The state of places

Who tells you have to be a multinational company to keep pace with marketing evolutions? Who tells you have to have a huge turnover to secure development? Here is one of the most basic truths: you do not have to be large-sized to be intelligent! An apparently banal remark that has, however, determined a whole century's strategic choices. The future deserves a little personal engagement, whatever the level you are operating at, all the more so as the new roads to success are already latent, within everybody's reach...

By Francesca Spinetta

Nothing will be as it was in the past, all the more so as the past was not what we believed it to be.

As it happens during all era transitions worthy of this name, survivors look back from a perspective allowing them to write their history. Inevitably, looked from above, reality takes a completely different form, lines touch drawing a picture that could not be drawn from inside. Whether it is a lightning stroke or a disappointment, the discovery of the past announces the need to conceive a new form of future with its anchorage places, its rituals and its values. The enterprise as a social aggregate has always reflected the lifestyle of each era (it is not by chance that one of its synonyms is society). Its organisation and operation have had - willy-nilly - to integrate the aspirations of the human society giving life to it. In this way, a rural society turned into a handicraft organisation hinged upon individual ability; an industrial society took advantage of a mechanical organisation supported by an entrepreneurial structure, and, more recently, a flexible organisation, based upon workgroups and collective participation, has consolidated itself in neo-industrial society. Nowadays, in our post-industrial society, the organisation has once again to keep pace with modern developments, going beyond the stage of individual talent sharing in order to create a new vision of management, based upon emphasising intuition and creativity and centred upon setting and style.   

The H factor

It is impossible to separate the human dimension from the productive one now more than ever. The No Global movement is the most extreme example of this phenomenon. Each economic activity has now to take account of the main values of our time: intellectualisation, creativity, ethics, reliability, aesthetics, subjectivity, affectivity, feminisation, space/time destructuralisation, quality of life. If it does not do so out of philanthropy, it will out of interest, because the relationship with consumers will depend directly on these elements.

The methods of analytical marketing, so disparaged in recent times, were really outdated, which was not surprising since they had been invented in the 60s!

It has been necessary to redesign marketing according to the "new consumer", add the so-called 2P to it and then invent the so-called one-to-one marketing within the logic - now taken to extremes - of scientific behavioural studies so as to discover - in more recent times - the need to "make friends" with the consumer, who - tired of being a target - began asserting his right to private life! With a drastic change in the attack angle among the gurus of sales, a new character - the CRM - appears and has the task of "making friends" with consumers because - and this is another new element - acquiring new customers is three times as difficult as retaining old ones. It is worth making an effort!

Apart from the paradox that can be involved in any new doctrine, the background remains significant all the same: the relationship is now more valuable than anything else, the opportunity to create mutual trust is much more important than quality, service, price and even harmony in the point of sale. Of course, all these variables do not cease to be vital, but they cannot exist any longer outside a more harmonious logic based upon consistency and legitimacy.

Another point of view

If globalisation was somehow advantageous, its advantage has been the questioning of experiences and inherited certainties. A source of fear but also of dynamic energy, the whole planet is turning into a formidable proving ground and a battlefield at the same time. Within this framework of experimentation and conflict, where chaos gets back its original meaning of life seething, variables are such that it is possible to discipline them only when they do not exist any longer, which involves - once again at all levels - a change in your observation angle.

In the business relationship with the customer, our efforts have focused - over the last ten years - on brand and product visibility, which was made possible by  large advertising projects aiming at making the company's history and promises credible. They have emphasised information about the company's origins and - in more recent times - have made the vision of the enterprise in the broadest sense of the word legitimate. You just have to observe the enterprises in our sector - from manufacturing to distribution - to realise that the most dynamic companies - no matter their sizes -  have not only their own identity but also a strong and lively enough vision, able to spread throughout the enterprise and to create its legitimacy. Team collaboration leads to well-done work, mergers to miraculously brilliant ideas....

What is true for you is also true for us. What we tell you on our pages is "tested for you" from inside, on our structures in several European countries, which maybe allows us to anticipate events in terms of reflection and above all gives us the intellectual dynamism necessary to create relationships of a new kind as well as a new approach to exchange, fitted into a broader vision that will characterise the next century.

Why is the place

so essential?

The place is the relational environment par excellence. Like your house, your school, your enterprise, your club, the point of sale is a social environment where an exchange takes place. Inevitably, the overall impression you have of it affects your evaluation of the products you find in it and, possibly, your desire to return. All its features influence your judgement: the physical place, its structure, its lighting, the people working in it, their looks and attitudes.  Street surveys exist to show to what extent the place where you buy something is important in your mind. We carried out a small street survey ourselves focusing on lingerie in particular. Here are some results: almost all interviewed women remember the place where they bought lingerie better than the chosen brand. Known brands are not necessarily the ones bought, with the exception of the ones famous for their functional connotation. Moreover, in women's minds, the brand and the sign seem to overlap entirely. For them, a logo is a logo. Concentrating on the difference between what pros consider to be important for end customers and what the latter consider to be important, we discover other interesting and surprising data: while shops give priority to advertising, customers opt for style and collection innovation as well as product quality, both elements being the most important ones for them. Remarkably, the image of the point of sale comes fourth in the customers' list of criteria, immediately after the brand, which - as we have already said - is, however, often mistaken for the sign.

It is the shops'

turn to speak

We opened our debate in the January 2001 issue with our first survey titled "Points of sale and purchase", especially focusing on European distribution trends. After a year, it has been necessary to go beyond that and concentrate on the buzzword per excellence: point of sale. Many things have been said on this subject and many more will be. Therefore, we have interviewed the retailers among our readers and - thanks to our colleagues of the Network Dessous group - have been able to do so all over Europe. In December 2001, a total of 1,200 telephone interviews were carried out in France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal based upon the files of shops belonging to the following categories: A+ de Intima, Linea Intima, Sous, Underlines, Cyl et Chick. They were distributed in a uniform and representative manner throughout each country. Since these are the shops considered to be the best ones by the pros of each country, the results are not representative of all points of sale. However, they do outline a profile of the most dynamic part of European retail. Similarities and significant differences create a very varied scenario we can discover together.

Not only

city centres

Whatever you may say, the geographical location of the shop continues to be essential. More than half of the best European shops are located in city centres (52%), followed by business areas (24%) and shopping centres (17%). France still has many beautiful shops in city centres (62%). In Germany they divide between city centres and business areas, whereas in Portugal 38% of lingerie shops are inside shopping centres, among the most modern in Europe.

Heterogeneous renovation

72% of interviewees have been running their shops for more than 5 years. Some of them - especially in Germany - even say they inherited the business from their grandparents. However, 28% have begun running their shops over the last 5 years, 8% of whom did so last year. In France, only 16% of shops have been renovated in the last 5 years, and even fewer in Germany, whereas this figure reaches 38% in Italy and 42% in the United Kingdom. Remember that the survey was carried out among top shops and that its results are not representative of all points of sale.

The ownership concern

One of the main critical elements for independent shops is wall ownership. Only 32% of interviewees were owners of the shop's walls as compared to 68% tenants. This situation greatly affects the decision to invest in renovations requiring the raising of bank loans. In France, 18% of shopkeepers are wall owners as compared to only 12% in the United Kingdom and 17% in Italy, while wall ownership is very common in Germany (62%) as well as in Portugal (50%).

Renovations

On the whole, the works carried out in the interviewed shops only regard decoration (44% of answers). This time beautiful Italian shops stand out from the European average with 80% of affirmative answers regarding a renovation of the general structure of the point of sale, followed by the French with 54%. English and Portuguese shops bring up the rear with 29% of affirmative answers.

Easier said than done...

The differences between the countries emerge even more clearly from the importance given to renovation works. On the whole, 63% of interviewees think it is important to renovate their shops, although 37% have quite a different opinion. French shops, which are very interested in this subject, gave mostly affirmative answers (94%) even though only 28% of shopkeepers say they are going to carry out some works. The same is true of the British, 58% of whom think it is important to renovate their shops although only 20% will put this intention into practice. Italians are more consistent: 40% of them believe it is important to renovate their shops and 27% are really going to carry out works in the short term.

The most motivated shopkeepers in Europe are the Portuguese, 54% of whom are going to renovate their shops in the near future. On the contrary, 42% of British shopkeepers think that decoration is not a priority, even though 20% intend to decorate their shops.

As for Spanish shopkeepers, 74% of the interviewees are not going to renovate their points of sale as compared to 6% who have just done so.

The seven key elements

of a shop

Here are some useful elements for those who have decided to renovate their shops or simply to reconfirm their present organisation. Common sense and on-the-field experience are the key factors to have a dynamic approach to this profession. 

Entrance

The entrance to the shop must be as wide as possible or v-shaped and must be conceived so as to stimulate people's desire to enter. The possibility of having a "visual entrance" inside the shop favours the initial contact. You can add customisation elements trying, however, to respect a certain harmony with the other shop windows in your street.

Sign

It is a characterising element too often neglected. Still, it is the advertising tool of the point of sale and deserves much more consideration. A good sign - reproduced, for example, on bags or other accessories - can be a very efficient communication means. Through its graphic form and colours the sign must express the style of the shop - chic, fashionable, natural - as well as seduction, well-being, modernity and, why not, everyday life. This will help the public to know at once the nature of what they will find inside.

Shop window

It shows the product range of the shop but it is a means to catch the passers'-by attention, too. That is why you should replace the products in your shop window at least once a week and create a shop window theme every month. Contrary to what is generally thought, you often just have to have a little good taste and fantasy to present a selection of  products. Colour themes are the most simple and efficient ones as long as you choose the right ones at the right moment. Apart from traditional holidays, however, there can be themes inspired to other, less usual, events such as the appearance of a successful movie like Moulin Rouge... The essential thing is to be up-to-date. Anyway, you must avoid cluttering up the shop window with too many products and colours, which could convey an idea of disorder. Similarly, there is no point in displaying one single product unless it is really exceptional! In general, you should place the most visual products in the middle and at average height so that they are visible at one metre's distance while passing the shop window. Pay attention to lighting, too: the shop windows sells your products even when the shop is closed, especially if it is located near restaurants, cinemas and other activity centres.

Door

The shop window and the door are now one single thing because the door is often made of glass to allow visualising the shop from outside. There are, however, various kinds of doors. The traditional one, which you have to push in order to enter, requires the customer's firm intention to pass the threshold of your shop, but it has the advantage of giving the place a certain confidentiality that can be good for a lingerie shop. There also is the automatic door, which immediately gives the point of sale a modern and efficient atmosphere that does not necessarily reflect all styles. Third possibility: no door or an open one. A solution widely used in shops located in shopping centres, this option is no doubt an invitation to enter but is less suitable for smaller shops. For fans of open doors, there are even specific conditioning systems that stop conditioning at the entrance to the point of sale.

Inner structure

Whatever the size of the shop, its inner arrangement must follow a certain logic that enables you to recreate a harmonious path through the different areas. Products on display, loss leaders, bargains, storage, the resting corner, the try-on rooms and the counter: it is possible and necessary to integrate these seven elements even in a small space.

Decoration

Would you give someone a beautiful present wrapped in crumpled paper? The same is true of your shop.

The atmosphere in the shop strongly affects the customer's impression of the products in it. While it is true that a beautiful product continues to be such, it will be even more beautiful if it is presented in an environment emphasising it. Fortunately, there are no universal rules regarding decoration with the exception of some little tricks (light colours have an enlarging effect, dark ones a shrinking effect, a low ceiling gives confidentiality and so on). It is essential, however, to think over the style of the shop before decorating it. As for the choice of your sign as well as products and any other characterising element, decoration must help to recreate a form of consistency, a leit-motif. Once you have chosen your style, you must follow it without indulging in contradictory personal desires that would lead to confusion.

Product presentation

Over the last few years, there has been a real crusade against boxes, and we must admit that products have get out of them at last. But the price paid has been very high. Lest they lose one single sale, shopkeepers heap their whole stocks on shaky supports: a little moderation, please! While it is true, acknowledged and statistically proven that the customer cannot buy what he has never seen, it is also true that such confusion will not lead him to look further. Rationalisation is the keyword: choose the models to be displayed according to a practical but understandable logic and create a repertoire containing all products, sizes, shapes and colours (someone even prepares books with models cut out of magazines or catalogues). As for displaying tools, be they neutral or decorative, everybody can choose them according to the style of the shop as long as they allow seeing and touching the products comfortably. 

You are the

essential thing

For more than a year - in our "Not like the others" column - our Intima team has been searching and selecting for you the shops having a personal style, with a consistency that announces their colours and invites you to pass the threshold. This project has been so welcomed by all pros that we have introduced our "Rack" column, devoted, as its name indicates, to openings and renovations of shops with dispassionate comments on distribution, a professional concern that does not affect the end customer in the slightest.

This experience has enabled us to evaluate more thoroughly the evolution of lingerie points of sale, be they independent shops, franchising shops or other branches. We have also had the chance to visit these new places and examine their orientations. A shop able to absorb new elements will be no doubt perceived better than others will, but remaking the container without reinventing the content would be really dangerous.

Take advantage of this occasion to clear your meters, get rid of long-acquired habits and start it all from scratch with a new perspective. In addition to the common sense suggestions we have just given you, remember that you are the essential thing. Nowadays many people talk about differentiated universes, less wide, more thorough, spaces, with "consultant" shop assistants in charge of recreating a trust relationship with customers. Who can consolidate this relationship - one other distribution forms envy us - better than you the shopkeepers can? Who can enliven points of sale with his or her looks and personality better than you the shopkeepers can? All odds are in your favour.

Happy New Year.