Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
Selfridges and Snapchat launch AR locker room to celebrate summer of sport
You have to hand it to Selfridges for its continued retail innovation, always looking to do something a bit different from the rest. I’m referring, of course, to its new partnership with Snapchat for an augmented reality (AR) locker room pop-up at its Oxford Street flagship – all part of a ‘Sportopia’ theme throughout the store, in celebration of the summer of sport.
Using AR lenses, AR mirrors and all manner of cutting-edge tech, customers can virtually try on their favourite sports kits and interact with their favourite brands – no doubt leading to more sales. But it’s all about the experience and the theatre of retail, making it a place where people want to hang out, not just make a purchase. It’s clever. It drives curiosity. Especially as, through a one-time QR code, visitors can save their favourite looks on their devices and share them with their friends on Snapchat – who are then likely to go in-store and do the same.
The ’Sportopia’ activity also includes the windows, and Champion’s takeover of the renowned Harry Gordon’s Bar & Kitchen on Selfridges’ lower ground floor. It takes customers through a journey of sports history and Champion’s sportswear archive, all while mirroring a US sports bar-style venue. There’s also tennis and Olympic swimming pool experiences, a 40ft climbing wall, hidden table football, and arcade sports throughout the store. In other words, it’s a decent day out, all while engaging with product.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
In Pictures: Bluebella recruits Team GB women’s rugby team for body body-positive campaign
Ahead of the Olympic Games, there’s always a flurry of athletes popping up in fashion campaigns left, right and centre. But this doesn’t always feel authentic or resonate with shoppers.
More and more shoppers (especially Gen Zers) are craving authentic experiences and stories – and that’s exactly what the luxury lingerie label Bluebella has provided with the eighth iteration of its #StrongIsBeautiful campaign.
Bluebella teamed up with Team GB Rugby Sevens players Jasmine Joyce, Celia Quansah and Ellie Boatman on the #StrongIsBeautiful campaign ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Did you know that 64% of secondary schoolgirls drop out of all sports before the age of 16? Many credit their body insecurities as the reason. The campaign, which aims to “encourage girls to be proud of their bodies and keep playing team sports”, for this reason, has piqued the nation’s interest.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
Mango Teen makes UK debut in London
Mango has opened its first store dedicated to teenagers in the UK at 14-16 Foubert’s Place, off Carnaby Street in London. The new 2,475 sq ft space marks Mango Teen’s first international step, with 15 additional stores opening across Spain in 2024.
The store covers clothing, footwear and accessories as the brand attempts to bring its passion for fashion to younger audiences. It will be interesting to see how this performs. From the imagery, which can be viewed in our article here, the range seems to tap into current trends and fits in nicely with the likes of Hollister and Brandy Melville, which are located nearby.
The move also reaffirms landlord Shaftesbury Capital’s goal of launching debut stores for established names in and around Soho, with Pangaia also gearing to open its first UK store at 57 Carnaby Street later this summer. It certainly is the place to be!
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
‘We are not leaving city centres’, says Marks & Spencer boss
I was pleased to read this headline (and the article that went with it) this week. While I’m in awe of what Marks & Spencer is achieving at the moment, I did have one nagging concern that the right-sizing of its store estate might mean that it focuses on large, soulless, out of town locations, rather than on town and city centres (many of which could do with a good branch of M&S to lift footfall).
CEO Stuart Machin sought to reassure us that this wasn’t the case this week and to prove his point he announced plans to invest £38 million in major new high street stores in Bath and Bristol at its annual general meeting in west London.
In 2019, the department store chain launched 110 store closures as part of its store restructuring plans, affecting a number of its longstanding high street shops.
But at the AGM, Machin claimed that many of the stores closed were old and no longer fit for purpose and its “store rotation is really a catch-up programme on the last 20 years as we have previously underinvested.”
Let’s hope we see more town and city centre store openings from M&S and others in the coming years. (And if M&S could see its way to returning to the town centres of either Poole or Bournemouth at some point soon, this writer’s mum would be very grateful)!
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
