Selfridges has been a long-standing patron of the arts, championing the showcase of artworks across the London store for many decades. Showing art in unexpected places is not a new thing at Selfridges although this is the store’ first major dedicated arts campaign take over. The campaign marks a turning point in Selfridges’ commitment to supporting the arts and the artists behind them – especially emerging promising Britain- based talent, not only more established names.

Arts for windows – in an exclusive collaboration with the artists from the forthcoming Cross Rail Art Programme Selfridges launches a series of arresting art installations in its iconic Oxford Street windows, turned galleries and exhibition spaces, featuring nine critically acclaimed artists. All nine artists were commissioned by the Crossrail Art Programme, funded by the Crossrail Art Foundation charity, to create site- specific artworks in the new stations of the Elizabeth Line due to open later this year.

The Art Store at The Selfridges Corner Shop The Corner Shop in the London store plays host to the Art Store, a multi- dimensional destination that combines retail, customer interaction and artist participation. Along with an extensive selection of art materials brought together by Cass Art, the Art Store showcases an eclectic collection of artworks and limited editions.

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H&M has revealed a new strategy for its concept stores, with the launch of a first-of-its-kind retail experience at its Hammersmith site.

The 2,300 square metre store will launched in early December focuses, on customer experience and strengthening the H&M brand for its shoppers.

The Swedish apparel giant will test numerous new concepts at the store, which according to H&M will have a completely new look and feel, and be the first to launch across the world.

Stone flooring and “greenery” will create what H&M describes as a “covered courtyard feel”, with three floors of the store connecting via a wrought iron staircase. There is a  relaxed environment while browsing the store and I particular liked the signage and the Self Service Check-Out Desk and the focal points around the store.  It really does give the customer a good shopping experience they will remember. 

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To end 2018 in a somewhat comical way, I thought I’d share a few photographs that will make you gasp, smile, laugh and probably shock you.

I have worked in the Visual Merchandising industry for over 20 years and have travelled extensively and observed a great deal in retail. I have collected these photographs over the years, while some have been sent to me by other Visual Merchandisers who I know. These photographs are used in the VM training sessions I run and in VM guidelines I create for clients. I do find educating retailers is the most challenging part of my job, but hopefully images like this will help them improve their shops and stores.

On a serious note, these photographs will probably shock you. Customers should not be subjected to seeing these sights. Anything from crammed window displays to the complete lack of merchandise in windows through to unprofessional mannequin poses to bad ticketing & signage to the shop floor being used at the stock room.

The most worrying part is that these retailers think this is acceptable for customers to see these sights. In this tough competitive work of retail, first impressions are vital. After all, “You Don’t Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression”. There is always a customer looking over your shoulder!

In this tough market, retailers need to create the right shopping environment. From shop fronts to window displays to interior visual merchandising, product layout and focal points around the store, Creative Download will ensure that creativity is balanced with the commercial requirements of your business.

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KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

A new flagship pop-up store called “FÖMO”, which stands for Fear of Missing Out, has opened in The Mölndal Galleria, a new shopping centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. This unique physical lifestyle magazine gives a new shopping experience featuring a broad range of categories with a focus on brands that are not easily available in Sweden.

It is a mix of a living lifestyle magazine and a multi-brand concept with products changing frequently through the year to ensure customers always see, touch, taste, smell and hear something new, with frequent events driving new kinds of customer experience. The store provides Retail As A Service (RAAS) with staff, concepts, events and marketing to deliver the right message for each brand. As part of the program, brands are required to have event activations, appear in the window – much like the cover of a magazine for a few weeks and provide something that benefits the community whilst engaging with their customers.
A micro-department store of sorts, focusing on an event format with exhibitions, workshops and experiential marketing. A play area, coffee break spot and shopping in one space, how inviting!

I understand that “FÖMO Store” is inviting new brands to come on-board and hunting for new locations in Europe to expand the concept.  For further information contact: ilona@fomo.store

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The department store is taking inspiration from rock-and-roll and pop music culture for its Christmas theme, which shows Santa dressed up in an assortment of difference rock outfits.

The windows, in Oxford Street London, also references the Blondie song ‘Hangin On TheTelephone‘, with a Debbie Harry-inspired mannequin in one of the windows.

The department store said more than 100 people had worked on non-stop rotated shifts over the past eight days to prepare the windows for the unveiling today.

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Christmas comes around so quickly,  I hear you say.  As with many Visual Merchandisers by the time it comes to decorating your own house for Christmas you are tired of seeing Christmas. And so many times have people said to me “You must dress your house so beautifully at Christmas?”

You make the trip into the attic to dig out those decorations that you may have had for several years but feel you need to give your house a new look for 2018.

Here are some Festive ideas to give your house that talking point with friends and neighbours. Ditch the Christmas tree this year and make a Festive Tailors Dummy as a focal point to any room. Finish off with Christmas floral arrangements, not forgetting the stairs which are a feature in any hallway.

You can still remain in the Festive spirit after Christmas lunch, while washing up those dishes!

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Thank you for following the Creative Download Visual Merchandising Blog. This is one of the busiest times of the year so the Creative Download blog is taking a break until the end of November. This gives me a chance to install Christmas into various shops, houses and hotels and finalise Valentines, Mothers Day and Spring 2019 concepts! Thank you for your patience.

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Colour blocking has been a daring and transformative trend since Piet Mondrian’s early 1900s debut of neoplasticism. In its evolution through the 1960s mod style and Andy Warhol’s classic Pop Art, colour blocking has become most widely known as an artistic tool that utilizes bold and bright colours in many of the store windows.

Today, colour blocking of products in the stores is one of the simplest ways to add visual impact and one of the basics in Visual Merchandising. From shirts, towels, fruit and tins of paint, products can be displayed in a eye-catching and practical way. Here’s a selection of photographs that certainly make an impact with the use of bright bold colours.

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Digital StillCamera

Walk around any town and city nowadays and you see an abundance of store windows attracting customers into their stores.

The staff that look after the window concepts were originally called Window Trimmers, however that was in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Visual Merchandising may be a modern term, but its application has existed long before there was ever a set of words to describe it.

Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, there is not much to report concerning the world of window displays, for their beginnings seem to trace back to the arrival of department stores in the 1850s. It is so interesting looking at photographs of “old” window displays. In the early days, it was very much a case of “stack it high” when it came to non-fashion merchandise. Terms such as Focal Point and Lines of Sight just weren’t used. As for fashion being displayed in the windows, as you can see from the photographs in this blog, times have certainly changed, not only with the fashion itself but the style and pose of mannequins. Some stores would not have the budget for mannequins so they had to adapt by wiring garments.

Marshall Fields & Company, which opened in 1852, is considered to be the birthplace of the display window layout. The layout was unveiled during the 1870s. It is accredited in part to Harry Gordon Selfridge. He introduced a variety of innovative and, at the time, radical methods for displays and marketing. Selfridge, in addition to creating window displays, also is known for the creation of the display department of department stores. The term Display Department was soon changed to The Visual Merchandising Department.

I recently visited an exhibition at The Serpentine Gallery in London and was intrigued to see a mock-up of a store from the 1900’s. In 2009 Selfridges celebrated its centenary.  Each window depicted a particular year, and the style of dressing was in keeping with that time. The Creative Team put a twist on the windows by adding one colour – Pantone 109C – The famous yellow of Selfridges.

The race to create the biggest and best window concepts is still apparent today to attract those all-important customers. It is very much as case of giving the customer something they won’t find while shopping on-line. With Christmas just around the corner, many stores will be installing their Christmas concepts ready for the excitement and curiosity of the public.

Given the current economic climate that retailers in the UK are facing, let’s hope business is brisk with the run up to Christmas. Retailers need to continue their fight in attracting those on-line customers back into their store. You don’t get retail theatre and a pleasurable shopping experience from ordering on-line.

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