Change Agent | Cate Trotter
Send Story to a FriendSustainable Retail Trends: Bringing Brands to Life
September’s turning out to be an interesting month: a number of trend tours for impressive clients have been commissioned, and the research has been great.
One of the key themes was the store of 2019: how they will be designed, what their function will be as customers spend more time online, what customers will expect from them and so on.
It was a big question, but the big questions always good answers. Too many to list in one short blog post here, but there’s space to comment on one of the answers: sustainability. Even though I think a lot more needs to be done on the government/legislation level to make us truly sustainable, it will become more important for big brands to show that they’re taking green issues seriously.
We picked out a number of more sustainable stores to show them, including the Timberland flagship store on Regent Street, London, which has a number of interesting features.
What's so sustainable about Timberland?
As time goes on, Timberland promotes sustainability more and more. (In case you didn’t know, its working to become carbon neutral by the end of next year, it pays its staff to spend a week volunteering for a cause of their choice each year, and it prints ‘nutritional information’ on the labels of its products to help customers better understand their impacts.)
How is it communicating this in its retail space?
It was the store that was really interesting to us, though. Stores, especially flagship stores, are increasingly set up to bring brand values to life rather than simply selling product, so it was really interesting to see how Timberland had achieved this.
The Timberland store has quite a traditional 'green' approach going on (lots of reclaimed timber, which fits well with the outdoorsy nature of the brand), but it adds some interesting storytelling into the mix too.
Its actions are simply outlined, fitting well into the space without dominating it. The matter-of-fact tone of voice works well: the fact that they actually care about the environment is evident and doesn't actually need to be commented upon.
There's extra storytelling in some of the fittings, too. These are some reclaimed cinema seats that sit in the community space. They're cool because they have a sense of history behind them; they're an interesting talking point. By their very nature, they're sustainable too.
There are some other trends of the store of 2019 that fit in with Timberland's sustainability agenda, too. One of the things we spoke to the client about was the need for more flexible spaces. It's important as the speed of life increases, and changing spaces are required to keep customers engaged.
The walls have interchangeable panels, meaning they can also be used to tell stories when necessary. The mid floor area is open and free, allowing for a range of varied and flexible displays. Although this may come from a need to refresh the space more often, the more flexible design means it'll suit Timberland's needs for longer, a quality that's pretty important in sustainable design.
Our clients found the store really interesting, especially all the reclaimed features. We'll be dropping past again!
If you want to find out how Insider Trends' green retail tours and retail trend tours can benefit your business, click here.
Tweet This Post
Flag as spam/inappropriate