The London Retail Scene

Six months until the Olympics in London and retail is developing strategies to meet the needs of the market. Here is quick update · The UK consumer is not the big spender this year. London retailers are relying on consumers from overseas. It used to be attract the American, not any more. The big spenders today are from the BRIC countries. The average spend of the Chinese shopper is 1310 pounds and 988 pounds from Brazilians. Retailers talk about the Peking Pound and expect 110.000 Chinese visitors this year. Luxury stores are having a good year. Luxury retailers are accepting Chinese credit cards and employing team members who can speak Mandarin. · Get London Reading. This week is “Get London Reading Week”. This used to be a week when the library sector got the PR. Not anymore. Selfridges have set up a 15,000 book “pop up” library in their store and have employed storytellers to read to children. They have invited local schools to the store to enjoy the library. This is part of retailers looking at events and creating an experience. · Celebrity involvement in retailing is part of the future. H&M in London almost closed the streets when David Beckham came to launch his new underwear range and the crowds exceeded expectations. At the same time Hillier’s Garden Centre got great publicity by inviting Ben Peggs and Marcus Mepsted to the garden centre. They may not be as famous as David, but they may become famous in July. They are members of GB Fencing team at the Olympics and they practised in the planteria this week. Looking at potential Olympians and promoting them in your business is a great way of celebrating local hero’s and the Olympics, plus you could get a full page spread in the local newspaper.