The Store Blog

A Unique Way for Consumers to Save

Recently, I was forwarded an email from a friend inviting me to purchase a $50 gift card to my favorite spa for only $25.  Never one to pass up a good deal but also fearful of a scam, I read the terms and conditions very carefully and decided to pull the trigger and purchase.  Within 2 days, my spa certificate was in the mailbox and I booked an appointment for that weekend. Since that initial introduction to Groupon, I have been hooked:

 

Groupon works like this:

-         Each day they feature a new deal good for only that day.

-         You only get the discount if enough people join the deal (usually a minimum of 50)

-         You purchase online and the certificate, gift card, or details are sent directly to you.

 

I have purchased discount tennis lessons, concert tickets, custom framing gift certificate, restaurant offers, gift card to my favorite denim boutique, etc.  It’s so fun to see what the offer of the day will be.   

 

Groupon currently promotes offers in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.  Groupon is a project of The Point, Inc., a platform for organizing not only group discounts, but all forms of collective action. Founded in 2007, The Point is privately owned, funded and based in

Chicago

.

 

For today's Groupon,  click here

 

Jenn Phillips, The Store

Whole Foods opens 3rd Largest Store in Chicago

Today I visited the new Whole Foods store in Chicago’s Lincoln Park

neighborhood and was awestruck by the size.  This new store replaces the old location across the street and triples the size!  The new store measures appx. 75,000 square feet, the size of an average WalMart store and boasts 42 check-out lanes and 400 parking spaces!   This Whole Foods is the third-largest in the world, following the London store (100,000 square feet) and the Austin, Texas flagship (80,000). 

Aside from the massive assortment of fresh produce and vegetables, (all with a focus on local provenance) I was also struck by the Sea Salt Bar, the Trail Mix bar, the Whole Baby aisle, the Wine and Cheese bar, the enormous bakery (many items made in store and some brought in from local Chicago bakeries) and the mini food court in the store.

 

The store offers seven different food stations and has named them after local neighborhoods. For example, you can pick up a sandwich at Wicker Park Subs, design a pasta bowl at Taylor Street Italian, and grab noodle soups and tempura bowls at the Chinatown asian fusion station.  The longest line I saw was at the Pilsen Tacqueria station, which was filled with generous offerings of meat, rice, beans, guacamole, veggies and salsas.   A highlight for me was the Lincoln Park gelateria with plenty of free samples available.  There is seating in the area, as well as additional seating on the 2nd floor mezzanine level overlooking the store.

The friendly and knowledgeable staff were plentiful and easy to find.  I even saw a note posted at the entrance that suggested the staff would be happy to open any product for sampling upon request. 

The new store also takes advantage of it’s location along the Chicago River

and offers outdoor seating.  Had it not been raining, I would have happily indulged in my dessert and enjoyed the view of the placid waters, kayakers and ducks that paddled past.

You can view and Download Additional WholeFoods photos

- Jenn Phillips, The Store

 

Target Bullseye Bazaar

You gotta hand it to Target. The big-box store can create some serious buzz. The ads were all over Chicago city bus stops, newspapers, and commuter train stations the week of May 4th. The store opened a quickie pop-up shop (called the Bullseye Bazaar) on Michigan Avenue for 3 days that week. I took a walk over to the space (where the McCormick Freedom Museum used to reside), and the shop was definitely worth a pop-in. In addition to tons of home goods (including items from the store’s collaborations with designer Michael Graves), the Bazaar included the latest Target fashions (men’s and women’s items by ecofriendly line Loomstate, as well as great stuff from womenswear designer Tracey Feith) and even fresh fruit and flowers.  Jorge Ramon was on hand offering complimentary style tips and makeovers.   Kiosks in the store allowed customers to order furniture items online and avoid shipping charges. Fresh fruit in galvanized buckets were even outfitted with bullseye stickers. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful and shoppers didn't seem to mind the crowds a bit.

Bringing the store’s seasonal best to North Michigan Avenue on a busy Mother’s Day weekend was likely a brand-building move worth the time and money.

 

- Jenn Phillips, The Store

Pick n Pay campaigns to make plastic bags extinct with Y&R Cape Town

South African shoppers have become accustomed to paying for plastic bags and are reportedly using almost as many bags as they did before the new legislation came into play in 2003.

So, national retail giant Pick n Pay decided to encourage an entirely plastic bag free environment and launched a campaign in conjunction with Y&R Cape Town, dubbed ‘Make Plastic Bags Extinct.’

The objective of the campaign is to encourage people to say ‘no’ to plastic bags at the till points and to do this in a manner that is altruistic and not merely a way to sell to more Pick n Pay Green bags.

A selection of stores and hypermarkets across SA will have a gigantic dinosaur made entirely of plastic bags at their entrances, to draw attention to the campaign, demonstrate that Pick n Pay wants to make plastic bags as extinct as dinosaurs and re-sensitize consumers to the green issue.

This message, such as “Plastic Bags are suffocating our planet” and “Pick up a good habit that will help reduce our impact on the environment”, is the theme throughout stores.

Included in the series of initiatives was a web-based design competition for limited edition Pick n Pay designer eco-friendly bags. Budding designers were invited to submit designs for a new and stylish eco-friendly Pick n Pay bag and in January this year, an expert panel comprising of the likes of style guru Edith Venter and Creative Director of Y&R Cape Town, Clinton Bridgeford selected the ultimate winner, as judged by Pick n Pay shoppers via the company’s website. The bags, which are manufactured from entirely locally sourced natural fibers, will be available in Pick n Pay stores around the country from March 2009.

Congratulations to the Y&R Cape Town team driving in this project, headed up by Creative Director: Clinton Bridgeford and Cathy Coyle: Idea Management.

TOMS Shoes - A Retailer with an Altruistic Twist.

I was recently handed a copy of the DVD "For Tomorrow - The TOMS Shoe Story" and told to watch it.   If you haven't heard of TOMS you should definitely check it out www.tomsshoes.com .  Blake Mycoskie founded the company in 2006 after spending time in Argentina and seeing so many children in bare feet.  In fact, over 40% of the world's population do not own a single pair of shoes.  The simple design of TOMS is based on the alpargata style popular in South America.   TOMS come in dozens of colors, patterns and sizes for the whole family (retail prices range from $30 -$100 USD)

When you buy a pair of TOMS, Mycoskie donates a pair to a child in need, "One for one".  To date, TOMS has donated over 115,000 pairs of shoes.  As he explains on the DVD,  "TOMS proves that conscious capitalism is a viable business model for innovators worldwide, and entrepreneurs can focus on being ambassadors of humanity.".

It's not just a shoe company, it's a movement.

- Jenn Phillips, The Store-WPP

It is all about VALUE..

Premium grocer Waitrose is the latest grocery chain to offer their consumer a value range called "Essential Waitrose". The range will be out in the stores by Monday next week but the complete line will not be in the stores until October.

Out of the 1400 products that this line offers, 200 of them are new lines while the remainder are existing products repackaged. 450 will be reduced in price, which is an investment of £20-£25 million.

M&S has completed a "dress for less" campaign  featuring their celebrity model Myleene Klass. The idea behind this campaign is that the ad shows five key looks from five key items. They are mixed and matched pieces for this season, which will help their customers wardrobes work harder for them without breaking the bank.

Maria, The Store, London

mlarsson@wpp.com

    

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM THE STORE

Valentine's Day is only a few hours away, perhaps you have already bought your Valentine a special gift? If you are still in need of some inspiration, here are a few ideas of what the retailers in London offers their romantic customers.

Waitrose is offering their romantic shoppers a three course dinner for £10 and you can also pick up a Valentine's brunch for £5 - what a bargain! M&S has increased their dinner offer from £10 to £20 but you will not only get a three course meal for two, but also a rose and a bottle of pink cava, wow!!  I thought the M&S store in Marble Arch looked lovely with all the pink Valentine's promotions in the store (see pictures in the attachment).

Selfridges "Love 2 Love U" offers love bites for "buy one get one free" - What a great value if you have more than one Valentine.... I did write a love note on a heart shaped sticker on the love wall in the stationery department which is a fun charity initiative to encourage the shopper to make a donation and raise awareness of Crossroads (pictures of the love wall is in the presentation attached).

Other promotions that I saw were, Argos and Ernest Jones are running a "save up to half price" promotion on gifts for Valentine's day, it is very clear that value is now something that we as shoppers expect and take for granted. Body Shop offers a free gift of your choice, when you spend more than £20 in the store. If you are thinking of buying a lovely bottle of perfume for your loved one or perhaps to treat yourself, head off to Boots because they are currently offering their bottles of lovely smelly perfume for 1/2 price off and at Debenhams there is a 10% offer of all fragrances for a limited time only.

The presentation attached is including adverts from the UK papers and photos of Valentine's promotions from retailers in London, Chicago and Sydney.

Happy Valentine's

Maria, The Store

mlarsson@wpp.com

Download Valentine's 2009

Happy New Year from The Store

In all the doom and gloom I would like to share some photos of Selfridge's new windows. They are like a breath of fresh air compared to most windows on Oxford Street which are now covered in 70% discount posters.

The legendary department store has been inspired by the Greek and Roman art collections of the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum and created Statuesque - a series of windows inspired by the timeless beauty of Grecian and Roman styles.Featuring reproductions of familiar statutes, I can highly recommend a visit or just view my photos on the link below.

Download Selfridge's Windows Jan 2009

Maria

Maria Larsson, e: mlarsson@wpp.com

 

Have yourself a digital Christmas

Want to be more digital this Christmas? Well my colleagues at WPP digital have put together 10 great ways to have a digital Christmas and to experiment with the digital world. So take a look by following this Digital Christmas link..

David

David Roth

Opportunities in Food Service 2012 and Tossed by Maureen Johnson

Hi again!

I recently attended Allegra Strategies event Opportunities in Food Service 2012, which was held at Home House in London (great venue by the way!).   

It was a great opportunity to listen to and debate thought provoking points of view from leading practitioners in the food and beverage industry.  Judging from the people I met – speakers and delegates - the event must be one of the most high-profile gatherings of senior executives from across the UK Foodservice sector. 

Key take-outs for me from the guest presentations were:

• Mega trends that having a significant effect on the Food Service sector are:
  • Need for convenience (37% of mega trend)
  • Pleasure and Indulgence ( has increased from 34% to 41%, despite the recssion)
  • Health and Wellness
  • Environment and Sustainability
• Consumers are cutting back on eating out and going for more ‘value’ options.  However, going forward, they will be even more discerning and savvy: they will look even more closely at how they are spending their money.
• Trusted brands will be increasingly important in food service
  • Will mean further consolidation in the industry.  For example, in the pub sector, 50 service SME’s are closing every week and footfall is down.  Pubs which are drink led (as opposed to food) are going out of business.  This will all lead to a more professional, stronger and robust sector.

• There will always be room for fantastic, innovative, independents (see my comments on Tossed later).  Healthy eating, organic and provenance related concepts will be important.  British Fayre, seafood, Japanese and Eastern Asian food can be expected to grow in popularity

• Pleasure and indulgence – experience is key and operators who are doing it well are having a great time!

• Operators need robust environmental policies in place and need to concern themselves with reduction in the carbon footprint

• Efficiency demands are getting more critical and very focused
• The industry should expect further legislation

• Sustainability will continue to be a complex issue and, where contracts in the F & B industry are concerned, will be a source of competitive advantage
  • Attention to packaging is more about how a company does business and Customers are asking about it more (not necessarily the end consumer but the impact is there albeit indirect)

Jeffrey Young, the Managing Director of Allegra Strategies presented highlights of their latest report Opportunities in Food Service and gave us insights from their research into How Britain Eats. (contact jyoung@allegra.co.uk )