Completely off topic, I love the look of this shop at Forest Hill Chase. See for yourself:
From the outset it is visually appealing to its target market. Girls light up when they see it. Shopping looks like fun, certainly not a chore.
In newsagencies we tend to focus on shopping being a chore. The newsagency of the future has to be, in part at least, a pop princess type business, something completely fresh and appealing. yes, it will date. But, hey, good retail is about fashion.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Anon // Feb 3, 2008 at 8:43 PM
You are right about Pop Princess and its warmth. After reading much about your Sophie Randall stores, I visited the Epping Plaza outlet at the weekend … and was surprised that lacked any such warmth. The store looked so … temporary. No displays above the eyeline. If retail is about theatre, unfortunately the SR store at Epping is a no show. I also observed many browsers (all women), but few sales. The only branding was a logo at the door, and at the counter, with a ‘Sophie x x’ message on the window. Conversely, another similar store at the Plaza was ‘warm’ merchandised, packed with paying customers, and doing much better business. Physician, heal thyself?
2 mark // Feb 4, 2008 at 6:50 AM
Thanks Anon. Sophie Randall at Epping Plaza was opened just before Christmas. The fit was not complete and then the tradesman break came. Maybe instead of hiding behind a fake email address you could have made contact and I could have provided the back story. The shop is tracking ahead of budget.
3 Scott // Feb 4, 2008 at 12:29 PM
sounds like anon can talk the talk but cant walk the walk, otherwise why hide?
4 Anon // Feb 4, 2008 at 2:27 PM
My name is Mark, but you have chosen to listed me as ‘Anon’. I can talk, and I can walk. I prefer anonymity for sound reasons. It is a shame that a thread of constructive criticism has been detoured by a focus on my identity. It sounds as if criticism is not actually welcomed here. I would have thought the subject is about the Sophie Randall store assessment, not some one-to-one “back story”. My comments stand - the store lacked warmth. Christmas was 42 days together (11.5 per cent of a business year) … plenty of time to get a shop ready.
5 mark // Feb 4, 2008 at 7:12 PM
You say your name in Mark yet your email address in Anon. Maybe with a genuine email address your comments can be taken to be more than carping. If your comments were not welcome then I would have deleted them.
I don’t know if you’ve opened a business - it’s a rush. We opened three in quick succession. We bought another. With the purchase and one opening they were rushed jobs. No excuses.
Given the circumstances I’m happy with where we are at. The Sophie model is developing well.
Maybe you’d care to meet and I can show you our plans. Or maybe you can visit Epping secretly again and see it evolve.
Mark Fletcher
PS. This post is about Pop Princess and newsagents. You diverted it to a bitch about other things. I’m not sure why.
6 Anon // Feb 4, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Your blog is full of criticisms. Yet with the slightest constructive criticism, you appear very touchy. You seem to want very much to criticise me personally, which is telling.
7 mark // Feb 5, 2008 at 6:41 AM
If I was touchy I’d pull the comments. I don;t pull comments because I’m open to comment. By hiding behind a false email address you deny the reader of knowing any back story. You also reject my explanation. Further, you took a post on one topic and made it about something unrelated. Be sure enough of your comments to out yourself and bring the debate into a public forum. The Sophie business is doing very well. If you want to review the operation, why not once we officially open the Epping store - that’s another month away, for good reason.
8 Anon // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:19 AM
Goodness Mark, getting a bit tetchy and defensive, aren’t you? I didn’t divert a topic - I compared Pop Princess to your Soiphie Randall. You discount the validity of my comments because I deliberately choose anonymity. It is not about me. Our chat is about YOU being challenged for a change. And you’re showing that you can bowl, can’t bat.
By the way, how does a customer know the difference between an opening and an official opening? An under-merchandised or unfinished store is simply that. Yes, I do challenge your explanation. I sense you are making excuses for a store that doesn’t look up-to-speed … something about which you criticise other businesses. I have no desire to continue this humdrum, we have seen what you are like under a teeny bit of pressure. Our correspondence is now closed.
9 mark // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:24 AM
No worries. I’d encourage newsagents back to the original post about pop princess. Visit the shop at Forest Hill. You’ll see what I mean. Oh, when you are there, go two doors down and check our Sophie - it’s our first location and has officially opened.
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