A city center for sports enthusiasts and another for outdoor fans? One for fashionistas and one for lovers of vintage clothing? One for families and one for the tech-savvy Generation Z? When cities along with brands are bold and specialise, they have a chance to become thriving and attractive places. But this requires courage and joint efforts.
Individual inner cities
It’s hardly surprising: the one-size-fits-all concepts for city centers have had their day. The constant chains of stores on the main shopping streets from town to town make the centers interchangeable and, to put it bluntly, boring. They want to reach everyone but not really touch anyone. The once-glamorous inner-city streets now offer interchangeable spaces with interchangeable offerings. A look at successful brands shows that interchangeability is unattractive. Brands without a clear positioning are not successful. Brands that want to please everyone are not successful. Brands without a clear message are not successful. And brands that are boring don’t stand a chance. So if cities were brands, they badly needed a reboot.
It is undisputed that e-commerce and the corona pandemic have contributed to the decline of department stores and shops. But part of the reason many people avoid inner cities is that they don’t expect anything amazing, surprising, or interesting there. Not to mention a thirst for adventure.
In addition, buying habits have changed: Hardly anyone goes into the city to buy something specifically. If you know what you want, buy online. When it comes to choice and convenient price comparisons, most prefer online trading. Sales success has long ceased to be important for inner-city retail space, because digital channels work much better in this regard.
New Retail: World of experience downtown
And now? Now cities and brick-and-mortar retail have to reinvent themselves! A movement has developed in retail that could prove to be a boon for inner cities: “New Retail”. This makes the physical retail space much more than just a showroom for products.
The “New Retail” creates brand experience spaces and social interaction areas. It’s no longer just about the pure sale on the former sales areas, but about experiences, inspiration, encounters and belonging to a community. The “New Retail” is fundamentally changing the way brands appear – and that will transform inner cities and make them lively places.
People are drawn to the cities because they meet other people there, find inspiration and are entertained. Retail is now all about getting people into stores and offering exactly that. With this new objective, the key performance indicators for brick-and-mortar retail are changing: the length of stay is becoming more important than the turnover per square meter. Information about the target group is more valuable than sales.
Visiting a shop fascinates and inspires. Not only is there presentation and advice, but there are also suitable services and the opportunity to exchange ideas with other consumers. You can eat, drink, do mobile work or do yoga here. The actual purchase is then later made online. The online channel serves the transaction, while the store makes the brand tangible and becomes an attractive “place to be” for the target group.
In its Style Store in Seoul, Nike is already showing in reality how “New Retail” works: In addition to the products, the iconic sports brand offers a content studio where brand fans can create their own social media content. There are also changing workshops and a “Snkrs” lounge. The store meets the needs of its target group and is not just a simple shop – it is an entertainment center in which products, knowledge, art, culture and community experiences are prepared and staged in line with the brand. It becomes a place that enables identification with the brand and at the same time forms the seed for a new community.
Gucci goes one step further with its stylish café-bar-lounge Giardino 25 in Florence: the product is just an accessory here. Guests experience a whole brand lifestyle. The opulent furnishings, the international cocktails and the elegant bartenders reflect the core of the Gucci brand. In the Gucci Garden, also in Florence, the cosmos of the brand can be experienced with all senses – in addition to a shop with limited collections, you can dine in the brand’s own 3-star restaurant and then admire the iconic accessories in the brand museum. This no longer has anything to do with sales, only with experience. The Dior Museum in Paris is another example of this trend. A temple of elegance dedicated to designers, clothes, films and brand history.
With the “New Retail” the physical area becomes a multidimensional space for identification. It fulfills new functions, becomes a platform for influencers and the design of content. It becomes a stage for events, art and culture, a place for changing curated content and inspiration. It becomes the physical point of contact with the brand – and thus an attractiveness factor for inner cities.
Make the city center a brand
This is where the circle closes: the attractiveness of inner cities is closely related to the attractiveness of their physical retail space – and vice versa. As “New Retail” enters cities and activates, excites and inspires audiences, cities should do the same to incentivize visits. So why not brand downtown and give it a makeover? Why not dare the adventure and position the city clearly to address defined target groups? Why not become unique and stand for certain values? Why not design a comprehensive brand experience for new visitors as a city brand?
To do this, every city must reflect on what makes it unique. This can be its origin or its history, the people who shape it, or the area in which it is located. The town of Werl, for example, with around 31,000 inhabitants, has positioned itself as a town of pilgrimage and has given itself the appropriate name. As a pilgrimage town, Werl addresses a specific community and takes their needs into account. The motto “slow down and feel good” characterizes Werl, and the city makes this guiding principle tangible with green spaces and seating. Frankfurt am Main has also formulated a vision statement for its city center – it should develop from a functional space into a lively emotional space. Specific characteristics have been assigned to the different districts of the inner city. The northern old town is described as “Typical Frankfurt” and described with the characteristics “handmade, owner-managed, enjoyment from the region, gastronomy”. The eastern city bears the title “Cosmopolitan” and is characterized by “an international trendy district, creative laboratories, living”. Each of the five inner-city districts was assigned its own target group and community. They each represent their own place of experience for leisure, culture and social encounters as well as for gastronomy, retail and everyday life.
This requires urban planners to carefully curate retail spaces and populate them with relevant offerings. Not every brand fits every space. When downtown and retail brands work closely together, both sides benefit: retail audiences match those of the city, and the positive impacts are mutually reinforcing. Target groups then know exactly where in the city they can experience their community and maybe even a little adventure.
About the author
Mathias Ullrich is Managing Director at Liganova, the innovation leader in brand & retail experiences in the phygital space. Over the past ten years, the industrial engineer has advised customers in the brand retail sector on positioning, growth and digital transformation. At Liganova, he heads the Experience Solutions division and designs retail locations and experience areas for global premium brands from the luxury, sporting goods, automotive, fashion and retail sectors at the interface between people, brands and products.