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JEREMY’S JOURNAL Business blogging by publisher Jeremy Corner of Blue Eyed Sun.
New
Experiences Jeremy Corner, owner of greeting card publisher Blue Eyed Sun and distributor of BambooCup, shares an experience. Last month I had an ‘experience’. It was fun, exciting, inspiring and adventurous. It was sexy too and stimulated my imagination. It gave me everything I wanted and more. It opened my eyes to new possibilities. Before you ask, no, it wasn’t that. It was something quite different, although I may blush a little when I share some of my retail experience with you. As modern retail adapts and evolves, one key area of focus is the customer ‘experience’. John Lewis launched its tech incubator J-Lab, to find new ways of improving the experience of the in-store shopper as a way of retaining customers and drawing them in to spend more. Last year JLP trialled an after hours ‘private shopping’ service at its Cheltenham store, where anyone spending £10,000 or more could have the entire store to themselves. My experience was slightly less glamorous, but totally unforgettable. It started on a day out in London’s Camden, which I have not visited for many years. The area attracts 28 million tourists a year and the labyrinth of shops and stalls is a retail experience in itself. Wandering around Camden Market, and particularly the Stables Market with its ornate wooden doors and equine effigies, was an adventure and full of interesting things to buy and eat. It started when a friend coaxed me through a shop entrance flanked by two giant metal robots, with a silver sign above the door that read Cyberdog.
Cyberdog Greeting us with a friendly smile as we entered was a girl dressed in cyber-goth attire that was a cross between Blade Runner and a Japanese Manga creation. In fact, most of the store assistants were spectacularly dressed
Above: Cyberdog in the heart of London’s Camden Market. Below: The Shambles is a street in York, with some buildings dating from the fourteenth century.
and made up in bright neons, facial piercings, tattoos and futuristic haircuts. The heavy bass of dance music reverberated throughout the store which looked like a spaceship with lifesize cyborgs and silver robots in cryogenic pods high up on the walls. At the far end of the ground floor an escalator took us down into the bowels of what felt more like a night club than a shop. As we descended the beat got louder and the lighting darker. Everything was bathed in ultra violet light to show off the fluorescent garments and items available to purchase for your next big club night. At the far end of the cavernous underground space, with his booth up on stage and backlit by bright neon stripes, a DJ hunched over the decks with his headphones propped over one ear. The basement was made up of different caves to explore. It reminded me of nights out at the End or Fabric in London back in the day. It was fun being in this shop. Things got even
more interesting as I scuttled nervously through the adult section and emerged the other side only to turn an even darker shade of crimson when I spotted a woman pole dancing on a small stage in the corner. It caught me by surprise. I grabbed the nearest item to me and headed for the tills. It turned out to be fluorescent yellow thong. “For a friend,” I gabbled at the assistant. I later discovered that there are other platforms in the shop where clubbers dressed in store gear are hired to dance above the customers. Aside from my dubious purchasing choice, the experience was unlike anything I’d seen before - and this from someone who spent a year of his life partying, I mean studying, on exchange in Amsterdam. What impressed me most was that Cyberdog understands what it is, understands its customers and goes all in on its commitment to provide them with a retail experience unlike any other. So what can we learn from this experience that can be used in other retail stores?
Your high street Councils and city planners can definitely do more to encourage fun shopping areas like Camden that are filled with independents, have atmosphere and draw tourists in. The Shambles in York and the North Laines in
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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