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Artefact is developing an interesting concept design that aims to bridge the gap between the physicality of the real-life retail experience, and the flexibility of an online shopping platform.

The concept is called “The Wall”. It’s a large, monolithic looking interactive display that interacts with in-store physical products, and then aggregates associated online content about that item. It can help you “crowd source” your decision about whether or not to buy a particular piece - “does this look good on me?” The Wall will also be able to find similar items you might like (or at a certain price point), and help customers find other available products online, or in the store.

[via rb.trends]

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When UK based Woolworths, the store that stocked and sold pretty much everything you’d never need, was hit by the recession and closed most people were a little distraught. Although the chain was famous for its variety of sweets and being frequented around holiday time for any and every type of toy, there was not enough business to keep them afloat. From this disaster and disappointment however, has come some good.

First, via the initiative of previous Dorchester branch Woolworths manager, Clare Robertson: after the closure of her branch in late 2008, she decided that something similar had to go in its place for the shoppers of Dorchester. She re-opened the same space, re-hired the old staff and renamed the shop Wellworth’s. She received financial backing from a consortium led by the Ireland-based owner of the premises who also came up with the name of the company which Clare admits is ‘a bit cheeky’. The store has pick n’ mix but unlike Woolworths, will not sell CDs, DVDs or children’s clothing. It does however, have a craft and pet section as well as more focus on local business and their products such as hand-made wooden toys.

Another product of the great Woolworths crash is a new project from Trevor Bish-Jones, the former chief executive of the stores after being ousted in June 2008. He now aims to take advantage of a new wave of unemployed executives in the UK by creating a recrutiment website called Mypeoplebiz on order to lessen the cost of recruitment. As many of its beleaguered ex-employees discover new paths in the role of entrepreneur, Woolworths fall has seemingly left at least some worth in its wake.

[via BBC]

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Adili is one of the first ecological fashion websites that has grabbed the attention of the mainstream consumer. Since launching in 2006 it has acted as a portal to over 80 ethical clothing brands such as Karen Cole, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Pants to Poverty and People Tree. Recently it has launched its own line of ethical clothing called ‘Adili Own Label’ which includes accessories, towels, lingerie, nightwear as well as men and women’s fashion ranges. Prices are reasonable and go from £80.00 for a belted dress to just £6.00 for a leaf print tote bag. The website also offers tips on green living as well as facts and statistics around chemicals and damaging effects on the environment related to clothing manufacturing. Adili’s most recent collaboration is with The Carbon Trust in producing t-shirts and sweat shirts for the first time to be labeled with their carbon foot print. They say this will provide eco consumers with complete transparency.

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Justin King, who next week celebrates five years as chief executive of Britain’s third largest supermarket chain, said he had achieved the growth by poaching shoppers from rivals and getting them to spend more.

Underlying sales, excluding fuel, rose 6.2 per cent in the 11 weeks to March 21 compared with the same period last year… He said Sainsbury was also benefiting from marketing campaigns, such as “feed your family for a fiver”, countering accusations that it is more expensive than rivals. The Basics range now accounts for 3 per cent of sales, against 2 per cent last year, while its top-end Taste the Difference range is on the wane as shoppers trade in ready meals for home cooking.

Analysts at JPMorgan said: “It seems increasingly clear that Sainsbury is going to emerge a much stronger company . . . since it is managing to gain brand equity for its ‘value’ while simultaneously retaining its ‘quality’ image.”

FT.com / UK - Sainsbury records best quarterly sales in decade
Sainsbury’s

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Although we visited Urban Outfitter’s garden center last year, we were so charmed with the experience there that we had to pay a visit when we were in the neighborhood last weekend. Garden center doesn’t describe the Terrain store well. It’s a home and garden wonderland.

Suburbia is often written off as a wasteland of MacHomes and copy cat malls that serve a population that rejects individuality and creativity. Terrain challenges this assumption - the place was packed with people looking for an alternative, seeking something different and trying to make a change.

The team behind this one-of-a-kind store have curated a fantastic collection of plants, furniture (new, old and vintage looking), beauty products, home items, kitchen essentials, lighting and you-name-it odds and ends. Throughout the grounds (it is extensive) there are constant eco-reminders of reuse, recycling and adaptability. It’s a superb experience where you can’t wait to get around the next corner to see what treasure you’d discover there. We’d say it was the most beautiful store we have recently visited in the US.

Exterior:

(...)
Read the rest of Store Visit: Return To Terrain (33 words)

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The opening piece of the retail section conveys similar thoughts that we’ve published in these pages - that at the end of the day, we’re not really that surprised by the retailers that are going under:

The problem with using a drop in GDP as a catch-all excuse for a sorry retail market is that it glosses over the simple fact that most businesses that have had to close completely, cut back or curb their ambitions have been heading this direction even when times were good.

Some who disappeared from our streets died of natural causes - old-age (simply losing the will to fight) or chronic illnesses (labour issues and multiple personalities). Others met more savage ends at the hands of ruthless intruders who attacked them in their own backyards.

More still succumbed to the painful private equity plague that sliced, shaved and chopped till there was nothing left on the bone and consumers failed to recognise the brand they rather liked until it fell victim to a business plan drawn up by a 26-year-old who had never even spent time on a shop-floor during his or her college years, let alone visited the country where said acquisition took place.

They follow up with a justified swipe at the British retailers who have collapsed:

Woolworths and its pick’n'mix counter is no more; society wedding list favourite General Trading Company and Whittard tea merchants are among those who have run into trouble. Who cares? It’s a fair question: many of the shops closing down on London’s high streets were well past their sell-by dates and will be missed by few.

But it’s not all criticism, the magazine has several articles on how to make improvements - and much of the inspiration comes from Japan. The Top 20 Retailers piece is a great read:

01 Demasié in Barcelona for beautifully packaged confectionery and great interiors.
02 Roden Gray in Vancouver for its rough interiors but very gentle staff.
03 Folk and Oliver Spencer in London for Made in Britain menswear and good service.
04 JR Leder in Berlin for bespoke men’s leather bags made at the back of the shop.
05 Monmouth Coffee Company in London for loving what they do and knowing their beans
06 Rough Trade East in London for its handwritten recommondations and outstanding vinyl and CD selection.
07 Truck Furniture in Osaka for when you want to re-engineer your life.
08 Ciclic in Barcelona for its recent renovation and overhaul of art titles, international DVDs and hard-to-source magazines.
09 Eslite in Taipei for every form of printed matter available 24 hours a day.
10 Isetan food hall in Tokyo for the breadth of choice, sensory overload and uniforms.
11 Odin in New York for its ever-surprising and eclectic mix of menswear for any season.
12 Frédéric Malle in Paris for its limited-edition perfumes and focused vision.
13 James Perse’s Beverly Hills branch for its activewear range, laid back but attentive staff and indoor/outdoor interior.
14 Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm because the older we get the better we look in Josef Frank.
15 Hakusan in Tokyo for its perfectly designed ceramics and bijou, museum-like setting.
16 Johnny Farah in Beirut for comfortable house shoes and a handcrafted ethic.
17 Bi Rite in San Francisco. The type of business you’d be proud of if you had the idea to do a neighbourhood grocery store.
18 Pierre Hardy in Paris because their desert boots are best.
19 Lisn in Kyoto and Tokyo’s Aoyama for the best incense, smart staff and packaging.
20 Aspesi’s Milan emporium for its airy rooms, cheeky merchandising and consistency.

Monocle Magazine

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WANT is an interactive (anti) retail experience created by the the University of Washington’s Environmental Design class. The exhibit is designed to make learning about saving money a pleasurable experience. Actual goods are replaced with lookalike objects that preach the benefits of thrift. It’s an interesting subversion, encoding a message at-odds with the inherent nature of the retail environment.

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When Footfuel found itself at the far end of Magazine Street in New Orleans, we visited one of the creative businesses helping to reinvigorate the city. Dirty Coast is a design company best known for their graphic tees. As part of our ongoing NOLA Changemakers interview series, we talked to co-founder Blake Hanley about how the city inspires his company and how he spreads awareness about NOLA across the country.

It was great coming across your store on our recent trip to New Orleans. How would you describe your business?

We are a merchandise company that concentrates on custom-designed shirts, posters, stickers and bags using different designers and illustrators. All the concepts for the designs come from our team and collaborators in the community. For us, a successful product and design is one that is one that is not immediately comprehensible to someone who is not from the area. It forces the wearer to describe the meaning behind the piece and thus strikes up a conversation about New Orleans or the Gulf South… The product spreads the [understanding of] the peculiar way of life we love in this region.

We met a lot of motivated folks in NOLA looking to rebuild the city on a creative level , and we’d argue that Dirty Coast is part of that movement. Would you agree? Tell us about the current spirit of New Orleans.

Our business model is based on collaboration with other creatives and organizations in the city who also have an active membership. (A Venn diagram of tribes if you will.) Working with other groups is the only way we can expand our reach and find new ideas for work as well as not be dependent on traditional advertising. Dirty Coast has a creative, collaborative business model.

In terms of the movement, the natives of the area have added a great deal to the community creatively. Those who lived through Katrina who were able to stay, and those who were able to return after the storm, brought with them an absence of apathy that was striking to anyone who grew up here. Apathy toward the city’s status quo - the school system, political culture and insular business community - was detrimental to any new ideas, growth or creative solutions. That’s changed somewhat, but you can’t fix a broken city overnight. So we needed help.

More Nola converts have moved here since Katrina and they seem to share common interests, like taking on challenging situations, interest in cultural exploration and a respect for the things locals love and ideas on how to fix what we don’t. These folks have added new energy to the community and continue to do so.

How does that spirit inspire your work?

We grew up here, so we relate to it like a family member. We love the whole city, both the good and the bad. We know we can change how the city operates, and we try, but some of the strange behavior is exactly what makes her such a special place.

The discovery process by those who have just moved here makes locals the happiest, as it allows each of us to be the tour guide and show them Our New Orleans. It is in that spirit that we create our products. Give folks cool designs that are also insider tips to understanding New Orleans.

What’s the inspiration behind your next tee?

Our next two shirts include one for Congo Square and another for Tivoli Circle. Congo Square was the only place in the United States where slaves were allowed to meet, dance and play traditional music. It is the birth place of jazz, blues and funk. It gave the country rhythm. Tivoli Circle was the name for what is now called Lee Circle. It is where the street car line breaks from the residential area of the city and enters the business district.

And you ship across the US, right?

Yup. Someone in every state has bought our work, and we couldn’t be happier to think of the conversations that might happen all over the country about New Orleans.

Thanks, Blake!

Dirty Coast

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A follow up to Scott’s post on PSFK yesterday, we’ve got some photos and more information on Free Store, the part cultural pop-up shop, part second hand boutique in Lower Manhattan. Created by artists Athena Robles and Anna Stein, the Free Store is a model of economic sustenance that we believe could be used (at least on a small scale) in cities worldwide.

The store operates in two different ways. First there is the free shopping method based on a barter and exchange system. Visitors offer their ‘useful’ possessions, like books and clothing, in exchange for items in the store. Some limited edition goods produced in-house by the artists are available for barter while supplies last.

Second, the Free Store takes donations and offers instore ‘credit’ in the form of ‘World Bills’. Contributors to Free Store will receive World Bills for donated goods and services. The bills can be traded or collected and later used for future barters.

Free Store will also host a range of events catered to artists dealing with the tough economy. Every Sunday from 2-5pm the store will present ‘Never as Good as the First Time’, a chance for artists and curators to meet with Director of Exhibitions for the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Edwin Ramoran. Edwin will schedule 15 minute meetings with only people he has never met in person to provide feedback on proposals and free professional development advice.

Free Store
February 19-March 22.
99 Nassau Street at Ann Street
Thursday - Saturday 12-7pm
Sunday 12-5pm

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