Agile Retail

Last week we looked at the wonderful Rothy's pop-up in Liberty. The store marked the brand's first physical location in London and was housed in an iconic location. Another week, another expansion into the UK, another first physical store in the UK, and another iconic location, this time for Savage X Fenty. The hugely successful intimates and loungewear brand founded by Rihanna has made its physical entrance to the UK with a shop-in-shop at Selfridges. As physical stores continue to reclaim their importance in the retail sector Rihanna herself has commented on the strong desire “to be able to connect with [their] customers in real life”. Since 2022 Savage X Fenty has gone on to open 9 stores in the USA, taking physical retail into the centre of their strategy and providing engaging retail experiences to their customers. The new shop-in-shop marks the brand's first UK location, and the brand's first international location overall! Genevieve Kunst, senior vice president and general manager of Europe for Savage X Fenty, said “This is just the beginning of a very exciting chapter for Savage X Fenty, and this partnership is the perfect starting point”. This is only the start of the brand's exciting journey into new markets and new geographies. Both Rothy’s and Savage X Fenty have identified the opportunity that international expansion provides for growth and innovation, and it would seem that London represents a key market for these US companies as they blossom beyond their borders. Not only as an accessible international market but as a historical retail hub and the perfect first placement within Europe. If you are interested in learning more about international expansion from industry leaders, there is an exclusive Retail Book Club Webinar on Retail Strategies for International Expansion on September 23rd. You can find out more and sign up for your ticket at www.retailbookclub.com! https://lnkd.in/eDmEURem #Retail #AgileRetail #InternationalExpansion #PhysicalStores #Fashion #UKRetail

The Santander UK Trade Barometer for Spring 2024 included some enlightening numbers surrounding international expansion. Over the last 8 years of reporting, companies with a global footprint have consistently been healthier and more resilient. The obvious benefits of increased market reach and higher revenue potential aside, international expansion provides a boost to innovation and competitive advantage too! Despite a level of global uncertainty in recent years the importance and attention that international expansion is receiving from brands big and small has been steadily increasing. As of 2024, 28% of UK domestic businesses “are considering international expansion in the next three years – the highest level in the last two years”. In fact, 28% of UK businesses who already trade internationally expect more than half of their revenues to come from abroad in the next year! The same can be seen across the pond. For 47% of US businesses, the UK represents the second most popular destination for trade, just shy of Canada (we are a little further away after all). Brands today need to consider international expansion as a catalyst for growth, and while it is an intimidating, and even costly endeavour, Agile Retail can make the opportunity as easy as it is enticing! #AgileRetail #InternationalExpansion #USAtoUK #UKtoUSA #NewMarkets #Growth

Liberty. is one of the most iconic retail locations in Greater London. The store has an individual aesthetic, a long history of influencing art and culture, and a reputation for sourcing new and interesting products from across the globe. This concoction of reputation, individuality, and international reach makes it a perfect location for brands entering the UK market for the first time! One example is Rothy's opening a 2,839-square-foot pop-up in Liberty London earlier this month. The footwear brand is relatively young, at only 8 years old, but has already opened 23 stores in the USA. Rothy's understands that focusing on brick-and-mortar is an integral growth strategy as consumers become increasingly enthusiastic about in-person shopping. We have spoken before about the impact of the Halo Effect and how physical stores create new customers and more valuable existing customers, so we know their strategy is spot on! In a new country, across the Atlantic, in this iconic space, how have Rothy's faired and what's next for them? First of all, the pop-up is unique and eye-catching, and even more impressively, it is made of entirely reused or recycled materials, just like their footwear. Their focus on sustainability is on full display and it permeates their products and their brand as a whole. There is no doubt that this instalment is a great first step into the world of brand-led international expansion for global growth. Here at Agile Retail we can't help but get excited about the power of physical retail. We're excited to see Rothy's entering the UK market and we can't wait to see what's next for them. The success of this pop-up may well dictate that next step, but the brand looks ideally situated to create its own, one-of-a-kind storefront where exceptional customer service and experiential retail combine to take full advantage of the growth that international expansion can provide. This next step can feel like a giant leap, especially in an entirely new market, but creating your own space only serves to increase the impact of your brand and all the advantages that come with a physical store (and we're always here to help!).

Future-proofing in retail has grown to be at the forefront of many brand's strategies. The industry is at an inflexion point, one centred around the role of the store itself, and savvy brands are building or improving their stores to ensure that their storefront plays the role required moving forward into the future of retail. Pets at Home is approaching this task with impressive dedication and agility. The Pets at Home brand has always had a firm grasp on the role their store plays in the lives of their customers as well as their own business model. So when they unveil a 'customer-centric' concept store you can be fairly confident they'll provide just that. The foundation of their stores has long been the services they provide, surrounding more standard product offerings on their shelves. The addition of the Groom Room, Vets for Pets, and Nutrition Hub over recent years has taken their physical locations from simple pet supply stores to one-stop shops for all pet owners. The role of the store is clear and customer-oriented. Pets at Home has also emphasised its intention to test these concept stores and learn from the new features they have implemented to help innovate the products, services, and value to pet owners. Understanding what your store represents to your customers and what its role is within your business is a vital perspective to develop, even within a large store footprint. Futureproofing your retail environment doesn't have to mean installing cutting-edge technology and investing digitally, it means understanding what your customers want and will want from your physical stores. https://lnkd.in/eSmx_R8g

I still think our team's ability to "make things" is an act of wizardry. I can no longer go into stores or go to events and just enjoy them - I'm constantly looking at how they're build and produced and wondering if we'd do it the same! I love the summer because behind all the glamour of stores, pop ups,m festivals and roadshows, I get to see the real graft that goes in from the team. We go to some weird and wonderful places in the name of creating great experiences! Spot the cow (at least I think its a cow?!) in one of my "candids" below. I grabbed all of these pictures from our team chat without permission - I hope they will all forgive me! (Especially Nick Rose who seems to have been everywhere!) The best thing about this set of pictures for me? It doesnt get more real than this! 🤩 #agileretail #experiences #production #brandexperience

How do you bring a leading-but-niche supermarket brand to the masses? When is a pop up not a pop up?   This project with Merchant Gourmet was my first experiment with whether Agile Retail and our model could succeed in creating food service businesses as well as traditional ‘retail stores.’   As part of a long-term retail strategy, we sat down with the UK’s best-selling pulses and grains brand to help customers and consumers experience how to actually cook with pulses and grains in everyday live; and trade partners find a deeper love for the category.   Enter Grain & Graze; a restaurant, takeaway and brand immersion centre rolled into one.   By curating a food retail experience, we gave consumers the best possible environment to taste great meals, but more importantly visualise cooking with the product themselves.   The results speak for themselves:   🍽 +30,000 dishes served 📣 16m reach 🛒 2 new retail listings   Our three month pop up became a 2-year restaurant and a rolled-out concession in Waitrose & Partners… 🚀   Grab all of the details here: https://lnkd.in/e74PsP6q   #AgileRetail #GrainAndGraze #MerchantGourmet #CustomerExperience

Consistency is key!   Whether shopping online, in-store, or on a mobile app, customers love a smooth and cohesive experience that builds trust and loyalty. With more touchpoints than ever, building a consistent brand across the board is essential.   When done right, fun and interactive tools keep shoppers engaged, while seamless omnichannel integration aims to make everything convenient, and learnings from these touchpoints generate personalised offers and experiences.   Smart touchpoints drive sales and help to create memorable moments, and gathering feedback helps to strengthen customer relationships. It’s all about making every interaction count.   Find out more about the importance of the retail touchpoints of today and how your brand can make the most of your customer interactions!   #Agile #Retail #RetailTouchpoints #BrandExperience #Consitency #Omnichannel #BetterStores   https://lnkd.in/eeMi6NmA

This week has covered a variety of store build chats. Some with deep pocket budgets, some without - and i have to say, i really do enjoy working on the store projects that have lower budgets but needing a certain execution. I love the challenge! I hope what i have written gives you the right stimulus before you break ground on your new retail venture - or call me, i can talk about this until the cows come home! #retail #lowbudget #agileretail #storebuild

Paris, France is an integral part of the fashion industry and this year’s Olympics are expected to bring in an additional 1.5 million foreign visitors. So how does the world's largest sporting event impact retail in Paris and Europe across the board? On one hand, increased tourism and consumer spending will benefit retailers in tourist hotspots. And clearly, having lifted restrictions on Sunday openings in the city, this is a sought-after side effect. However, the sheer scale of tourism and activity in Paris presents an issue. For example, ahead of the event, the Parisian authorities have requested that online shoppers limit their orders to reduce courier activity in the city. Even more intriguing is the increased initiative in OTHER major cities in Europe. Cartier CEO, Cyril Vigneron, has stated that “Paris will probably be slow”. Cities like London, Milan, and Barcelona will see a significant lift in traffic during the Olympics, something that most retailers are looking to take advantage of. Even LVMH, an Olympic sponsor, has cited expected complications in their supply chain and Richemont-owned jewellery brands have commented on the uplift their Parisian stores experienced during the Olympics across the pond in London! 2024’s summer of sport has brought a summer of retail to Europe, it just might not be where you expect!

Axel Arigato recently opened a flagship store in London’s Seven Dials. The new 2,500-square-foot store in Covent Garden continues to build on the brand's commitment to creating interesting and unique store interiors in the form of gallery-like spaces. The footwear and ready-to-wear brand describes itself as a “socially-driven brand with the goal to bring people together through the power of positivity, community and memorable experiences” - Sounds like something we can get behind here at Agile Retail! What is most impressive, however, is their commitment to physical retail as a growth channel despite their product line expansion! Axel Arigato was founded in 2014. In 2018 they launched their first ready-to-wear line (now accounting for 20% of their business). They also release their apparel in the form of a “Drop of the Week” to engage with their community more regularly and keep a tight grip on stock and waste. All the while they have continued to open new stores! This breadth of work is, of course, impressive. However, their continued development and expansion within physical retail is even more impressive; they clearly recognise that physical stores are an ESSENTIAL channel for growth and success in the retail sector. Even their physical presence on store shelves has granularity; The brand has nine flagship stores globally while also being stocked by about 250 retailers worldwide such as Selfridges, Ssense, and Level Shoes. All of this impressive growth and expansion in so many directions is a testament to their focused approach to retail and in particular physical stores. Axel Arigato’s biggest market is the UK, so it is no surprise that they have opened a flagship store in Covent Garden. As we all know, the Halo Effect from an IRL location improves both online and offline sales. So, here’s to more brands understanding that physical stores are not only an important sales channel but a foundational tool in any brand's growth. https://lnkd.in/e3gNsQeF