Fashion and Philosophy — Selfridges Promotes the Power of Positive Thinking
It was a month filled with sadness and little to celebrate. This includes high inflation, rising interest rate and the most severe strikes in public service for 30 years. Selfridges Defying gravity and adopting a philosophical approach towards the new year.
In the midst of all the domestic turmoil Selfridges The company is taking a big step forward, increasing its commitment to experiential selling and its green agenda. It’s also promising a year of positive intentions, color therapy and a call to action on the environmental front.
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What about sales? All the positive vibes in the store should lead to sales.
Selfridges’ new year is set to begin on Monday with the unveiling of windows in London, Manchester and Birmingham, England. They’ll be filled with a host of colorful, original illustrations around this year’s theme, Selfridges Celebrates.
Selfridges said it wants to cater to celebrations of all kinds and “ensure that life’s little wins feel special and exciting. It’s a response to present times, and represents a point of view on how we want to see the next 12 months play out.”
The store also asked several illustrators, including Paulina Almira and Brindha Kumar, to create two-dimensional works for the windows and throughout the year.
Selfridges wants the old-school, 2D illustrations to be a point of contrast in “a world that celebrates the hyper-connected and the multisensory,” and be a celebration of “form and color.”
Boosting morale isn’t the store’s only aim this year. Selfridges invites its customers to get involved and take action with the store. sustainability efforts.
Andrew Keith, managing director of Selfridges, said the store is “committed to finding solutions through a continued imaginative approach to retail innovation. The scale of our ambitions cannot be underestimated, but we are inspired by what lies ahead and how we bring this to life for our customers.”
Selfridges, as reported in September, accelerated its goal of net-zero carbon emissions, moving the deadline to 2040 from 2050 to fulfill its promise to reduce greenhouse gasses. Climate Pledge, a cross-sector group of companies committed to reaching net zero 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
The retailer set a new goal to ensure that at least 45 per cent of its transactions, excluding food, restaurants, and homeware, are made from recycled products or services like resale or rental, refill, repair, or refill.
It has also established “Reselfridges,” a portfolio of circular initiatives it hopes will eventually become the backbone of the business.
The store will launch a subscription service for bags this year, and it will expand its rentals of children’swear. Now, sizes are available from six months to sixteen years. Clothing includes occasionwear, streetwear, and skiwear.
Reselfridges jewelry and watches were transferred from an online-only site to London for Christmas 2022. The London floor was occupied by The Corner Shop, Oxford Street. The average selling price was 2,500 pounds with Omega Seamasters being among the most popular.
Selfridges will also be expanding its partnership with OOTO London, a luxury vintage clothing shop. OOTO London will highlight different marquee designers in the next twelve months.
Right now it is showing and selling “museum-grade” pieces designed by Gianni and Donatella Versace From 1987 to 2003. From mid-January, the focus will shift to Miuccia Prada’s early collections for the brand, while in March the spotlight will swing to Tom Ford at Gucci.
To coincide with The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” Selfridges and OOTO London will present an edit of the late designer’s oeuvre across many decades and fashion houses.
Selfridges is now offering new labels with green values.
Starlit, an LA-based label, is known for its sustainable fabric. Conner Ives, on the other hand, has made a name for herself repurposing piano-shawls into halterneck shirts or T-shirts into day-dresses.
It will also stock Maria McManus, a brand that urges customers to buy less, and more responsibly — an oft-repeated phrase of the late Vivienne Westwood.
Selfridges’ green campaign began under Weston family ownership, and new owners Central Group and Signa Holding, which purchased Selfridges last year for a reported 4 billion pounds, are 100 percent behind the strategy.
As reported last September, the partners’ plan is to make key tweaks It is the business that matters, but not its overall strategy, operations, personality, or personality. The store has come to be synonymous with British luxury, creativity, and green values.
Selfridges may be the biggest group in the partners’ joint portfolio, which includes 22 luxury department stores such as KaDeWe in Germany, and Globus in Switzerland, but the plan is to treat it like the rest of the properties — and the pride of each city where the stores are located.
“We have iconic destinations in every city where we operate, and in order to grow, we need to offer new reasons for people to visit us and new experiences in-store. Reinventing retail is our vision for the future, not only for Selfridges, but for all our stores,” said Stefano Della Valle, Selfridges’ new chief executive officer and head of Central and Signa’s luxury department store group in Europe.
Co-chairman of Selfridges Group, Ernst-Dieter Berninghaus is chairman of the executive boards of Signa. They said that initial investments in Selfridges will be made to support the food and beauty halls as well as the omnichannel offering.
A food market will be added to the existing restaurants. Selfridges has a food market and dining options. But these are not places for shoppers. KaDeWe Berlin’s food hall, which houses 27 restaurants, occupies a whole floor.
The Old Selfridges Hotel will also be renovated by the new owners, located next to London’s Oxford Street store. The space hasn’t functioned as a hotel for years, although it’s been used for fashion shows and other events.
They stated that they wanted the new hotel space for Oxford Street to improve the neighborhood and provide services to the community for the next 20-30 years. Signa and Central are long-term thinkers and always see their stores and properties as part of the fabric of a city.
Berninghaus, who described the purchase of Selfridges as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said there are many potential plans under discussion.
“We don’t think in terms of a single hotel concept or a single restaurant concept but rather a combined concept that brings tourists and locals together. We think in terms of a destination that makes the whole neighborhood more attractive,” he said.
The new owners are bullish about their prospects in the U.K., and in London, despite the country’s macroeconomic challenges and the decline in international tourism post-Brexit and post-COVID-19.
Berninghaus explained that when they were discussing the purchase of Selfridges they also considered the trade challenges Brexit would create for Europe. They also considered the tough economic environment that many countries face following COVID-19 and the rising inflation.
“London has been one of the most attractive cities in the world for centuries and it will remain so. Oxford Street is one of the most exciting locations in the world and the tourists will come back,” Berninghaus said. “We are here for the long term and we are super optimistic for this market in the long term.”