Craig and Lee discuss the intriguing juxtaposition between traditional department stores and the contemporary trend of brand-specific “World Of” concessions within the realm of retail. Delving into the heart of this topic, they examine the implications for consumer experience and shopping convenience. While department stores historically aimed to provide a comprehensive assortment of brands and products under one roof in departments, the emergence of brand-specific concessions challenges this notion by condensing a brand’s entire spectrum into a single space. The hosts explore the pros and cons of both approaches, reflecting on how these strategies cater to different shopping behaviours and brand preferences.
Lee shares his personal perspective on the advantages of department stores for discovering diverse brands and comparing various offerings. He highlights the importance of a consolidated space to accommodate varying body types and preferences, allowing customers to efficiently explore different fits and styles. On the other hand, they ponder the appeal of “World Of” concessions, which aim to provide a one-stop-shop experience for loyal brand enthusiasts. While this model appeals to shoppers who know exactly what they want, it raises questions about the potential dilution of the distinct department store shopping experience.
As the discussion unfolds, Craig and Lee contemplate the evolving role of department stores in a rapidly changing retail landscape. They consider how the concept of department stores has transformed over time and how they compete with the allure of specialized brand spaces. The hosts dissect the strategic decisions of brands and retailers in adopting these contrasting models, questioning whether the “World Of” concessions might eventually transition into standalone stores. Ultimately, the conversation underscores the evolving nature of consumer preferences, shopping behaviours, and retail strategies, painting a vivid picture of the intricate balance between tradition and innovation in the retail industry.
The Weekly podcast part of the The Retail Insider Podcast Network by Retail Insider Canada and is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Transcript
Announcer 0:00
This is a Retail Insider PodCast. You’re listening to “The Weekly”.
Lee Rivett 0:08
Welcome to this week’s episode of “The Weekly” by Retail Insider. I’m Lee Rivett and I’m joined with the owner and publisher of Retail Insider Media, Craig Patterson, to discuss this week’s most read articles on retail-insider.com. So thanks for joining me, Craig.
Craig Patterson 0:22
Hello, everyone.
Lee Rivett 0:23
Now in this podcast episode, I was reflecting on our latest Yorkdale expansion news. It got me thinking about these brand-specific “World Of” concessions or “shop-in-shop” retail popups where a brand will have all of their offerings across their whole retail spectrum … in one spot. Now, the whole idea of a department store is to be able to go browse through a bunch of different brands of one specific thing. It could be looking at all the different women’s shoes, for example, or looking at the different coffee makers. So Craig, when you have these pop ups or world of concessions in a department store, I was wondering what your thought was on these brand-specific activations that are plunked into department stores, that seems to be going against the whole department store philosophy where he should have things grouped together in categories. So what’s your thought?
Craig Patterson 1:11
Yes, yes. This is such a good question. Thank you for asking it, Lee because I think it can build some confusion. If a person can walk into Holt Renfrew and they know what brand they want to buy – like, “This is my Gucci day. I want an outfit”. Yeah, you can walk into the Gucci store and you’re gonna be able to pick out your shoes and your bag and your clothing and jewelry and whatever else they’ve got in there. And that goes for Dior and other brands as well. But yeah, typically how it would work with a department store. So in Neiman Marcus store in the United States – because they don’t do these “World of” concessions in the same way – you would have a concession for handbags. So you’re gonna have a handbag area, and it’s like, yeah, I want to go shop for a handbag. I’m gonna go to the handbag area, and then I want to buy a dress. So I’m gonna go to the clothing area. And, we see concessions for shoes, and some of these really snazzy bigger stores, including a few in Holt Renfrew, like Chanel has a concession in Vancouver for only shoes.
Lee Rivett 2:06
Exactly. That’s the idea behind the department store concept.
Craig Patterson 2:10
It makes more sense if you have a department store or a store that has different sections for different, you know, shoes and bags, to have these separate shops in there.
Lee Rivett 2:19
Now, in contrast, what about the “World Of”s?
Craig Patterson 2:23
The “World of” concessions is a way for these brands to really just showcase everything in one spot. So you want to match a bag, some shoes or create an entire outfit? Yeah, you can do that in the “World of” concession. But I think it’s creating confusion, or at least it’s not quite as convenient for a shopper saying, well, now I want to buy a dress, or a guy wanting to buy an outfit.
Lee Rivett 2:48
What do you think the end effect or result of putting these “Worlds of” concessions in the middle of a department store?
Craig Patterson 2:54
Yeah, I think it blurs the lines between department store and shopping center. Because when you have a “World of” concession, it really is just a brand that’s been plopped in in its entirety in one spot. And you know, it’s great for the brand if it’s strong enough to be able to support that business model and bring consumers in and say, you know, I’m buying everything Burberry or you know, being able to see everything in one area as opposed to having to walk around the store and find your Burberry shoes and your Burberry bags or Burberry trench coats or whatever, you know, like having to go to different parts of the stores for the brand. But no, that’s something I’ve been thinking about recently as well. You know, is this “World of” concession situation best for these brands?
Lee Rivett 3:35
Well, I think it’s best for the brand, like they have a lot of obscure stuff that wouldn’t necessarily fit into a specific department in a department store. So it’s yeah, it’s good for the brand, but maybe not for the department store.
Craig Patterson 3:47
Well, I mean, it’s best for the brands but is it best for the store like Holts? Probably – maybe not? I don’t know. I mean, it’s different from what you see at Neiman Marcus. You go to the American department store like Nordstrom in Seattle and they’ve got a Chanel shop on the main floor, which is bags, and I think some shoes and stuff but it’s not the full ready to wear, you have to go upstairs for that ready to wear boutique. And that’s quite common, I think with Chanel with these American stores, whether or not it’s a Saks Fifth Avenue in a big city, or a Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom, typically these are going to be spaced out more like a department store. But Holt Renfrew is almost taking a model you see in Asia or even a shopping center model and in some cases, you know, having these “World of” concessions with everything in it just being you know, plopped down in prime real estate. So at the same time, it is pretty cool to walk through a store and have all of these “World of” concessions, but I’m not discounting it or I’m not slamming this in any way whatsoever. I mean, I have a lot of respect for Holt Renfrew and I’m very impressed with a lot of things but I don’t know though the world of concession thing remains to be seen how successful it is if these concessions end up just stepping out and opening their own stores. So we’ll see how it goes over the next few years. I find this stuff fascinating. I’m mean that you got me excited with that question.
Lee Rivett 5:02
Well, what I find that I love about the department store model is – I have ungangly, long arms. So it’s really difficult for me to find a long sleeve shirt that fits me in the length of my arm, but then it also fits me in the torso. So normally, they either fit length in the sleeve, and then I’m swimming in the midsection on it. So if I wander into a “World of” concession, or one of these independent standalone brand stores, if I try on one shirt that’s long sleeve and it’s halfway down my forearm, I know that brand is pretty much a write off for anything, that’s a long sleeve, right? So I love the idea of either going to a thrift store, which has all the brands together, or a department store, which has all the brands together as well so I can try the different brands. So if this brand is too short in the sleeve, then I can try the next one. And if I find a brand or two, that is fitting me in the length, that I know that that brand is one to go with. So at that point, I’ve already purchased the item from the department store, but then I would keep that in mind for later for going to the “World of” or going to the standalone store that they would potentially have, right? So for me, that’s why both have a place. But why I typically start out with a department store because sometimes even the brand has changed their methodology on how they actually do their fitting at the end of the day.
Craig Patterson 6:25
Now, that makes sense, in terms of sizing, or just even the product itself, you know, if I if I want to go and buy a pair of sneakers or something, or I’m thinking of a young gentleman, I know that we I mentor, he needed some sneakers one time, and it’s gonna be a lot easier to go to an area with a bunch of shoes and pick stuff out then saying I gotta go to all these boutiques. And maybe they’ll have some great shoes. I don’t know, what does Fendi have today? You know, what is Prada have today? You know, you gotta go from shop to shop and look around. It’s not as convenient. But I understand what the brands are doing. But is it? Is it a the best shoppable experience for consumers? I don’t know, I talked to some consumers about that. I mean, I don’t think it would be but some may prefer it. You know, it really depends. I mean, some people just know their brands, and they’re like, I’m a Givenchy guy. That’s what I wear. And and maybe that works. But I think it really depends. And maybe this works more for women as well. Women may know the brands more, but a lot of guys now are also getting in on this. I mean, I mean, we’ve seen men’s fashion just explode in terms of sales in popularity, and men have become more fashion forward. I’ve seen that over my lifetime, for sure. I’ve seen stores years ago, where the men’s departments were basically just an afterthought, you go into a Saks Fifth Avenue. And, you know, you might have a little corner and one floor of a store. I’m just remembering the one in Minneapolis, which had a few sweaters and a few other things, way back in the day. And now you go to Saks Fifth Avenue and a downtown store like Chicago, you got one or two floors dedicated to menswear, or even in downtown Toronto. Much, much more comprehensive and you’ve got all kinds of brands. Anyways, menswear has definitely taken off, there’s no question there. And that’s certainly during my lifetime.
Lee Rivett 8:08
To touch upon the customer experience or shopping experience aspect: For me if I go into the Levi’s store that standalone – or the “World of” Levi’s – to try on some jeans and find out that nothing fits because my thighs are large. It’s nothing against the brand. It’s just now I’ve wasted everyone’s time including myself going all the way to the Levi’s store just to be able to try on their jeans and nothing fits. So I find that then going to True Religion, or Frank & Oak, or whatever the case may be – is just a poor shopping experience for me. And I feel like I’m just being judged for wasting everyone’s time and walking out with nothing. So for me, I love the idea of being able to try all these different brands just to see what fits for me this season, right? And then either buying it at the department store or thrift store, or then feeling comfortable going into the “World of” or standalone store to buy stuff knowing that that brand fits me because I’ve already answered the question of whether I’m wasting time or not by going down that path if that makes sense.
Craig Patterson 9:12
Yeah, it makes sense. I’m just thinking like if I was to go if I wanted a pair of jeans this week, I would probably go to the Manulife center and go to over the rainbow jeans and because they have like a denim wall and it’s there’s different brands in there and you’re like great, it’s jeans, it’s what I want. It’s gonna be so much easier for me to go to the denim wall and you know, get one of those salespeople to help me pick out some jeans than having to go from brand to brand, to brand to brand to pick these things out as opposed to just going to the denim wall and saying this is great. There’s hundreds of pairs of jeans here and I’m going to find something that I want so I know for myself, I think the denim wall just sounds so much easier than yes having to, you know, go from brand shop to brand shop to brand shop. But at the same time, if I’m having a day, if I was, say, in London, I went to Selfridges and wanted to make a day out of a shopping trip. I wouldn’t have as much of an issue going from shop to shop, I don’t think but it really depends how a person is shopping as well. I mean, I know for myself, the Hudson Bay Queen Street men’s store. It is it’s just too big. It’s about 100,000 to 220,000 square feet. It’s got to be the biggest men’s presentation in Canada. And it’s huge. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff there. And it is actually broken up quite a bit into categories. But nevertheless, it’s just absolutely massive. I mean, it takes you half a day to actually shop that properly. And I just don’t have that time.
Lee Rivett 10:46
Well, thanks for going through talking about the department store versus the “World of” or standalone store comparison with me. I appreciate it. It’s just super fun to kind of talk about some of these things. And otherwise I’ll chat with you next week. Craig,
Craig Patterson 10:59
Thank you so much everyone for listening. Take care and bye for now.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review our Retail Insider Podcast!
Follow Craig:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/CraigPattersonToronto
- Instagram: @craig_patterson_toronto
- Twitter: @RI_EIC
Follow Retail Insider:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/Retail-Insider
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RetailInsider/
- Twitter: @RetailInsider_
- Instagram: @Retail_Insider_Canada
Listen & Subscribe:
Share your thoughts!
Drop us a line at Craig@Retail-Insider.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!
Background Music Credit: Hard Boiled Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
