Stores Of The Future*

[Lena]

At Microzine, a store in London, Christopher Lee offers a well-edited collection for those overwhelmed by choices

If fashion seemed plagued last year with the chronic drears, the economy was only partly to blame. One of the most poorly kept secrets among analysts of the clothing business and, indeed, of retailing in general is that consumers have begun defecting from the culture of shopping, surfeited with information and alienated by what increasingly seems like the mere illusion of choice.

"You've got an economy that is 90 percent driven by consumers and reliant on convincing people to keep buying stuff," said Barry Schwartz, a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College and the author of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less" (soon to be published by HarperCollins). "You also have a culture in which people are saturated, looking for ways to simplify their lives and to reduce time spent trying to figure out what to buy."

Mr. Schwartz illustrated his point with a story about shopping for jeans. Once a straightforward transaction in the days of fewer brands and styles, buying blue jeans now involves threading a maze of brands, colors, styles and fit. "The presumption we've been operating under is that, if some choice is good, more is better," he said.

The flaw in that thinking became clear at the local mall, where, Mr. Schwartz said, he found "a hundred different varieties of jeans and a sudden need to know which ones were the best, and fit best, despite my former complete indifference to that."

Mr. Schwartz explained that all manner of problems arise when consumers are provided with too much choice, an observation that far-seeing retailers intuitively know. Before Colette in Paris became a consumer mecca, it was considered something new: a concept store. The concept in question was never all that complicated. For Colette, Sarah Lerfel and her talented buyers selected goods from the fashion marketplace as if the shop on the Rue St.-Honoré were a monthly evolving independent magazine. Robert Burke, the fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, said: "It all goes back to being a merchant, really understanding how to merchandise and not just buy brands." In the days before label dressing became viral and designers took to calling the shots, department store buyers functioned as editorial filters for consumers. "If you can speak to a group of people through your taste, you have a business," Mr. Burke said. "I think that's coming back."

Consumers want to see a point of view when they are shopping, said Christopher Lee, a marketing consultant and former creative director at Reebok. That anyhow was the basis for opening Microzine, Mr. Lee's new shop in a converted warehouse in the Islington section of London. The plan behind Microzine was simple, he said last week: Dose consumer fatigue with the tonic of quirky but well-chosen goods. Add written testimonials from buyers. Change themes and renew stock as often as you can.
In November, the store's catholic offerings included a hiking jacket from Canada Goose, casual wear by the traditional tailors Gieves & Hawkes, sweatshirts by Cockfighter, a $6,000 cross-training bike and a yellow digital camera that Casio produced as a promotional tie-in with the film "Kill Bill, Vol. 1."

"You could compare it to Colette or Urban Outfitters or Corso Como," Mr. Lee said. A better analogy, however, might be one of the new crop of shrewdly organized shoppers' magazines.

"Everyone's got the same product, and consumers are fed up," Mr. Lee said. "They want something exciting, and they want it edited down. If you buy a stereo, you don't want to see 400 stereos. You want to know the best style and value for the money. I understand that because I really hate to shop."

by GUY TREBAY of NYT

 

[ignitioned32]

I agree with Mr. Lee. "If Everyone's got the same product, and consumers are fed up." That's why I like stores like Colette and 10 Corso Como. They both have the "fashion brands" and new, hard-to-find ones. Thus making it more convinient for shoppers.

Interesting aticle, Lena! Thanks!

 

[Lena]

you are welcome igni

I simply adore Corso Como 10 and Colette for their selection of items and their often updates on merchandise (even though it seems like Colette is been loosing its touch lately.)

One thing i love about Zara is that they change merchandise very often so there is always something new to see and browse every time i visit

I wish more and more stores were renewing merchnadise often and look out for unusual products from all over the world , makes it so much more interesting from a consumers point of view.

 

[Christopher31]

Great article!

 

[strawberry daiquiri]

With '90% of the economy driven by the consumer' it is quite frightening to think that only 10% is left to include both investors and entrepreneurs. As far as I know the American economy is only funded 2/3s by individuals purchasing power, so....

I don't know if edited shopping would really be a success in the long-term or that it could ever replace the consumers feeling of freedom of choice and 'shopping around'. Economic activity as Keynes wrote it, can only be taken as a result of animal spirits ( the confidence or optimism as the energizing force that keeps a market system bounding ever upward) and the spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction. If the animal spirits are dimmed and the spontaneous optimism falters… enterprise will fade and die. Confidence moves in waves and if they begin to show less choice to those buying people, they would ultimately feel conned into buying what they were shown, because it was all they were being shown. Blah, this is just an idea though isn't it and nobody is suggesting its going to take over the world, just make shopping less painful for those who feel inflicted

 

[HBoogie]

I don't think this will become the norm. Consumer culture would have to change dramatically for mainstream modes of shopping to shift towards edited shopping. Edited shopping is more expensive shopping, and stores that cater to consumers that are more well-off and have more discriminating tastes have always been like this. Microzine seems just like any other boutique. The written testimonials from customers are a good idea, but a smart and Internet-savvy consumer can find product reviews for just about anything if he or she really wants to.

 

[Scott]

Its an interesting concept,I must say, but Colette and 10 Corso Como have been around for a long time and have the money to do so. What's more,those shops have a terrible exclusive feel to them,I think.

I prefer the idea of small shops with a warm cottage-like atmosphere as opposed to the 'mecca'. Remember Yasmin Cho? That was complete and utter innovation to me...the atmosphere and the the stock concepts.

 

[Spacemiu]

I liek evry mcuh teh idea taht shops should have a 'point of view' I liek shops that have unique style and unique stuff, this is why I liek small boutques and teh liek

 

[Lena]

Originally posted by Scott@Jan 3rd, 2004 - 5:19 am
Its an interesting concept,I must say, but Colette and 10 Corso Como have been around for a long time and have the money to do so. What's more,those shops have a terrible exclusive feel to them,I think.

oh no, they are not 'exclusive' at all, one can find anything, from edited lighters (3 euros) to uber expensive items, and those shops really make money, they are packed since day one (Corso Como 10 has been around for something like 10 years now).

The concept store trend is actually quite old and very succesful in europe, there are too many new little shops that offer edited merchandise from books to accessories and clothes to beauty to shoes. The most interesting part is that you never know what you will find in store since they change the merchandise too often. Commercial wise its a great idea to bring people in again and again.
Anyway, it works with me. I'm so over 'traditional' stores that change 'theme' every season.. they bore me

Editing can be fun since one can find real unusual items in uber small quantities, they are also great for discovering new designers from all over the world. Just the fact that items are not stored in big quantities, make this kind of stores very atractive, anyway, its just my opinion