As part of VM-unleashed’s 10th anniversary year we take a look back at some retail milestones from the last decade and explain why each store’s message is as relevant for us today as it was then.
Cath Kidston flagship store, Piccadilly London
“Amongst the proud pillars of Piccadilly a little floral femininity has broken through the winter weather. Cath Kidston’s first flagship is a bright beacon of colour inviting the passer-by to explore a world of nostalgic designs, a celebration of classic kitsch, a veritable house of horticultural hype.
Famous for its floral designs Cath Kidston lets its product do the talking with bold category displays from bags, rags to collectable booty. The charming interior is enhanced with wallpaper flashes, old doors in yesterday’s pastels creating a suitable setting for its showcase assortment. The home department steals the show with delightful designs adorning everything from soft furnishings to kitchen accessories.
A trademark touch of window humor presents us with seaside rock creating a tasty backdrop for those too young to remember, or to wonder, at the spectacle that is the Kidston spectacular.”
Flagship store theatre is now common place for brands but the opening of the Cath Kidston store on Piccadilly in London at the turn of 2013 and 2014 was a new adventure for the brand and showed the way for many similar sized and positioned brands.
10 years on and Cath Kidston is as popular as ever and expanding internationally at a rate of knots. From the Piccadilly experience the brand has developed a wider yet more commercially focused assortment taking its trademark designs down new and attractive avenues.
As with other very British brands such as the much maligned Marmite, Cath Kidston’s distinctive designs either instill love or attract scorn in equal measure and in many ways the store was a celebration of showing off.
The store was big and bold but above all proud to be Cath Kidston and paved the way for its subsequent successes.
Are you an established retailer looking again for its place, its proposition or its passion?
Are you a new business looking to convert a destinctive direction into a product and into a retail concept?
VM-unleashed continues to help a variety of retailers and brands across a range of categories to maximise their retail potential both through improving operations and communicating emotional propositions; balancing pragmatism with passion for profit.
For more information please visit…
https://vmunleashed.com/specialties/putting-passion-back-retail/
Look out for more retail milestones as our 10th anniversary year continues.