Have you noticed how many windows and in-store concepts are using Wheat this Autumn?
This inexpensive display prop is ideal and gives a real warmth to any Autumnal concept . Here are a few images that the Creative Download VM team have seen over the past few weeks.
Wheat and dried flowers are being used in the Foodhall at Selfridges, to Fortnum & Mason to creating stunning doorways at some of the shops and stores along the Kings Road to highlight the recent Chelsea Flower Show.
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It’s beginning to look like Christmas, and nobody does Christmas quite like Fortnum’s. And this year is no exception. On Monday of this week, Fortnum & Mason kicked off the festive season with the opening of their Christmas Shop. If you are the kind of person who simply loves Christmas, then this is the destination store for you! It’s definitely the tonic to get you into the festive mood!
Head to the 3rd Floor of this famous iconic London landmark in Piccadilly where you will find a resplendent and sumptuous offering of stunningly beautifully created Christmas Food Hampers, Gift Wrap & Christmas Cards, Advent Calendars, to own branded Festive Puzzles and Table Games to beautiful Christmas decorations. These include their own range of decorations which take inspiration from the most iconic products such as the famous F&M Hamper, Afternoon Tea/Cake Stand and the Clock on the exterior of the building. This collection of miniature decorations will add a touch of signature Fortnum’s magic to your Christmas Tree this year and for many years to come.
After you have browsed and shopped for your decorations, gift wrap and greeting cards, head down to the 1st Floor where you will find a department dedicated to festive feasting. Packed full of gorgeous and scrumptious delights to ensure your home is packed with magical treats this Christmas. From Plum Christmas pudding to Pickled Clementine’s to Figgy Mustard through to Champagne and Chocolate Truffles, It’s a feast!
The VM team have worked their magic on these floors by creating retail theatre to capture this important time for retailers.
Fortnum’s legacy began in 1705 by Hugh Mason, from a small store in St James Market and a spare room in his house, and the Fortnum family who had arrived in London as high-class builders reinvigorating Mayfair in the wake of the Great Fire. William Fortnum, who was quite the entrepreneur, also took a boost as Footman in Queen Anne’s Household and in Mr Mason’s spare room, where Fortum met Mason.
In London, Fortnum’s remains a quintessential English store with a global palate of food lovers. So a visit to London would not be complete without spending a few hours in this delicious store!
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Creative Download was recently approached by Craft Co-op to give a talk/presentation about the importance of Visual Merchandising.
As a social enterprise business, Craft Co-op gives over 200 local craftspeople the opportunity to trade in a High Street location. It provides business and social support, while working with various charities and other organisations both in the retail shops and off-site, and helps bring vitality to town centres.
Craft Co-op have retail shops in Maidenhead, Camberley, High Wycombe and Windsor which opened in April 2021.
The day started in Windsor with a talk/presentation to various members of staff/craftspeople across their four sites. This was held in Rex Bakery in Windsor with superb coffee, cakes and pastries! The presentation showcased the work of Creative Download , my work as Chair of The British Display Society, together with some basic advice and tips to ensure a great looking store in terms of Visual Merchandising, Store Layout and Product Adjacencies.
Afterwards, we walked over to their Windsor store, where I gave ‘hands-on’ tips and advice/guidance given at the talk.
The day was a huge success and this gave the craftspeople more confidence in not only selling their own products but the way products are showcased to their potential customer.
For further information on how Creative Download can drive your retail business forward, visit our website: http://www.creative-download.co.uk
In this tough market, retailers need to create the right shopping environment that reflects their Brand/Stores to ensure that all important customer experience. 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. Creative Download is based in the UK although our clients are across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
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The UK’s most trusted retailer John Lewis have recently launched the ANYDAY range. Whether you rent or own, have a compact solo pad or a multi-functional family home, ANYDAY can transform your humble abode, thanks to its great design of stylish and good quality products.
The range of products are competitively priced spanning Homewares, Technology, Baby Care & Baby Clothing.
These images are from the ANYDAY Pop-Up shop at Peter Jones (part of the John Lewis Partnership) in Sloane Square.
From a VM perspective, the Pop Up Shop is clear and concise and the staff were happy to guide me through the ranges that can be found throughout the store. I do very much like the VM touches such as the wooden ticket holders and the various wooden blocks on the fixtures.
If you are an avid fan of Italian food and wine then head to the new Eataly Food Store situated just outside London’s Liverpool Street station.
This two floor 42,000 square foot store combines hospitality and retail, with restaurants, bars, coffee shop and an Italian deli. Just past the coffee shop is La Via Del Dolce (The sweet shop). This is well stocked to cater for the sweet tooth in us, but I couldn’t help thinking that it was more Arabic looking with the fixtures and lighting than Italian.
Upstairs is the true shoppers delight with an abundance of wines, pasta, cheeses, meats and zero waste products. I visited on a Saturday and the store was rammed with customers, which is good for business, so it was a struggle to browse everything leisurely.
It is a great place to meet someone for coffee or stock up on your favourite Italian food but coming from a Visual Merchandising background, I felt that it lacked retail theatre.
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The UK is currently basking in some great summer weather. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and it is attracting many of us the seaside! Given the Covid pandemic with travel restrictions limited, many people are enjoying a ‘staycation’ and enjoying what the UK seaside has on offer.
As we know window display concepts in our shops and stores need to be fun, quirky with lots of retail theatre that attracts the eye. From our files entitled “Seaside” here is a selection of some superb window concepts that will lift our spirits and get us dreaming of holidays on the beach!
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When we think of retail, we automatically think of shops and stores on our High Streets and in various Shopping Malls.
Napoleon is often quoted as deriding Britain as a nation of shopkeepers, but in was actually Bertrand Barere de Vieuzac, the French revolutionary, who first used the phrase in 1794.
So, while we are a nation of shopkeepers, we are also a nation of shoppers. There is nothing better than indulging or browsing a shop or store for a gift for a friend or treating yourself to something.
Retail extends far beyond the High Street and Shopping Malls. When we have a family day out to a theme park, museum or visitor attraction, there is usually a retail shop on site. It’s there to temp us to part with our hard-earned cash and to generate additional revenue for the attraction as visitors are a captive audience once inside the attraction. Whether you are shopping in a store, shopping mall or a gift shop at a visitor attraction, visual merchandising and superb store presentation is paramount.
At the end of May, Creative Download worked on a retail project which was very productive, spending several days re-merchandising the Gift Shop at the Slimbridge Wetlands Centre in Gloucestershire.
Tables/Fixtures and merchandise were moved and zoned to create ‘hot spots’ giving great retail theatre and a great memorable shopping experience. New merchandise arrived and this keeps the customer browsing longer in the shop.
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust is a client of Creative Download, and we oversee the Visual Merchandising/Store Presentation at most of their sites across the UK. These include Slimbridge in Gloucestershire to Martin Mere in Lancashire to Barnes in London.
The Wetlands & Wildfowl Trust was set up by Peter Scott, the son of the Antarctic explorer Captain Scott. In 1946, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust opened in Slimbridge as a centre of science and conversation. WWT now welcomes in excess of a million visitors a year to its 10 Wetlands centres around the UK.
For further information and to see how Creative Download has can drive your retail business forward with great Visual Merchandising and Store Presentation, please do not hesitate to contact us. http://www.creative-download.co.uk
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Selfridges in London’s Oxford Street does it again with stunning new store window displays.
Inspired but nature, the window displays represent the store wide creative theme “Good Nature” which runs across the 20 windows. “Good Nature” is a celebration of pleasure in nature offering shoppers the physical and digital experiences responding to the natural world.
Following the huge success of the “Project Earth” concept which was launched in August 2020, this window concept focuses on the sustainability with most of the materials being recycled.
The side windows which run along Duke Street are bright and colourful with an abstract of garden fixtures.
Selfridges commissioned British artist Jonathan Schofield to showcase 3 windows on Orchard Street with a mixed media installation which features original artworks, digital screen prints and fabric banners.
With thanks to my British Display Society colleagues Pablo Roteta and John Abbate for the images.
As the UK came out of the Covid Lockdown and retailers re-opened, it was vital to create eye catching window concepts. A fun and quirky Pop Art concept featuring beauty images was installed by the Creative Download VM Team into a chain of independently owned pharmacy stores. Petter Pharmacy in Crouch End, London remained opened during the lockdown as they were classed as an essential retailer.
“It’s great working for an independent business who appreciate that the windows are vital to the success of any retail business” says Iain Kimmins – Owner/Founder of Creative Download.
“Given the tough trading conditions that retail has faced, it is paramount that store windows are fun and exciting for customers as there is nothing quite like a bit of retail theatre” Iain continues. “It demonstrates that you don’t always need a lot of props. Simple A3 graphics with colour coordinated columns and floor panels together with tight product groupings will create retail theatre. Any retailer working on a tight budget can achieve the wow factor with their windows”
Check out the website to see how Creative Download can help your retail business.
Fosse Park in Leicester has been undergoing a revolution in retail with new stores opening their doors at the shopping complex, which is situated just off the M1 Motorway.
Next has launched a new Fashion & Home Store which is a ‘must visit’. With its towering glass and granite structure, the Next Store certainly makes a statement within the retail park.
Next rose in the 1980’s as a leading fashion retailer but the brand is now expanding into the home interior market. Shoppers can browse the extensive fashion area together with the beautifully visual presented home interiors departments while enjoying coffee and cake from the in-store Costa Coffee Shop.
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