Creative agency for retailers and brands, True Story, has compiled a snapshot of the best in UK home retail in 2015.

1. 2015
With the changing of the season we all spend a little longer on the
sofa and retailers entice us to invest in our homes. Here’s a snapshot
of what’s engaged us in the homewares market so far this autumn.
HOME RETAIL SNAPSHOT

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©CopyrightTrueStory.October2015
HOME SNAPSHOT
LOAF BATTERSEA
‘SLOWROOM’
The Loaf brand is synonymous with hassle-free
online shopping, yet it recognises that many
customers want to touch and try before
they order.
The new Battersea 8,000 square foot store has
been designed to deliver a fantastic customer
experience. It features chill-out areas for
customers to relax and play old-school games,
a kids’ corner and even an ice cream parlour
(free scoops vouchers are in their catalogue!).
All this delivered through a seamless brand look
and feel and distinctive tone of voice that helps
them cut through a busy market.
The range now extends from the Derbyshire-
made beds and sofas to a collection of gifts
and accessories. From candles, bath products
and tableware to cashmere blankets – all helping
customers make their living spaces comfy,
cosy and relaxing.
It’ll be exciting to see how this store performs and
how it informs their ambition to take the brand
to a value of £100m in the next 4-5 years.

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©CopyrightTrueStory.October2015
HOME SNAPSHOT
HEM INTERIORS
Berlin-based furniture and accessories
brand, Hem, opened its first UK store with
a pop-up at Seven Dials.
Hem talks about imagining a near future
where the majority of home furnishings are
purchased online and it plans to lead that
evolution.
In only a year, founders Petrus Palmér and
Jason Goldberg, have developed Hem into
an exciting brand, offering quality flatpack
furniture, accessories and lighting.
The Hem (Swedish for ‘home’) product
range is bold, simple, brilliantly designed
and affordable, appealing to a broad set of
customers at different life stages and with
different budgets.
The pop-up feels anything but temporary
and the 2,000 square foot, two-storey
space houses around 300 new products.
Customers can get to know the brand,
explore the range and take a closer look at
Hem’s fabrics and finishes, through a material
library, even customising products.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
TOM DIXON, THE LONDON
DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
In association with Wallpaper, this was billed
as an ‘immersive, multi-sensory department
store of tomorrow’.
An installation within Selfridges, it brought
together design, technology, film, fashion,
food and interiors to explore what a future
retail experience might feel like.
The space brought experiences, services
and innovative products together with
collaborating brands like Sony, Deliveroo and
Mindblower.com.
Visiting it certainly felt a world away from the
high-shine, white, and pristine department
stores we know. The spotlit spaces flowed
from one area to another, with a real sense
of discovery and focus on immersion.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
IKEA
The Scandinavian retailer created a real
buzz, blurring the lines between furniture
and fashion, when it held its first-ever
catwalk show as part of Milan Fashion Week.
The show was streamed for free
on September 29th.
Collaborations with Katie Eary and Martin
Bergström were showcased. Eary’s collection
‘Giltig’, boasted a dinner party theme,
including bold and colourful dinnerware,
aprons and lampshades.
Bergström’s offering, ‘Svartan’, meaning
‘black’, included bed sheets, glassware and
rugs in different shades of white, grey and
black – all inspired by the designer’s Indian
heritage but viewed through a modern lens.
As part of Ikea’s strategy to transform its
reputation, for, in their own words “doing
cheap stuff”, it’s placing a much bigger
emphasis on design to bring high-end design
values to affordable everyday products.

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©CopyrightTrueStory.October2015
HOME SNAPSHOT
JOHN LEWIS,
OXFORD STREET
The unveiling of the new John Lewis Oxford
Street home department brought to life its
ambition to offer ‘the largest homeware range
on the high street’.
With a focus on ideas and inspiration,
customers have access to the newest trends
and products in home design, plus exclusive
brands and UK and international design
collections.
With a ‘sleep room’ for customers to design
their ideal bedroom, as well as West Elm ‘shop
in a shop’, plus new brands such as the Little
Greene Paint Company – everything about the
experience, from the visual merchandising,
layout and journey to the service offered, has
set a new benchmark for the market.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
JOHN LEWIS,
GRAND CENTRAL
BIRMINGHAM
Hot on the heels of Oxford Street was Grand
Central Birmingham, boasting the biggest
John Lewis outside of London with four floors
of fashion, homeware and technology.
The 250,000 square foot department store
houses several new concepts and services,
including fashion and lifestyle ‘loved & found’
(a curated selection of contemporary
designers, lifestyle brands and standout
pieces across clothing, homeware and
accessories) plus the first John Lewis-branded
spa, “&Beauty”.
There’s also a ‘community hub’ – a dedicated
space which can be booked for use by local
community-based groups and organisations.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
THE CONRAN SHOP
AT SELFRIDGES
Brilliantly timed to coincide with the London
Design Festival, these two iconic British
brands revealed a new global destination
for great design.
A carefully curated range, with a focus on
showcasing a predominantly exclusive
collection, the space invited you to explore
and discover.
We love the simplicity of the white and glass
unitary and that the unique, personality-
infused products are the true heroes.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
WEST ELM AT JOHN LEWIS
The Williams-Sonoma owned chain’s first ‘shop
in a shop’ offering is based on a small but perfectly
formed series of five room sets in the John Lewis
Oxford Street store.
The 821 square foot area includes West Elm
ranges for the living, dining and bedroom, plus
accent pieces and accessories.
This smart partnership enables West Elm to reach
out to new customers and significantly grow its
business from an iconic platform. At the same
time, it also supports John Lewis in its ambition
to overtake IKEA as the UK’s biggest home and
furniture retailer within the next 4 years.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
WOVEN
The home and lifestyle brand Woven opened its
first London store, bringing together an extensive
designer and contemporary rug collection, along
with a cleverly edited range of furnishings and
accessories for the home.
The 1,343 square foot unit covers the ground floor
and basement level and is perfectly located next
to other premium home and fashion retailers
on London’s Fulham Road.
The store offers a bespoke making service, a
sample library for inspiration and the opportunity
to experience Woven’s aim – simply to be the
ultimate destination for everything home.

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HOME SNAPSHOT
True Story is a creative agency for retailers and brands.
We create store concepts, visual merchandising, retail campaigns and communication for any step on the customer journey.
We work in 3D, 2D and the virtual world. Combining the inspirational and the practical, we work with retailers of all sizes,
from high street names to small independents.
Our branding and packaging division works across the spectrum from original concept to range refresh and everything in between.
We know how to present product in any medium, from shelf stand-out to showcasing in print and online.
And such is our love of all things retail and brand, we’ve created our own – White Hot.
See some of our recent projects on our Creativebrief showcase.
Speak to Carrie or Michelle:
carrie.eames@truestory.uk.com
michelle.wilson@truestory.uk.com