What: another physical retail location for DTC brands to showcase products

Why it is important: department stores used to be the place where small new brands and designers went to show their work. Will the new players replace the old guard?  Supplant the old business model by their own?

Naked Retail started with two designers who were already running their respective online brands and who needed a physical space to showcase their products. New York City rents being very high, they decided to come together to reduce the rental costs. The Naked Retail concept store was born.

The business model in itself is not revolutionary. Indeed, in the old days department stores used to be the incubators for new brands and designers. Now, instead of showing drawings or samples for attractions, brands showcase their work online before eventually landing a physical space. The means are changing, but not the purpose.

Naked Retail is a brick-and-mortar retailer that showcases online brands' products, allowing for physical interactions with customers. With two locations in New York City (in Soho and in Nolita), it faces competition such as Neighborhood Goods and Showfields. Is this concept different from its fellow competitors, or is it just another variation of the same business model?

What's more to it?

A curated assortment

Assortment is key at Naked Retail, and therefore is carefully curated. The idea is that every brand showcased needs to seamlessly fit in with one another. Each batch of brands comes with aesthetics and a tone that have to do be respected in order to offer a consistent storytelling to customers. Reasons of possible inconsistencies are numerous: price points, manufacturing stories, sustainability engagements… It all relies on the narrative chosen at one moment of the year, and brands depend on that. The idea is to make people feel like they are part of one lifestyle, one space, one brand.

There is an another strategy behind the curated assortment: mixing brands that are already established within their community with lesser-known labels. Having big names draws people in the store, and eventually boosts the more obscure labels who only have a short list of online followers. This is a collaborative space before anything else.

Creative agency

Naked Retail also works as a creative agency for brands that are looking to physically establish themselves, either through a pop-store, or in the long-term at their own location (and not inside one of Naked Retail's locations). Some  of their projects include working with Bose and Tupperwares.

Naked Retail response to covid-19: being local

Before the pandemic, sales were split between 70% local customers and 30% out-of-towners. Now local customers represent almost 100% of sales. Upon reopening, the store reviewed its assortment and searched for wellness and home brands, and also for beverage brands. The idea is to be consistent with what the local customers crave at the moment, without relying on tourism.

What does it mean for department stores?

As mentioned above, department stores used to be the place young brands turned to for visibility. Nowadays, they still host various pop-up stores and brands, but this does not seem to have the same impact as it does for the new retailers. But there are some solutions. For example, in order to get around the problem of competition in that field, Macy's invested in retail concepts b8ta and Story, which both work with a similar business model involving hosting dedicated brands for a limited time. Entering partnerships with the newcomers could be a way for department stores to stay in the business.

naked retail - website

Naked Retail Pictures

(Credits: Louise Ancora)

Following the acquisition of Whole Foods Market three years ago, Amazon is opening its first grocery store dubbed 'Fresh'. The new 3250sqm Amazon Fresh supermarket is located in  Woodland Hills, CA (part of the Los Angeles metro area).

The new store takes elements of all Amazon previous concepts, such as micro-fulfillment, contactless features, a curated assortment of premium and conventional products, highly personalized service, and mixes them into one innovative store.

The new Fresh store introduces the Amazon Dash Cart: customers place their bags in the cart, sign in using their Fresh QR code in the Amazon app and skip the checkout line. Sensors automatically identify all items in the cart and payment is processed using the shopper's credit card on the shopper's Amazon account. However the store is not 100% checkout-less and offers traditional checkout carts, checkout lanes and point of sale.

Customers can use Amazon's Alexa technology to help with their shopping lists and better navigate the store's aisles.

The store also offers same-day delivery and pickup, as well as Amazon.com package pickup and free package-less product returns.

Amazon Fresh features a wide assortment of national, private and local brands, and high-quality produce, meat and seafood. It also includes private brands from all of Amazon's banners, including Amazon and Whole Foods.

discover a more detailed visit of Amazon fresh here

Pictures here!

What: a digital playground for the American beauty brand.

Why it is important: in times of pandemic; MAC Innovation Lab blends together the physical and digital retail experience perfectly.

The beauty brand opened last month its MAC Innovation Lab in the Queens neighbourhood in New York City. The store is a digital playground for beauty lovers and boats community-centric looks and assortment. It follows the opening of a first MAC Innovation Lab last year in Shanghai, and is a good example of how to mix physical and virtual retail.

Digital

The Queens store features various omnichannel experiences. At the centre of the store is the Art Studio, with 16 stations furnished with augmented reality virtual try-on mirrors to experiment make-up in a safe way, especially in a pandemic. An infrared touch-screen matches every shade of skin, even the most unique, to try and test foundations, making it an inclusive tool. There are also plenty of digital touch screens and QR codes to navigate MAC's mobile store portal, mixing the physical and digital experience.

Instore x online experience

Indeed, the instore digital experience continues online as, once customers have tried on some looks virtually, they can save them on their mobile. Once home they can review them, research for products and eventually make an online purchase.

Exclusivity

A great attraction in the store is the "Design Your Palette" station, which allows customers to choose from more than 100 eye shadows to make their very own make-up palette. This is not completely new as some other brands offer the same services; such as ByTerry which even offers the possibility to mix up to three pigments in one pod (the brand launched in Le Bon Marché earlier this year). Getting even more personal, a printing station is available for customers to customise their products packaging with images, text or emojis.

Community

The real asset of MAC Innovation Studio is that it prides itself on being hyper-local and community-centric. How? By offering content and looks that echoes within the community. The assortment has been organised to cater for the locals of Queens, and the virtual looks to try on, created by MAC makeup artists, are based on what is popular in the store vicinity.

Community, and to by the same token inclusivity, have increasingly become a subject of interest in retail and especially in beauty. Singer Rihanna was the first to advocate inclusivity through her Fenty Beauty line and now many other brands are following her lead.

What to learn from MAC Innovation Lab

With this new store, MAC Cosmetics proves that it is not impossible to link the physical, virtual and online experiences to make it a complete one. Becoming omnichannel has been a subject for years and is still very topical, especially in the current health crisis.

MAC Cosmetics also integrates the importance of community at the centre of its project. Diversity is on every lips at the moment (review IADS Exclusive piece: Diversity: a strategy of silence), retailers are starting to understand how important it is to cater to all communities, which eventually leads to a wider customer audience. The topic of community is also intimately linked to the local tendency that is trending at the moment. Nike is reaching out to the people of Paris directly through its House of Innovation 002 and for the past months many retailers had to count on their local clientele to stay afloat. Chances are that the trend will continue after the pandemic and retailers and brands need to be thinking already of what it means for their current business (review IADS Exclusive piece on local retail)

(Article credits: Louise Ancora)

MAC Innovation Lab

What: a new adidas concept store in London, just a year after the opening of the Oxford street's flagship.

Why it is important: the store focuses on Gen Zs and picks up on all the codes dear to the heart of the next generation of consumers.

The latest venture of the sports retailer, dubbed "Home of Originals", has opened on Carnaby Street in London's Soho neighbourhood. The store carries adidas' Originals, the lifestyle brand it launched in reference to the vintage styles that made the reputation of the brand in the 80s-90s and which is supported by the famous Trefoil logo. The agile location features interchangeable spaces that can evolve with the city and brand stories.

The concept store is aimed at the 18 to 24-year-old, or Gen Z, customers and for that it gathers the various tendencies driven by this category of consumers: exclusivity, community, sustainability, and gender-fluidity. The store also emphasizes creativity.

Exclusivity

The store doesn't carry the full line of adidas' products, only the most in-demand items from the Originals brand and exclusive collections from the adidas x Ivy Park collaboration, and from Yeezy  ̶ the fashion collaboration between adidas and American rapper Kanye West.

There is an area dedicated to the Spezial collection, where a custom-designed Spezial pool table is available for anybody to use; and a limited-edition adidas Spezial pool set will be available later this year, to be purchased only at the Carnaby store.

If the Soho space stocks hype products and exclusives that are usually meant for online dropping, it is to create an IRL experience of the sneaker culture and to keep on building its community.

Community

The brand called on local artists to create art installations exhibited throughout the store, to reflect on the cultural aesthetic and design of the Soho neighbourhood.

A DJ set up and vintage-encased speaker system is available for any customer to use and play music. The concept store hosts live and digital events, including broadcasts and digital workshops in compliance with the latest COVID-19 guidelines.

Sustainability

To support the brand's commitment to sustainability, the store features reclaimed wooden flooring and upcycled furniture, and was created with BREEAM certified materials (world's leading sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings). The store's also includes an eye-catching Stan Smith 3D printed trefoil mural containing living plants,  a nod to the brand's ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050. Not to mention the fact that the Originals line is associated with Better Cotton Initiative to advocate ethical and sustainable production patterns.

The brand recently placed its first sustainability bonds on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Proceeds from the offering will be used in accordance with adidas sustainability bond framework.

Gender-fluidity

The store follows a gender-inclusive pattern, where women and men collections are seamlessly positioned next to one another. Mixing merchandise organised by theme rather than by gender allows for "cross-buys" (buying an item outside of the customer's gender range) and eventually reaches out to a larger consumer range. This is a growing criteria for Gen Z, who are more open and more willing to explore their options when it comes to gender neutrality than Boomers or Millennials.

Originals yes, but unique?

adidas has competition in the Carnaby Street area as Urban Outfitter just opened a store dedicated to its loungewear line Iets Frans. This is the first brick-and-mortar location for the unisex lifestyle brand, offering elevated sportswear basics and technical fabrics. The store also features a free embroidery personalisation service and exclusive Iets Frans product drops. Word is that the label is exploring wholesale relationships as a way to reach out to a more global audience.

Citadium, the youth chain owned by Printemps in Paris, is rethinking the layout of its Haussmann flagship in order to offer a gender-fluid environment with neutral brand corners instead of women's floor and men's floor. The retailer also recently opened a corner in the Printemps du Louvre store, noting that younger customers were coming a lot to the museum in the absence of tourists and that the corner was performing well since opening.

Not to mention Galeries Lafayette Champs Elysées concept, which targets a younger audience and where assortment is organised by brand and not by gender.

Could, and should, department stores start implementing brands and spaces that cater to Gen Z and gather all the thing they respond to such as exclusivity and gender-fluidity?

The turnaround Printemps is operating with Citadium is an example of how department stores can be agile, and respond quickly to new needs. UK-based Selfridges dipped a toe in the gender-fluid fashion in 2015 with its Agender pop-up store. Now could be the time for department stores to start betting on Gen Zs through assortment and immersive in-store spaces conceived especially for them.

Adidas Home of Originals

(Article credits: Louise Ancora)

Canada Goose has opened its first inventory-free concept store in Toronto. Dubbed 'The Journey: A Canada Goose Experience', the store is an experiment designed to push the boundaries of e-commerce and retail.

Customers are able to shop Canada Goose performance luxury apparel through digital content, interactive product displays, and its award-winning Cold Room with the promise of same-day home delivery.

'The Journey' begins as guests step through a two-story glacier façade. Next, guests walk through the Crevasse, which features digital panels made to create the sound of ice-cracking beneath their feet. "You're entering a new world. You're entering the world of Canada Goose. You're entering the Arctic." according to Dani Reiss, president & CEO of Canada Goose.

Then there's The Elements Room, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling screens projecting videos of wilderness scenes, changing with the seasons.

From there, customers put on some of the only parkas in the store and move into the Cold Room, where products can be tested in temperature set at -12 degrees Celsius, while being surrounded by floor-to-ceiling Arctic landscapes – and real snow.

The experience ends with an employee, who's been acting as a personal tour guide, helping the customer shop online via touchscreen.

"In retail, experience is everything – and trying on a Canada Goose jacket for the first time is a powerful experience. This new store amplifies that moment by creating an environment that digitally and physically transports people into the Arctic in innovative, surprising, and inspiring ways," said Dani Reiss, president /amp] CEO, Canada Goose, in a statement.

The Journey: A Canada Goose Experience

Canada Goose

25 The West Mall

Toronto, Ontario M9C 1B8

British company Lush has opened a new concept store in Florence, focused on the brand's fragrances line.

The Perfume Library, a combination perfumery and bookstore, features the largest collection of Lush fragrances in the world, including six new perfumes created especially for the Florence store.

The bookstore part carries more than 70 books about essential oils, aromatherapy, scented history, regeneration, perfume making, botany, sustainability and more.

The store also offers perfume consultations based on humoural theory -a system of medicine adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers.

The city was specifically chosen because of its rich history as a crossroads of intellect, art, science, modern perfumery, craft and industry during the Renaissance.

The Lush Perfume Library

Jil Sander has opened its newest boutique on one of Milan's luxury shopping destinations, Via Sant'Andrea, dedicating the minimalistic space to both rotation exhibitions and a curated retail assortment. The experimental concept store hosts temporary installations that highlight themes within brand collections and showcase unique artist collaborations. Complementing the Milan flagship in Via Pietro Verri, the smaller Via Sant'Andrea space takes on a distinctive new role with rotating exhibitions to explore a range of ideas throughout the year. A reimagined store that functions as both a retail space and a gallery, the new Jil Sander pop-up project will update the exhibitions on a monthly basis.

For the first instalment, the label has drawn inspiration from its offering of down coats to create an exaggerated presentation of the puffy material. The display seeks to illuminate the "sculptural properties" of the material, bringing to light its functional, yet surreal appearance.

Jil Sander Gallery

Jil Sander

Via Sant'Andrea, 16

Montenapoleone, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Luxury British multi-brand retailer Flannels, owned by Sports Direct, has opened a 1 670sqm flagship boutique and concept space on London's Oxford Street. This is the retailer's 45th location in the UK and it introduces a new design concept that creates a dynamic and luxurious space to allow Flannels to tell its story and the story of its brands. The new luxury "department store" shows off what Mike Ashley, CEO of Sports Direct, initially envisioned to be the future of high-end department store House of Fraser.

The flagship spans four floors and houses a curated mix of men's and women's luxury designer clothing and accessories, featuring catwalk collections to the latest streetwear drops, from emerging designers and luxury's biggest names including Balmain, Burberry, Ganni, Gucci, Off-White, Versace and Vetements.

The new store has a unique concept floor that hosts a range of services and experiences with permanent and guest collaborators and concessions set to include luxury sneaker customisation, sneaker re-selling, curated watch edits, technology and high- end homeware, creating a lifestyle destination and a place of discovery. In addition, exclusive product drops in collaboration with luxury labels will drop throughout the season, with the aim of offering shoppers truly unique products, only available at Flannels.

The dedicated concept space houses a changing line-up of immersive experiences and events, alongside interactive store elements including art installations, while on the exterior there is a three-storey curtain walling of 4K digital screens which hosts W1Curates, one of the world's biggest permanent digital public art installations, as the flagship aims to become a "theatrical retail destination" for London.

Flannels London Oxford Street also debuts the brand's 'Style and Collect' service, enabling a luxury shopping experience on and offline by marrying the convenience of click and collect, with the store's premium shopping environment. Shoppers can purchase online and have their order delivered to the London store, where their pieces will be ready to try on in its luxury changing suites, with assistance from the brand's fashion advisors. Visitors will also have access to one to one appointments, providing edits of the latest collections tailored to each customer.

Flannels

Flannels

161-167 Oxford Street

Oxford Street, London

Madeworn: the full report

The designer, the brand

Born and raised on a farm in Montana, Blaine Halvorson is a hands-on creator with artistic talent across multiple mediums. He first launched Junk Food Clothing in 1998, a global leader in vintage and music nostalgia apparel, which he led to its successful public offering in 2005. He created MadeWorn in 2013 in Los Angeles as a luxury lifestyle brand that harks back to simpler times. Composed of fine art, ready-to-wear apparel, customized footwear, accessories and beauty products, the collection reflects Halvorson's aesthetic of using vintage materials to craft goods with a modern, edgy twist. Focusing on sustainable manufacturing and locally sourced materials, MadeWorn is one of the few companies that can boast that all their creations are absolutely and entirely American made. Halvorson oversees every aspect of production, from the weaving of organic cotton T-shirts at his downtown Los Angeles factory, to the setting at his Fairfax District showroom.

The showroom

The space is part of Halvorson's "experiential retail" model encompassing art, music and fashion that he hopes will trigger innovation in his clients. Anything can be purchased in the private, appointment-only location, which keeps the space changing as things sell, creating a new experience every time customers return. The 12,000-square-foot, indoor-outdoor compound houses MadeWorn clothing and lifestyle brand in addition to a taxidermied giraffe and lion, a butcher fridge packed with fake raw beef made of a rubber and plastic mix and a room styled to look like a bathroom —non-functioning but complete with graffiti— that replicates the Rolling Stones' "Beggars Banquet" album cover. Each of the rooms of the space has its own theme and accompanying merchandise for sale.

Hollywood

Not only does he host appointment-only visits for numerous A-List celebrities, he also welcomes Oscar and Grammy parties as well as other elite private events in his West Hollywood studio. In the last years he designed the costumes for the movies The Revenant and Aquaman.

*MADEWORN

731 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90046*

MadeWorn in pictures!

Madeworn: the full report

Chinese streetwear brand Hipanda opened its largest flagship store in Omotesando. After originally exhibiting at the V&A museum in London the brand received a cult following and branched out into apparel. The immersive store brings together architectural elements, AR and physical retail. Before even entering the store the AR experience starts; by holding your smartphone against the logo above the door you can watch a panda jump out on the screen.

The world of digital may offer limitless possibilities but the physical world still holds a place within retail – as proven here. The gallery space displays products in constant movement through the use of AR and the continually changing digital displays draw attention to the collection. By using the app visitors can navigate the 'haunted house-style' panda house and discover which characters are hiding as they make their way around the space.

*Watch the video and see the pictures below.*

Hipanda

*HIPANDA OMOTESANDO

4-21-8 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, Tokyo*

hipanda tokyo: watch the video

Aviator Nation is a 1970s-inspired California lifestyle brand born in Venice Beach in 2006. The brand currently carries apparel, accessories and surfboards. The line includes apparel for men, women and children with most styles being unisex and all crafted in California. The brand uses natural fabric deconstruction, hand-drawn graphics, burners, handmade stitch-work, as-well-as appliqués, and uses sewing machines popular in the 70s to maintain authenticity.

Aviator Nation

Football brand Unisport has opened a new flagship in Paris, close to Les Halles. It is the second physical store of the Danish brand which already had an online presence in France since 2016. The first store is located in the brand's birth city of Copenhagen.

The new experiential concept store is filled with technologies to offer customers a new experience. The windows are all covered by LED screens to show the latest football content. Once customers step inside, they are greeted by the initiative zone where the brand always highlights the latest and greatest football products and innovations.

Inside the 500 sqm store, besides from the 250 pairs of sneakers on display, there is a Staircase Football Museum that showcases different pieces (jerseys, shoes …) filled with history. It started with an exhibition focused on  the outfits worn by the French National Football team during the 2018 World Cup.

The premium football store sells limited editions along new releases and best-sellers.

Customers can also attend filmings of Unisport videos shared on the brand's Youtube Channel, as a recording studio has been installed in the store, for everyone to see.

There is also a customisation stand where customers can have their own names printed on jerseys. Other features include the possibility for customers to scan a QR code to check for size and availability of any item in the store and a click-and-collect desk for online orders.

Unisport

*UNISPORT

4 rue Berger, 75001 Paris - France*

Goop Lab is the extension of Gwyneth Paltrow lifestyle blog Goop. The store is organized to feel like a "Brentwood bungalow", with each "room" having its own distinct focus. First you enter through the greenhouse. Then you step into the kitchen, which is filled with cookbooks, chic housewares and cooking tools, and which is fully functional —the store hosts cooking events. Next to that there's the bathroom, complete with a 360-degree vanity and a vast array of high-end natural beauty products. The back of the store hosts a living space showcasing a selection of clothing (from Goop and other brands).

*GOOP LAB

at Brentwood Country Mart

225 26th St Suite 37, Santa Monica, CA 90402, USA*

Goop Lab

Headquartered in LA, Industry of All Nations launched with a pair of biodegradable espadrilles. Now it has extended its range of eco-friendly goods to clothes and homeware. IOAN makes alpaca sweaters, organic cotton basics, organic denim, teak folding chairs and wool blankets.

Launched online in 2010, the label opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Venice in 2015.

Industry Of All Nations

Secret Location is known for selling off-the-shelf design oriented products, and it is the first of it's kind in the historic Gastown, Vancouver.

The minimalist furniture, inspired by melting chocolate or ice cream, was designed by Melnichuk, in collaboration with the architects at B+H, who created a visually playful space which is  half shop and half restaurant. Guests enter the dining room, through a cool minty green tunnel which leads to the store space. The narrow and long 10,000 sqft shop is lined with concrete columns and creative display shelving and custom designed tables for clothes, books, cameras, and accessories.

Founder and owner Carey Melnichuk said: "Before establishing Secret Location, I was living in Milan […] and had the idea of opening my own store, toying with a few different names and themes. In Milan, it's common for a fashion event to be held at 'a secret location'. I went to many of these events and had no preconceived notion of where I was going, what the neighbourhood would look like or what kind of venue we would be in. With little expectations, I found my experience to be unique and different from anyone else's. I was greatly inspired by the idea of a destination that led to the unknown, knowing only a few details."

The predominant theme of Secret Location is quality & design. Within this theme, they highlight a particular lifestyle and the objects that are suited to this way of life. They also highly value the way the products are sourced: everything in store has been responsibly produced, with a strong commitment to respecting the environment and the culture where it was made.

*SECRET LOCATION

1 Water St, Gastown

Vancouver BC V6B 2H9, Canada*

Secret Location

full Report "secret location, Vancouver"

Vancouver men concept shop GOODLAD combines good coffee, men's clothing and hair cuts.

GOODLAD is a passion project of Shane Meier (who handles the clothes), Christopher Glenn (barber), and Mike Hong (coffee master).

Meier is a former actor and after having spent a number of years working in Los Angeles, he wanted to bring a unique men's shopping experience that he had enjoyed during his travels, back to Vancouver.  "Adding the barbershop and coffee shop to the clothing concept was a 'no brainer'. Men want quality service quickly, so to be able to buy clothes, grab a drink and get a shave all in less than an hour makes for a pleasurable experience" a shop's release said.

The shop carries high-end men's denim as well as outerwear, Ts, sweaters, hoodies, socks, underwear, shorts, boots, and "endless apothecary". Brands include AG, Nudie, Kato, Canada Goose, Barbour, with smaller local brands like 18 Waits, Outclass, Viberg Boots, and Vancouver's own Reigning Champ and Wings and Horns rounding out the collections.

The team sources its coffee from West End Coffee Roasters and also offers Bullet Coffee, a high-octane blend of espresso, grass fed butter, coconut oil, and pure MCT oil.

Hair services, meanwhile, include cut and buzz cut; shave; beard trim; wash, blow dry, and style; and cleanup. "GOODLAD follows the 60/40 rule: 60% cut, 40% experience. Our clients aren't after a quick cut or an in and out astrosphere; they come to us for advice, community, an effortlessly cool vibe and experience that they really can't get elsewhere" Christopher Glenn said in the statement.

Goodlad pictures

PDF Report "Goodlad, Vancouver"

NYC's Hudson Yards megaproject opened on 15 March 2019 and consists of a shopping mall between two office towers among others; the full complex is still under construction.

The retail complex, dubbed 20 Hudson Yards, is a 720,000 sqft (approx. 219 456 sqm) luxury shopping mall spread over seven floors. The new 190,000 sqft (approx. 58 000 sqm) Neiman Marcus (the first one in NYC) occupies the top three floors of the space. There's also a major dining complex, with restaurants run by celebrity chefs. In total, the space features 100 stores and 25 food and beverage offerings. Not all the space has been leased yet.

See exclusive pictures of the complex:

Hudson Yards pictures

exclusive pictures of hudson yards nyc - full report