If it is so simple, why is it so hard? Because the important things sometimes are. And once you do get it right, you’ll never want it any other way.
We are currently working with a major international brand that, for the first time ever, is seeing (or attempting to see) their brand work in a standalone retail environment.
And the hardest thing for them to do, is just ship all the product so that it arrives on time and works together to make an attractive statement to the customer.
This company is run by some of the smartest people I have ever worked with. I know a number of them personally and know them to be a professional, driven, challenge-focused team. And yet, by the numbers, the product is not showing up. Key items are being dropped from the line weeks before in-store date. Promised shipments don’t arrive.
Time and focus will resolve this, but my point is this: Retail is a simple business. The simple things can be hard. 1) Don’t make them harder than they have to be by complicating them with elaborate store designs or fancy organization structures. 2) No matter what your age and experience as a brand, be prepared for a perspective-altering experience once you take on the obligation and priveledge of presenting your brand in 3D. Get the simple things right — this is hard enough — and the rest will follow.
Even the pros take time to get this right. When Gap first began promoting key in-store items in the Sunday supplements, they already had an effective supply chain and retail operation. Yet the promotional timing was always off — either the item promoted had been released early and had already sold through, or the item was yet to arrive — in both cases leaving unhappy customers looking for an item that didn’t exist. If the promotion and the product were timed correctly, the tie-in posters for the windows would be late, or for the wrong item. It took two seasons to work the bugs out. (And don’t be afraid to risk having to take a little time to work the bugs out — it is true that customers are very critical and unforgiving during the period in which things aren’t working but they have very short memories.)