Top This Sergio Rossi!

New store openings can be more than a little stressful. There are the festivities, food and drink, press releases, the media and--oh, wait--shoppers! New stores need consumers, which often means coming up with clever grand opening giveaways and events. Sure, 99 Cents Stores give away iPods and that seems to work for them, but what about stores with merchandise far over 99 cents?

Sergio Rossi set the bar much higher for all retailers with his recent Melrose Place store opening in California. He chose a nice, elegant celebrity guest list--Salma Hayek and Vanessa Williams were the biggies--and sent them goods from his luxurious footwear and accessories collections. Then, he invited them, wearing his collections of course, to an intimate dinner at a swanky restaurant. And if  a picture really is worth a 1,000 words, then Rossi got his 1,000 words. There are now photos of Salma clasping his red patent leather clutch and  wearing patent leather and silk platforms from Rossi's new S/S collection. Nice work Sergio!

But, it gets better. Salma and friends then noshed on a five-course meal, and from there were whisked off to a decadent shopping spree at Rossi's new store. Did I mention that Teri Weinberg and Marc Abrams of NBC were also present? Um, yeah. Afterwards, Rossi autographed all the celebs' shoes.

Shameless? Maybe. Genius? Absolutely.

So now that Rossi slapped us all in the face with a fabulous opening--one that was sure to garner press (I'm writing about it, after all) and increased store awareness--I'm now in search of an even bigger and better opening. After a quick brainstorming session, I came up with the ideas below for store opening events:

-Come by and get your picture taken with Carmen Electra (who's covered head to toe in your goodies).
-Free chocolate truffles, all day long.
-Sing with the Dixie Chicks and receive an autographed CD. (P.S. They're decked out in your clothes!)
-On-site massages and a goodie bag filled with teases for larger store purchases, i.e. sassy luggage tag if you sell travel gear.
-In-store brunch for the first 20 guests while everyone else peers in from outside. Then private shopping time for up to two hours.
-Meet Regis Philben at our grand opening (who doesn't love Regis?!)
-Give Simon Cowell the tongue lashing he deserves, come to our opening and tell him what you really think!
-Have a midnight sleepover and shop-a-thon at our grand opening with Ellen DeGeneres. Live DJ all night long.

What do you think? Have a fantastic idea for a store opening promotion that can even top Rossi's fabulousity? Leave a comment here with your ideas.

--Heather Strang

Mind-Boggling Numbers

Diva cannot get her brain around all these big financial numbers that are being thrown around these days.  It’s more than a little mind-boggling. The tally for losses from the mortgage subprime mess in the United States is currently around $120 billion--and still counting. (Some experts say that we are not yet to the 40 percent mark in totaling subprime mortgage losses.) The stock market has lost about $2.2 trillion of its value so far this year. And last week, a rogue trader at a French bank announced losses of $7.2 billion, on total fraudulent investments of around $70 billion. Meanwhile, Bush is wrapping up a stimulus plan of $150 billion--with payouts going to individuals [ranging from $300 to $600 per person], plus breaks for businesses.

$150 billion; $120 billion; $70 billion: that’s enough money for the hugest, all-time-ever, blockbuster shopping spree. Forget shoes and handbags. Or even cars and HD TVs. Diva would start with buying a couple of small countries or a chain of islands in the Pacific. It is hard to envision what one could buy with such a big amount of money. Certainly, you could go a long way toward curing a couple of diseases, building badly needed new schools or mending collapsing bridges.

But according to our government, a coast-to-coast shopping spree is what’s needed. The government is hoping that most consumers will go out and splurge--and spend, spend, spend--instead of saving the money or paying down debt. The government thinks that a surge in sales would help the economy, which has started to slow, as consumers have curtailed their spending.

So, while you are waiting for your check [it should arrive by late May or June], browse through the Neiman Marcus catalog or check out Tar-jaaay. That is, if you don’t need the money to pay off your gasoline bill or for that late house payment.

--Diva

Spring Clothes Arrive--Already?!

It's 36 degrees out. And it's mid-day, so this is as warm as it's going to get. I'm spending my days sipping tea and soup, and dreaming of Arizona or the Bahamas. I really don't care at this point. On top of that, I'm wearing layers and layers of clothes. How about you? From the East Coast to the West--it is far too cold outside. So, imagine my disappointment when I went to the Gap, Ann Taylor, Target, Ross, and Nordstrom in search of winter wear, but instead only found spring and summer clothing.

In fact, Target dedicated half of its women's section to swimsuits. In January! I couldn't find an attractive sweater in sight, but I did find a great pink polka dot bikini, that's completely useless to me right now. Style.com just sent out press releases galore announcing the launch of its spring shopping guide. It would seem that retailers in general have failed to notice that it's still winter.

While I get the whole fashion forward idea with each season coming in during the current season, there's a bit of a miscalculation taking place here. First of all, the weather is not the same everywhere in the world. It may be sunny and warm in California, but it's anything but in Oregon (which is highly unusual!) or the Midwest. Secondly, this fashion rollout formula mistakenly assumes that we all plan far enough in advance to purchase our warm clothes a season ahead. Who really does this? And whatever happened to the idea of all-weather clothing, due to the effects of global warming? I would love to see retailers dedicate at least half of their offerings to in-season items, making shopping more plentiful during every season and a whole lot easier for consumers.

But, never mind, retailers are on to spring. According to Style.com, the new spring look is a tribal, hippie, transparent menswear combo with lots of color. Does that sound warm to anyone? It does sound cute, but right now with frigid temperatures in most parts of the world, a full-body turtleneck would do just fine.

If we want to increase retail sales, I think we've got to offer items that appeal to our shoppers today. I've walked out of all of the above mentioned stores with zero dollars spent because I could not find anything even remotely attractive to wear in this cold weather. I understand it's a system that's been in place for centuries or what have you, but, c'mon--help a sister out.

Is anyone else frustrated with this season backwards fashion mentality? Or do you know a retailer who is still selling fashionably warm apparel? If so, leave me a comment here with the scoop.

Stay warm!
--Heather Strang

Bottoms Up

The Los Angeles Times declared in 1989: "The most intriguing fashion accessory to come out of the '80’s is the Evian water bottle." I came across this interesting tidbit in a press release from Evian, which just released its first-ever high fashion design with the introduction of the Limited Edition Evian Bottle by Christian Lacroix. High-fashion water bottles? I couldn't help but be intrigued.

The Christian Lacroix bottle, which is the latest in Evian's line of annual designer bottles, will be available found in high-end restaurants, hotels and nightclubs from coast to coast, as well as at www.eviancouture.com. Designed by French fashion designer Christian Lacroix, Evian says "the new bottle signifies the brand's dedication to chic sophistication, providing consumers with an epicurean experience in each of these limited edition bottles and commences a new annual tradition."

Well I don't know about tradition, but I do know that Lacroix is an amazing designer. He is known for closing all of his haute couture fashion shows with a model dressed as a bride, and he's reportedly transfered this idea to the new Evian bottle. Does it look like a bride? Not really. Does it look like a stick-thin model donning wedding wear? Probably not since it's slightly bottom-heavy.  But it does kind of resemble a wedding dress silhouette. The Evian Bottle by Lacroix is adorned with a coppiced lace pattern, "for a classic frosted feel, and is reminiscent of the flora in the French Alps," Evian says.

Again, not so sure about the whole French Alps thing, but I have to admit it is a pretty bottle. Is it pretty enough to lug around like a fashion accessory? Sure, and if I get tired of carrying it, I could just toss it into my extra-huge suitcase, I mean, purse, which just so happens to be the perfect size to hold it. Do I feel a conspiracy theory coming on?

--Jessie Bove

 

The New Colossus

While the jury may still be out on Todd Oldham’s stint as creative director for Old Navy/The Gap, and reviews on Vera Wang’s imprint on Kohl’s remains inky, word on the street that Isaac Mizrahi’s abrupt departure from Target, and subsequent arrival as Liz Claiborne’s new creative director for women's wear, has created a something short of another fashion Tsunami.

We all saw the 1995 docu-drama “Unzipped,” and are left to wonder how far does the apple fall from the tree? Can the person be far off from the persona? Mizrahi’s is among one of America’s greatest designers, brilliant, but like Tom Ford, sustaining that talent has been as short lived as sports careers, and punctuated with extended diversions into bland films and blander television in an attempt to celebritize the designer, if not the designs. It’s difficult to imagine a talent like Liz Claiborne, as urbane, articulate and innovative as she was, launching her own talk show or appearing bare-a**ed in Vanity Fair to keep her name in front of the public.

Regardless, Issac Mizrahi is a perfectly cast designer for Liz Claiborne. Target's loss is Liz Claiborne's gain. Claiborne has been ailing financially and artistically in recent years. Mizrahi was ensconced at Target for five years and his collections sold more than $300 million a year--that's a lot of schmochas. Liz Claiborne had just announced that designer John Bartlett will design it's men's collection (and another one bites the dust). Lest readers forget, yes, Tim Gunn, Project Runway's host is the puppet master heading the Claiborne company as executive creative officer. Liz Claiborne has managed to craftily create a new colossus. Will three distinct voices harmonize? Can they? There is no soprano in the group. Liz may be writhing in her grave as the basic tenant of the company was to create a female centric vocabulary for women who work. Liz Claiborne may very well be asking, how many men does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Once exclusive designers, barely affordable by the public at large, have in recent years jumped ship and headed to design "affordable luxury" lines, an oxymoron if ever there was one. Those in denial were hoping that this exodus was just a fad, like acid wash denim or shoulder pads. Indeed, designers mainstreaming is more than a trend, it is a way of life. As per The New Colossus, to paraphrase Ms. Lazarus. "Keep, ancient designers, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips. "Give me your Wal-Marts, your Kohl's, your acrylic laden masses yearning to shop free, the discounted refuse of your counterfeiting stores. Send these, the poorly dressed, knocked off to me, I lift my lamp beside the retailer's door!"

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Shopping Makes Us Happy?!

Apparently, it does. And we have the brain scans to prove it. The National Academy of Sciences recently released a study showing a direct correlation between the pleasure centers in the brain and the value of a purchased item.

Carrie Bradshaw (if she actually existed) and shoe lovin' women everywhere are finally vindicated. Now we know why they spend $600-plus on a pair of shoes. Because it makes them HAPPY, which is, incidentally, what they've been telling us all along. In scientific terms, that pair of Jimmy Choos lights up the pleasure center in their brain. But, it doesn't just have to be shoes--it can be anything that floats your boat, whether it's a $200 pair of jeans, a $75 bottle of wine or an $85 sweater from White House Black Market.

In the study, participants were attached to brain scan machines while tasting five different glasses of wine, ranging in price from $5 to $90. When drinking from what they were told was the $90 bottle (although it wasn't), the brain scans revealed that their medial orbital frontal cortex's lit up, indicating pleasure--even when they were really drinking the cheap stuff.

And this explains why retail therapy has become actual therapy. We genuinely do feel happiness when we're shopping, and as a bonus we don't have sit in an uncomfortable chair and bare our souls. That's my kind of therapy! Interestingly, you don't have to go into debt to get these pleasure highs. The study revealed that the actual amount spent doesn't matter, only our belief as to what that value is.

Our medial orbital frontal cortex pleasure centers also go bananas from bargain shopping. Now, this, I'm chronically familiar with. I'm still clinging to a sweater I bought for $4, because it was, well, $4. I also receive the same high when traveling on the cheap. Nothing gives me more pleasure than going to Hawaii for under $1,000. I'm serious. There's something absolutely delightful about living the dream on the lowest amount of dollars possible. While these highs eventually fade, like when I see yuppies living it up at the Hyatt, at least I know what my giddiness is all about--it's my pleasure center gettin' happy.

However, there is a downside. The study showed that this rush of happiness doesn't last very long --mere seconds actually. But, it is just enough to keep us coming back for more.

So, the moral of the story is this: Break-up? Go shopping. Lost your job? Shop it out. Got into a fight with your best friend? S-H-O-P. And voila! Just like that, you're happy again. Until you get home, of course, and then you're back to dealing with reality.

Retailers see this phenomena every day, first hand. Have any great stories to share about shoppers whose pleasure centers were on overload? Or do you have your own form of retail therapy? Any particular item or store (besides your own) that lights up your medial orbital frontal cortex? Let us know.

--Heather Strang

Ring Ring

Q: What’s the one thing that we almost always don’t figure into our design plans, and yet should be top of mind?

A: Who’s answering the phone in a smaller store setup?

How many times have you called a store for information and not been able to get through to anyone? Or worse, you get a computer operator voice that can’t help anymore than to give a pre-recorded message that doesn’t answer your question, and then puts you on hold forever while no one picks up. Is it that the store doesn’t care about you being on the phone, that they are giving their full attention to the real live shoppers in the store, right? Wrong? Or is it just that the person dusting the shelves or straightening the clothes didn’t have easy access to a phone from out on the floor to be able to pick up and talk with you.

Unless you’re in a one person operation, there should be someone free for the phone calls most of the time. If there’s not, then the store should probably hire some more staff; they are too busy to deal with business effectively. I know that the customer in your store is, and rightly should be, the focus of the most attention. And it is annoying to me as a customer to have a salesman drop me to talk on the phone for an extended period of time to someone who let their fingers do the walking, or who doesn’t know how to use Mapquest. It is a fine line between good phone service and great in-store experiences, but shouldn’t there be a happy medium? Like taking the phone away from the cash wrap where people are trying to give you their money and discretely putting some extensions out on the floor for the lesser busy staff to put their time to good use.

But how often have you incorporated phones into your floor plans and design? How about doing a roaring '20s vignette and having a working candlestick phone in the picture? Or an old time farmhouse or country store look with a wall crank replica hanging there? Or even a '50s, '60s or '70s themed scene with an old rotary dial phone? A bedroom with a princess phone on the nightstand? You get the picture, there are a lot of great new antiques out there that could work well and help the staff to work as well. Just because we are designing a new display doesn’t mean that we can’t design some behind the scene mechanicals for the staff too.

Just remember to tell the mannequin to hang up the phone when it’s done.

--Scott Caldwell, Guest Blogger

It Doesn't Add Up

Diva is a big supporter of green, but she has had a nagging suspicion about those compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that consumers are being urged to buy [could soon be required by law to buy] to replace incandescent bulbs in homes. True, these bulbs do save energy--a typical household’s energy use attributed to lighting averages around 5 percent to 7 percent of total household energy use. CFLs cost more, but last longer. So, Diva, being a good green citizen, bought some CFLs to try out in the laundry room, before committing the entire house [in fact, she discovered that some of her ceiling fixtures will have to be replaced entirely, to receive the CFLs, and that will cost a good bit]. The laundry room, with its new CFLs [bought at Home Depot], seemed dimmer than usual, compared to the equivalent incandescent wattage, and the light was very yellow, which was unpleasant. [It seems that there are several kinds of CFLs, and you must figure out which type you prefer.] Diva obviously got the wrong type. Still, it’s worth doing, if it’s good for the environment--or is it?

After reading an article in Forbes, however, Diva is perplexed. How is she to dispose of the unacceptable CFLs? It seems that you cannot just throw these light bulbs in the trash bin. They are considered toxic waste: they each contain 5 milligrams of mercury [some include as much as 20 milligrams], a highly poisonous substance. How is that green, Diva wants to know? Commercial enterprises must, by law in most states, dispose of CFLs as toxic waste--packaging them together in bulk and arranging for special disposal. Home owners have no easy means of disposal--in fact, many home owners have no idea that these bulbs contain mercury [the packaging should bear a warning]. Perhaps retailers will develop programs to get them back and dispose of them properly. But, whatever you do, don't break one.

The Forbes article related a scary story, sourced from an article in Investor’s Business Daily. A mother was installing a CFL in her daughter’s bedroom, when she dropped the bulb and it fell to the floor and shattered. Knowing about the mercury, the Mom called the store where she bought the bulb and was referred to the Poison Control Center, which in turn referred her to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP came to her house and found mercury levels in the daughter’s bedroom that were six times the state’s “safe” level. She received an estimated cost for the “toxic clean up” that would be a conservative $2,000. Now, granted, this may be extreme over-reaction, but still, it makes you stop and think.

Mercury is one of the most poisonous substances on the planet--especially harmful to children and pregnant women. Discover magazine says even a tiny bit can be dangerous. [Sales of mercury thermometers were outlawed some time back.] There is already so much mercury in the world’s waterways that it is not safe to eat many species of fish. How is adding significant amounts of mercury, contained in the cumulative millions and millions of CFLs that will be used in private homes be helping the planet [in addition to what is being already used commercially]? And all the while, the good old Edison light bulb is completely biodegradable. Will saving a few percentage points of energy used in lighting homes help that much? After all, the refrigerator, TVs, washers and dryers and other electronic appliances are the real energy hogs. And what about the law requiring consumers to switch to CFLs? Here’s what the Forbes article had to say: “too bad Edison isn’t around to invent a suitable punishment for the dim bulb who passed this legislation.”

Diva also wishes to comment that the government’s new law requiring the digital/HD TV conversion, and requiring consumers to buy new plasmas or LCD TVs by next year is a little out in left field as well. Has anyone in the government bothered to price one of these? It takes between $1,000 and $1,500 to buy one of any size [say 40 to 42 inches]. And does this make good sense, going into a recession, when consumers are already cash-strapped. Like everyone in the lower and middle class has an extra $1,000 lying around to blow on a new HD TV, or fancy plasma set. An LCD TV consumes twice the energy of a standard TV, while a plasma TV consumes even more than that--up to three times as much energy. In fact, an LCD TV uses more energy than a large refrigerator--if only turned on for a few hours a day. Not only does the HD TV cost more, but also, watching it will use considerably more energy and cost consumers much more in energy bills. How is this green--in terms of the planet or consumers' budgets?

Don’t these government types do their research, and don’t they talk to each other? We’re supposed to change our light bulbs to save a measly two or three percentage points of energy per home, but plug in a huge flat screen HD TV, that will use two or three times the energy of  a standard TV. Someone needs to do the math! It doesn’t add up.

--Diva

A New Breed of Shoppers

They're out there. Researching and shopping. Reading your product reviews and looking for your social navigation tools. It's the new breed of shopper, evolved from more than 12 years of Internet technology experience--the social researcher.

Scary or sophisticated? You decide.

A recent study by PowerReviews.com revealed that customers voraciously read product reviews and use them to make their final purchasing decisions. In fact, 65 percent of consumers "actively" look for and read product reviews, making decisions based on the nature of the review.

Eighty-six percent of the folks in this group rate customer reviews extremely or very important, while 76 percent find "top rated product" lists to be critical to the buying process. And guess where they're doing this said research? That's right, online--regardless of whether they make the purchase in store or via the Web. This only confirms how essential it is for retailers to have high-functioning Web sites.

Want more?
Eighty-two percent felt reading reviews was far more effective than researching a product in-store with a sales associate. Apparently, technology is more effective than a live human being! How sad, but true this can be.

At first, I scoffed at the idea, as I rarely pay any attention to Amazon.com reviews because everyone's literary and musical tastes are so different. However, earlier this week, I was checking out a resort in Florida  (it's freezing here, so I'm eagerly planning a warm vaca), only to find reviews that called it "Roach Resort." I promptly eliminated it as a prospect. I guess customer-based reviews are effective.

So effective that 81 percent of consumers use reviews to decide between two or three choices for a specific purchase. Whichever product has the best review, wins. In addition, and a surprise to me, 76 percent of social researchers and 93 percent of consumers are more likely to shop on a retail Web site if it features social navigation tools.

We know it's a Web world, but this survey confirms that it really is the seemingly little things, i.e. reviews and social navigation, that matter.

How about you--are you a social researcher? Do you make purchasing decisions based on product reviews? Or do you know a retailer that's doing an exceptional job of leveraging these tools? We'd love to hear from you!

--Heather Strang

Macy's Is Not a Closet

Living in New York one acclimates themselves to small spaces, small apartments, elevators, small cubicalized offices, overcrowded subways, Starbucks the size of postage stamps, single serving size of soup, and tiny closets. Space per square feet is so expensive, and difficult to come by that apartment dwellers rent out cold storage facilities to deal with their overflow, like Christmas ornaments, college textbooks, unused Nordic Tracks and boxes of old tax returns. I have four closets in my alcove studio, this is quite extraordinary. One closet was just large enough to squeeze a desk in, and I have Jeri-rigged that closet into a sort of home office. Yes, I am writing you from a closet, which in New York, could almost pass for a room. One of the four closets I have is devoted to my companion's collection of videos and DVDs, which currently number 18,976. Each video is numbered, and listed on an Excel spreadsheet so that it can be easily identified, and located, providing it is not a low number, that is if you can consider anything under 12,000 a low number, which may require one to empty off hundreds of videos off of a shelf in order to get to it.

As previously described, my clothes closet is impossibly small; therefore I reason that my favorite stores are merely extensions of my closet. They exist simply for my convenience. In my dreams, my closet is laid out like Barneys, as expansive as Saks, and as astute as Bloomingdale's. They are places where my un-purchased clothes are just laying in wait for me to pick them up and take them home. I wish retailers knew this; it would make my shopping experience so much more pleasant. I get frustrated when I see my beautiful sweaters on Macy’s second floor all unfolded, like some stranger was wandering through my closet picking through my sweaters and didn’t bother to refold them correctly. I get annoyed when I reach for my pair of size 32 jeans at Club Monaco, only to find that someone else put their size 36 in my section of my closet, despite the wonderful sizing collars on the bar that clearly identifies where everything belongs. Put on your reading glasses! I get very perturbed when I visit my closet at Bergdorf’s, and I ask where someone moved my cute black velvet hoodie that was here last week, right on this T-stand, up front, and they reply that it must have been moved, but aren’t sure where. I don’t like it when people move my things about. And last, but not least, when I’m at H & M and someone has put my pants back on my hanger, and not bothered to align the seams correctly so that they hang flat with the tag sticking out, it irks me to no end. I beg of you all when you are messing with my closets, you are messing with me.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Boys Love the Bling

Back in the day--when J.Lo ruled the radio, television and big screen--it was the ladies who most noticeably donned bling from head to toe. A shopping spree at Tiffany's was practically expected for any gal who loved to floss (We can thank hip-hop music for bringing that word into my vocab!). Today, in 2008, it's a completely different story. It's men who are bellying up to the jewelry store bar for diamond rings, gold chains, silver bracelets and earrings. And it's not for their ladies.

According to a recent story by the Wall Street Journal, Stevens, Pa.-based Unity Marketing reported men's jewelry sales had almost doubled between 2004 and 2006, hitting the $6 billion mark for each year. Whoa! These guys are not playing around. Cartier reports an "unusual number" of men's watches being sold, diamond encrusted watches that is. Another big hit? Pearl bracelets. PearlParadise.com reports that 5 percent to 10 percent of sales are now coming from men. Even I didn't see this coming--men wearing pearls?!

With celebrity males--think Russell Simmons (who just started his own jewelry line), P.Diddy, Pierce Brosnan and K.Fed--consistently wearing bling, the trend is catching on and retailers are feeling the change. It's no longer only women who love the feel of diamonds, gold and expensive jewels on their skin. Today's man also assertively claims his love for the bling, minus excuses or apologies.

Some speculate, though, that the shift comes from a deeper battle of the sexes, beyond a mere love of jewels. Milton Pedrazza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, theorizes, "men are beginning to adorn themselves more because women are so much more self-sufficient and successful and far more picky, and now men need to compete in a more Darwinian fashion."

Nothing like bringing science and gender competition into the retail jewelry market! But, hey, he could be right. Other men hypothesize that the change is an attempt to impress women who adoringly praise celebs who do wear jewelry. And I have to agree, man bling is hot, although I'm struggling with the pearl bracelet/necklace piece. It seems a little too grandma for me, but if a guy feels called to it, then why not?

So, is men's love of bling fabulous or a faux pas? Competition among the species or a new way to look and feel hot? Would love to hear your thoughts...leave us a comment.

--Heather Strang

Design on a Dime

I’m all for frugality and not wasting money if not needed, I guess it’s the Scotch ancestry (I’m half Scotch and half water). And sometimes it gets you thinking about what is really needed. Are all of the expensive flourishes really necessary, or are they just gilding the lily a bit too much?

The case in point arose during the opening of a new furniture store in the area. The premises had been a furniture store featuring upholstered action pieces (ie: recliners) and the new owners feature primarily case goods (ie: bookcases, entertainment centers, desks). But the store was basically a furniture store from the beginning so the transition shouldn’t have been too difficult, right? Wrong.

The old guys moved out on Sunday night and the new owner (almost as frugal as I) didn’t want to pay rent on a closed store so challenged the staff to be ready to open the following Saturday morning. He also didn’t want to invest a lot into leasehold improvements so the carpeting stayed put, the walls didn’t get painted, lighting didn’t get changed, etc. The only new item was a new curtain wall to hide an enlarged back room for the storage of the ready-to-assemble stock.

So here was the challenge. How do you make dissimilar furniture look good in the same space, and let the customers know that there is a new owner and business in the space when the only apparent change was in the sign over the front door? You punt.

The main fun was trying to hang pictures on the walls to cover old divots, and putting bedroom sets over the holes in the carpet where the old sofas used to sit. Or the old dodge of putting light colored woods on the dark walls, and vice-versa. And, of course, the two days spent going up and down a 12 ft. ladder re-aiming about 175 track hung spotlights so that they now shine on desks and TV stands instead of on to empty stretches of carpet. After all what are we trying to sell here?

The store looks good and is making money (the main point after all) and I picked up a nice consulting fee for the design and lighting work, but after having worked on the cheap, real cheap, in the process, and making it work right, it makes you wonder about some of the extravagant budgets and displays in other stores. I mean it would have been nice to throw some more money into the wind and gone crazy in the new space, but it turned out not to have been needed, and it certainly made the project more challenging to have to work around all of the other obstacles and not spend any money that absolutely wasn’t needed. So why don’t we try to approach more projects this way? Are there too many commissions tied into the gross dollars spent making it more inviting to spend spend spend  when it’s not always needed? Or has glamour outstripped functionality?

I’m not saying it’s not nice to have an overabundant budget, but it sure was fun getting down and dirty and making do. Almost like taking on old hot dog and making it taste like a filet. And in a short time span, just like the Iron Chefs do.

--Scott Caldwell, Guest Blogger

Does Your Store Have a Soul?

I know, you're thinking that it's a dumb question relating to a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo, new age stuff, but let me explain.  On the Friday after Christmas, Sarah DaVanzo and I spent the day walking through all of the shops along Madison Avenue, starting at about 59th Street.  We visited all of the high-end, luxury stores for about 20 blocks and what we found were stores without a soul.  Stores that had no energy, no life to them and, in many cases, didn't have many people in them either. 

They were what we'd call "Web stores"--physical stores with merchandise,  staff and everything you'd expect at a store, but operating as if they were little more then a Web site--and sometimes a snooty one at that!  Point at something to get more information and maybe touch it.  Otherwise, it's a store that does little more then a Web site does.  In fact, at some stores, we got less info.  We stopped in at one cool looking shop from a perfume brand from the 1700s, but the sales person there seemed pretty uninterested in sharing their heritage and story with us.

In contrast, stores that we would say had a soul, were crowded and had a definite life to them.  There were expected lines to the Apple store & FAO Schwatz stores on Fifth Avenue, but the Abercrombie store on Fifth had a line as well.  Crate & Barrel was humming with activity and people touching and enjoying the merchandise.

And some of our new favorite stores along Madison:

The DKNY store that was letting guests take pictures of themselves and adding their pictures to the photo montage playing on all of the digital monitors around the store.  Plus they had a cafe for shoppers to either take a break or to entertain the non-shoppers so those shopping could actually enjoy themselves.

The Juicy Couture store continued its brand experience throughout the store, including the dressing rooms.  And it was about the only store we saw with teenagers once we left FAO and Apple.

We LOVED the two Ralph Lauren stores!  They were so alive in every way.  Merchandise, store design and staff.  And you know what all of that energy generated?  Judging by the transactions we saw going on, sales. 

We're putting together a more detailed review and some trends now, which you can expect to be released during the Retail Advertising Conference next month. If you're investing in physical space and paying all of those costs just to create a "Web store," you're wasting a lot of good money and some great business opportunities.

--David Polinchock

Living in IKEA-Land

Retailers are a generous bunch--we know that. They let us pillage through their stores day in and day out. Yes, I'm the one who slops a half-folded sweater back on the display table. I'm sorry. It's not like I live there or anything...But, can you imagine living in your favorite retail store 24/7? We'd all be fabulously dressed, or live surrounded by upscale furnishings. I opt for fabulously dressed--Nordstrom's or Bebe's please.

While allowing customers to live on-site might seem like generosity overload, the IKEA store in Paramus, N.J., begs to differ. On Monday, Jan. 7, 2008, the store opened its doors 24 hours a day to Mark Malkoff, who's currently without home, while his New York City apartment is fumigated for cockroaches. Malkoff, a comedian and filmmaker, arrived at IKEA with two suitcases and a camera crew. He's documenting his experience and posting it on a Web site, appropriately titled MarkLivesinIkea.com. On the site, you can watch hilarious "episodes" of Malkoff's IKEA living experience, check out photos and laugh hysterically.
 

IKEA is letting Malkoff to stay at their store through midnight on Saturday since the store is closed on Sundays. So, how does one live in a big-box home furnishings store? He has his own bedroom, but unfortunately none of the sinks and kitchen showrooms work. Instead, Malkoff showers in the staff locker room and can cook meals in the staff cafeteria or eat at IKEA restaurants.

Malkoff approached Julie Mott, IKEA store manager, three weeks ago with the proposal to move in. Mott had this to say about the Malkoff experience, "We thought it would be a lot of fun and interesting. We're not really sure what this week holds."

I doubt Malkoff lived with cockroaches for three weeks until he got the "okay," but his offer and IKEA's surprising acceptance is amazingly generous. A little extra PR never hurt anyone, did it? In this scenario, IKEA gets some cool free promo time (although it might cost them a bit extra to have a guy and a camera crew living on-site for a week) and Malkoff gets his own hip promotion as a comedian. Everybody wins!

Now, do you think I could convince Nordstrom's to let me move in? I'd sleep on a pile of fur coats surrounded by Dolce & Gabbana shoes...If you could live in any retail store--what would you choose? Let us know!

--Heather Strang

Touché Café

En guarde, Starbucks! McDonald’s is in a slinky fencer's crouch, whipping the air with its saber, and bent on stealing a deadly "touché." Will Starbucks stand ground, parry or attack? Now, Diva has long been a fan of Starbucks, and will readily admit that she will probably not be a customer of coffee at McDonald's any time soon [she is a bit of a snob, you know]--but, millions of middle-class Americans will now be able to treat themselves to a “luxury” coffee experience at the admittedly-down-scale, popular, fast-food chain.

McDonald’s is chasing $1 billion in new business throughout its chain by adding fancy equipment, coffee bars and baristas [borrowing the term from Starbucks--actually it’s European] in about 14,000 U.S. locations. Here come McFrappuccinos, McFrappes and McCappuccinos. [Diva cringes at the thought of the combined smells of coffee and French fries.]

It seems that while Starbucks has scaled-down, its competitor has scaled-up, and the two are meeting on a level fighting field in the middle. McDonald’s has upgraded its interiors and improved its coffee products, while Starbucks has spread its brand thin, cheapened its interiors and switched from handcrafted products to mass-produced items. It’s called value engineering at Starbucks and called brand extension at McDonald's.

Diva asks: Why did Starbucks--who literally invented its niche and thrived on uniqueness--suddenly, decide to fall on its own saber? [True, it isn’t decapitated, but it is bleeding.] And more importantly, Starbucks may be vulnerable to a fatal thrust from McDonalds--if the burger chain gets it right. (Starbucks has announced that it is reinstalling Howard Schultz as CEO. Schultz oversaw Starbucks' growth for many years, through its infancy to its leap to become a top national brand.)

There are lessons for retailers in this. 1) Never, never allow your core product to be weakened in any way; 2) when you innovate, there is usually a limited time in which you own the idea--at some point others will copy you, so have a strategy for when that happens; and 3) evolve your brand over time, but don’t lose sight of what made you successful [giving your loyal customers what they want] in the first place--in this case, exclusivity, customization, and warm and fuzzy [but sophisticated] store environments, where folks love to hang out. (More importantly, do what you think best and tell Wall Street finance wonks to mind their own business.)

Diva will admit--she knew something was wrong, when she started picking up the frappuccinos to go instead of lingering on site--when it stopped being appealing to stay there. When those comfy sofas and the subdued lighting got replaced by hard, plywood tables and straight-back chairs [excruciatingly uncomfortable and boringly cost saving] and the space filled up with merchandise fixtures--it was no longer the “third place.”

One question, though--will McDonald’s coffee products be substantially cheaper? If they have the quality and a better price--en guarde, Starbucks! For coffee on the fly, one percolator may be as good as another.

--Diva

Bust A Move...In the Mall?

"Hey Mr. DJ, put a record on, I want to dance with my baby." So croons Madonna. In the mall. With a live DJ spinning records...er...CDs. Sound silly? Over the top? Well, it just might be the next phase of mall entertainment.

With Nordstrom recently ditching its well-loved tuxedo clad piano players, more retailers than ever before are seeking to increase their "it" factor by adding super hot live entertainment, such as on-site DJs. Of course, the hipsters in L.A. started this new trend. In Los Angeles, Neiman Marcus, The Gap, Bloomingdale's, Sephora and Apple have all had Mr. DJs spinning sounds in-store to entertain the younger, and presumably more chic, demographic. In fact, Neiman Marcus Cusp stores bring in DJs twice a month in hopes of inspiring young shoppers.

According to American Public Media, young consumers spent $180 billion last year alone. Teens were also expected to spend 2.5 percent more during the holidays than their adult counterparts. So, with the sounds of sales ringing in their ears, retailers are seeking ways to get younger shoppers into their stores, and get them to stay there.

DJs help create a shopping experience, above and beyond the usual muzak or classical tunes. Apparently, great DJs watch shoppers, looking for body language clues about not only what clothes they like, but what their fave tunes are. The results? Fabulous music=longer store stay= more purchases. And I have to agree. I know I've stayed in an Express store far longer than intended, because I wanted to hear the entire Kylie Minogue song. Or was it Fergie...I can't recall. Anyway, the point is--great music does create longer shopping time, and hopefully more purchases.

The trend is catching on. Lee Dyson with Hey Mister DJ reports that retail now accounts for 20 percent of his business and it's continuing to grow. Dyson also says that '80s music is the most popular genre, due to its broad appeal. I didn't even know that teeny boppers liked that stuff. Very cool!

While I have yet to experience the DJ trend (things like this can take some time to make it to Portland, Ore.) I would love to hear your DJ stories. Are people dancing in the malls? High-fivin' DJs? Do tell!

--Heather Strang

Customers Don't Shop Here, People Do

I understand the machinations, but have failed to accustom myself to the new retail moniker "guest," as when I am in line, and the cashier says, "next guest please." I am not a guest. My guests do not stand in line. The retail experience and expectation is not improved by what is said. The retail experience and expectation is transformed when better service is provided.

People need to sit down. Retailers who do not provide chairs and benches risk loosing and alienating customers. Retailers' floors are crowded, packages are heavy, and floors are hard-- especially for women in heels. Guests are always invited to make themselves comfortable upon entering someone’s home. Customers are not cattle. Invite your customers to have a seat and offer them a glass of water, and they will remember who treated them so nicely.

People need and want assistance, but people are reluctant to ask for help. Walking into a store is like walking into a party where you don’t really know anyone. So retailers need to approach their customers, smile and say, "Thank you for coming, how can I help you?" Way back when, more than 100 years ago, many department stores had pages to personally escort ladies to their destination in the store and even carry their bags. It was simply a nice way to help customers. That was service. Can you imagine receiving that level of service today?

People need a second opinion; people need advice and suggestions. People watch makeover shows. Instead of having sales people, hire stylists to assist customers. Older people with good taste, students in fashion school, people who love shopping. Have them strategically stationed to help customers find the right size, offer options for add-ons like "would you like to see some belts for that pair of pants" or "do you think you’d like some matching hosiery for that new skirt" and "we just got in tops that would be perfect for that, can I show you?"

Customers are people. People shop. Some doctors treat patients, the best doctors treat people-- not patients. The best retailers sell to people, not customers.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

High Prices Ring in the New Year

2008 started with a dramatic economic milestone--$100 a-barrel oil. While 2007 flirted with the $100 high-tide mark, it took the wee-early hours of the New Year to officially ring in the new price. What does that mean for consumers? Predictions are for $4 for a gallon of gasoline later this year.

Consumers are already dealing with exploding price increases across a wide range of commodities, from building materials to medical bills to groceries. The pain at the Publix checkout is already being felt. According to The Wall Street Journal, food prices have had their biggest jump in 17 years. A Journal article lists the following price increases: eggs up 37.8 percent, milk up 30.4 percent, lettuce up 16.5 percent, cheddar cheese up 12 percent, bread up 11.9 percent, chicken up 10.5 percent, ice cream up 9 percent--and so on. In fact, prices for milk, rice and corn are up more than 100 percent in the past two years. And we all know how much more it costs for a fill-up at the gasoline pump. The average monthly gasoline bill is close to double what it was a couple of years ago. Inflation is being held in check [but only slightly] by falling prices for homes, apparel, electronics and a few other goods.

Consumers, who have experienced average annual salary raises of only around 3 percent for the past seven years, will be hard pressed to afford the new price reality. And they will no longer have those home refinancing cash-outs to fall back on. Credit cards and already loading up [along with defaults], and tightening credit may impede some shoppers.

So for many, that glass of Champagne that rang in the New Year, may soon translate into beer in a paper cup. It looks like the years of loose spending are rapidly coming to an end. What will the New Year bring? Higher prices and less money--a challenging equation for retailers and consumers. It may be time to break out the worry beads.

--RoxAnna Sway

Warm Weather Beckons Macy's

It's cold out. In most parts of the United States, it's freezing cold; requiring residents to don down jackets, wool scarves and warm gloves. The Northwest, East and everywhere in between is experiencing record cold temperatures along with early snow fall. So, it's no wonder that many of us (okay, me) spend a lot of time day dreaming about sunny skies, tan skin and warm temps. And cute sun dresses, but that's a whole other retail shopping story...

It seems that Macy's is also dreaming of warmer climates. In fact, the retailer has put the word out that it's seeking Caribbean-based fashion designers and suppliers. In hopes of expanding their international reach, Macy's is on the prowl, networking with top Caribbean business executives. Ed Goldberg, the company's senior vice president of government affairs, attended the 12th annual Caribbean Multinational Business Conference in Antigua during early November, reportedly meeting with a high-end Caribbean fashion designer to discuss future products. According to Goldberg, Macy's is, "interested in the continents of Asia and Africa as well as the Caribbean." The company currently has relationships with Rwanda-based designers for native products, and with this recent statement is obviously interested in expanding their global lines further.

Maybe Macy's simply ran out of celebs to tap for new product lines (poor Martha and Jess Simpson) and instead is turning to real experts--those located in the international design communities. In any event, I'll take Caribbean-, African- or Asian-inspired products and clothing over the traditional, especially during these harshly cold days. Looks like Macy's is on the right track. The company is essentially encouraging any designers from these countries to contact them. Know of someone? Send them Macy's way...And let's keep on the look out for more globally-inspired products and clothing lines from Macy's.

--Heather Strang