All posts by Norman Cescut

Unknown's avatar

About Norman Cescut

.

MENA: retail sales are still growing

Retail sales in the MENA region jumped 13.2 percent last year, making it the only region in the world to post double digit growth, accountancy firm Deloitte has said.

In its latest retail report, Deloitte said emerging markets were the most promising for consumer sales and marked the Middle East as a stand-out region.
“While global economic growth is on the mend, most of it is taking place in emerging markets, many of which are experiencing rapidly increasing consumer spending,” said Nasser Sagga, audit partner at Deloitte and Touche.
“Within the Middle East there is a number of emerging economies that meet the criteria of strong growth prospects and good demographics – Egypt and Turkey being two such examples.”

The report identified the 250 largest retailers around the world in 2010, more than 11 percent of which were based in the MENA region.
Despite seeing a significant drop in trade and tourism during the financial crisis, the Gulf remains a key a market for retailers.

A report last year by real estate consultancy CB Richard Ellis found Dubai ranked second only to London in terms of the number of global brands with a presence in the city.
In a ranking of 294 of the world’s top retailers, more than half had a presence in Dubai. “Despite continued uncertainty for some retailers across the world, luxury brand retailers have remained active and were responsible for the most new store openings,” said Peter Gold, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa cross-border retail at CBRE. (Source: ArabianBusiness.com, Photo: hadiyahrewardnetwork.com)

Benetton keeps getting greener

Six hundred fewer tons of plastic in the environment in 2011:  this is the green result that Benetton Group will achieve by introducing innovative, lightweight liquid wood clothes hangers – 100% biodegradable and recyclable – in place of the plastic hangers usually used to display garments. The eco-hangers, developed in partnership with the Fraunhofer-Institut für Chemische Technologie in Pfinztal-Berghausen (Germany), will gradually replace their plastic predecessors throughout the worldwide network of Benetton stores.

The liquid wood hangers are just part of a far broader eco-sustainable business plan launched by Benetton in a context of attention to social issues – and environmental respect in particular – always an important aspect of our corporate identity. Benetton’s green journey includes two other tangible environmental sustainability programmes, involving organic cotton garments and eco-friendly paper shopping bags.

In the Benetton children’s collections, organic cotton already accounts for over 30% of all cotton apparel, and with the spring-summer 2011 collection, organic cotton garments will reach a total of 13 million across the Group’s various brands. These products are all certified according to the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) ethical and environmental criteria, a worldwide benchmark that guarantees adherence to key organic standards in fibre production.

The GOTS standard focuses on ethical and environmental sustainability (ensuring that products are GMO-free and come from low-impact farming). Benetton performs a constant cycle of controls to ensure that the CaMV 35S promoter, indicative of the presence of GMO cottons, is not found within the fibres.

Furthermore, since January 2010, customers buying from United Colors of Benetton stores have been taking their purchases home in a craft-white eco-friendly paper shopping bag, processed using water-based inks only, and sourced from an FSC certified paper factory, ensuring products are made using timber from forests that are controlled and managed according to the principles of social and environmental sustainability. (Benetton Group Official Press Release)

Asia future retail landscape

Once upon a time, the customer experience depended largely upon luck: the mood of a shop assistant, the time spent waiting at the checkout, being able to find the right product. All of these could make a difference between a boycott or a customer for life. But with consumers more selective than ever about where to spend their hard earned cash, improving the customer experience has become even more critical. According to Ivano Ortis, International Director of leading analyst and trend forecasting agency IDC Retail Insights, customer service is only the latter part of the customer experience. “There is an increasing focus on ‘immersive shopping’ which is the next generation of shopping experience for the customer,” says Ortis. “This is not only about providing an inspirational range of products and displays but also about the instant and accurate delivery of information from the retailer.” It’s an experience that “can, and indeed must, be generated across any retail platform, be that in-store, online or even on a mobile device”. That means a strong multi-channel presence is essential for retailers looking to maximise profitability in the coming decade and that customers have the best experience within those platforms, he adds. One of the key challenges for retailers is to use IT in precision retailing strategies which target the marketing down to individual one-on-one customer communication and interaction. “The point is for retailers to change from a mass-market type of operating company to a very targeted operation, by analysing the intricate characteristics of their customers in order to ensure the customer is seeing the right product, with the right price at the right time to ensure a sale. In other words, that the customer is having the best possible experience,” says Ortis. As with any targeted marketing strategy, it doesn’t matter which platform the retailer is operating from. “It really depends on the customer you’re talking to, what time of the day it is, where the consumer is. I think the underlying technology infrastructure that needs to be put in place should be working regardless of the channels.” Ultimately, though, the key to success is for retailers to utilise technology to gather feedback and use that to develop a positive customer experience. “An immersed and interactive experience for the customer can only mean improved revenues for the retailer. Those retailers who use different platforms to support and enhance the customer experience will truly reap the benefits,” concludes Ortis. (Source: GDS International)

Retailers be aware: product customization might be the future – and it comes from the web

Fresh Worldwide Press, marketing, online shopping, shopping experience, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A very interesting article about a new trend which goes against the well-known rule of product massification: “One size fits all”. The article mentions several websites, mainly U.S based, offering to their customers the chance to create their own unique product. Ranging from Art to Chocolate and Perfumes, just to count some. this new trend is going to become big, especially because many “co-created” goods undercut their top-tier competitors. 

Searching what the Italian web offer is may be a little bit frustrating, because the search always reminds to non-Italian companies. The only great example of online product customization which is 100% Italian is Miraqo. The very clever website offer the chance to create your own chocolate adding a huge variety of high quality ingredients, which are also certified as being organic. If know of more Italian based companies which are offering online customization services to their products, just leave a comment or send us an email (Source: Smallbusiness.aol.com)

What we do care about

As designers & consultants who are in stores every day, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly in this business. We see what works and what doesn’t. We admire those who take the time to share with us new ideas to build beautiful stores, who really establish solid connections with us, who agree with us that it’s imperative to have a winning concept in today market.

This might be true for many generic consultants around the world. But one of the things that we’ve noticed, is that we provide one other thing that is perhaps one of our greatest values. It’s that our customers can talk to us about their business, freely and openly, and get the help they need.  

Many Retailers certainly seek out advice from a number of sources, and most commonly from vendors.  Vendors certainly have a great view of the marketplace, and they too see a lot of what goes on in the Retail space. 

But at the end, the vendor’s solution to a Retailer’s problems will be to buy their product.  It’s a little like that old saying, “To a carpenter, everything is solved with a hammer.”

For us as designers & consultants, the only thing we honestly care about is whether or not that Retailer has made money, and if they are happy doing so.  In terms of product or vendor solution, we don’t have any “hammer” in the pocket.  Yes, we can suggest but a the very end, it doesn’t matter to us which vendor the Retailer buys, as long as it contributes positively to realize our design store, collaborating and to make the Retailer money. 

Please meet us soon at:

– Euroshop in Dusseldorf on the 26th and 27th of February

– Gulfood in Dubai on the 1st and 2nd of March

The state of retail online shopping in UK: January 2011 report

Fresh Worldwide Press, marketing, online shopping, , , , , , , , ,

Shoppers in the United Kingdom spent 5.1 billion pounds ($8.3 billion) online in January, up 21% from one year prior, according to the latest figures from consultant Capgemini and Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), a web retailing industry association.The travel sector generated some of the largest growth, as more shoppers took advantage of seasonal discounts on vacation packages. “Travel is one of the sectors of the U.K. economy that saw the earliest adoption of the Internet as an initial point of purchase and this trend shows no sign of abating,” says Phillip Rinn, director of advertising partnerships at eBay Advertising.

January travel sales were up 31% compared with the same month in 2009, and the average value of trips purchased was 886 British pounds ($1,439), the highest recorded in over two years. Many of those winter-weary travellers also bought luggage online, says Russ Carroll, U.K. managing director of comparing shopping site Shopping.com. “Shopping.com saw sales of luggage rise by over 20%,” Carroll says, “as many consumers decided they needed to get away from the miserable British weather.”

Hefty discounts offered by furniture chains also contributed to strong results for online home and garden retailers, as shoppers spent 56% more at these e-commerce sites in January than the year prior, according to IMRG results. “Home, on the back of our Clearance offer, had a very strong month with sales up over 30% on 2010,” says Jonathon Brown, head of online selling at general merchandise retailer John Lewis.

Alcohol sales dropped 67%, which IMRG attributed to shoppers’ desire to cut back after holiday excesses in December (Source: Stefany Moore for Internetretailer.com)

Multichannel customers, profits and mobile technologies

Fresh Worldwide Press, marketing, , , , , , , , , , ,

This post is about a kind of customers that my clients know very well: multichannel customers. Since I started DESITA‘s business, I’ve always believed in multichannel marketing, and now I always advise my clients to use web and mobile as much as they can to keep customers informed and “tied up” to the brand.

It seems that this strategy will be the winning one in the future too, reading what Urban Outfitter’s CEO Glen Senk revealed during his keynot at last fall Shop.org. Urban Outfitter’s multichannel customers spend in fact two to three times more than single-channel shoppers. Additionally, consumers who engage with the company across three or more channels spend six times more than the average consumer. “Mobile may ultimately impact the in-store experience more than it impacts the online experience,” Senk said during his keynote. “We believe mobile technology will boost e-commerce, but I believe it will absolutely revolutionize the brick-and-mortar retail business.”

Josh Herman, multichannel marketing innovation leader at Acxiom, says that mobile needs to become an integral part of the in-store experience, for example offering customers personalized deals and tailored suggestions. “I think what we’ll see this year is a focus on getting the mobile marketing infrastructure more closely tied to the rest of the marketing intelligence assets. This will help fortify spending in mobile marketing,” Herman says.

Carsten Thoma, president of Hybris U.S. and COO of Hybris Group, believes that mobile is the glue that bonds online and brick-and-mortar operations, but he still sees confusion from retailers on where to start. In addition, many companies riddled with legacy systems that prevent the integration of mobile, he says. “That complete fusion of offline and online in a seamless environment is the most important thing in 2012. I’m 100 percent sure that customers are expecting this experience,” Thoma says, and I do agree with him

Green labels: are EU consumers confused about them?

Fresh Worldwide Press, sustainability, , , , , , , , , , ,

It all started with an article about green packaging, where there was a sentence regarding the the Green Guides (US Federal Trade Commission): "65 percent of Americans would prefer just one seal for green products over the hundreds that are now causing confusion. They note that it is increasingly hard to determine if a product is "truly green" or not based on available information. They are presently overwhelmed with the 350 product certifications that currently exist".

In Europe, consumers for sure know about Ecolabel and EnergyStar and…what else? I have made a very quick search on the web about the online resources available to consumers willing to understand a little bit more about "green labels". I did not find anything that is both comprehensive and easy to understand – the best resource being this PDF which is only related to UK. I think that as long as there is so much confusion about labelling, product and process certification, together with a lack of communication, consumers will have a hard time in understanding the real value of sustainable/green products and greenwashing will still be consumers first word associated to sustainability. 

I think that it would be of great interest for retail companies too to contribute to a sort of global database of green seals /certifications/labels in order to better communicate with consumers. Would you, as a product manufacturer, contribute?

Last Inditex step towards sustainability

Fresh Worldwide Press, sustainability, , , , , , , ,

We are following what Inditex – whose brands are Zara and PullandBear among the many – is doing about sustainability, and we always really like it! The last news is about their Tempe subsidiary (footwear), locate in Elche (ES), where they have installed a vertical garden, a growing trend in the cutting edge cities and capitals worldwide.

The project was designed by Urbanarbolismo, which made an impressive installation of 16 meters in height, with a total area of 80 m2 and an irrigation system controlled by computer. The vertical garden can be seen from all the company's plants, offices, meeting rooms, etc., making the whole building filled with an amazing natural light. (Source: www.jardiland.es)

The 2011 trends in the Middle East Hospitality Business

DESITA, Fresh Worldwide Press, middle east countries, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With my company DESITA I have always payed great attention to what is happening in the Middle East countries, whose retail and hospitality business are becoming very interesting because of their many nuances and the possibility they offer.  Karafirin project by DESITA

Accordingly to what recently published by the HotelierMiddleEast website, the 2011 hospitality scenario in Middle East is going to experience three different trends: back to the origins and to healthy food, casual F&B concepts and the raise of social media marketing.

Many of the expert interviewed stressed that the economic crisis has hit those country too and that consumers have become more cost and health conscious. This automatically translates to a return to the traditional, local food and beverages which are less expensive, healthier and – last but not least – more sustainable.