Latest / The Retail Podcast / Retail’s Summer Shake-Up: AI in Stores, Experiential Flagships & UK Openings with Simone Oloman

Transcript

Retail’s Summer Shake-Up: AI in Stores, Experiential Flagships & UK Openings with Simone Oloman · The Retail Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to five things Friday.
• 0:15
  It's the summer edition. I should give myself some slack.
• 0:18
  We're in the in the midst in the last froze of the summer holiday
• 0:22
  with my fantastic Co host Simone Oliver from Need it for Tonight
• 0:27
  and Dave Simone, how are you doing?
• 0:29
  I'm good, I'm very happy as I woke up this morning and it was
• 0:33
  very gloomy and now it's very sunny finally with.
• 0:37
  Fantastic. Fine in London, it's ice cream
• 0:39
  weather. It's ice cream with waggon
• 0:41
  weather. And as you as you've done your
• 0:43
  spin class already, you know. I have, I have, I've done my
• 0:47
  spin class so I'm feeling pumped.
• 0:49
  I'm ready to go. Fantastic.
• 0:51
  Well, listen, well, let me start because I think, I think there's
• 0:54
  two sides of retail right now and we don't want to sort of
• 0:56
  ignore what's going on. And so for all of them, is it
• 1:00
  eagle eyed? Is it eagle eyed?
• 1:02
  What's the same? It is eagle eyed, right?
• 1:05
  That's what. I was going.
• 1:06
  Yeah. What about eagle eyed though, or
• 1:08
  I don't know. Anyway, eagle eyed retail
• 1:11
  followers out there, we know that there's been a whole string
• 1:14
  of insolvency happening in the UK.
• 1:17
  So I don't want to negate that. But why?
• 1:19
  Because but there are, you know, 4000 jobs at River Island, 2000
• 1:24
  and a bit jobs at Claire's and Hobbycraft has just closed some
• 1:29
  stores as much as there's like upbeat loads of.
• 1:33
  New things happening. And hopefully, you know, the
• 1:35
  people that are transitioning from River Island or Claire's
• 1:38
  will be able to move into new jobs.
• 1:40
  I think there's a lot of uncertainty and I don't want to
• 1:43
  ignore that. I think I've been in that
• 1:45
  position when, when I remember they closed the, the, the thing
• 1:48
  that I was working in and I had to go and there was all that
• 1:51
  what am I going to do? How am I going to pay rent,
• 1:52
  blah, blah, blah. So I don't want to, I don't want
• 1:54
  to miss that. So just a quick update on that.
• 1:57
  Claire's has filed a notice intention to specifically
• 2:00
  appoint administrators basically admitting things have gone
• 2:03
  wrong. Administrators are coming in the
• 2:06
  jobs as I mentioned 2150 jobs are at risk 300 and stores 306
• 2:12
  stores potentially going to be. Shut but.
• 2:15
  Again, that's down to the and I don't know who the
• 2:17
  administrators are that come in. River Island has secured High
• 2:20
  Court approval earlier this week for restructuring, which in
• 2:24
  principle saves leaves the 4000 jobs that I just mentioned.
• 2:28
  But it's like a cloud that, you know, was hanging over those
• 2:30
  folks heads. But it's still going to close 33
• 2:33
  stores and look to cut rents wherever it can.
• 2:37
  And yeah, and as I said, Hobbycraft closing 9 stores.
• 2:41
  So I think retail and hence why I think it's so important shows
• 2:46
  like ours that provide commentary on what's going on
• 2:50
  provide both, both elements because now we'll go into the
• 2:54
  the sort of fun element of what's going on.
• 2:56
  And I guess with that, so why don't you tell us what what's
• 2:59
  top of mind for you this week? Yeah, I, I wanted to speak more
• 3:03
  about star openings this week because last week it was a bit
• 3:07
  doom and gloom and I was speaking about all of the, the,
• 3:10
  the star closures. There's been a lot of buzz.
• 3:12
  Last week there was space and K, which everybody was talking
• 3:16
  about. They opened up the new flagship
• 3:18
  on Oxford Street. And I have to say I haven't
• 3:21
  managed to get down yet. I've had a lot of formal looking
• 3:24
  on Instagram and I will be going down at some point.
• 3:27
  So hold me to that. But yeah, looking at the
• 3:29
  pictures, it's honesty. It's a bit like, I'm going to
• 3:33
  say Willy Wonka meets high end. Yeah, Playground.
• 3:37
  They had, what was it? They have, like, gumball
• 3:40
  dispensers. They had, like, viral drops
• 3:43
  suspending from the ceiling. A cool A space for product
• 3:47
  discovery. I've got a someone video.
• 3:50
  Then I. Think you can even it was these.
• 3:52
  Quizzes as well where you can find your I guess your.
• 3:56
  Your lip. Or or sand vibe.
• 3:59
  It's very cool. Look at it and look, it looks
• 4:01
  like a beauty festival, not a star, which I'm a huge, huge fan
• 4:05
  of. I think they've really nailed
• 4:07
  making the. Store a destination, you know,
• 4:09
  something to experience rather than just shop and look at that.
• 4:12
  Yeah. And what I also liked as well is
• 4:15
  obviously this is, you know, they clearly want to appeal to
• 4:19
  the the 20 fives, which I assume is that I assume at the fastest
• 4:22
  growing audience they've. Invited and curious.
• 4:26
  And careful, but they're not ignoring the older shoppers as
• 4:29
  well. And they have these expertise
• 4:32
  pods for customers who want educating, who want debt.
• 4:35
  So yeah. I just.
• 4:37
  Thought it was yeah stand out to me.
• 4:39
  Really loved. It it just been acquired and I
• 4:42
  should know this because I spoke about it on my US show, but I
• 4:45
  can't remember. But Space NK have gone into they
• 4:48
  have been acquired. It's I have to Google who
• 4:50
  they've been acquired by, but they've been acquired.
• 4:52
  So this is interesting. You know, they're taking this
• 4:56
  thing, but it looks super fun. And ultimately this is the other
• 5:01
  thing, Are we going to see Superdrug and Boots now in
• 5:06
  trouble? I mean, Boots is an institution,
• 5:09
  right? Because people go there for all
• 5:10
  of their healthcare, pharmacy. But in the Avutin specifically,
• 5:14
  beauty is such a fun thing. Sephora has done such a great
• 5:18
  job. Are we going to see more change
• 5:20
  in the physical side of beauty? They're frowning the broad
• 5:23
  cornet now. Yeah, really, really treating to
• 5:25
  see. But yeah, I mean, to me, they've
• 5:28
  nailed it and I'll definitely be heading down.
• 5:30
  Just so much fun. Really is just a really, really
• 5:33
  great balance. And to shout out to Chantelle
• 5:37
  Pang who is the UGC creator for this only thing.
• 5:40
  I'm. Not going to take credit for her
• 5:43
  work. Please go to her page on TikTok,
• 5:46
  watch her, she does like a weekly.
• 5:48
  What's going on in London anyway?
• 5:50
  And this was blessed. So OK, moving on swiftly.
• 5:54
  We've got Currys and Corso Currys, the UK's.
• 5:57
  Largest Omni channel tech retailer announced in a major
• 6:01
  step in its AI strategy, partnering with retail
• 6:04
  operations platform Corso, that they're rolled out Action AIA
• 6:08
  tool designed to turn the flood of store data into clear, high
• 6:13
  value action. And here's how it works.
• 6:16
  Action AI pulls sales, footfall, promotions, survey and customer
• 6:21
  satisfaction data into one dashboard.
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  It then runs 1,000,000 of calculations across the store
• 6:27
  network, flags the biggest opportunities and shows managers
• 6:31
  exactly where to act. Whether that's fixing an
• 6:34
  underperforming category, replicating what's working in
• 6:37
  top performing stores. It explains the root cause,
• 6:40
  suggests the next steps and tracks the impact in real time
• 6:45
  so every action is measurable. For Curry's, the potential
• 6:48
  outcomes are significant. Faster decision making,
• 6:51
  consistent, best practise sharing, sharper commercial
• 6:54
  performance, less time on admin and more time helping customers.
• 6:58
  The tool has already been rolled out to 16 stores with a full UK
• 7:01
  rollout in September, making making one of the most practical
• 7:05
  and impactful uses of AI in British retail this year.
• 7:09
  So that's Corso. Back.
• 7:10
  Over to you. Simone, another fabulous store
• 7:13
  opening. We use the word fabulous.
• 7:15
  I have mine this week. Is Bershka's new start in
• 7:19
  Manchester their new flagship? It's very, very cool.
• 7:23
  Stand out thing for me was the. A Armour is which I will come
• 7:25
  to. I think it's their largest store
• 7:27
  that they've opened in the UK. It's in the in the Trafford
• 7:29
  Centre and not quite the beauty festival we were just on about,
• 7:33
  but instead it feels like a big tech playground.
• 7:37
  I think they have 3 zones, all of these distinct entrances,
• 7:41
  sculptural checkouts. The biggie for me is the AR
• 7:46
  mirrors. So customers can virtually try
• 7:50
  on outfits via Snapchat, philtres, scan QR code and use
• 7:55
  because app and then share their looks.
• 7:57
  Interests share their looks instantly.
• 8:00
  Which to me, if you're wanting to act, NZ.
• 8:04
  Which they obviously do. So this to me, I mean, I, I was,
• 8:07
  I'm probably not the right audience for this and I'm not
• 8:10
  going to be using that. I don't use Snapchat, but but it
• 8:14
  look, it signals to me that, you know, bricks and mortars, they
• 8:17
  need to breathe and a star, it's not enough for a star to just
• 8:20
  exist now, you know, it has to do something, whether it's
• 8:23
  digital or creative or shareable in this instance.
• 8:27
  And I said it a lot. People are probably bored of
• 8:31
  hearing me saying it, but I just think when it comes to bricks
• 8:33
  and mortars in the future of retail, I just think generic
• 8:36
  isn't going to cut it I think. You know it's it's.
• 8:39
  So much now about the experience, you know, whether
• 8:42
  it's a beauty playground or AR try ONS you know, I think
• 8:46
  physical retail needs to be almost like a cultural theatre
• 8:50
  and I just think, you know, what was the term that we.
• 8:52
  Used. Last week it was that dead shelf
• 8:54
  I can't realise. But it goes back to that oh God,
• 8:58
  I've really got Friday brain today that shelf.
• 9:01
  But if your. Star isn't a story, it's just
• 9:04
  shelving. But yeah, I just think both
• 9:06
  space and care and Bushka. Is a really?
• 9:10
  A really nice example of how retail is evolving and just they
• 9:13
  are setting the bar on on just how to do it.
• 9:16
  And yeah, I mean, not chatting about obviously Claire's earlier
• 9:20
  on, you know, sadly, nostalgia isn't enough to keep the lights
• 9:25
  on. You know, customers do expect
• 9:27
  more. And especially when we're
• 9:28
  looking to those future consumers, Gen Alpha, the bar's
• 9:32
  only going to get higher. So I thought that that they both
• 9:34
  done really well with that. I love that.
• 9:36
  I think it's so funny. I always smile when I say they
• 9:38
  must have obviously read my book because I talk about social
• 9:42
  validation and it's so on my mind How?
• 9:45
  What better way to create that social validation with your peer
• 9:49
  group by being able to Snapchat your look?
• 9:52
  And so I talk about that in the book in the sense that that's
• 9:55
  really what people want and that sort of existed in the Far East
• 9:58
  with the different ways that they've incorporated that into
• 10:01
  the shopping experience. But I think we were talking
• 10:03
  about super drug or boots, which I let both of them when I go in
• 10:07
  there to buy my vitamins, for example, in in boots, that's
• 10:11
  looking essentially validate that I'm buying my vehemence.
• 10:14
  But there aren't that many digital experiences unless you
• 10:17
  go to the and. And so Boots has built their
• 10:20
  beauty store in the Battersea Power Station.
• 10:24
  Yeah, I've got a full. Beauty Focus.
• 10:27
  Store there, but you know, I I think I think we're just going
• 10:30
  to reach headers really need to think at everything that you
• 10:33
  said, Simone is absolutely spot on.
• 10:35
  How do they maintain that relevance and also how do they
• 10:38
  provide that social for their customers, their young customers
• 10:42
  to sort of validate themselves with the brand?
• 10:46
  And I think that's that's really cool. 2 two more store openings
• 10:49
  to just quickly come on to. So pop mark for all those.
• 10:54
  I think they've got avid followers because there's always
• 10:57
  huge around the block when their stores are opening, being their
• 11:00
  largest store at Liverpool One Which?
• 11:03
  I think. Speaks for itself.
• 11:04
  They're going from strength to strength, opening up and down
• 11:07
  the country and then yeah, that's it.
• 11:09
  So great to see. I think for me having spoken to
• 11:13
  a property asset manager how they were talking about how UK
• 11:18
  specifically retail is dead, I'm laughing.
• 11:20
  These new brands coming over and expanding and opening and it
• 11:25
  seems like the Arndale's, you know, going for like all of the
• 11:27
  largest from what you're saying. E.
• 11:30
  Largest burska and the final one if you're in the mood for a bit
• 11:33
  of a pop up party. Ticket numbers are limited, but
• 11:37
  there's a Peter E pop up party which sounds what more could you
• 11:41
  want? You know, pizza and pizza and an
• 11:43
  bop at the same time. Rave wheats are in a rave.
• 11:46
  It's my kind of evening. They start carve up for the
• 11:50
  spin, spin class Great. We're in central London.
• 11:53
  There's a caller what's going on?
• 11:55
  And the tickets are on Eventbrite.
• 11:57
  If you're thinking how do I get tickets on Eventbrite, you can
• 12:00
  get those tickets. So Simone, it's been a
• 12:02
  whirlwind. I want to keep us to our 15
• 12:04
  minute time frame that we work to.
• 12:06
  Thank you so much. Thank you.
• 12:08
  Around next week, I'm expecting you to say you're on holiday at
• 12:11
  some point. Do you know what I am?
• 12:13
  Which I'm very excited for. Next week.
• 12:15
  I'm working from Italy. I'll be working from Italy.
• 12:18
  Are you gonna, are you gonna be able to join us or should we
• 12:20
  postpone for? I will be able to, I just might
• 12:22
  need to record a daily OK. All right.
• 12:25
  Fantastic. Well, listen, we can work out
• 12:27
  the, the, the, the details on that.
• 12:30
  Thank you so much for joining me.
• 12:31
  Apologies for the bit of the chaos.
• 12:33
  And until next week, I'll look forward to speaking you too, in
• 12:36
  whereabouts in Italy. I'm going to Sardinia.
• 12:40
  Oh, lovely. Very nice.
• 12:41
  Yeah. Very good.
• 12:42
  Sardinia. We'll do Sardinia retail.
• 12:44
  Love it. Thank you.
• 12:47
  Thanks, Alex. Bye.