Sunday 13 November 2011
Tuesday 1 November 2011
shop report MARY at House of Fraser
The Mary & House of Fraser is a shop in shop on the third floor of House of Fraser created by TV retail expert Mary Portas. Mary Portas is famous for her TV show ‘Mary Queen of Shops’ in which she helps Britain’s small shopkeepers by sharing her tricks of the trade with failing boutiques. She has been in the fashion retail business for over three decades starting her career with a Saturday job in John Lewis. This year she was appointed an adviser to the Prime Minister David Cameron to revive the British high street.
Mary decided to open the shop as she felt that women over 40 are badly served on the high street. It will provide fashion grown up clothes for women who do not want to shop at Topshop or Marks and Spencers.
As I enter the shop the first thing I see are the bright orange-wigged mannequins with her trademark hair and the neon Mary sign. Another sign says ‘For Women, Not Girls’ this shows the concept of the shop. The visual merchandising is amazing. The space has a light airy feel with the main collection in the front of the shop, homeware to the side and accessories at the back. The jewellery is displayed in plain wood glass topped boxes. This made it simplistic yet effective. The clothes are displayed on simple mannequins wearing orange bobs. This really had impact. The orange theme continued at the shoe wall at the back of the shop, where orange shoe boxes were stacked on shelves like an installation.
The place was buzzing, lots of people going through the rails and trying on the clothes. This kind of shopping environment for me felt new and exciting. It was a new experience in shopping. Even the shop assistants were dressed as bellboys. The staff seemed very enthusiastic and helpful.
Approximately half of the clothes in the store was designed by Portas helself, and her own collection was mixed with other brands such as Whistles, Day Birger et Mikkelsen and MaxMara which complemented her pieces. The clothes were fashionable yet simple. Good basics with a fresh take such as the shirt that came in bright colours and a trouser with blue satin snake skin print were available. Simple silk shapes in bold prints and block colour dresses were the highlights as they reflected her Marys vibrant style and also looked modern and edgy. The quality was great and the price range was premium high street, with dresses starting from £100, jersey tops and t-shirts from £40. The other brand pieces were much more expensive starting from £200 therefore making her collection more affordable. For me the collection focused on investment pieces that could be worn again without going out of fashion and also mixing in other brands with hers is a very clever idea. Mary had also collaborated with Clarks and Radley for her shoes and hand bags. There collection also includes homewares and foods. I think when designing the clothes Mary really understood her target market the dress styles seemed to be either body hugging or over sized which can look good on all body shapes. Her target market is the forty plus woman that knows what she wants and what looks good on her. At the moment there are not many high street shops that provide fashionable clothing for the over 40s, there are shops such as Wallis, Marks and Spencers and Next but Marys shop is unique because it provides better quality, fashion forward clothing and also has a exciting environment to shop in. I feel that her shop fills a gap in the market.
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Monday 24 October 2011
Sunday 23 October 2011
shop report FOREVER 21
Forever 21 is a very trend-led US fashion label that offers fashion on a budget and has always been a firm favourite with fashionable American girls and boys. Founded in 1984 by Korean entrepreneur Do Won Chang, his aim was to sell Korean fashions in the US. During this time technological improvements meant that the time and cost it took for a garment to go from production to store was reduced. The term ‘Fast Fashion’ became used and it allowed companies like Forever 21 to deliver the latest trends faster and cheaper. Soon the store became popular and expanded. His philosophy was to bridge the gap between high fashion and mass market consumer.
Their newly opened second store on Oxford Street launched three months ago and they enlisted the hip Bip Ling, dj and fashion blogger, as the campaign star. The company already has 480 stores worldwide and with plans to open five more stores in Westfield Stratford, Lakeside, Bluewater, Liverpool and Glasgow, the Forever 21 store may quickly become a key player in the UK high street. Forever 21 is a great fast fashion store that offers trendy merchandise at low prices. The location of the shop is well suited to Oxford Street appealing to the mid-market customer. It will be in competition with chains such as Topshop, River Island, H&M and New Look in the UK.
Bip Ling (blogger and dj) is the face of Forever 21 in England
The window was dressed for autumn. Khakis, burnt oranges, warm red and browns with cosy knits were combined with stylish jackets and skirts giving a youthful and fun appearance to the shop. The Oxford street shop is spread over three floors so you have a vast amount of styles to choose from. All key trends are covered at Forever 21 from colour blocking, polka dots to floral patterns.
The shop is brightly lit with high ceilings and white walls, glitzy chandeliers and shiny white glittery floors. It feels very fresh and cool, very different to its English competitors and considerably more fashion forward than New Look and Primark. The shop design is spread out, not every space has been crowded with stock so it feels calm. There are mannequins everywhere with new looks displayed. The key to the shop is the visual displays; it attracts the young shoppers and makes the whole experience more fun. The atmosphere of the shop is very exciting; it feels friendly with approachable staff.
Each trend is clearly segmented in store. The ground floor offers winter fashions with a young bohemian twist, fringing, florals, animal print, and tribal all add to the fashionable merchandise. Jackets, knits, coats dresses fill the rails all in complementary shades of deep browns and reds. As I went further into the store bright colours were introduced, forever 21 embraced the colour blocking trend with tops and denim in 20 different colours. A jewel coloured purple maxi dress stood out, similar to the long sheer dresses from Gucci Winter collection.
The bottom floor continued to follow the key trends, more evening wear was displayed. A lot of sequins, lace and metallic detail were added to the dresses. The style was very youthful and aimed at a teenage girls crowd.
The top floor offers accessories and shoes; the jewellery section was impressive, with a varying collection in a princess style boudoir environment. The visual merchandising installations were amazing on this floor, using a white bicycle to display their jewellery, and glossy white tables that displayed the accessories gave the store a more alluring look, however the shoes department is lacking in range and could have more styles available.
Forever 21 gives its rivals a run for their money on price, tops are from £7-£25, trousers and jeans are £15-£25 and dresses from £15-£30; the low price range makes it ideal for teenagers to spend their money in forever 21 but however the quality has been compromised; the fake leather jackets feel plasticy and some of the knitwear probably won’t last after a few washes.
Overall I think Forever 21 is a great cheap alternative to other retailers such as River Island and Topshop and much more fashion-forward than New Look and Primark. Also the visual merchandising is great and shop layout is good compared to its main competitors. I feel that it definitely has a chance on the British high street.
Their newly opened second store on Oxford Street launched three months ago and they enlisted the hip Bip Ling, dj and fashion blogger, as the campaign star. The company already has 480 stores worldwide and with plans to open five more stores in Westfield Stratford, Lakeside, Bluewater, Liverpool and Glasgow, the Forever 21 store may quickly become a key player in the UK high street. Forever 21 is a great fast fashion store that offers trendy merchandise at low prices. The location of the shop is well suited to Oxford Street appealing to the mid-market customer. It will be in competition with chains such as Topshop, River Island, H&M and New Look in the UK.
Bip Ling (blogger and dj) is the face of Forever 21 in England
The window was dressed for autumn. Khakis, burnt oranges, warm red and browns with cosy knits were combined with stylish jackets and skirts giving a youthful and fun appearance to the shop. The Oxford street shop is spread over three floors so you have a vast amount of styles to choose from. All key trends are covered at Forever 21 from colour blocking, polka dots to floral patterns.
The shop is brightly lit with high ceilings and white walls, glitzy chandeliers and shiny white glittery floors. It feels very fresh and cool, very different to its English competitors and considerably more fashion forward than New Look and Primark. The shop design is spread out, not every space has been crowded with stock so it feels calm. There are mannequins everywhere with new looks displayed. The key to the shop is the visual displays; it attracts the young shoppers and makes the whole experience more fun. The atmosphere of the shop is very exciting; it feels friendly with approachable staff.
Each trend is clearly segmented in store. The ground floor offers winter fashions with a young bohemian twist, fringing, florals, animal print, and tribal all add to the fashionable merchandise. Jackets, knits, coats dresses fill the rails all in complementary shades of deep browns and reds. As I went further into the store bright colours were introduced, forever 21 embraced the colour blocking trend with tops and denim in 20 different colours. A jewel coloured purple maxi dress stood out, similar to the long sheer dresses from Gucci Winter collection.
The bottom floor continued to follow the key trends, more evening wear was displayed. A lot of sequins, lace and metallic detail were added to the dresses. The style was very youthful and aimed at a teenage girls crowd.
The top floor offers accessories and shoes; the jewellery section was impressive, with a varying collection in a princess style boudoir environment. The visual merchandising installations were amazing on this floor, using a white bicycle to display their jewellery, and glossy white tables that displayed the accessories gave the store a more alluring look, however the shoes department is lacking in range and could have more styles available.
Forever 21 gives its rivals a run for their money on price, tops are from £7-£25, trousers and jeans are £15-£25 and dresses from £15-£30; the low price range makes it ideal for teenagers to spend their money in forever 21 but however the quality has been compromised; the fake leather jackets feel plasticy and some of the knitwear probably won’t last after a few washes.
Overall I think Forever 21 is a great cheap alternative to other retailers such as River Island and Topshop and much more fashion-forward than New Look and Primark. Also the visual merchandising is great and shop layout is good compared to its main competitors. I feel that it definitely has a chance on the British high street.
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