Which and how new boutiques are adapting to the consumer’s needs
Some people say that San Francisco is not one of the most fashionable cities in the world. However, everything is about perspective because if you dig, you will always find interesting places, especially here, the city of innovation and newness.
According to Forbes, there is some trends redefining the retail industry and modifying the way that the shoppers interacts with the stores and consumes the information. Seeking for new stylish boutiques around the city, it was possible to perceive some equal characteristics in a new business model and this is exactly what we will analyze now.
The first boutique is called Le Marché, a cute spot inspired in the French culture in the middle of San Francisco Financial District.
Located at Sutter Street, the boutique explores in detail the Parisian lifestyle, inviting every week some different designers to show their creations. The variety range of products includes mugs, t-shirts, notebooks, greeting cards and ceramics, all of them produced in a small portion that increases the value and quality.
The ambient speaks for itself and you literally forget that you are in the United States. The elegance of the space with French music, the mix between vintage-contemporary furniture, and the plenty of books, plants and art - that are enjoyable individual or together, creates an accommodative place. The spot is also used as a place for community events and pop-up stores.
An interesting fact about Le Marché is that their owners also owns Le Marais Bakery, which makes the French style something unique, especially because one of them is originally French – they’re married.
Business like that fits in what people call “The Glass Box and Brands-as-a-Culture”, in which brands engages consumers to shop emotions instead of just products. This trend valorizes the position that brands are assuming, exploring the culture behind what they sell and connecting emotionally with the shopper, that tends to have more social consciousness and raise the aware to newness.
Another boutique that are investing in this business model is called Needles & Pens, located at Valencia Street, a famous place for bookstores, fashion boutiques, art galleries and restaurants.
Needles and Pens is an art space that brings locally-made artists books, magazines independent press and artesian accessories - like jewelry and clothes. Their mission, as the website itself explains, is to create a dialogue between the artistic community and the general public of San Francisco by providing a venue in which artists can directly sell their creations.
Found in 2002 by the designer and publisher Andrew Martin Scott, the idea was to create a space that embodied the both edos of the punk do it yourself spirit and the creative aesthetic of San Francisco’s art scene.
The ambient is pretty comfy and unique, with jazz songs and a stylish staff that invites you to navigate in their artistic world.
The most incredible thing about the store is the way that the products are displayed: all of them have their individual space that, together, creates a flow and rhythm in the way you consume it. It’s a mix between sounds, smells and visual artworks that creates an exclusive atmosphere in the store. The shopper can literally spend hours and hours there.
Another curiosity of Needles and Pens is the fact that they have their own art gallery, located in the store’s back - Over the last 12 years, having hosted over 85 gallery exhibitions. It creates an opportunity for many artists who didn’t have chances to exposes anything before.
Among with “The Glass Box and Brands-as-a-Culture” business, Needles and Pens is also an example of what people call “Experiential Retail”, transforming the strictly shopping in an engaging experience.
In the Experiential Retail, the clients have a complete connection with the store, in which they will experience the brand’s essence.
According to Gabriel Alencar, an advertising and marketing professional, this new movement is very important to break old-consumption habits: “We are used to see and enter stores that are taken by products. Nowadays, the brands are changing their approach and are investing more on how the consumers will perceive their brands. It is noticeable, then, that the new stores are breaking an old shopping culture. The brand’s focused strategies make the consumer perceive the items in the store as unique, what justifies the more expensive price tags that those stores have”.
Gabriel had a chance to visit in person both stores and had different experiences: “Le Marché is a very nice store. One of the cities that I like most in the world is Paris and I felt that they have a French essence in the store. They don’t have a lot of products and the store focus more in emphasizes their brand appeal. The clothes are very stylish and modern, and the house items are incredible interesting too. The experience is completed by the staff using horizontal stripes shirts and the bread paper bag in which they put in what you have purchased”.
“At Needles and Pens, every moment is a discovery. From the international magazines and catalogs, passing by their infused candles to the back of the store where there is a micro-art gallery, every single item is there for you experiment. They have a very unique selection and every single item, as common as they are, are crafted in such a perfectionist way that even a dice looks like the most incredible thing in the world. It’s a complete experience”.
Last but not least, the fashion boutique Nooworks is another example of local business that focus on the limited products – They works with 4 artist a year to create limited edition textiles and each design is limited to runs of 1000 yards.
Their differential is on the production process, which the fabrics are printed by using a method called Rotary Printing. This technique is similar to the Screen Printing, but the colors are engraved onto a 48" metal roller – On the Screen Printing is a flat superficies.
All of Nooworks fabrics are made by plant-based material, which makes their products more artesian and exclusive.
Another interesting fact about the boutique is the fact that they just collaborated with designers based on Bay Area, creating an interesting relationship between artists and consumers and increasing the value of the products.
As Needles & Pens, the store is located at Valencia Street.
In Europe, it’s been years since they’ve started their effort to change people’s consuming behavior. In the US this is also becoming a movement as we see companies that are investing in collaborative consumption – from market giants to new startups. Le Marché, Needles & Pens and Nooworks are just few examples of this new way of shopping movement that’s happening.
Websites:
Le Marché: https://www.lemarchesf.com/
Needles and Pens: http://www.needles-pens.com/
Nooworks: https://www.nooworks.com/
Bibliography:
“Trends That Will Redefine Retail in 2019”, Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2018/11/28/5-trends-that-will-redefine-retail-in-2019/#6f86debc6526
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