The second week of Westfield’s whirlwind World Retail Study Tour began in Stockholm, Sweden, with tour delegates getting a glimpse at behind the scenes of some of the most successful retailers in the world. One of the country’s biggest retail exports, H&M, spoke to the tour of its expansion plans, including its first standalone H&M Man concept store, while furniture giant, Ikea, revealed its ambitious growth strategy, and gave delegates a tour of the brand’s largest
store in its home market.
Moving away from fashion and flat packs, the CEO of Stockholm’s leading department store, Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), explained how the business finally found its feet by flipping the traditional department store chain model on its head, and the tour got back to basics, being treated to tours of the city’s more eclectic retail mix, visiting food hall, Ostermalms Saluhall, SoFo, and newly opened retail precinct, Mood.
Next stop on the itinerary was London. Standout sites included Westfield Stratford, John Lewis, and Selfridges’ Fragrance Lab where customers can create their own customised perfume, as well as bustling Brick Lane, Covent Garden, and pop up mall, Boxpark.
Fashion chain, New Look, spoke candidly of its successes and failures implementing new digital concepts instore, and the group listened to Echochamber’s Matthew Brown talk about trends driving the value sector and the growing ‘push for posh’ approach both in the UK and Australia.
The group’s four day stay in London was topped off with a visit to Burberry’s global flagship on the city’s Regent St.
The fifth and final stop of this year’s tour will see the tour’s 42 delegates head to Barcelona to visit Mango’s new mega store and distribution centre, as well as hear presentations from brands including Zara and Camper.
More in depth coverage of presentations and details on the store concepts pictured below and more can be found in Inside Retail Magazine’s August/September 2014 issue.
For live updates of the tour follow Inside Retail on Twitter @InsideRetailau and Instagram @InsideRetail or the hashtag #wrst14.
Selfridges Fragrance Lab
Burberry, Regent St
H&M Man, Stockholm
