From Influencers to Community Creators: Prada, Morrisons, Walmart, and Ted Baker’s Big Retail Moves | Five Things Friday - The Retail Podcast

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
It's Friday. Welcome to Five things Friday
with myself and the wonderful Simone Orleman.
Hello, Simone, How are you? I'm clapping first.

(00:24):
I was just having a little boogie to the music.
It's just impossible not to dance to it.
I think I told you it's a guy inLA who today I was to celebrate
getting 90,000 views on YouTube.I went back to find this track
that he made and I didn't realise he's put all of these
like America. Welcome to the retail podcast
Voice Overs, which I was like crack me up.

(00:46):
But anyway, as always be respectful to the listeners but
the wonderful news to share withyou.
If you've seen LinkedIn, you already know, but a 90,000 views
and my ambition is to build the community to share the love to
100,000 views, which is more than Wembley Stadium by
Christmas. So if you're listening to this,
just gear it with a loved one. I'm sure your mum wants to know

(01:09):
what's going on or your dad what's going on in retail.
Just hear that share button, send it to your family and let's
get to 100,000 views. But anyway, on that bombshell,
we're going to start with you with a personal problem or
something that you've been speaking about.
About influencers and there has really been question about my
experience with influencers and now it's just very honest.

(01:31):
I said, you know, there's been times, quite a few times where
we've maybe been working with aninfluencer.
She has a million followers or 2million.
I've got very excited. I'm like, Oh my God, we're going
to have so many sales off this following increase is going to
shoot off. And it's been an anti climate
and we've literally gained like 2 followers and no conversions.

(01:53):
And I've been like wow. But then the good experiences
that I've had with I'm going to do quotations here.
Influencers tends to be the realpeople.
It might be AI mean somebody in particular.
She's founded a mum's community.She's not necessarily an
influencer, but her following isso engaged and her content is so

(02:18):
real. And I think it's about really
trying to find as work for us personally at NIFT is really
trying to find those relatable real people who really community
LED. This reminded me of this because
I saw a post that came across this week on the business of
fashion and it just reminded me of it as it said about how

(02:41):
college athletes university, because it's America, the most
influential voices on campus. We're now seeing brands go
really hard into this kind of college campuses, not just
through like traditional discounts for for students, but
through real on campus activations, dorm makeovers,

(03:04):
concerts, exclusive pop ups. Hollister did this recently.
They just launched a multi year partnership with the University
of Texas. They're sponsoring home games
and they're working directly with student athletes as well.
And I just think what's interesting is that students
aren't just the audience anymore, you know, they're

(03:25):
turning them into the creators and they're producing content
that's clearly highly trusted bytheir peers.
And that gets way more engagement than just a polished
ad campaign that they probably would have spent hundreds of
thousands on. And yeah, I just think Brown are
tapping into that are really smart.
I really do. And I think this whole movement
is I just think it says something deeper.

(03:48):
It it really kind of signals that the next wave of retail
influence isn't just about celebrities or full time
influencers. It's about community first
creators and peoples who whose voices relatable and real.
Yeah, actually it's like there is a niche and it's called
fashion, but then there's a sub niche called, I don't know,

(04:09):
working mums who still want to be fabulously fashionable or
what doesn't it look like? And, and 100% I, I that's a,
that's a, a big thing. And it's interesting how that
comes to life, not only for you,but for the major brands out
there, right. And then how do they find it?
I think that's the other thing. OK, cool, fantastic.
So moving on to me and I'm goingto do we all together, starting

(04:34):
with the product. So just just quickly, UK
commentary and we're staying away from this.
Everything, all of the metrics really down, really negative
spends down, footfalls down. It's just we're going to stay,
we're going to stay positive andwe're going to keep going.
And you know, this week you can see that the UK, maybe London,

(04:57):
but the retail stories are on 2 stages, the gallery, the grocery
and the aisle and the digital shop front, each quietly
rewriting how you and I buy and what that looks like.
And the interesting thing. And what you're looking at here
is London for a cinema, for Prada.

(05:18):
And so the Prada mode at Town Hall in King's Cross is for two
days it's running as a private members club before opening to
the public. And it's a centrepiece called
The Audience by Elm Green and Dragset.
It's an intentionally blurred film or a perpetual loop.
A painter and a writer talking in a flat screen inside a

(05:40):
purpose built cinema where five seats are taken up by hyper reel
sculpture sculptures of viewers frozen in mid attention.
Nearby, the conversation shows alone woman at a CAF table face
Facetiming one of the film's characters.
It's part installation, part hall of mirrors, and we're
watching the work or watching ourselves watch the work.

(06:03):
You know, they've got everythingfrom screening performances and
DJ sets to build out the film. The theme of spectatorship,
which was another wonderful thing that I heard, that you got
to take your customers away frombeing just consumers to being an
audience. So if they're an audience, how
are you going to interact with them?
What does that look like as an audience?

(06:25):
And so that goes back into the hospitality mindset in retail.
And you know, obviously this is their experimental element of
that, which is bringing us off endless elements of feeds into
what that culture. And as I was just saying,
hospitality and ideas and ultimately it's father staging a
temporary institution to win time, not transactions, which I

(06:49):
think gentle months that there'sloads of like global brands that
are doing a phenomenal job. And it's nice and interesting to
see that part is in there. And it's open now, as I think as
you can see next moving on, we have Morrison's, Prada,
Morrison's in the same thing, but it's the same tempo.
Morrison's is now going to one hour delivery called Morrisons.

(07:11):
Now you know, it's for all of those elements that you know
you've forgotten the coriander you need to get the surprise
guest, late night cravings. Whatever the element is, it's
live in 158 stores targeting expansion to 420 by the end of
October. And and it is really simple
thing that they're doing, you know, 30 items, 50P minute

(07:32):
observe 15 lbs minimum fee of 4.5.
I was going to say yours 4.5 lbsand you get everything that you
are used to seeing real time tracking fulfilment by career
bike or car and it plugs directly into the Morrisons
account so all of your favourites are saved then you
can just if you if you're lacking something I can imagine

(07:54):
parents who and that midnight dash for something or party go
as I get it goes across the whole things.
It basically puts pressure on rapid grocery and you know, I
interviewed a couple of Globo and delivery.
Thank you very much Globo and delivery.
So this is a a gross or sort of trying to again take control of

(08:15):
its own delivery and experience with the customers.
So why interesting to see and ifPrada if like is selling time to
linger. Morrisons is trying to sort of
take that and give you back moretime to spend on whatever you
want staying with tech. And I actually came across this
story because I was covering Walmart's new platform.

(08:38):
That's basically, not only is iton ChatGPT now, but they have
this whole new experience that'senabled by is it?
How do? You say?
Miracle. OK, I think they're a French
company and they're doing phenomenally well.
But this lends itself wonderfully to what Simone and I
have been talking about over time, about how John Lewis wants

(08:59):
to be a House of brands. Russell and Bromley have joined
these brands. I know Russell and Bromley.
I may not know Vera, but I know Russell and Bromley by a curated
supplier model to gain has been bought to bought to like per
miracle, which ultimately means all of these high end brands
have a a better experience online and your premium choice

(09:23):
and premium shoppers. And I don't for me, it's
interesting to watch whether or not John Lewis can make this
shift from like the everyday, like the universal to going up
that next level. So it's one to watch.
It's going to be across 20 stores.
And they're also doing a rapid delivery with Uber Eats for the

(09:44):
marketplace and a collaboration is coming with Labrum against
expanding this House of brands. Finishing with you, Simone.
Yes, finishing on a positive andone thing I guess I didn't see
coming is that Tebeka have just revealed its first ever

(10:07):
activewear collection, which they're going to be rolling out
across autumn. It covers everything from yoga
and tennis to gym training and it's both for men and for women.
I was very intrigued about the the price point.
It seems to be ranging from 35 lbs and then that top end is
real. Real top end is at £250.

(10:30):
I thought it's quite a shift forthe brand.
I also think of smart moves as well.
Obviously they've been traditionally known for occasion
wear and tailoring and that sortof British polished vibe, but
activewear I think is where the customer is and it shows that
they're trying to I guess reposition themselves.

(10:51):
So people, for how people are actually dressed now, you know,
it's a bit more hybrid and relaxed and a lot more.
We've chatted about this before.It gets a bit more like health
conscious. They are going to be returning
to the High Street as well. I know it's been 2 years since
they've shot all of it stores after after the collapse of them

(11:13):
but they are going to be openinga new store in early 2026 so it
feels like a soft re entry and with activewear.
I'm curious, are you seeing thatfrom in terms of what you're,
because obviously you work with a lot of retailers, is that a
trend? Are we like are we right?
Are people coming away from at pleasure and coming to more
purposeful community like activities as opposed to just

(11:36):
I'm going to be loungewear? I think we have seen that shift,
but then result we've also seen the shift of the activewear
brands like branching out like Tarla, for example.
So I mean, I know, I don't know whether it's since COVID, but I
do feel like people less and less buying like going out where

(12:03):
and party where and, and really I think looking for pieces that
are more versatile that maybe they can wear from desk to
dinner or desk to pub. I think you've really seen that
shift. So I think naturally we we have
just seen a bit of a decline in occasion wear and more party

(12:25):
where obviously people do still buy it, but I think I myself
don't buy it as much. I dress more casually now and
again, I'm I'm more more and more bothered about quality
pieces and, and really making sure that something's versatile,
not just something I'm going to wear one off to a party.
And I think that plays a really big role in it as well.

(12:45):
Yeah, the circularity of it. OK.
Well, Simone, thank you so much.Until next week, have a lovely
week.

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From Influencers to Community Creators: Prada, Morrisons, Walmart, and Ted Baker’s Big Retail Moves | Five Things Friday

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}From Influencers to Community Creators: Prada, Morrisons, Walmart, and Ted Baker’s Big Retail Moves | Five Things Friday