Throughout TheIndustry.style LIVE: Elevating the post-purchase expertise, manufacturers and retailers corresponding to Cos, Sisters & Seekers, Bluebella, JoJo Maman Bebe, New Look, Pandora, Aligne, Depop, Common Works, Shein Group, Ro & Zo, Reformation and Paul Smith, amongst others, gained actionable insights on the totally different channels powering the post-purchase expertise.
Hosted in partnership with provide chain specialists Bleckmann, the occasion invited professionals to study from manufacturers, retailers and trade specialists from the likes of Liberty, Seraphine, Henri Lloyd, Recomme and GreenWith Studio, about buyer communications and post-purchase advertising, returns, refunds and exchanges – and how one can maximise these channels, alternatives with packaging for improved expertise and sustainable credentials, and extra.
Enhancing post-purchase expertise by elevating logistics
For the primary panel of the day, an keen viewers heard from Harshini Patel, Merchandising & Provide Chain Director at Seraphine, and Jane Aylwin, Head of Finance at Henri Lloyd, in dialog with Siebrand Wiltjer, Key Account Supervisor at Bleckmann. And who higher to talk on elevating buyer expertise by means of post-purchase logistics than the powerhouse that’s Bleckmann?
Maternity model Serpahine turned to Bleckmann after Brexit to discover a warehouse abroad. Moreover, its returns course of was beforehand taking 21 days, however the firm realised its pregnant prospects couldn’t wait that lengthy. Due to Bleckmann’s hubs within the UK and US, refunds now take simply 3-4 days – downside solved. In accordance with Patel: “This ought to be trade customary. Not solely can prospects get a reimbursement faster, however we will get the inventory again on cabinets quicker”.
Premium crusing model Henri Loyd determined to associate with Bleckmann after having a “logistics nightmare” with its earlier supplier, which was sending out incorrect stock. Aylwin stated: “We not solely have our warehouse within the Netherlands with Bleckmann but in addition a bonded warehouse within the UK, so we will course of returns within the UK after which bulk ship them to Europe once we see match.” Clients count on a premium model to ship a premium service – they do not need to wait weeks to get a return for a £1,000 jacket.
Not solely does Bleckmann help large-scale manufacturers like Henri Lloyd and Seraphine, however it additionally helps small manufacturers scale with its new platform, B Ccale. Plus, Wiltjier added: “We provide renewal providers to cater to manufacturers like Patagonia and COS, enabling us to hold out repairs for each manufacturers and their prospects.”
The dialog later shifted to returns and whether or not prospects are keen to pay for returning gadgets. Seraphine costs for returns. It will possibly do that as there is not an expectation when buying new prospects each 9 months. Nevertheless, Henri Lloyd’s older clientele, who’re buying premium merchandise, count on free and speedy returns. Wiltjier stated: “It is vital that we perceive your prospects’ expectations in order that we will meet them.”
Unlocking Objective and Impression into gross sales conversion and buyer loyalty
For the second session, style editor and stylist Mary Fellowes – who has efficiently transitioned her profession towards climate-focused innovation and know-how inside the attire and textile industries – shared invaluable insights from her journey.
In 2021, Fellowes based GreenWith Studio – a boutique sustainable style consultancy devoted to innovation, worth creation, and future-proofing. By way of this enterprise, she got down to help manufacturers and retailers of all sizes of their transformation journeys, serving to them embed function on the core of their enterprise methods.
For a lot of shoppers, GreenWith Studio features as an outsourced Chief Sustainability Officer, providing a mix of in-house experience, a best-in-class community of specialists, and a confirmed step-by-step methodology. Its mission is to stay each accessible and inexpensive – serving SMEs and startups simply as successfully as world luxurious manufacturers and high-volume retailers. Past particular person shopper work, the studio additionally consults with policymakers, commerce organisations, and regulatory our bodies. Its choices vary from one-hour workshops to complete, multi-month packages tailor-made to drive significant change.
Later within the session, Fellowes shared her help for Jeff Garner’s multi-award-winning documentary ‘Let Them Be Bare’, govt produced by Suzi Amis Cameron, which exposes the hidden risks of poisonous chemical substances in on a regular basis clothes and their devastating well being impacts. “By spotlighting innovators and sustainable options, Garner’s work seeks to ignite a contemporary renaissance in style – unlocking the potential of supplies science and ecodesign, and restoring the trade’s function in making the world more healthy and extra stunning,” explains Fellowes.
Since Mary is adamant that the trade has enough R&D to unravel not simply the sinister toxicity challenges this movie factors to, however to make a lot greater steps to circularity and cleaner strategies, she has labored with an all-star workforce on a chance/answer to the movie’s challenges/ issues. Within the type of a shopper dealing with device, they’re nonetheless in stealth mode and gave a couple of trade determination makers a fast snapshot glimpse.
Driving loyalty & acutely aware consumption by means of round service
For the penultimate session of the day, Tom Grafton, founding father of Recomme, explored how his firm is driving loyalty and acutely aware consumption by means of revolutionary round providers.
Based in 2022, Recomme is a style circularity platform that powers every little thing from resale to recycling, serving to manufacturers rework outdated inventory into new alternatives. With a full suite of instruments designed to raise each your model and your backside line, the platform makes an attempt to make circularity easy – and worthwhile.
“It has been an interesting journey from inception to the place we’re as we speak. The enterprise has advanced considerably – significantly in what we provide – as we proceed to assist manufacturers embed round practices into their operations,” stated Grafton.
Earlier this yr, Recomme and Oliver Spencer have been awarded Greatest Collaboration on the inaugural TheIndustry.style Folks, Planet & Objective Awards, recognising their impactful partnership. Grafton additional mentioned the collaboration at as we speak’s occasion, highlighting the success of the service that extends the lifespan of Oliver Spencer clothes. The initiative goals to cut back environmental influence whereas providing prospects a “cash off subsequent buy” incentive.
He even teased an upcoming classic assortment with the model, that includes returned gadgets like archive items.
Creating neighborhood and reference to an iconic retail model
For the ultimate panel of the day, Sarah Coonan, Managing Director of Retail at Liberty, gave insights into garnering and harnessing buyer loyalty by tapping into emotion.
Coonan stated, “At Liberty, we’re obsessive about our buyer. It’s a buyer who feels a powerful sense of possession of our enterprise. We name them the ‘creative shopper’ We phase our prospects into three teams: Print Maximalist, Design Curator and Magnificence Tastemaker, however all of them come underneath this umbrella theme of the Inventive Shopper.”
She defined that tapping into emotion is essential. “The emotional connection is a purposeful pursuit for the reason that firm’s inception 150 years in the past”, she stated. And naturally, its heritage helps harness this. The aim? To grasp the shopper so that they know what makes them tick.
A key a part of its technique is its experiential providing, from installations to occasions. There’s at all times one thing to see within the atrium, whether or not it is a Prada mild set up ot an enormous Grecian tower. Liberty desires to create marvel inside its partitions, whether or not or not guests are purchasing. Simply by strolling by means of the doorways, prospects are making a connection.
As for the digital realm, the retailer acknowledges that making an attempt to carry the magic of its retailer on-line is “by no means going to work”. Its e-commerce website is an ecosystem tied to social media. On social media, it brings that marvel of the shop to the digital in a manner that is smart, corresponding to giving a sneak peek right into a designer’s studio.
This connection can also be fostered by its two loyalty schemes that work in concord. The primary is a conventional point-based system that’s transformed into vouchers, and the second is a magnificence subscription service.
