of them ever being displaced would seem a distant prospect. Then there’s the reappearance of brands once thought to be extinct. Volkswagen reintroduced its iconic Beetle in 1998, two years before BMW re-imagined the Mini. Jaguar also sought to reference the past, though with mixed success. More recently, the Wispa bar was resurrected, returning to shelves for the first time since 2000. Whether reviving an iconic lost brand or ensuring the continued relevance of an existing brand, success depends on retaining those original qualities that
first captured the public’s imagination, while bringing it firmly up to date, both in design and functionality. The features that made the Beetle and Mini so different in the 1960s: compact, reliable, economical – remain just as relevant today. They’re the same, but better. The same principles apply instore. The importance of effective VM strategy is as critical today as it has ever been. Driving growth depends on the ability to deliver an outstanding customer experience, and doing so consistently across stores and continents. This means finding new and dynamic ways to optimise retail space and maximise sales, continuously evolving while also remaining true to the original values of the brand. And it can be notoriously difficult to achieve. By shifting the focus back onto retail and VM policy, we can retain relevance and seize the competitive advantage. Presentation remains king: design, merchandising, display - whether for a new concept or a retail makeover, and the impact of getting it right can only be positive. As we prepare for better economic times ahead, now is the time to begin preparing for growth.
The importance of effective VM strategy is as critical today as it has ever been. Driving growth depends on the ability to deliver an outstanding customer experience, and doing so consistently across stores and continents.
Re-New York Real innovation in US retail has been muted of late. However, our recent visit saw some exciting new developments, signalling growing optimism and a hint of better things to come in 2014. —ABC Carpet & Home
Wherever you look in New York today, retailers are reinventing themselves. This is certainly the view confirmed by our recent trip. Brands such as Crate & Barrel have invested heavily in more imaginative store presentation and brand marketing. Meanwhile, iconic department store Barney’s has been busy re-imagining its beauty area. The result is a stylish, all-white retail temple that offers an exceptional range of fragrances and cosmetics, set in discretely branded spaces. There’s also an exclusive day spa. The JBL Harman store has introduced a new range of interactive delights - complete
with sound demo labs and digital headphone play tables - while leather goods retailer Coach has launched its new global store design in the city. The brilliantly refurbished basement of ABC Carpets and Home is further evidence of renewed investment in the city’s retail sector. Occupying an entire floor, the new retail space fits seamlessly with the existing store infrastructure and works powerfully to enhance the brand. With New York stores acting as a bellwether, and many other parts of the US economy showing signs of recovery, there’s growing confidence that the sector is now firmly on course to enjoy better times. Retailers take comfort. —Harman Kardon
—Barneys
—Xocolatti
—Tiffany & Co
Best Before Date
At first glance, retail history may appear to have little relevance in today’s multichannel world. Yet the past continues to have a direct influence on the present. Take discount retailers, where economic recession combined with the threat from new competition are a recurring theme. It was 1993 when Tesco launched its Value range as a means of fending off new entrants to the UK market such as Aldi and Lidl. Many other well-known brands also launched that year, including mobile phone retailer Orange, which 20 years on has been
—Havaianas, São Paulo
reborn as EE to become the UK’s largest mobile provider. Hotel Chocolat began its life as a catalogue business, before moving onto the high street in 1993, and there are obvious parallels with the move by today’s online retailers into the physical world. And if you needed any further evidence that retail history goes full circle, almost 20 years on, the TSB banking brand has returned alive and well on our high streets. It’s proof that if retail brands maintain customer relevance and a clearly defined purpose, they, and the operational challenges they face, will be around for many years to come.
“Visual Thinking’s collaborative approach provided an open challenging environment for change” — Matalan
—Coach
Desination Retail At Visual Thinking we know great brand delivery when we see it. Every year, we travel the world to seek out all that’s cutting-edge in retail and lifestyle trends. This is a city guide to our top four international retail destinations. We guarantee they will delight and exhaust even the most dedicated shopper.
London
Koln
Hong Kong
Dubai
In some ways we were reluctant to name London as our number-one retail city; there was always a danger of being accused of nepotism. But the fact remains: London is one of the most sophisticated and diverse shopping destinations on the planet. It’s also where VT’s own brand director Karl McKeever began his career back in the 1980s. His first ten years in retail were spent in and around South Molton Street, a haven of designer labels, working with and helping shape some of the great brands that are now among the UK’s leading employers. Today, his work frequently takes him abroad but what he can’t help noticing is the way in which London has inspired the world of international retail. The city has long set the benchmark for brand delivery and creating great stores, and as a centre for business, leisure and entertainment it is arguably without parallel. It embodies all the advantages of the remaining cities in our list combined (and more).
It was a tough choice, but one German city had to feature in our top four. Koln beats Munich and Berlin by a hair, not least because of its ever-changing retail environment. The stores here are constantly renewing. We visit Koln at least five times every year and on each trip we inevitably discover a major new store, or at the very least an existing store that is having a major refurbishment. As a middle-class student city, Koln enjoys a high population of young and affluent consumers. It’s said that Germans are reluctant shoppers who prefer to hold on to their money, but we’ve seen no evidence of this here. On the contrary, Koln is a vibrant, engaging city that is teeming with busy stores, especially at weekends when shopper numbers are boosted by tourists. Stores are biased towards mid-market, chain style, mass brands; but equally the city acts as a bellwether for testing new retail concepts.
This incredible high-rise, high density, high intensity city is electrifying to visit. Unlike Tokyo - which is largely unaffordable and palpably exclusive - Hong Kong’s British roots give it an air of relaxed accessibility that is easy to enjoy, and the shopping experience is universally outstanding. Hong Kong has a long mercantile history, and continues to host some amazing stores. The upmarket designer malls around Pacific Place and The Landmark in particular are not to be missed. New stores continue to open, with Harvey Nichols, Gap and Burberry among the best performers. But while in Hong Kong be sure not to neglect the street markets of Kowloon. Hot, smoky, gritty and teeming with life (if also a little intimidating), they offer a unique shopping experience as frenzied tourists buy-up suitcases full of branded goods. The provenance may be of questionable authenticity, but this does little to deter those who aspire to luxury at knock-down prices.
This arid, manmade metropolis plays host to an impressive range of best-inclass retail experiences. However, we’ve selected Dubai not for its great malls, but for its unrelenting focus on driving up standards. Dubai is unashamedly showy but, it must be said, with good reason: at the heart of Dubai’s economic miracle is its recognition that if it was to attract visitors it had to invest in a world-class infrastructure. The country’s state-of-the-art, air conditioned, taxi-essential branded resorts have enabled it to create a thriving economy – combining retail, leisure and entertainment to create a unique and affordable experience for its many visitors. Add to this a 365-day summer climate and you’re onto a winner.
—Branded trams, Hong Kong
—Regent Street, London
—Freitag, Köln
—IFC Mall, Hong Kong
—The Dubai Mall, Dubai
The Magnificent 7 – Retail Training Essentials To have lasting impact, retail training must be delivered in an engaging and easily digestible way, ensuring people acquire new skills but without being overloaded. Visual Thinking has been at the cutting edge of retail training for more than two decades. From selflearning through to one-to-one coaching, here are the essentials:
A stuffy conference is no match for a memorable 360° themed event that brings the message to life through a shared experience. Designed to motivate and inspire, a well-designed retail event is an engaging and entertaining way of communicating with an audience. For details of our open training event programme, visit: visualthinking.co.uk/open-training-events
Group workshops Make the learning experience come alive and drive home the message with a bespoke training course designed and delivered to meet your exact needs. But be certain to avoid ‘off the shelf’ training.
One-to-one coaching Sometimes it’s easier and more effective to learn new skills on a one-to-one basis, rather than as part of a group. Specialist coaching programmes can be tailored to meet virtually any development need, and are shown to achieve powerful results.
Knowledge Building The beauty of modern retail training is that it can be delivered anywhere: locally, globally and virtually. Here we showcase some of the more unusual training venues used by VT in our quest to create happy and productive retail teams: some famous, some not so, and some just downright strange...
The Burj Khalifa Tower
World Trade Center - NY
A truly inspiring location, this magnificent centrepiece of downtown Dubai made the perfect destination for the launch of the 2011 Harley-Davidson Global VM Programme – a three-day leadership event for dealership management across the MENA region.
The once iconic symbol of Lower Manhattan will always remain close to our hearts. In 2000-2001 the venue was used for the Visual Foundations Store Manager Training programme for M&S, completing the project shortly before that fateful day in September.
Sports Stadium
HGV Lorry Trailers
Commercial and sporting success have much in common. With this mind, we took over a famous UK sports stadium to play host to a brand and VM event for Topps Tiles, as part of its annual conference.
For the launch of Marks and Spencer’s ‘The Look’ VM programme, we went for the truly unconventional, using HGV lorry trailers to host 50 four-hour training events for 20,000 UK store colleagues.
A Double-Decker Bus
Butlin’s Holiday Camp
Few things symbolise London more than a red Routemaster double deck bus. So when we took managers from telecoms company KPN Netherlands on a brand awareness tour of London, a bus provided a perfect first stop.
We love the seaside almost as much as we love shopping. So we packed our flip flops and travelled to Butlins to host our VM Awareness Event for footwear retailer Clarks.
Learning tools Who say’s learning shouldn’t be fun? The best training makes learning enjoyable and memorable. Visual Thinking’s self-learn training packs incorporate a range of imaginative and highly effective learning tools.
e-Manuals Fast and cost-effective to produce, and easy to expand and update, e-Manuals are a versatile and indispensible learning tool and may be used in a wide range of training and development scenarios. Read online or print.
DVD There’s still a place for the DVD in retail training. To drive home the message, sometimes it’s important to repeat it – more than once. DVD remains one the fastest, cheapest and most effective ways of delivering information.
Online media Learn new skills anytime, anywhere. Whether used as a stand-alone tool or as part of a wider learning programme, the internet has revolutionised the way we are able to access knowledge and deliver training.
“Visual Thinking really inspired us and their involvement has moved our journey forward massively” — Wilko
Retail events
Sales Assisance Visual Thinking has developed a comprehensive range of brand delivery products and services including VM manuals, store communication and training materials. Meticulously crafted by our project consultants, they’ll fit happily into your retail business to deliver quantifiable results. Whatever your VM delivery or retail training objectives, you’ll find an effective development solution to suit your budget.
Visual Brand Audits
VM & Retail Policy Development
Brand Innovation Events
Great insight. Trusted advice — A brand audit provides detailed feedback on what’s happening instore and, just as importantly, the reasons why. We use the latest digital data gathering tools, combined with an expert critique to produce statistical, photographic and comment-based findings. Engaged to report on all areas of VM, store operations, customer service and retail team development, a brand audit provides invaluable insights to support better decision-making at every level, including competitor benchmarking, brand delivery consistency, compliance and standards for future VM improvement and retail strategy development.
Better performing stores — In retail, presentation is king. Visual Thinking has a reputation for best-in-class store presentation solutions that deliver impressive commercial results. Make your stores easier and more enjoyable places in which to shop and ensure products are presented to maximise space and sales potential. We work across all market sectors, giving your brand access to cutting-edge presentation and display techniques.
The next big thing — When working inside a company it can be difficult to come up with ‘eureka! moments’. Successful brands recognise the importance of creating an ‘innovation culture’ to develop new products and retail formats to add commercial value to the business. We develop and run stimulating brand innovation events to engage teams in the creation of new ideas and approaches to transform store presentation and retail brand delivery.
e-Learning Tools
Open Training Events
VM Measurement
Virtual resources. Real world results — To hold our attention, learning tools must be engaging and easy to understand. Developed by an award-winning team, our learning tools come in a wide range of digital media. Subjects include store presentation, policy implementation, product launches, seasonal events, and customer service training for better brand delivery. Materials are presented in a user-friendly format and are superbly produced. Flexible and cost-effective, they may be used as a standalone learning resource or form part of a complete training solution.
Right skills. Right time. Right price — Offered on a day attendance basis, our open training events offer a convenient and effective way to access the best in retail learning and development in a cost effective format. These open training events provide a risk-free way to develop the latest knowledge and skills, and are facilitated by our expert consultant team. Check our website for the current range of courses, venues and booking details.
Clear insight. Considered action — Though good ideas may not be in short supply, retail success depends on deploying the right methods for the best commercial performance. Whether it’s your goal to increase brand engagement, drive sales or to improve profitability, our robust VM evaluation processes go beyond pure aesthetics to statistically quantify the commercial impact of VM. We can advise effective measurement processes and provide data gathering support to help make more informed decisions about the effective VM activities to adopt. Whether to prove the effectiveness of new VM methods in concept stores, or the right VM policies to rollout consistently to maximise return on investment from any company-wide VM programmes.
For more details visit visualthinking.co.uk or speak to a member of our consultant team on +44 (0)1788 543 331 to discuss your project needs.
Super Stores
We provide a range of effective retail consultancy services but, above all, it’s the lasting results that they deliver which our clients love most.
VM & Retail Manuals
VM Training & Development
Easy to read, actionable ideas — It’s a fact that well designed retail communications lead to better policy implementation. Written by retail experts and based on twenty years’ in-depth industry knowledge, our range of cost-effective VM materials includes policy documents and manuals, seasonal launch guidelines, VM planograms and training materials, developed with bespoke branded design and carefully considered text/policy content. We have vast experience of fulfilling our clients’ diverse VM communications needs, from brief to the final production of materials.
People power. Knowledge shared — High customer expectations and mounting competition mean that it’s more vital than ever to develop your instore teams. Well-trained and motivated people are shown to increase sales. Visual Thinking is the UK’s leading provider of instore retail training. Delivered by experts, our training sessions are stimulating and engaging and equip your team with the vital skills to succeed.
See examples of our work, without leaving your desk. Visual Thinking is proud of the visible difference we’ve made to retail brands around the world. The long relationships we have with many of our clients, across a diverse range of sectors, are sustained by great work and great results that have helped them to drive improvements in product presentation, customer service and retail standards. Bringing together 20 years of brand delivery excellence, our website is home to a selection of the many instore projects that help tell our story and provide insight into our comprehensive range of VM and Retail services. From explaining the brief to exploring the solutions we recommended. All designed to meet our client’s exact business needs, every one of our projects is as individual as the brands we support. We hope you like our work. Learn more at visualthinking.co.uk/ case-studies
VM Recruitment
Temporary VM Support
Right people. Right skills — Finding talented VM people takes more than just knowing where to look. As VM specialists, we have unrivalled insight into the experience, capabilities and whereabouts of people who can fulfil VM leadership roles. We have direct access to the elite of the industry, and with our extensive CV database, can quickly identify candidates that will impress. From VM directors, specialist department managers, to field teams and storebased VM personnel, each candidate is carefully evaluated to match your business requirements. Our support has proved to be refreshingly different and highly effective compared to the services offered by general retail recruitment agencies.
Expert help. As required — We provide skilled, temporary visual merchandising people to support all kinds of project needs, including seasonal VM and display scheme installation, store refurbishment and new openings, exhibition set-up and photo-shoot styling. We can also provide experienced people for longer term VM staffing needs such as maternity and holiday cover. Our service is flexible, reliable and competitively priced to support your VM delivery needs.
Thank You
Checkout
As each year passes we work with more great brands. It therefore seems only right that the final word should go to you. All of you who work with us, support us, and share our passion for the world of retail – past, present and future. Thanks, you’re priceless.
Stay in touch with ideas, insights and images at our blog and via social media.
Blog Expect authoritative views, candid commentary and lively debate and a celebration of all that’s best in international retail excellence as we put the spotlight on new stores, redesigns and re-launches. visualthinking.co.uk/blog
Twitter Follow VT and stay ahead of all the new developments in visual merchandising and brand delivery from around the world, with on-the-ground retail reports, client project updates and the latest insider news. twitter.com/shoptactics
Adidas Beretta B&Q Boots Burton Coast Coles Clarks Disney Store Hamleys Harley-Davidson Ikea Infiniti John Lewis Lee Marks & Spencer M&S International
Mamas & Papas Matalan Lacoste Levi’s New Look O2 Oasis Office Reversed Sainsbury’s Sony Speedo Tesco Timberland The Co-operative Wilko Wrangler
Facebook Keep up to date with latest retail stories and images from our travels, as we showcase the global retail stars. Like us and we’ll like you back! facebook.com/shoptactics
Instagram ‘Daily life’ pictures taken by our team when travelling and instore and featuring the lighter side of retail. instagram.com/shoptactics
Find us Visual Thinking 9 Davy Court, Central Park, Rugby, Warwickshire. CV23 0UZ United Kingdom +44 (0)1788 543 331 mail@visualthinking.co.uk visualthinking.co.uk
No.1 Spring Edition Published by Visual Thinking. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2014.