The power of signature branded products

This last Friday I spent a luxurious afternoon with a good friend browsing through clothing shops in central Stockholm. Of course I had the little one with me as well but luckily for me he seemed to enjoy the browsing too happily sleeping away in the pram.

One thing that struck me as I browsed through some of the clothing stores is how powerful a few signature, classic products can be for the brand as a whole.

A perfect example for this is swedish clothing brand Polarn & Pyret with their classic line of striped childrens clothes. It might be difficult to spot the small P&P label on their garments but you will always recognise their signature stripes. And those stripes stand for everything that P&P stands for. And this I would probably summarise as: durable, comfortable and classic, everyday clothing for happy and healthy kids.

Other retail brands with signature products would be GANT with their classic light blue or white cotton shirts or Peak Performance with their hooded sweatshirts in extremely durable quality. These mid-range priced clothing brands have understood that owning a certain style, pattern or cut will add to creating lasting brand impact. Something that more expensively priced, luxury clothing brands have adopted for years - and I am just thinking of Mulberry as the perfect example now.

The advantage of owning a certain pattern, cut or look must be great. They would be the same as for Heinz with their classic ketchup, or for Coca-Cola with their coke. It is a line of products that you can trust, a constant cash-cow which you can utilise to support new ventures.

So why are they not all doing it? Why can you not find any signature brand products at e.g. H&M, Kappahl or Sisters? Or the brittish brand Next or Oasis? Why don't they create something lasting that people return to buy year after year, and always feel proud wearing? Well, one reason might be that they feel that their commitment to fashion is too strong. And that signature products may ruin their fashion credentials.

Would they? Personally I think there is a middle way, and that the Polarn & Pyret, GANT and Peak examples show the power of signature products in the fashion industry. If signature branded products fit the brand, and offer something special and a sense of pride for the owner, they create strong brand impact through the thousands of people wearing them with pride, year after year.

Urban Deli - fresh retail and restaurant concept in Stockholm

I feel slightly frustrated when I come across a cleverly conceptualised retail concept that I just know that I would love, but I haven’t had a chance to visit yet….

So, I will share with you my most recent discovery called Nytorget Urban Deli. It’s an upmarket food retail and casual eating concept that’s situated in the fashionable Sofo area of Stockholm. Apparently it opened in October 2009… maybe some more ‘drums and whistles’ guys!

The concept idea takes is to take you back to the ‘market square and delicatessen feel’ but with convenient, modern food alternatives and in a setting where you can enjoy delicious food and refreshing drinks (also alcoholic ones!). At Urban Deli you can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, but you can also choose your own fresh groceries and produce to cook at home. Or why not try the ‘weekly dinner kit’ – a bag that contains ingredients and recipes for four dinners that can be cooked at home.

Based on what I’ve understood about the concept so far I’m tempted by the ‘eat in’ idea which I enjoyed in at old Fresh & Wild in London where I so many times ate a fantastic organic/veggie deli lunch in the actual retail space. But Urban Deli also has the cool, clean, airy and crispy Dean & Deluca upmarket NYC feel – well suited for Stockholm. I cannot wait to go and check it out in person! And, purely based on my now very high expectations I wish the next Urban Deli would open near to my home…

Proctor & Gamble launches E-store for online sales of consumer products

Today P&G launches an E-store to U.S. Consumers featuring P&G brands. It's called the eStore, and it is an online shopping site owned and operated by PFSweb featuring the breadth of P&G brands including Tide, Pampers, Olay, CoverGirl, Swiffer and Febreze. The eStore has been created with shopper insights to provide a premier online retail site with the goal of offering new and better ways to shop online for household, beauty and grooming products. More brands will be added to the eStore over the next year. The store also gives shoppers a forum to share feedback on their eStore shopping experiences and provide ideas to improve the site. Shoppers can also post ratings and reviews for P&G products and share tips and tricks for taking care of their family and home at the eStore.

Is this the first bold step by a consumer goods producer to try to bypass the big retail chains. Bold move that I'll follow!