TheIndustry.fashion LIVE! Bleckmann, Gym+Coffee and Simon Carter on omnichannel retail and international expansion
During TheIndustry.fashion LIVE! The Connected Store in partnership with Bleckmann, sponsored by Aptos Retail and True, a crowd of fashion industry professionals spent the day learning about how to deliver a true, seamless omnichannel retail experience.
For the second panel of the day, Rachel Dyche, Sales Manager UK at Bleckmann joined , Production Manager at Gym+Coffee and brand founder Simon Carter to discuss how an omnichannel approach can benefit international expansion.
Rachel Dyche, Sales Manager UK at Bleckmann
More and more businesses are now adopting ominichannel strategies to better serve customer needs anytime and anywhere. This is important as today’s consumers are looking for an elevated retail experience wherever they decide to shop.
Whether it’s online or offline, through social media or third-party partners, brands and retailers need to consider all channels together – making them feel like an extension of one another whilst enticing customers with personalised experiences, flexible payment options, on demand delivery and more.
"An omnichannel strategy offers cross-channel flexibility, giving customers more options and more avenues to make their purchasing decisions. With nearly 75% of shoppers saying that they use multiple channels to shop and compare prices, committing to omnichannel is not only the smart decision, it is ultimately the only feasible option," emphasised Dyche.
Speaking further on this, Dyche explained that an omnichannel approach will also not only benefit a brand or retailer's operations in their own country but help with their global expansion and international presence too.
It can provide a consistent customer experience across all channels, as well as collect data from various channels to gain insight into customer behaviour, and tailor offerings to different regions and countries by understanding local preferences and trends.
However, Dyche stressed that brands and retailers need a good logistics backbone to achieve this - which is where Bleckmann's sustainable, tailored services and expertise can help.
Bleckmann specialises in fashion and lifestyle logistics, offering a variety of sustainable solutions to help businesses grow. The company provides its services to a number of well known brands, including Gymshark, Cos and Karl Lagerfeld.
How do Gym+Coffee and Simon Carter handle international expansion?
Irish athleisure brand Gym+Coffee first launched in 2017 with a core collection of hoodies and has since expanded with a fully-fledged activewear collection for men and women.
As one of Ireland’s fastest growing lifestyle brands, it is now focussing on international expansion.
In the UK, the brand is available direct-to-consumer via its own website and wholesale through Very.co.uk. It has also hosted various pop-ups and events to raise brand awareness and provide in-person experiences.
"With the help of Bleckmann, we've been able to enhance our omnichannel strategy to deliver a best-in-class e-commerce experience while also expanding into physical events and pop-up retail," Byrne revealed.
To deliver a successful international expansion, Byrne believes it is important for businesses to adapt to different markets and really know their customer. "In the UK, for example, next day delivery is really important. We put a lot of effort into understanding this market, which has resulted in improved growth from being able to satisfy this customer," she added.
This ability to be agile and adapt to different markets is something Simon Carter also considers to be imperative, particularly within his eponymous menswear brand - which first launched in 1985.
With five stores in London, the brand's approach to international retail primarily relies on licensing and partnerships. As part of this, Carter has championed adaptability to support his brand across different markets.
In fact, its "biggest success story" comes from the brand's expansion into the Indian market - where it has 14 stores - through Madura Fashion & Lifestyle's department store chain, The Collective.
"When the brand launched in India, I was asked if I was going to insist on global pricing and global product," said Carter. "This included whether the product should to carry the same prices as the UK, or if the team could personally tailor Simon Carter to the Indian market - whilst maintaining the brand DNA and my input from London. To me, this was a no brainer - I said yes."
As part of the full brand partnership, the team have also come up with various designs for Simon Carter - which have been localised for the Indian market.
"The average customer age range for Simon Carter in the UK is 55-70. This is a real sweet spot for us and we've built a great business based on this. However, the average age for Simon Carter in India is 25 - so, we're learning all the time from what they're doing too," Carter finished.
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