COMPETITORS As a department store Liberty faces many competitors. This section explores those competitors in order to gain a better understanding of the current market and provide insight into the ways Liberty can differentiate themselves by creating a cutting edge and unique experience that stands out from its rivals. Similarly to Liberty, Harrods is a department store that based in London, with a historical heritage dating back to the 1800’s. The Harrods consumer is middle class, with a high salary, well educated and therefore expects a wide selection of products and services. Often shopping in department stores for the convenience of everything being under one roof. Harrods is the largest department store in Europe, holding 330 departments. Meaning it holds an advantage over Liberty through the vast amount of products it can display but also the disadvantage of not always presenting the best products that the consumer can trust are of good quality. Harrods provides the consumer with many other services within the store such as hair salons, restaurants and a pharmacy, creating a place of convenience for the consumer who is constantly on the go. However this creates a busy and chaotic environment. With Liberty atmosphere contrasts to this in that it’s much more relaxed and personalised to each consumer. Selfridges is the second largest department store on Oxford Street, London, with branches also located in Birmingham and Manchester. This exposes the Selfridges brand to a higher footfall and a wider customer demographic but also takes away the exclusivity and individuality that Liberty has as a brand. In a similar way to Liberty, Selfridges is heavily focused on customer service with their motto being ‘the customer is always right.’ However Selfridges are unable to achieve the same customer intimacy that Liberty have due to the large amounts of retail space, With Liberty creating a better customer bond due to the ability to spend more time on a one to one basis. Selfridges is the first ever retailer to win the worlds best department store three times and is renowned for its creative visual merchandising and in store displays (My Customer, 2013). Fig. 2, Harvey Nichols VM, London, 2014
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