true story home retail snapshot

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W i t h t h e c h a n g i n g o f t h e s e a s o n w e a l l s p e n d a l i t t l e l o n g e r o n t h e s o f a a n d re t a i l e r s e n t i c e u s t o i n ve s t i n o u r h o m e s . H e re ’s a s n a p s h o t

o f w h a t’s e n g a g e d u s i n t h e h o m e w a re s m a r k e t s o f a r t h i s a u t u m n .

HOME RETAIL SNAPSHOT

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© Copyright True Story. October 2015

HOME SNAPSHOT

LOAF BATTERSEA ‘SLOWROOM’The Loaf brand is synonymous with hassle-free

online shopping, yet it recognises that many

customers want to touch and try before

they order.

The new Battersea 8,000 square foot store has

been designed to deliver a fantastic customer

experience. It features chill-out areas for

customers to relax and play old-school games,

a kids’ corner and even an ice cream parlour

(free scoops vouchers are in their catalogue!).

All this delivered through a seamless brand look

and feel and distinctive tone of voice that helps

them cut through a busy market.

The range now extends from the Derbyshire-

made beds and sofas to a collection of gifts

and accessories. From candles, bath products

and tableware to cashmere blankets – all helping

customers make their living spaces comfy,

cosy and relaxing.

It’ll be exciting to see how this store performs and

how it informs their ambition to take the brand

to a value of £100m in the next 4-5 years.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

HEM INTERIORSBerlin-based furniture and accessories

brand, Hem, opened its first UK store with

a pop-up at Seven Dials.

Hem talks about imagining a near future

where the majority of home furnishings are

purchased online and it plans to lead that

evolution.

In only a year, founders Petrus Palmér and

Jason Goldberg, have developed Hem into

an exciting brand, offering quality flatpack

furniture, accessories and lighting.

The Hem (Swedish for ‘home’) product

range is bold, simple, brilliantly designed

and affordable, appealing to a broad set of

customers at different life stages and with

different budgets.

The pop-up feels anything but temporary

and the 2,000 square foot, two-storey

space houses around 300 new products.

Customers can get to know the brand,

explore the range and take a closer look at

Hem’s fabrics and finishes, through a material

library, even customising products.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

TOM DIXON, THE LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015In association with Wallpaper, this was billed

as an ‘immersive, multi-sensory department

store of tomorrow’.

An installation within Selfridges, it brought

together design, technology, film, fashion,

food and interiors to explore what a future

retail experience might feel like.

The space brought experiences, services

and innovative products together with

collaborating brands like Sony, Deliveroo and

Mindblower.com.

Visiting it certainly felt a world away from the

high-shine, white, and pristine department

stores we know. The spotlit spaces flowed

from one area to another, with a real sense

of discovery and focus on immersion.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

IKEAThe Scandinavian retailer created a real

buzz, blurring the lines between furniture

and fashion, when it held its first-ever

catwalk show as part of Milan Fashion Week.

The show was streamed for free

on September 29th.

Collaborations with Katie Eary and Martin

Bergström were showcased. Eary’s collection

‘Giltig’, boasted a dinner party theme,

including bold and colourful dinnerware,

aprons and lampshades.

Bergström’s offering, ‘Svartan’, meaning

‘black’, included bed sheets, glassware and

rugs in different shades of white, grey and

black – all inspired by the designer’s Indian

heritage but viewed through a modern lens.

As part of Ikea’s strategy to transform its

reputation, for, in their own words “doing

cheap stuff”, it’s placing a much bigger

emphasis on design to bring high-end design

values to affordable everyday products.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

JOHN LEWIS, OXFORD STREETThe unveiling of the new John Lewis Oxford

Street home department brought to life its

ambition to offer ‘the largest homeware range

on the high street’.

With a focus on ideas and inspiration,

customers have access to the newest trends

and products in home design, plus exclusive

brands and UK and international design

collections.

With a ‘sleep room’ for customers to design

their ideal bedroom, as well as West Elm ‘shop

in a shop’, plus new brands such as the Little

Greene Paint Company – everything about the

experience, from the visual merchandising,

layout and journey to the service offered, has

set a new benchmark for the market.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

JOHN LEWIS, GRAND CENTRAL BIRMINGHAMHot on the heels of Oxford Street was Grand

Central Birmingham, boasting the biggest

John Lewis outside of London with four floors

of fashion, homeware and technology.

The 250,000 square foot department store

houses several new concepts and services,

including fashion and lifestyle ‘loved & found’

(a curated selection of contemporary

designers, lifestyle brands and standout

pieces across clothing, homeware and

accessories) plus the first John Lewis-branded

spa, “&Beauty”.

There’s also a ‘community hub’ – a dedicated

space which can be booked for use by local

community-based groups and organisations.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

THE CONRAN SHOP AT SELFRIDGESBrilliantly timed to coincide with the London

Design Festival, these two iconic British

brands revealed a new global destination

for great design.

A carefully curated range, with a focus on

showcasing a predominantly exclusive

collection, the space invited you to explore

and discover.

We love the simplicity of the white and glass

unitary and that the unique, personality-

infused products are the true heroes.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

WEST ELM AT JOHN LEWISThe Williams-Sonoma owned chain’s first ‘shop

in a shop’ offering is based on a small but perfectly

formed series of five room sets in the John Lewis

Oxford Street store.

The 821 square foot area includes West Elm

ranges for the living, dining and bedroom, plus

accent pieces and accessories.

This smart partnership enables West Elm to reach

out to new customers and significantly grow its

business from an iconic platform. At the same

time, it also supports John Lewis in its ambition

to overtake IKEA as the UK’s biggest home and

furniture retailer within the next 4 years.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

WOVENThe home and lifestyle brand Woven opened its

first London store, bringing together an extensive

designer and contemporary rug collection, along

with a cleverly edited range of furnishings and

accessories for the home.

The 1,343 square foot unit covers the ground floor

and basement level and is perfectly located next

to other premium home and fashion retailers

on London’s Fulham Road.

The store offers a bespoke making service, a

sample library for inspiration and the opportunity

to experience Woven’s aim – simply to be the

ultimate destination for everything home.

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HOME SNAPSHOT

True Story is a creative agency for retailers and brands.

We create store concepts, visual merchandising, retail campaigns and communication for any step on the customer journey.

We work in 3D, 2D and the virtual world. Combining the inspirational and the practical, we work with retailers of all sizes,

from high street names to small independents.

Our branding and packaging division works across the spectrum from original concept to range refresh and everything in between.

We know how to present product in any medium, from shelf stand-out to showcasing in print and online.

And such is our love of all things retail and brand, we’ve created our own – White Hot.

See some of our recent projects on our Creativebrief showcase.

Speak to Carrie or Michelle:

[email protected]

[email protected]

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