IN PRAISE OF NEW RETAIL AND UTILISING DIGITAL IN PEOPLE-POSITIVE WAYS

For many years now, and not just since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital companies and powerful funds have been on a quest to convince the world that retail is dead. I am strongly against this point of view.

As humans, we are social animals. We are born to live, to connect with one another, and to enjoy everyday interactions. Our lives should be a ‘live’ experience; we are not living in a simulation or a video game, and if life seems that way, then something has surely gone very wrong indeed!

Consider this: where is the pleasure in purchasing a pair of Jimmy Choo online, without the peerless thrill of heading out to Avenue Montaigne, and being treated like a queen for an hour (at the very least)? Where is the emotional connection of buying sportswear from an online Nike store, without touching and feeling the brand new spongy materials, discussing how to make the best of their products with the talkative store assistants, always so keen to discuss their passion for sports and the brand? Walking into an Apple store is a close encounter with sleek design, their shelves laden with the most amazing new technological products and innovations… and there are literally hundreds of other examples we’re all familiar with, and which form some of our most pleasurable shopping memories.

At Maison 21G, we take great joy in seeing the happiness on our customers’ faces. The look of wonder that comes over them when trying our perfumes at the Touchless Scent Bar, or when experimenting at a creative atelier - where so much can be learned, so many senses engaged - these are what drive us forward. To shop at our stores is an experience designed to be shared, enlivened by laughter with friends or a loved one, and from which knowledge and inspiration can be taken.

I strongly believe that as retailers, we have so much to do in order to ensure the industry evolves in the best possible direction. From stunning designs to revolutionary experiences, from tech-powered retail solutions to close human interactions with expertise and care at their core… all of this and more deserves to form the heart of our strategy.

New Retail with a real “Human Touch”

How many luxury marketers actually take the time to visit their boutiques on a Saturday, and make an effort to discuss with their retail colleagues and their all-important customer base? It seems to me that marketers are happy to pay millions upon millions of dollars each year, in order to obtain NPD figures at the end of each, with no reason other than to study the evolution of meaningless rankings and to feel more knowledgeable in front of upper management! They prefer to buy mass-quantity studies to pre-test their products in favour of participating in focus groups or one to one with their beloved customers… and the result? A failure to understand why they see trends appearing out of nowhere in their NPD ranking, and a loss of touch in what their consumer base is actually calling out for.

Focus groups and time in our boutiques (our own consumer labs!) mean a lot at our Maison. Indeed, our digital and marketing teams will organise at least one focus group per week, homed in on a particular topic, existing product, webpage, or forthcoming launches. They sit down with our existing consumers or potential new customers and interact with them in a real, live, human exchange of ideas. I see, with my own eyes, the energy that these creative meetings imbue in my colleagues - it’s a delight to see both my teams and our consumers leaving in a state of happiness and enthusiasm, safe in the knowledge that they are part of something, and that we listen to them and their ideas.

 Misplaced Investments, Missed Opportunities

All of the successful DNVB (Digital Native Vertical Brands) begin to consider their retail strategy once they’ve reached a certain number of millions in sales. Take a look at Glossier, for example - a hundred million dollar purely digital brand, which opened its iconic NYC flagship store with the most awe-inspiring design. However, how many purely digital brands, without that bricks-and-mortar physical presence will still be around fifteen years from now? If I had to put my money on it, I’d guess at precisely zero. They rely on buying their customers from the Facebook and Google algorithms - a system which somehow manages to strike the balance between unbelievably intelligence and eye-watering stupidity - for millions of dollars. We’ve made these globe-spanning companies rich, and we continue to make them richer by the day… but why aren’t brands putting the same investment into R&D, quality of products for consumers or beautiful, unmissable designs led by talented young architects, engineers or searchers?

Facebook and Google may well build beautiful offices and campus filled to the brim with ping-pong tables, slides, and amazing restaurants for their employees, yet they contribute nothing to the world besides the proliferation of over-inflated ego and fake love for our consumers. They took so much money from valuable R&D and other smart investments from the startups and brands which could be working to make our industries so much better. Even our Maison was sucked into the American Dream of Facebook’s magic recipe, and I still cannot believe how much money we burned for this company!

Are they to blame? No, for sure! - that fault falls squarely on our shoulders. It’s time to stop and think carefully about how to increase organic traffic, to pause and rebalance our investments, and to focus on growth which doesn’t come via a soulless algorithm at an astronomical price.

My objective is to switch my traffic from 80% coming from paid adverts, right the way down to 20% and invest 80% in real organic traffic with meaningful content for our passionate consumers. It is a tough challenge, but with effort, creativity, education, transparency about our savoir-faire and faith in our brand and beautiful products, the path has made itself clear. After all, it takes more time and energy to build the right content, the perfectly-pitched sense of humour, and the education than to just throw money at Facebook, who’ll do little but push same simple advertisements at least seven times to the same customer. However, taking the road which requires more effort is always, always the one that brings the greatest reward.

INVESTING IN OUR RETAIL PEOPLE...

So, how do you build a long-term brand identity online, and maintain a deep and meaningful connection with your customer base with something other than a live chatbot and a boring weekly newsletter?

Bernard Arnault has shown, through a lifetime of commitment and dedication to his brands, that he understands the importance of CRM and service in his boutiques since the very beginning. I can remember as a child seeing him in Carrefour on the weekend after he invested in this huge French mass retail company - such humble intelligence! How many billionaires would even consider doing the same and put themselves in a supermarket on the weekend? It isn’t by chance that Louis Vuitton or Christian Dior generate billions each year with only a limited number of boutiques. It is through a carefully curated blend of top-level service, and a unique approach to their customer relationship. We have so much to learn from these best practices. I was in a discussion with one of the manager of Christian Dior fashion; he told me that they don’t wait for customers to come into their stores. They have a distinct and finely-crafted ‘pull strategy’ - when you know your customers well, you know how to talk to them, and how to ensure they stay loyal, engaged, and excited. It is nothing less than a “love story”, a process of seduction that leads to a lasting relationship… and the key to that is finding and training the right retail staff who can carry that vision forwards.

It doesn’t take a great business mind to understand that when you pay your retail staff a miserable salary, you can’t expect them to feel part of something bigger than themselves. Of course, commission is important, but they also need to constantly learn and evolve, to feel excited, and to be able to make your customers happy. The biggest source of happiness? To give first, to feel useful, and to feel loved - it’s as simple as that!

As such, retail staff need to be considered every bit as important as your marketing and financial team members. They are, after all, the face and first impression of your brand, at once your arms and your soul. When you realise this, it becomes clear that you must stop paying millions to your board members (sorry guys, no offence intended!) and to your top marketers, and to start truly valuing the people in the field, on the ground, and facing your customers day in, day out. They are the ones who every day and throughout the holidays, giving their time to ensure the magic continues happening where it matters most. Perhaps it worth giving them a seat at your board !

Facing the Future of Retail with Confidence, Education, and Purpose

In essence, I can strongly claim that retail is far from ready to disappear, and that it will continue to be the main source of revenue for fashion, beauty, food, and so many other industries. Retail is just in a state of rapid evolution, and I’m eager not to miss the train. Our dear friends the Chinese have overtaken the rest of us in recent years, and I’m constantly amazed to see the level of innovation and technological advancement in Chinese retail.

The Chinese may look up to us in terms of style, fashion, and luxury insight and knowledge, but it’s high time we looked up to them as far as the advances in retail are concerned. You simply cannot imagine the beauty and design you can discover in China, and it deserves to be a source of huge inspiration. Indeed, all too many of us have no idea whatsoever of the retail revolution taking place there, and this is something that needs to be rectified.

Of course, digital is here to stay. However, it should primarily be a platform on which to accelerate your education, build your community, and boost your engagement - but not purely to sell. I am so exhausted by being overwhelmed by the litany of 25% discount newsletters in my inbox, and I can’t be alone in getting excited by a constructive message from a brand - an email I actually want to open! My advice? Diversify your content, and again, give first before you take from your consumer. It will doubtlessly provide the impact we all benefit from.

However, building powerful and impactive content requires time, patience, strategy, and the involvement of a lot of people on your team - all valuable human beings who have the power to breathe your DNA, and transform it into something beautiful, tangible, and engaging. Being friendly with adverts is easy, but boosting real and lasting engagement with quality content is another challenge altogether!

Right now I’m working hard to build up the Maison’s YouTube channel, and I can tell you it is far from a piece of cake. It requires a huge amount of work, and for nothing tangible; you are not supposed to generate sales with a YouTube channel. However, it’s a fantastic platform for something equally important, which is to give back to your community, and to share your passion and expertise.

What a shame that YouTube itself is overrun with completely pointless content nowadays, not least the content aimed at our children. I can’t be the only parent who wants to cry when I look at the top 10 YouTube ‘stars’ and the values they promote! As brands, and as individuals, we have a real responsibility to build and create positive, meaningful, and mutually beneficial content for the coming generation.

 Education is everything, and we have to lead by example. It’s no secret that if you feed your children solely on fast food, they will love unhealthy and nutritionless food throughout their lives, and this will be the sum of their tasting pleasure. However, encourage them and facilitate the discovery of oysters, asparagus, silky fillets of sea bass, and aromatic curries from a young age… Well, you might just help them to develop a wonderful, exploratory, and amazing palate, opening a world of beautiful senses for them to enjoy forever.

That, in essence, is our role, and it’s the gift we have the power to give.