“Shopping is often referred to in the media as the national pastime of the UK population and window-shopping plays a key role in this activity.” Essay
Christine Bulbrook 11/20/2009
Since 1875 Liberty has been offering shoppers not only the luxurious but also the eclectic. Oscar Wilde himself described it as "The chosen resort of the artistic shopper“ (Retail Renaissance at Liberty, 2009). One unique feature of the department store is its eye-catching Tudor facade. This feature, accompanied by its eclectic window displays, has kept this gem of the London’s West End a talking point right into the 21st century. This essay will use the iconic Liberty’s physical and virtual displays to examine the relationship shoppers have with retail visual offerings. In a consumer driven market-place do retailers utilise their window spaces? If so, what do they hope to achieve from this practice? Does ‘window dressing’ make sense? Visual Merchandisers would defiantly answer ‘yes’. These aesthetic proffesionals aim to ‘...increase sales: first by attracting shoppers into the store through the power of the window display...’ (Morgan, 2008). One champion of the visual merchandising discourse is Mary Portas, the Creative Director of Yellow Door Marketing Consultancy. Mary used window displays to turn around the fortune of luxury Department Store Harvey Nichols of Knightsbridge. Mary herself has said of the task “I used to put absolutely crazy things in the window... It was about getting people through our door." (Walker, 2008) One female Harvey Nichols shopper responded with “I've got no idea what those windows are supposed to mean, but I feel fantastic going in the shop.” (Walker, 2008) When we consider that UK Department Stores received only 9.6% of the women’s clothing and accessories market share in 2009 (TNS, 2009), it is clear how important it is to get customers off the pavement and onto retail floor. Liberty is a luxury retailer whose ideal consumer falls in the AB social Category as defined by the National Readership Survey (Jefkins, 2000:35). Yes, Liberty have much to do, but they are definitely doing their bit to get the ideal consumer through the doors. One only has to visit the store season, by season, to see the ever-changing window displays. In the last nine weeks there have been pearls, crowns, foxes and bird houses (Appendix A: Figures 1 – 5) to name but a few of the props recently used. What can it all mean, especially to the unassuming passerby? In the text Ways of Seeing (1972), John Berger refers to the Surrealist painter Magritte and her The Key of Dreams (Berger, 1972:8) (Appendix A: Figure 1) painting. The idea behind the Key of Dreams is that there is something missing between what can be described with words and what a visual image can communicate. Through a description using words the listener can create a mental image based on their understanding. This is a slow-burner, in that it takes time to get the full message across, and even then it will rarely live up to the reality. 2|Page
Department stores don’t have this time; they need to deliver an instantaneous message. The shopper needs a direct message delivered to them whilst in a state of movement to convince them that they need something this retail establishment has to offer. Here the shops window has to hold the ‘Key of Dreams’. The display has to say what words never could, it has to be a very fast-burner. Liberty has perfected this visionary art to the point of excellence. They have managed to consistently create surreal visual displays that draw the passing gazer to look again, to investigate. The saying every picture tells a story is well known. Well, every Liberty window shows us a pantomime, but behind it all what is the message? Once passersby have stopped and looked, what do they see behind the theatrics? Well, Liberty would like shoppers to see their image and what they stand for, their identity. They display their identity to the spectator hoping they will then identify with the image and feel the need to enter the store. This also works on a virtual level. Kristina Thiele, photographer, says this of brand identity, “In my opinion photographs are essential for window display as the potential shoppers eye will be drawn to the window and is more likely to go into the shop if he/she likes the window display. The clothes have to be pretty anyway, but if you want people to buy them, you need to sell the image of the brand with it.” (Thiele, 2009) Liberty also uses the internet to express its brand’s identity. The website uses the traditional Liberty purple which acts as a sign to say ‘yes, it’s us’ (Appendix B :Figure 1). However Liberty’s virtual windows are more dynamic. The homepage is constantly changing to highlight varied products and collaborations (Appendix B: Figures 7, 8). Liberty has good reason to spend this amount of time and effort on its website. Virtual retailing, or etailing, is big news in the today’s fashion industry. The website As Seen on the High Street, or ASOS, is evidence of this. In the current recession when many retailers are feeling the pinch ASOS have continued to surpass expectations with a 104% rise in sales this year (Brown, 2009). This example emphasises the importance of the images and subsequent information retailers and etailers produce for their consumers. What complicates this process is gauging the perceived message? In other words, how is it possible to gauge what messages the images deliver? According to Berger (1972) what and how an individual sees is different depending on who we are and what we have experienced. So, how do visual merchandisers get the message right with such odds? How can Liberty ensure they entice and not reject a potential spender? Alannah Weston, Creative Director at Selfridges, has the answer – ‘...the windows need to be informative.’ (Morgan, 2008:52) By this Alannah means that yes, creating fabulous window displays is neccessary, but the 3|Page
key is the product. However, Bartley Ingram, Visual Merchandising Director for Lane Crawford in Hong Kong gives this advice “Understand the product you are displaying...exciting the customers about why they can’t live without it.” (Morgan, 2008:77) Therefore to be successful the window display has to ultimately propel the product. It doesn’t really matter if or how the props are misconstrued, they only serve the purpose of drawing the attention to the PRODUCT. In conclusion this essay has shown the importance of window displays and reasons why retailers see them as a valuable assett. There is no denying that what retailors show the consumer links with its brands identity. However the ultimate role of these displays are not only attaction and entertainment. The window and the creative emphasis behind the visual props are neccessary and enterataining, but they only serve to communicate to the shopper, that there is a product for sale.
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References ‘Retail Renaissance at Liberty’ (2009). Available at: http://www.regentstreetonline.com/RegentStreet/ShoppingChannel/Retail +Renaissance+at+Liberty.htm (Accessed 17 November 2009) ‘The Liberty Renaissance’ (2009). Available at: http://blog.liberty.co.uk/305/the-liberty-renaissance/ (Accessed: 2 October 2009) Berger, J (1972) Ways of Seeing. London: BBC and Penguin Books Brown, J. (2009) ‘ASOS profits beat expectations’ Drapers [Online] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/youngfashion/asos-profits-beat-expectations/5002183.article (Accessed: 8 November 2009) http://www.asos.com/? affId=1022&WT.srch=1&gclid=CPyenreSkp4CFWlr4wodficKqA (2000). (Accessed: 17 November 2009) Jefkins, F (2000) Advertising 4th ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Morgan, T. (2008) Visual Merchandising: Window and In-Store Displays for Retail. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd and University of the Arts: London College of Fashion. Thiele, K. (2009). Interview with photographer. 10 November 2009 (Approx. 90 minutes) http://www.kristinathiele.com TNS, (2009) ‘Womens Retail Shares: ‘Womens Clothing & Accessories Expenditure (%)’ Available at: TNS FashionTrak Department Store Market Share Data.xlsx Walker, E. (2008) ‘Mary Portas: There’s something about Mary’. The Independent [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/features/mary-portas-therersquos-something-about-mary864536.html (Accessed 8 November 2009).
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Bibliography ‘Retail Renaissance at Liberty’ (2009). Available at: http://www.regentstreetonline.com/RegentStreet/ShoppingChannel/Retail +Renaissance+at+Liberty.htm (Accessed 17 November 2009) ‘The Liberty Renaissance’. Available at: http://blog.liberty.co.uk/305/theliberty-renaissance/ (Accessed: 2 October 2009) Berger, J (1972) Ways of Seeing. London: BBC and Penguin Books. Brown, J. (2009) ‘ASOS profits beat expectations’ Drapers [Online] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/young-fashion/asosprofits-beat-expectations/5002183.article (Accessed: 8 November 2009). Cottrell, S (2003) The Study Skills Handbook. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. http://www.asos.com/? affId=1022&WT.srch=1&gclid=CPyenreSkp4CFWlr4wodficKqA (2000). (Accessed: 17 November 2009) http://www.harveynichols.com/output/Page1.asp (1813). (Accessed: 11 November 2009). http://www.yellow-door.com/ (1997). (Accessed: 8 November 2009). Jefkins, F (2000) Advertising 4th ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Jobber, D (2004) Principles and practice of marketing 4th ed. London: MccGraw Hill. Kotler, P (2006) Principles of marketing 11th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Morgan, T. (2008) Visual Merchandising: Window and In-Store Displays for Retail. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd and University of the Arts: London College of Fashion. Thiele, K. (2009). Interview with photographer. 10 November 2009 (Approx. 90 minutes) http://www.kristinathiele.com TNS, (2009) ‘Womens Retail Shares: ‘Womens Clothing & Accessories Expenditure (%)’ Available at: TNS FashionTrak Department Store Market Share Data.xlsx 6|Page
Walker, E. (2008) ‘Mary Portas: There’s something about Mary’. The Independent [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/features/mary-portas-therersquos-something-about-mary864536.html (Accessed 8 November 2009).
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Appendix A Figure 1. Key Of Dreams
Figure 2. Fox Child
Figure 3. Hermes Scarves
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Appendix A Figure 4. Eclectic Seating
Figure 5. Crowns and Pearls
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Appendix B
Figure 1. Liberty Website http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/ departmenthome/dept/wome nswear?resetFilters=true
Figure 2. Liberty Website http://www.liberty.co.uk/
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Appendix B
Figure 3. Liberty Website http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp /categorylist/dept/womensw ear_at-liberty-
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