New Retail Blog | Archive | Brand Strategy

The New Value Equation: Proof That Price Alone Doesn’t Add Up

Posted on 28. Feb, 2012 by Jon Bird.

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For way too long, this has been the value equation according to many retailers: Value = Price. The words have somehow become interchangeable in merchants’ minds, and this misinterpretation has resulted in the escalation of price-led offers in the market. As the discount drug has started to wear off on customers in recent times, retailers [...]

Trust: Hard Earned, but Easily Burned

Posted on 05. Nov, 2011 by Jon Bird.

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The basic building block of any brand is trust. And when trust is betrayed, the bond between customer and company is broken, sometimes irretrievably. Two high profile examples recently are Qantas in Australia (and around the globe), and Netflix in the United States. I had personal experience of the Qantas crisis. I was on board [...]

When the Discount Drug Doesn’t Work

Posted on 15. Sep, 2011 by Jon Bird.

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The most powerful four-letter word in the entire English language for retailers used to be “Sale”. If you weren’t making your numbers you could easily whack up a big, red Sale sign and watch the punters come in, in their droves. There was a time when that magic, precious word Sale was utilised judiciously. Retailers [...]

The Power of Love Over “Like-for-Like”

Posted on 25. Aug, 2011 by Jon Bird.

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There is a natural tension in retailing between the emotional and the rational, the heart and the mind. In times like these, it’s easy to veer towards the latter. Suddenly as a retailer you start focusing so much on whether you’re making your like-for-like store sales that you forget about whether your customers truly love [...]

What’s Your “Secret Sauce”?

Posted on 12. Apr, 2011 by Jon Bird.

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Legend has it that only two people in the world know the secret recipe for Coca-Cola, and that corporate policy bans them from flying in the same plane together, for fear of the formula being lost forever. The directions for Kentucky Fried Chicken’s “11 secret herbs and spices” are also closely guarded. One KFC supplier [...]

The Fun Theory – Changing People’s Behaviour

Posted on 05. Apr, 2011 by Matt Newell.

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This is a wonderful social experiment from VW, which retailers can learn a lot from. At the heart of any retailer’s customer acquistion strategy is the need to change customer behaviour. The shopper needs to be enticed out of their existing routine and pursuaded to engage in a new retail experience. And they need to [...]

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies – London

Posted on 21. Mar, 2011 by Matt Newell.

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Hoxton Street Monster Supplies is a new retail concept, developed by UK design firm ‘We Made This’, to serve London’s monster community which has been poorly catered to for centuries. The store retails monster essentials such as brain jam, pickled eyeballs and neckbolt tightners, all at category leading prices. The store is actually a front [...]

Sainsbury’s About to Launch ‘Food on the Go’ Concept

Posted on 19. Jan, 2011 by Matt Newell.

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The signage is still covered up and the windows white-washed but Sainsbury’s are thought to be opening a new take away concept featuring both hot and cold food. The store is located at 76 Fleet Street, in the centre of London, and is located in close proximity to Pret A Manger, Chilango and McDonalds. The [...]

How Does Your Brand Rank?

Posted on 22. Sep, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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Sometimes retail brands remind me of Hollywood sets – they look OK upfront, but there’s no real substance behind them. This observation struck me once more when I went through the latest Interbrand “Best Global Brands” report (http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/Best-Global-Brands-2010.aspx). The report ranks and values the top 100 brands in the world. And somewhat worryingly, retail brands [...]

Who Needs This Stuff?

Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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In 1975, a Californian advertising executive called Gary Dahl invented the Pet Rock. This was the perfect pet; you never needed to feed, water or clean up after it, because it was literally a lump of stone. Lovingly nestled in straw, then placed in a cardboard box with air-holes in it, and complete with a [...]

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