ISSUE 007
IN SITU this week is all about 'the store'. We discuss how NYC retailers are offering brand experiences, why stores aren't actually for selling, and who is offering Gems in the Cornerstore (again).
IN SITU is a platform dedicated to the intersection between culture, brand strategy and music. Sometimes the focus will be on one strand more than another, but always sitting in that sweet spot.
ISSUE 007 AT A GLANCE
LONG READ Cultural observation opinion piece: Retail as brand experience: A NYC wormhole
VERBATIM Quote from cultural tastemaker: Michael Haskins Jr. - Founder of Currency Studio
SHORT READ Belief relating to strategy and/or insight: Core belief #7: Stores aren’t for selling
MUSIC CORNER Album recommendation: JEMS! - Gems in the Cornerstore II
LONG READ
RETAIL AS BRAND EXPERIENCE: A NYC WORMHOLE
The Long Read of Issue 006 was written while crossing the Atlantic, and now back from my NYC excursion, I come bearing gifts. For some, it was Trader Joe’s herbs, but to you reader, I bring the NYC retail experience in the form of Issue 007.
Consider this a tour of some of New York’s best retailers, all chosen because they fulfil at least 2 of these 3 criteria:
Creates a true brand experience that goes beyond product e.g. scent, non-product offering
Adds another dimension to the customer experience e.g. cafe, nature
Presents a strong cultural relevance e.g. merchandising, events
BODE: “An American luxury brand that expresses a sentimentality for the past through the study of personal narratives and historical techniques.”
Bode has a flagship store on the Lower East Side, and now a ‘One-of-a-Kind Shoppe’ next door means they occupy half the block. Just seeing a Bode item hang from a rail gives you chills. The embroidery, cut and quality are always unmatched, offering a contemporary twist on traditional styles. But the stores offer more than brick & mortar. With dark wood, a water feature, flowers and signature scent, the customer’s senses cannot help but be flooded by Bode-shaped endorphins. It’s a little like walking through Narnia’s wardrobe - once the door shuts you’re not in New York, you’re just in Bode.
CULT GAIA: “Cult Gaia designs beautiful heirloom pieces that will live in your closet forever.”
Cult Gaia is a brand whose items I have admired online for a while, but never been fortunate to see in a retail environment. This all changed on a sunny Saturday in Soho. From the moment I stepped over the threshold, it was as if I had been lifted above the clouds. The neutral palette was a calming contrast to the bustling street outside, but it was the smell that hit me first. Something so sweet yet fresh and fragrant that put me in a trance-like state, floating around the store with my tired legs a distant memory.
The centrepiece is a giant seating area (shown above) and after I had looked at every item on display, I simply sat for a while, taking in the ambience and admiring the environment. The design is an extension of the clothing - hugging curves, texture, and unexpected details. It’s a brand for women that only a woman (Jasmin Larian) could create, and this can be felt through every inch of the space.
VEN. SPACE: “I don’t need to be everything to everybody” - Chris Green, Founder
Ven. Space is a new menswear multibrand store in the family-centric Brooklyn neighbourhood of Carroll Gardens. With it’s living room-esque design, ceramic pieces and neighbourhood setting, it could almost be someone’s home. Founded by Chris Green who lives in the area, it feels like an extension of his personal space, perhaps a Ven(n) diagram of retail and home at its best.
There is purposefully no ecomm offering and with a minimal Instagram presence, physical experience is the only way forward. It’s both an unlikely but also the perfect space to set up a new cultural hub. With brands like Maison Margiela, Jil Sander and Our Legacy (with whom they collaborated on the launch event) it’s akin to a boutique version of Dover Street Market.
KITH (WOMEN): “A lifestyle brand and progressive retail concept…Kith offers seasonal collections…through a distinct lens of personal storytelling, effortless styling, and uncompromising detail to fabrication and design.”
I saved the most obvious, but still in my opinion, the best for last. Kith was designed as a “progressive retail concept” from its inception by founder Ronnie Fieg. With its first store opening on this site in 2011, it now houses the Women’s store (which used to be a small space across the street, and is now for Kids). The building has beautiful bones, but that’s not what makes it special. The layout, materials, lighting, merchandising, brand curation, the use of nature indoors - it all combines to create a true ‘House of Kith’.
Each and every Kith store is special in its own way, but this incarnation reaches new heights. There’s a lot of product in here but it doesn’t really feel like a store. With an adjoining PlantShed florist and cafe, it’s more like a place to browse, meet and work. Similar to the other examples, this feels like a cocoon away from the outside world, where nothing exists but Kith.
Conclusions
Having opened a wormhole into the NYC retail world, below are a few conclusions as to what makes these spaces at the forefront of retail experience:
Not feeling like you’re being sold to: This may seem counter-intuitive, but it makes sense. The less pressure you feel to try-on or buy something, the more likely you are to spend time browsing, considering and if not purchasing today, bearing it in mind for future. It’s all about brand engagement, and that takes time.
All senses are considered: We don’t just see with our eyes. We take in elements across all senses, and the stores that think about texture, smells and music (and even taste with cafe offerings) are appealing to us in multiple ways.
Space to think and move, no matter the square footage: This is retail 101, but with the pressure to shift stock, this can get lost. Especially for flagships, it should be more about how the customer feels than what they buy, and if they feel crampt or stuck in a loop, they will leave without purchasing and with a sour taste in their mouth.
This all comes down to retail being a brand experience. We need square footage to work a lot harder for us than a space to try-on and buy product. It has to represent the brand in a way that no other channel can. We get sucked in by social media, clever ads and fashion shows, but retail was there before all of it - and it will still be there as long as brands embrace the experience, not just volume sold.
VERBATIM
WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY FOR RETAIL TODAY?
Michael Haskins Jr. - Founder of Currency Studio, Baltimore
“Gravity in retail today is this “Third Space” offering. If not a “Third Space,” it’s just an idea that directs us to this lifestyle, this dream, this perfectly curated moment that’s tangible. The center of retail is so conceptual now — spaces, even minimally speaking, are speaking to people way more than the product, and this is mandatory. Deeply concerning is the “third space” concept being a tactic, because in all reality retail is getting so polished that they are not actually welcoming as much as there are theatrical.
In major cities, I see the center of gravity in retail as a bridge to different cultures. Specifically, I see Japan’s scene rising by way of super unique retail concepts, but the retail is second to a serious practice. For example, we are going into “brand stores” that have a back-of-house that accommodates a serious professional practice like a ceramicist, and interior designer, and architect etc.”
SHORT READ
CORE BELIEF #7: STORES AREN’T FOR SELLING
If a brand is lucky enough to have a physical retail space, consumers can experience the brand in a holistic and engaging way, and the sales will follow. ‘Selling’ product is too short sighted when you have the opportunity to deliver a memorable IRL experience.
This doesn’t need to be a fancy flagship store either. Pop-ups, concessions or even market stalls can all convey a physical experience. There’s nothing like interacting with employees (or even founders) seeing how the brand depicts themselves in the real world, and which brands they choose to surround themselves with.
Which neighbourhood are they in? Are they a concession or stand-alone? Are there exclusive collaborations in-store? What are other consumers like? None of these questions can be answered properly online - we have to see it, smell it, and breathe it in for ourselves. If the brand gets this right, sales will inevitably follow - it just shouldn’t be the primary objective.
MUSIC CORNER
JEMS! - GEMS IN THE CORNERSTORE II
Baltimore-born producer, J.Robb and Oakland-born singer, songwriter and producer Elujay, make up JEMS! Both are the product of peak SoundCloud era R&B, and were fans of each other’s work before meeting seven years ago. Having released their first joint album, ‘GEMS IN THE CORNERSTORE’ in 2020, we’ve been gifted ‘GEMS IN THE CORNERSTORE II’. Since the first project, both artists have travelled the world and exposed themselves to new genres (with a special UK interest). The outcome is a project that holds the richness and references that can only come from looking beyond one’s comfort zone, bringing it back to the studio and putting a fresh spin on it.
Catch my interview with JEMS! for Clash Magazine here.
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