Maglieria Italiana n° 183 - 1° semestre 2016

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
retail sector has long been a privileged field of consumption
for the creation and testing of new paths, for players driven
by the desire to break the consolidated mold, through large
and small changes, exploiting the potential of technology with
its constant development and pervasiveness, rendering the
boundaries of traditional distribution increasingly blurred.
Those who pursue unsettling strategies, daring and risking
with proposals, offering not only innovative solutions but also
complementary and alternative are rewarded. This is the area
in which a form of circularity that targets the individuality of the
consumer prevails, trying to grasp the nuances of experiences,
to enhance the uniqueness, through new forms of personalization.
The creation of open ecosystems with at there center the
brand or retailers, who propose and accompany consumers
toward areas for expertise/knowledge similar and congruent,
enriches this new culture of product and service – above all in
unsettling partnerships with new players –, oriented towards
the individual consumer, pampered and anticipated in their
various needs. In this trend retail moves positively between
customer care and customer innovation, in close alliance with
the consumer. It is likewise important to plan on the basis of
previous experience, but not exclusively from ones own sector:
the difference between the sectors tends from this point
of view to blend in, for the expectations of consumers who
are increasingly accustomed to the logics arising from new
technological devices: from the extension to the integration
of the experience, physical and online.
THE VARIOUS VERSIONS OF RETAIL
Once again the retail workshop sponsored by Future Concept
Lab featured the analytical forecasts of Luigi Rubinelli, the
head of Retail Watch, who focused his comments on how
traditional retail is being threatened by new players.
“Like Amazon, for example, which isn’t in the business of
retail but selling sellable products,” he was eager to point
out. “The Amazon book store in Seattle has taught everyone
what bookstores should be like in the future, how to display
products and how to construct the selection. It represents a
circularity between memory and future. The shelves are made
from wood, like in old-fashioned bookstores, and they are not
regularly dusted, but the books are displayed frontally, with
helpful reviews right below, including negative criticisms, just
like online. This means they are so confident they don’t have to
push every single item, putting the main emphasis on service,
because in the final analysis the brand is Amazon, whereas
traditional retailers have never invested in their own brand”.
Alibaba introduced sales specifically targeting singles for just
one day and sold fully one billion four-hundred thousand dollars
worth of merchandise at the full price.
“The difference between the new players and traditional retailers
is that the former sell but without ever buying,” explained
Rubinelli. “Those retailers who still struggle with purchases
in order to ensure decent margins of profit inevitably end up
in a state of panic. Since 2008 we have been witnessing a
growing demand for services, more than for products, and
if the traditional stores cannot manage to respond in a more
effective way to this new development they will be finished,
especially those in the clothing business.
In addition to just selling products, Amazon has always added
a special emphasis on service. Indeed, it’s the service that
actually sells the product and it is also why shoppers are willing
to pay a higher price. From now on it will be the services
offered that really make the difference” .
The Coop Supermarket of the future as seen at Expo showcased
the enormous need for information on the part of shoppers, a
need that must be met. For each product there was a display
explaining the product’s story and characteristics. The big
Sephora flagship store in Paris has a robot that explains the
features of each and every one of the products that are for sale.
“On- and offline approaches to sales have coexist in the same
store,” explained Rubinelli. “Shoppers order online and pick
up their purchases in the store at their convenience. Even
discount policies are being reevaluated. There are those who
are actually moving in the opposite direction. For example,
U2 of Unes has opted to go the way of everyday low prices,
guaranteeing highly competitive prices throughout the entire
arc of the year”.
The discount concept is drastically revolutionizing its sales
strategy, moving away from an exclusive focus on low-cost. In
a number of discount operations in Germany and Great Britain
bread is freshly baked four times a day, while croissants are
baked two times each morning.
“Whole new categories are emerging,” added Rubinelli. “One
is witnessing the emergence of discount outlets featuring
products whose expiration date is about to expire, thereby
extending their life cycle and make a significant contribution
when it comes to combating waste”.
The greatest service a store can offer in the future will be
maximum customization - and this does not entail any sort
of surcharge.
STYLE NOTES on page 22
NAND - SCANDINAVIAN FLAIR
A young, contemporary brand with an architectural, highly
graphic approach to knitwear
NAND is a young Swedish brand, founded in Stockholm by
Nette Sandström, a talented Swedish designer born and raised
in the north of this Nordic land. Nette graduated from the
Swedish School of Textiles and began working as a member
of the design team for H&M and Weekday. Later, she was the
co-founder of the Swedish fashion label, Lagom. Nand came
to being in October of 2014, with a collection of men’s and
women’s clothing which puts a major emphasis on structure
of the materials, a fundamental means of expression for this
brand. The Nand garments are distinguished by graphic
styling, folds and layered effects, concepts borrowed from
the world of architecture. Nette Sandström likes to sum up
the character of her brand with this two-word description, a
sort of oxymoron: “detailed minimalism”, in order to highlight
the understatement and simplicity of the forms, combined
with scrupulous attention to the quality and originality of the
details, capable of rendering each and every item unique
and immediately recognizable. In addition to the line of
clothing, Nand also features a collection of leather footwear
based on the same guidelines that define her clothing items.
This innovative brand’s collection for the spring-summer
season of 2016 has been liberally inspired by the Mexican
architect, Riccardo Legoretta, known for his brilliant colors
and trailblazing focus on the theme of light and shadow.
The collection is broken down into two lines. The first one
uses fabric for creating play of light and shadow, with lots