RetailWeekCONNECTING RETAIL

January 23, 2015 £6.99

Let’s get physicalWhy books and vinyl were Christmas winners, p10

Retail Week LivePreview of the big themes and great speakers, p36

DON’T MISS ONLINEHIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEKPhoto gallery:Morrisons goes localTake a tour of the grocer’s latest store adapted to its neighbourhood

Leo McKee on turning returns into a service and sales opportunity p28INSIDE

earmarked for Boxing Day to Black Friday.

Investec analyst Alistair Davies said: “Careful planning ahead of Black Friday to work with suppliers on targeted promotions allowed the business to deliver a positive surprise on gross margins.”

Home Retail boss John Walden believes Black Friday is now a UK retail fi xture. He said that the pulling forward of sales meant demand softened in December at Argos, which reported flat like-for-likes over Christmas.

Black Friday caused headaches for many retailers, including Tesco

issues, the electricals giant said that, in contrast to other retailers, Black Friday drove incre-mental sales without hitting margins.

Despite clocking up its biggest ever trading day on Black Friday the retailer also managed subsequently to deliver a record Boxing Day Sale. However, chief executive Sebastian James (pictured) said Black Friday affected trade in between and compared the new shape of

BY MATTHEW CHAPMAN

The countdown to this year’s Black Friday has already begun as retailers race to prepare for the promotions extravaganza that transformed last year’s festive trading pattern.

Despite Black Friday disrupting performance at some retailers, most concede that it is here to stay. Some, such as Dixons Carphone, have started implementing plans to navi-gate it better this year.

Although Dixons Carphone encountered problems including queues on its website and fulfi lment

Countdown already under way for next Black Friday

peak trading to a double-humped camel.James said: “Black Friday is here to stay and

we are working out how best to run it next time.”He said Dixons began planning last year’s

event the day after Black Friday 2013, giving it more time to negotiate with manufacturers and make the supply chain as effi cient as possible.

The retailer also ensured its promotions were flexible, pulling forward deals initially

and Asda where fi ghts broke out in stores, and etailers including Amazon, which found it hard to fulfi l orders.

Richard Hyman, of Richardtalksretail.com, said: “Retailers have made a rod for their own back. Will Black Friday be a feature again this year? I’m certain it will. It is a spectacular example of an industry characterised by panic.”➤ Nick Bubb column, Retail-week.com

BY LUKE TUGBY

Tesco has launched an online networking platform for suppliers as it strives to restore trust and transparency among its partners and customers.

The embattled grocer said the Tesco

Supplier Network will provide a forum where more than 5,000 members from around the world can connect with each other and the supermarket giant’s buying teams in a bid to improve its relationship with suppliers.

The launch came in a week Tesco was heavily criticised for the way it deals with its suppliers in a BBC

Panorama documentary, in which former boss Sir Terry Leahy said that the grocer had allowed consumer trust to be “eroded”.

Now Tesco management hope to encourage suppliers to share their thoughts and ideas online in a bid to improve its products.

It also wants members to discuss

issues such as waste and innovation.The move forms part of chief execu-

tive Dave Lewis’s five-year plan to transform Tesco’s fortunes and rebuild trust after years of turmoil.

Tesco head of commercial Jason Tarry said the network “will play an integral part in our partnerships with suppliers to deliver for our customers”.

Tesco launches hub to rebuild supplier relationships

It blew some retailers off course at Christmas, but Black Friday is here to stay

way for next Black Fridayway for next Black Fridayway for next Black Friday

Discover how Retail Week can keep you and your team up to date with the latest news, insight and intelligence.

www.retail-week.com/corporate

PROGRESSIVE CONNECTED ESSENTIAL

Our mission is to keep you up to date with the crucial issues affecting your business and provide the insight you need on what the headlines mean for you.

With a Retail Week team membership you can be sure you and your colleagueswill have 24/7 access to the business intelligence you need to confidently make the right decisions to drive your business forward.

Our membership packages will reduce the time your team spend searching for information and improve their knowledge and understanding of the most important retail news, market data and trends.

Whether your team members want online access, print copies or full use of our tablet and mobile apps, we have the solution to help you.

PROGRESSIVEApp

Be confident you and your colleagues always have the right information, with access to crucial news on the move. The Retail Week app is available on both iOS and Android, tablet and mobile devices.

Get breaking news, details on the latest innovations and everything you need to know on market trends, in a snapshot, when time is of the essence

Get the inside look with our full screen store galleries

Easily share with your team and join the conversation

Stay informed with detailed analysis and key retail data at your fingertips

PROGRESSIVE

Know the hot topics in an instant

Never miss a thing with the latest news and analysis by sector and by topic

Choose the type of news that’s most relevant to you and have it delivered to your inbox

CONNECTEDOnline

Hear from the leaders of the industry and always make sure your team are fully informed with access to the latest news anytime, anywhere. Over 70% of all our content is delivered online first, if not exclusively, and only on Retail-Week.com will you find over 40,000 articles covering every sector of the UK retail industry.

www.retail-week.com

Stay one step ahead with our Innovation tracker. View in-depth features on the latest products and innovations in retail technology and gain a deeper understanding of how emerging technologies perform

Get the full picture with access to all special reports, in association with some of the biggest names in the industry

Abo namus autCustomer experienceHow to win consumers in today’s retail battleground

Produced in association with

RetailWeekREPORTS

Online FulfilmentWhat millennial shoppers want, use and value

RetailWeekREPORTSProduced in

association with

Supply ChainTrends and innovations in retail 2014-2015

Produced in association with

RetailWeekREPORTS

Abo namus autRetail 2015Definitive intelligence on the state of the industry,

from the leaders in UK retail

RetailWeekREPORTS

In association with

CONNECTED

Save time with all the weeks’ biggest news in one place

Learn from peers. Understand the key themes impacting on retail with comment and analysis from key figures within the industry

ESSENTIAL

NEWS2 Retail Week January 23, 2015

said: “Part of our transformation strategy i s to broaden our product ranges and bring on board more great brands which our customers know and want.

“Cherokee is already a well-established clothing brand with UK shoppers and we are pleased to be able to offer our customers convenient, nationwide access to a range of new, quality Cherokee products later this year.”

Henry Stupp, chief executive of Cherokee said: “We are looking forward to the continued globalisation of the Cherokee brand through our new partnership with Argos.

“The UK market in particular enjoys extremely high awareness and consumer satis-faction with Cherokee branded products.

“We believe the collaboration with Argos will provide a great home with a successful, growth-oriented partner that is able to fully realise the potential of the Cherokee brand.”

Cherokee joins a growing list of fashion brands on offer at Argos. The retailer already stocks Puma, Firetrap and Baby Converse.

By Luke TugBy

Argos has bolstered its growing fashion offer after inking an exclusive deal to stock American clothing brand Cherokee from this summer.

Cherokee was previously only stocked in the UK by supermarket giant Tesco, but it has now agreed to sell its goods exclusively through Argos.

Argos will carry a range of Cherokee apparel, accessories and footwear for the autumn/winter 2015 season.

Customers will be able to purchase the new lines in-store, online and through the Argos catalogue.

The Cherokee at Argos range will be launched with an integrated marketing campaign in stores, online and through the retailer’s social media channels, all of which will support Cherokee’s ‘Feels Good’ branding.

Argos said that new lines would continue to be added throughout the season.

The first batch of women’s fashion and

Argos bolsters fashion offer with exclusive Cherokee deal

Value retailer Poundland has posted a jump in revenue over the Christmas quarter.

The retailer’s total sales, excluding Spain, rose 10.2% in the 13 weeks to December 28 on a constant currency basis.

Total revenue was £328.4m, an increase of 9.8% on an actual currency basis.

Poundland said there was a “good contribution to growth” from like-for-likes during the third quarter, but did not provide a figure.

Poundland chief executive Jim McCarthy told Retail Week that the retailer had sold six million units of its Jane Asher baking range and its Make Up Gallery range had also proved popular.

The retailer remains on track to

Poundland’s happy Christmasopen 60 net new stores in the UK and Ireland this year, with a focus on retail parks and the South of England.

McCarthy said although the economy is picking up, he still believes there’s room for Pound-land and its competitors.

He said that buying goods at discount retailers was “embedded” in consumers’ shop-ping behaviour.

“We have managed our costs and cash well, and we are in line with our financial expecta-tions for the year as a whole,” McCarthy said.

“Despite the tough trading conditions, Poundland continued to perform well and we served more than 7 million shoppers in the peak Christmas trading week alone.”

Argos is ramping up its fashion offer for 2015

Share your views on all the week’s news, comment and stories at Retail-week.com

1,555The number of

Bank’s staff when it fell into administration

Bestseller and Select among fashion retailers circling BankYoung fashion retailers Bestseller, Select, Quiz and Foot Asylum have expressed interest in snapping up all or parts of collapsed apparel retailer Bank, it is understood.

Bank became the first retail casualty of 2015 when it fell into admin-istration at the start of the year, less than two months after it was sold by JD Sports to restructuring firm Hilco.

Property sources indi-cated that Bank has an attractive store estate, with shops in prime locations including the Bullring in Birmingham and Liverpool One.

The young fashion retailer had been loss-making for a number of

years and had struggled in a competitive sector of the fashion market, Deloitte joint administrator and partner Bill Dawson said.

Deloitte declined to comment on any interested parties.

Sav i l l s , which i s handling Bank’s store disposals on behalf of Deloitte, also declined to comment.

Last week 35 staff at Bank’s headquarters in

Bury, Lancashire were made redundant. There have

not been any redundancies in any of the retailer’s 84 stores.

Quiz, Bestseller and Select could not be reached. Foot Asylum declined to comment.

menswear is to be launched in July. Argos chief operating officer David Robinson

News you mayhave missed onRetail-week.com

January 23, 2015 Retail Week 3

siR iaN CheshiRe The former chief executive of DIY giant Kingfisher will be appointed by the Government as a top business advisor, Retail-week.com reported on Monday. Cheshire, who left Kingfisher last month, will replace former BP chief executive Lord Browne, who has served as the Government’s lead non-executive adviser to the Civil Service since 2010.

PeTs aT home The specialist retailer’s like-for-likes rose in the third quarter as it recorded rapid growth across its services business, Retail-week.com reported on Monday. Like-for-like revenue within the veterinary and pet grooming services division of the business jumped 15.6% for the 12 weeks ending January 1. Merchandise like-for-likes rose by 3.4% while total like-for-likes were up 4.1%.

LakeLaNd The kitchenwear specialist has sealed a £16m revolving credit facility from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Retail-week.com reported on Wednesday. The retailer, which is headquartered in Cumbria, said the money would be used to support its international expansion and boost its store and online presence.

lot that we have achieved” during his time as chief executive.

Davies will leave on a high after Halfords increased like-for-likes by 6.7% during the 15 weeks to January 9 against strong compara-tives the year before.

Halfords’ strong performance has also allowed it to reduce its revolving credit facility from £200m to £170m.

By maTThew ChaPmaN

Halfords boss Matt Davies maintained that his departure for Tesco will not be detrimental to the cycling and car accessories specialist because of the foundations he has laid.

Davies said he was “gutted” to be leaving Halfords in May to lead Tesco’s UK and Ireland business, but the opportunity was too good to turn down.

He said: “I’ve loved the Halfords business and it has absolutely not been in the script to be leaving, but when I was approached by Tesco and given the opportunity to run the business in the UK and Ireland and work with Dave Lewis it was an opportunity I could not say no to.

“The business [Halfords] is in a great place, there’s a really powerful team in place and I will look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength.”

When asked whether leaving Halfords after only two and a half years would be detrimental to the business, Davies responded: “I don’t believe that at all.”

He acknowledged there is “still a lot to do” before he steps down in May, including the continuation of store refreshes and linking pay to capability, but argued “there’s an awful

Halfords boss Matt Davies is leaving for Tesco

Halfords will be fine without me, insists Davies as he heads for Tesco

The Original Factory Shop has reported record-breaking Christmas trading figures, driven by sales of festive gifts.

Like-for-likes at the value department store group increased 3.3% in the four weeks to December 28.

Total sales jumped 6.2% on last year. Cash margin was up 13%.

The retailer said sales growth was driven by the “particularly strong” performance of traditional gifts including fragrances, toiletry sets, homewares and toys.

Customers also stocked up on seasonal goods such as tree lights, wrapping paper and personalised baubles. Sales of ladies’ fashion and menswear were solid throughout.

The Original Factory Shop chief executive

Record-breaking Christmas for The Original Factory Shop

Rise in The Original Factory Shop’s

total sales

6.2%

Tony Page said: “Trading in December continued to build on what has already been a strong year for The Original Factory Shop, as consumers continue shopping locally for

genuine bargains.“We are delighted that we have been able to attract plenty of new brands to trade with us and we are finding success driving these at great value to a primarily local customer base.

“Our Christmas figures are evidence that consumers continue

to seek trusted, quality products at great prices.”The retailer’s success was aided by the

opening of seven stores last year, including in Salisbury and Haslemere, taking its total number of shops to 198.

Full stories on Retail-week.com, where content is available as part of your subscription

For help with your online subscription call +44 (0) 20 3033 2626 or go to retail-week.com/subscriptions-faq

COMMENT

Moreover, shoppers returning product to the store, not least unwanted online purchases, represent additional footfall and therefore potential additional purchases.

At BrightHouse, our customers enter into rent-to-own agreements that can last up to three years. The ability to return has always been important, and not just in the month after the sale.

As many of our customers are from less affl uent demographic groups, it’s not a surprise that sometimes their circumstances change.

Our proposition is that the customer can return the product at any time, with no more to pay.

In many cases, such products have been used intensively by the families

who shop with us. We send them all to our workshops to be comprehensively refurbished. They then are clearly displayed as Quality Refurbished lines in our stores and sold at a discount.

Everyone wins, from the customer who returned the product and has nothing more to pay, to the customer who is paying less for a Quality Refurbished product.

We at BrightHouse benefi t from reselling the item, and the environment benefi ts from a perfectly serviceable product not going into the waste cycle. It is a win-win.

For us, like other retailers who are doing similar things, returns are not something we see as a burden, but as an opportunity for enhancement of reputation, customer service and, indeed, profi table trading.

In January, everyone comes back to earth with a bump, with lots to catch up on. For us in retailing,

it can mean a surge in returns, perhaps unwanted Christmas gifts or consumers realising they need or want a different product.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, but online retail has propelled post-Christmas return rates to new levels.

Take the fashion sector. Customers often enjoy free delivery to try on an array of new merchandise. They know that they have the option of free returns, for any or all of these.

As retailers we could choose to resist this service. We could make it harder for customers to return goods, while staying within the legal framework. After all, it may be argued, the processing of returns can be labour-intensive. It diverts colleagues from the important activity of selling, and does nothing for the store P&L.

Everyone has been to a store where the salesperson has seemed less than helpful in dealing with a refund.

I tend to look at it differently. Isn’t it better that a customer should have the opportunity to change their mind and return a product that is unsuitable, or which they can’t really afford?

Surely they shouldn’t be stuck with something that they don’t want or that doesn’t suit their needs.

In fact, the negative of a return can be transformed into a positive encounter for customer and retailer.

Making it easy to return a product is an important signal to customers that your business has a positive approach to customer service.

Instead of seeing returns as an inconvenience, retailers should recognise the opportunities they present, says Leo McKee

28 Retail Week January 23, 2015

Returned goods mean returning customers

Leo McKee is chief executive of BrightHouse

COMMENT

BLOWER

Online shopping may be about to funda-mentally change. Google is thought to be working on a ‘buy button’ that would allow shoppers to purchase products through its search results pages with a single click. By doing so, Google could take ownership of the entire online shopping experience.

Andreas Pouros, chief operating offi cer of digital agency Greenlight, says: “Intro-ducing a buy button could cut out the need for consumers to visit retail websites altogether, making the path to purchase even shorter. If it is introduced by Google, the battle to become the most prominent result in product searches could intensify dramatically.”

According to some estimates, 40% of ecommerce orders originate from Google searches. And since Google Shopping introduced a paid listings service in 2012, it has become the premier product advertising channel for retailers.

While many shoppers already use Google to research potential purchases, there is speculation that the

How would a Google ‘buy button’ a� ect retailers?search giant is seeking to fi ght back against Amazon’s growing dominance.

Pouros says: “Google wants to be the de facto choice for all search, so simplify-ing the shopping experience with a buy button makes sense. While the move might distance retailers from their custom-ers, it could help smaller retailers to better compete with larger operations.”

The potential implications of a buy but-ton underline the importance for retailers of securing high visibility at the beginning of the shopping journey and engaging potential customers with relevant offers.

“The key to success on Google Shopping lies in mak-ing campaigns relevant to the audience,” says Pouros. “Retailers must understand shoppers’ needs and behav-iour in order to target them with relevant promotions. Doing so will maximise spend and conversion rates.”

For more retail advice visit Retail-week.com/topics/retail-surgery

Practical advice on the operational issues facing your business today

RETAIL SURGERY

“A buy button could cut out the need for consumers to visit retail websites altogether”Andreas Pouros, Greenlight

Google search drives 40% of ecommerce orders

January 23, 2015 Retail Week 29

In PrintRetail Week excels at identifying vital information for the sector. Each week our magazine will keep your team up to date with the crucial issues affecting your business and explain what the headlines mean for your organisation.

Get a complete round up of the latest opinions and trends in the conversation

Find out what’s new in the Retail Lab and keep track of the latest innovative developments

the conversation32 Retail Week January 23, 2015

Your views on the week’s retail stories

YOUR COMMENTS

EMAIL THE EDITOR chris.brook-carter@emap.com

Would you hire an ex-off ender? If this cuts re-offending rates then

it cuts the numbers of future victims of crime. Most criminal behaviour is repetitive and anything to break the cycle gets my support.

My US partners have a retailer who employs only ex-convicts at the till to work as cashiers. He pays them less (no minimum wage in all states) so can afford to buy and reopen closed food stores in poorer neighbourhoods. It’s hard to get a second chance in the US and our till monitoring system ensures that all process errors at the till can be reviewed quickly. This is popular with the cashiers

as it prevents them from being falsely accused (a third chance is unheard of).

The stores operate with lower than average stock loss, lower operational cost, the cashiers get glowing references when they move on and the neighbourhood keeps its local food store. Wage morals aside, it’s a successful format. Gerard Peters, founder and managing director, Storeipos

Always admired Timpson’s way of doing this as part of business as usual and not to meet a CSR target. @gothironVote at Retail-week.com/prisonsta�

Home Retail boss John Walden: ‘Black Friday has created a discounting mentality’If anyone should have understood Black Friday and the impact it has on sales patterns Mr Walden – recently from the US where this has been running for years – was the man. It will be a diffi cult anniversary now, like-for-likes will demand a similar promotion, margins will be hit. Overall this was not a good idea.Anonymous

John Lewis IT boss Paul Coby – new websites “useless” without back-end investment Back-end tech and systems integration are not sexy and they don’t win shiny awards or get much PR, but they do allow businesses to survive, compete and thrive.Vicky Brock

Black Friday took some big names by surprise, in some instances calls on the websites were three or four times the volumes to which many retailers had stress tested their environments. There were quite a few lessons learned to prepare for next year. James Kirk

This is a message that Retail Week picked up early and more of the retail sector should consider the benefi ts that Paul Coby and his team are reaping.

Emerging technologies can help but at times people seem to stick to what they know – and this can inhibit innovation.Nick Ansell

HMV’s vinyl resurgence helps it reclaim physical music top spotSo, if I read this correctly, HMV sold

Festive discounting can easily erode marginsThe ever-increasing penetration of tablets and mobiles had led us to believe that Christmas 2014 would be a bumper one in terms of sales. But disappointing results pretty much across the board in terms of like-for-like and year-on-year sales have proved us wrong.

The market hasn’t grown and retailers have continued to fi ght tooth and nail over the same business. There may be greater access to more channels but consumers don’t necessarily have any more money to spend.

Moreover, hijacking Black Friday, creating Manic Monday (and the rest)

meant that sales were pulled forward at heavily discounted rates. This created an expectation among shoppers that even more big discounts were coming – reducing margins and profi ts.

The fact is we’ve trained consumers to shop smarter and wait for discounts, and this is perfectly enabled by twin screening in the comfort of their home.

Retailers need to think carefully about their Sales and pricing policy, and its timing, otherwise margins will disappear. Steve GroutChief executive,Tangent Snowball

Would you hire an ex-offender?

YES

25%

NO

75%

Timpson has recruited hundreds of staff from prison

Telephone House69-77 Paul Street, EC2A 4NQTel: 020 3033 2600 www.retail-week.comEmail: firstname.lastname@emap.com

RetailWeek

Published by EMAP, part of the Top Right GroupSubscriptions/back issues Retail Week annual subscription rates start from £329. For company-wide access please contact RetailWeekCorporate@emap.com. Send order to Retail Week Subscriptions, EMAP Publishing Ltd, 10 Waterside Way, Northampton, NN4 7XD or call the subscriptions hotline:0844 848 8858 (UK) or +44(0)1604 828705 (overseas), quoting Priority Code SAAV. For back issues call the subscriptions hotline. Newstrade Contact Seymour Distribution: 020 7429 4000

Audited circulation 7,594 (Jul 12 – Jun 13).Retail Week is printed by Headley Brothers Ltd.ISSN: 1360-8215 © EMAP

January 23, 2015 Retail Week 33

Online comments Retail-week.comTwitter @retailweekLinkedIn Retail-week.com/LinkedInFacebook Facebook.com/RetailWeek

Editor-in-chiefChris Brook-Carter 020 3033 2835Executive Editor George MacDonald 020 3033 2836Deputy EditorJennifer Creevy 020 3033 2845News Editor Nicola Harrison 020 3033 2837Stores EditorJohn Ryan 020 3033 2997Senior ReporterMatthew Chapman 020 7391 4517ReporterLuke Tugby 020 3033 4305Art Director Paul Aarons 020 3033 2606Production EditorDigby Bodenham 020 3033 4235Deputy Production EditorRichard Young 020 7391 4514Digital Sub-EditorNathan May 020 3033 2869Supplements EditorLaura Heywood 020 3033 4289Commercial EditorCharlotte Hardie 020 3033 2294Deputy Commercial EditorKatie Barker 020 3033 2747Research EditorAlex Hamilton 020 7715 6387Supplements Production EditorTracey Gardner 020 3033 2769Head of ProductVictoria Thompson 020 3033 2838Editorial AssistantGrace Bowden 020 3033 4338Senior AnalystRebecca Thomson 020 3033 2839Retail Week Knowledge Bank AnalystPhilip Wiggenraad 020 3033 2844Production ManagerPaddy Orchard 020 3033 2679Conference ManagerJaisica Lapsiwala 020 3033 2880Advertising ManagerPaul Stewart 020 3033 2966Account DirectorsSusan Hickmott 020 7391 4509Imogen Jones 020 3033 2969Account ManagersDanny Newman 020 3033 2987Jennifer Saunders 020 3033 2968Andrew Walker 020 3033 4279Head of BrandNik Dinning 020 3033 2862Corporate Subscriptions Account Director Lars Fiddy 020 3033 2953Marketing ExecutiveRachel Mackenzie 020 3033 4274Head of Client Solutions & Events Victoria Hart 020 3033 2961Event Manager Katie Marcel 020 3033 2962Event ExecutiveRosie Birchenough 020 3033 2964Associate PublisherMandy Cluskey 020 3033 2965Managing Director, Retail Tracey Davies 020 3033 2895

Images from socIal medIa

Talk to us...

Christmas is a fast-fading memory and between now and Easter the red letter retail event will be Valentine’s Day.

Famous department store Fortnum & Mason tweeted the unveiling of its dedicated windows on Monday. They should make shoppers go weak at the knees.

Sharp-eyed grocery blogger Steve Dresser (@dresserman) spotted this promotion in Netto. He tweeted: “Interesting way for Netto to drive awareness of their own label.”

Retail design firm Newman Gauge drew this striking interior to our attention on Twitter. It’s their work for Center Parcs Sherwood’s new shop Treats. Inspired by Willy Wonka, it should generate some sweet sales.

Please share your images with us or highlight ones you like on Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter using #rwpics.

This week’s poll resultsIs Tesco right to consider

closing its final salary pension scheme?

This week’s questionWas Morrisons right to

push out Dalton Philips?

OnLIne POLL

YES

29%

NO

£54.5m more stuff from what was, by the end of the year, 34% less space. That’s a pretty impressive improvement – and also shows that there was an awful lot of surplus space that wasn’t pulling its weight. Graham Soult

Tesco replaces ad agency Wieden+Kennedy Firing the ad agency won’t help. An agency is only ever as good as the client that leads it. @asa_bailey

Primark reports sales rise of 15% after ‘strong’ Christmas tradingThis clearly puts them in the winner’s enclosure for Christmas.

Expansion in Europe appears to be on track and their new venture into the US will test their trading capability outside of Europe.Daniel Upward

71%

retail lab New retail ideas from start-ups to marketing

Neiman Marcus looks into the future with ‘memory mirror’

Google is ending sales of its Google Glass eyewear but says it plans to continue developing the smart glasses as a consumer product.

Google Glass is moving from the Google X research lab to be a standalone unit led by Ivy Ross. Ross and her team will report to Tony Fadell, a former Apple executive who runs Nest Labs, a smart-home device company Google acquired in February 2014.

The Explorer programme, which allowed software developers to buy Glass for $1,500, closed on January 19.

Google will stop taking orders for Glass but will continue to support companies that are using it. A new version of the technology is expected later this year.

The programme started in the US in 2013, and Glass became available in the UK last summer.

It had been expected that a consumer launch would follow shortly after. The product faced criticism because of privacy and safety concerns, while some complained that the product was not very stylish.

Google prepares to halt sales of Google Glass

The decision could hit retailers that have been developing software for Glass.

Last week, before details of Google’s plans emerged, Tesco revealed it was the first retailer to launch a Glass-enabled service for its shopping app.

The Tesco Grocery Glassware, developed by Tesco Labs, lets customers browse goods, view nutritional information and add items to their shopping basket, hands-free.PETAH MARIAN & JENNIFER CREEVY

US luxury fashion retailer Neiman Marcus has begun rolling out a digital mirror that captures images and videos of clothing customers try on.

The ‘memory mirror’ allows shoppers to see outfits side by side, and what they’re wearing would look like in a different colour. The images and videos it takes can be shared via email, social media, or with a sales associate for future recommendations.

The retailer’s lab worked with tech firm MemoMi to develop a product that was unique to Neiman Marcus. A sales associate interface has been added to allow staff to send personalised recommendations to customers directly from the mirror.

Neiman Marcus Group chief marketing officer Wanda Gierhart said: “The memory mirror allows our customers to capture stills and videos and allows them to see how an outfit looks front and back and while moving.

“The initial introduction resulted in an immediate and positive reaction, and we’re looking forward to delivering this unique experience to more customers as we roll it out into additional stores.” PETAH MARIAN

34 Retail Week January 23, 2015

Start-up of the week

Sensum allows retailers to see how customers respond to their content and products using wearable data-tracking technology.Founded 2012Investment A total of $1m (£660,000) from Technology Strategy Board, eSynergy, Future Foundation and private equity.FoundeRs Gawain Morrison, chief executive and co-founder, and Shane McCourt, co-founder.RetaIl paRtneRs Sensum says it cannot reveal the names of partners because of non-disclosure agreements, but it is working with “several major retail brands”.What It does Sensum is a mobile platform that uses wearable technology to capture and analyse customers’ emotional responses to audio-visual content such as an advert or store layout.

Sensum can be combined with traditional market research to gain insight into customers’ actual response to a product, as well as to quickly identify areas of dissatisfaction.

Morrison says: “Sensum allows brands and retailers to measure and develop a 360-degree understanding of the customer.”What pRoblem does the technology solve? Sensum’s technology allows retailers to see customers’ real-time emotional response to a product as opposed to their reported response, as traditional market research offers.

Morrison says retailers can use the research to “adjust shopfloor designs, website interfaces and advertising campaigns to achieve the positive emotional response they desire”.more information: sensum.co

SenSum

See the mirror in action at retail-week.com/memorymirror

Canadian food producer Urban Barns is developing ‘cubic farming’ technology that can potentially grow 500 lettuces in one square foot over a year.

Independent creative director Tony Babinski said at the NRF conference in New York that the technology could help retailing become “more surprising, greener, creative and less centralised”.

Cubic farming uses a framework to grow plants by circulating water and nutrients around cube-shaped frames, while low-energy LED lights provide the necessary light for photosynthesis.

The agricultural yield from the system is greater than traditional agriculture and it is hoped it can be used in retailers’ storerooms to grow produce where it is sold.

Along with potentially bringing agriculture to an urban space and making it hyper-local, it also has environmental benefits.

Cubic farming, which has been described as ‘Star Trek meets farming’, requires less water than traditional agriculture.

It is estimated agriculture uses 70% of Earth’s accessible fresh water, more than twice the amount used by industry (24%) and dwarfing municipal use (8%).

News

for more innovative ideas, visit retail-week.com/innovation

Could grocers grow veg in the store room?

January 23, 2015 Retail Week 35

The Cicret BraceletThe Cicret Bracelet is still in development but could become an amazing way to think about wearable tech. The wristband can theoretically project the screen of a smartphone onto a user’s wrist. It is waterproof and has sensors to detect where the user’s finger is hovering to turn the projection into a touchscreen.

Samsung GearPossibilities provided by virtual reality appear endless and one such application could be to allow bedridden people to enjoy shopping in a luxury department store. The affordability of the Samsung Gear virtual reality headset (pictured, above) is expected to propel growth of the budding virtual reality sector.

normal’s 3D printed headphonesPersonalisation was a key theme of this year’s NRF and Normal’s 3D printed headphones to fit an individual’s ears are an example of this personalisation being used to perfect effect.

PetChatzPetChatz is designed

to alleviate a pet’s separation anxiety when the owner is at work by allowing the owner to

communicate with their pets from the

workplace. The system can even comfort the pet by giving it a treat or releasing the owner’s own scent.

Nine tech innovations from NRFDelegates at the National Retail Federation conference tested Samsung’s virtual reality hardware

Tagg pet tracker On the subject of animals, the Tagg pet tracker allows owners to keep an eye on their pets. It collects data to allow users to build a complete picture of what the pet is up to when out of sight.

The HAPIforkThe HAPIfork is a Bluetooth fork designed for people who eat too fast, a habit that is allegedly unhealthy. The fork tracks how fast the user is eating to help them change how they eat.

Kolibree’s smart toothbrushKolibree’s smart toothbrush brings gamification to the act of brushing your teeth. The device uses an app to allow parents to keep tabs on how long their kids have brushed their teeth and which teeth they may have missed.

The Samto 3D PenThe Samto 3D Pen offers the ability to doodle in three dimensions, although the 3D drawings by delegates at NRF’s iLab left something to be desired.

The Pavlok personal coachThe Pavlok personal coach uses behavioural science and conditioning to enable consumers to undertake cognitive behavioural therapy. The wristband allows users to shock themselves to condition their brain. One of the ideas behind it is to get smokers to quit smoking by shocking themselves whenever they have a cigarette. Read the full version of this column at Retail-week.com/techfromNRF

Brand strategy consultants Graj + Gustavsen scoured last week’s NRF conference in New York to find nine innovations in technology that could be revolutionary

Footwear specialist Uggs is testing RFID technology in two US stores in a bid to improve engagement and boost in-store experience.

Shoppers place a boot on a ‘smart’ mat in front of a screen to receive information, such as alternative colours, from the RFID-tagged product and see images. The business is using Demandware software to provide the service.

Shoppers can also use the touchscreen to enter their email address, and have a link to the product sent to them so that they can purchase the shoes later.

Uggs tests RFID service

See a video of how the service works retail-week.com/uggsrfid

ESSENTIAL

WHY CHOOSE A RETAIL WEEK TEAM MEMBERSHIP?Allow your whole team to have access to the resources they need to develop their understanding and create confident decision makers.

Tailor your membership to suit your business requirements. You don’t have to be restricted on access or have to share copies. We will work with you to give you the choice over how different team members want to consume our content.

Benefit from quarterly briefings from leading industry experts into specific subject areas or on the state of the whole retail nation.

Get invitations from your account manager to relevant clubs and network with those leading the industry.

1

2

3

4

Gain a better understanding of what your team find useful and informative with regular usage information. This will also allow us to make sure your business is getting the most out of your investment.

Have control over how much your business spends on information rather than multiple individual subscriptions.

Choose company-wide membership and easily give everyone in your company’s IP range online access.

CONTACT USTo find out more about Retail Week Memberships or to arrange a free trial

please contact us using the details below

corporate.enquiries@emap.com

+44(0) 20 3033 2649

www.retail-week.com/corporate

5

6

7

www.retail-week.com/corporate