Brands and retailers are in uncharted territory right now, and there's no end to the upheaval in sight. So what can be done today to future-proof retail brands?

1. THE WORLD
OF RETAIL
POST-APOCALYPSE

2. GROWTH ISN'T
INFINITE
Up until circa 2007-8, many of us who were
born after the 1960s mostly knew a world
where growth in the greater economy seemed
limitless.
Yes, there was a recession stateside in the
1980s, the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and the
dot-com bubble, but companies grew. The
general and collective movement was forward,
with globalization driving no small part of that
momentum.
During the 2008 financial crisis, things came into
a very real, very harsh focus. The high-definition, ‘I
can see your cake makeup’ kind of focus.
What many believed would be a brighter and
more prosperous future, was in a very short time,
greatly diminished or destroyed entirely.
For many, this was the first of a series of wake-up
calls, that the market’s growth was built on
something faulty, it was thus not sustainable, and
'07 - '08
uncertainty was the new
norm.

3. The financial crisis isn't an exact parallel of
what’s happening today; it’s a complex
system most of us have only a basic grasp of,
yet are wholly reliant upon.
Moreover, this is not a story about cheating
consumers. (I mean, it’s just shopping, right?)
So, if you can stomach this reality,
where do you go from here?
THE IDEA IS, THAT UNBOUNDED RETAILER
GROWTH IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. EXPANDING
INTO NEW MARKETS AND ADDING NEW
PRODUCT LINES ARE DIVERSIONARY
TACTICS, IF AND WHEN THE CORE BUSINESS
AND PROCESSES ARE SHOWING THEIR
CRACKS.

4. WE GO BACK
TO BASICS
So what happens when things look uncertain or you have to move forward with reduced means ?
You start to pay attention to things that you either were too busy or unwilling to address previously.
What does this mean for retailers emerging from this ‘crisis?’ You go back to your core values, why you
existed in the first place, and to whom you exist to serve.
I’m going to say it again. You don’t create product just for the sake of it.
And look, the ‘me too’ behavior isn’t just an issue of retail, it’s one of the
problems that the financial crisis highlighted amongst the big banks. With
many of the banks mirroring each other’s actions, when one was in trouble,
they soon were all up sh*t’s creek. Morale of this retail story?
"YOU CREATE
PRODUCTS BECAUSE
IT’S WHAT PEOPLE
WANT AND IT’S
DIFFERENTIATED, NOT
JUST BECAUSE YOUR
COMPETITORS DO THE
SAME."
Coming out of this storm, retailers must move with a razor-sharp
focus on product, experience, and the end consumer.

5. There were many days in my former life as a retail consultant where I would sit in rooms with
brands and hear them talk about their different consumer personas, along with who the
competition was. And while at the time, professional conduct prohibited me from making the
face I wanted to when I heard these ideas, my inner teenager was saying, ‘puh-lease.’
But in all seriousness, there were many times when the ideas being circulated around that
room absolutely did not reflect reality. Who they thought was their target market was actually
who they would have liked their target market to be. While many consumers are aspirational
(and that’s indeed a huge driver of retail purchases), the organization itself must be firmly
grounded in the reality of who their consumer actually is.
She doesn’t have a credit card with hundreds of dollars of extra credit on which to buy a new
outfit, she’s actually bringing her lunch to work every day because she wants to have a few
extra dollars to go out with her friends at happy hour. Embrace this truth, and look for
opportunities to surprise and delight her along the way.
The reality is much better than you think !
INCREASED
SELF-AWARENESS
WHO THEY THOUGHT WAS THEIR TARGET MARKET WAS ACTUALLY WHO
THEY WOULD HAVE LIKED THEIR TARGET MARKET TO BE"

6. THE STRESS TEST:
RETAIL WITH BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY
Just like the banks have had to undergo different
tests gauging their ability to weather a crisis,
retailers need to be building their own
contingency plans for this new uncertain reality.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a political event, a
terrorist attack, or a serious reduction in
discretionary income, you have to be prepared
for today's and tomorrow’s unknowns.
You do this by having systems in place that are
flexible, speaking to each other, and can
ultimately pivot as the market shifts.
This requires everything from assessing the risk of
your supply chain to categorizing the stability of
the different markets in which you operate, to
ensure that you are stormproof.

7. THE CONSUMERS’
BEST INTERESTS ARE
AT HEART
What does a world look like where consumers buy less stuff ? It’s not just a small possibility;
data on the newest generation of consumers shows not just a fundamental shift in priorities
but a different way of thinking about discretionary spending. So how will you capture wallet
share but also address the greater social ideals by which these future consumers live ?
You have to level with them, and create experiences that they can feel good about. It’s one
part transparency and another part simply doing right by the consumer. And while it’s no
small undertaking, it’s an initiative that is helping to drive brands like Patagonia,
Reformation, and Everlane to growth. The payoff is immense.
Retail exists not only to meet needs but also to inspire the people it serves. And despite
these hard times, don’t you think we’re all still up for it?
Yeah, you've got this.
( EVEN IF THAT MEANS YOU SELL LESS )

8. CONTACT
www.stylesage.co
info@stylesage.co
Want to know more about how to
future-proof your business?