tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/mands-34489/articlesM&S – The Conversation2023-12-07T16:19:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2185692023-12-07T16:19:32Z2023-12-07T16:19:32ZFrom rented Christmas jumpers to ‘shwopping’, the secrets of successful business-charity collaborations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563922/original/file-20231206-15-3v5tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C991%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Going for a rental this year?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/photo-two-upset-surprised-amazed-shocked-1502669909">Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the world’s governments meet at COP28 to take stock of progress against the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, business leaders are also considering the impact their organisations have on the environment. </p>
<p>Besides the climate impact of their internal operations, businesses have huge potential to influence the world through their supply chains, products, and the choices their customers make. </p>
<p>Lidl’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/23/lidl-christmas-jumper-loan-scheme-nspcc">recent partnership</a> with children’s charity NSPCC is a great example of this. The supermarket is offering UK consumers a rental alternative to buying a Christmas jumper this year – a clothing item that typically has very limited wear. This kind of “rent-not-buy” solution saves people money at a time when customer finances are tight, but also aims to make a dent in the tonnes of clothing <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/new-shocking-facts-about-the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-our-climate/">sent to landfill each year</a> - or at least draw attention to the issue.</p>
<p>Challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality and poverty are not easily solved, of course. These complex, interconnecting systemic challenges have implications across borders. They also often unjustly affect the world’s poorest communities.</p>
<p>For businesses, this means sustainability strategies need to account not only for the effects of their own operations, but those of stakeholders like global supply chain partners and customers. </p>
<p>All organisations have limitations in these areas (most businesses need to keep profits and shareholders in mind, for example), and all companies should be wary of attracting greenwashing accusations. This can afflict <a href="https://nbs.net/how-to-avoid-greenwashing/">even well-intentioned initiatives</a>.</p>
<h2>Partner up</h2>
<p>So, how can business leaders contribute to creating a better world without facing accusations of hypocrisy or greenwashing? Is it even possible for a business to address environmental and societal challenges while keeping an eye on day-to-day operations, revenues and profits? Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296318305757">research shows</a> partnering with other organisations can certainly help.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.citroen.co.uk/about-citroen/news/big-issue-partnership.html">cross-sector partnership</a> between Citroën UK and the Big Issue Group is helping the homelessness charity reduce the carbon emissions of the 350,000 miles-worth of annual deliveries it makes. Big Issue magazines <a href="https://www.bigissue.com/press-release/big-issue-partner-with-citroen-to-go-green-and-cut-emissions/">are now delivered</a> to vendors by all-electric Citroën ë-Berlingo vans.</p>
<p>When engaging in partnerships like these, managers may find themselves confronting differences in purpose, values and desired objectives from a collaborative project. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296318305757">Our research shows</a> that partnering can cause invisible aspects of an organisational culture to be revealed, sometimes leading to a culture clash. Unless recognised and explicitly managed, differences in expectations and “ways of being” can cause the partnership to fail at launch or fall apart later.</p>
<p>One example of a very successful sustainability partnership that has avoided this culture trap is the “<a href="https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/plan-a-shwopping">Shwopping</a>” programme run by Marks & Spencer and Oxfam. Customers donate unwanted clothing in stores and receive vouchers for M&S purchases, while the donated clothes go to Oxfam. Launched <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/apr/26/marks-spencer-shwopping-scheme">11 years ago</a> with the motivation of stopping one-in-four items of clothing in the UK being thrown in the trash, the programme is an example of a successful long-term collaboration that has navigated the challenges of partnership working. </p>
<h2>Making collaborations work</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpim.12394">Through our research</a>, we’ve identified five managerial practices that ensure successful partnerships like the one between M&S and Oxfam.</p>
<p><strong>1. Building bridges</strong></p>
<p>Making an employee or a team the bridge between a company and its external partner can bolster the relationship. Often, a person in this role has worked across two or more sectors during their career. For example, businesses may deliberately hire people with non-profit or government backgrounds. Similarly, charities may recruit people with a business background.</p>
<p><strong>2. Finding ways to engage</strong></p>
<p>Developing processes and methods to engage with external partners encourages ongoing cooperation and trust. Our research found that regular catchups and face-to-face meetings are most likely to facilitate openness and honesty when charities and companies work together. Some organisations even choose a neutral meeting venue to help build a sense of shared identity.</p>
<p><strong>3. Achieving alignment</strong></p>
<p>Our research found the need for mutually defined goals, both for the joint project and its individual partners. This helps avoid misinterpretations of the relationship’s intentions due to contrasting perspectives. For example, the Oxfam and M&S Shwopping programme helps M&S achieve its landfill reduction targets, while helping Oxfam collect clothing to sell to fund its poverty alleviation activities.</p>
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<img alt="External shot of an Oxfam shop in Nantwich, Cheshire." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An Oxfam shop in Nantwich, Cheshire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nantwich-cheshire-england-uk-august-10th-2345772187">Clive Platt/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><strong>4. Engaging across the business</strong></p>
<p>M&S has a long-running, company-wide “<a href="https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/look-behind-the-label">Plan A</a>” sustainability programme, which offers a supportive cultural context for the partnership with Oxfam. This meant Oxfam could access a wide network of engaged M&S employees across the company that were keen to support the partnership from the start. This enabled the relationship to grow and boosted learning on both sides. In contrast, we found other examples during our research of reporting lines that made it very difficult for the two organisations to benefit from their partnership.</p>
<p><strong>5. Integrating sustainability</strong></p>
<p>Sustainability should already be embedded in a company’s processes, including strategy development, new product development, marketing research and performance management. This makes employees more likely to think in a systemic way about issues that are beyond day-to-day business operations, and more open to collaboration with external stakeholders such as a non-profit.</p>
<p>Whether offering a rented Christmas jumper once a year or maintaining a long-running clothing swap initiative, for-profit companies can gain a lot from partnering with charities. And it’s not just about looking good or attracting new customers. These organisations can harness their differences to find new ways to co-create innovative solutions that address complex problems like the climate crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How to lay the foundations for success when companies collaborate with charities.Emma Macdonald, Charles Huang Chair in International Business and Director, Stephen Young Institute, University of Strathclyde Rosina Watson, Associate Professor of Sustainability, Cranfield UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2174822023-11-17T14:12:41Z2023-11-17T14:12:41ZChristmas TV ads underscore how generosity, compassion and empathy still matter to people<p>Christmas ad campaigns have become headline-worthy moments in the British national calendar, hailed by pundits and awaited by an eager public. The fact that they are now <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12719901/John-Lewis-teases-Christmas-advert-2023.html">teased</a>, like big-screen cinema releases, is proof enough that, in calendar terms, the major-retailer Christmas ad is a seasonal event in itself. </p>
<p>This year, two ads so far have garnered much attention. John Lewis’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/09/john-lewis-christmas-advert-a-terrifying-dog-eating-plant-that-vomits-presents-yes-please">Snapper the Perfect Tree</a> features a young boy who plants what he is told is a Christmas tree seed, only to watch it grow into a giant, sentient Venus flytrap. With operatic flair, the plant sings and dances its way into the family’s hearts. </p>
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<p>In contrast to this, <a href="https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/love-thismas-not-thatmas-ms-reveals-its-christmas-clothing-home-campaign">M&S’s Love Thismas (Not Thatmas) campaign</a> has celebrities sabotaging traditional Christmas rites and activities. Actors Hannah Waddingham and Zawe Ashton respectively shred party hats and bat tree decorations. Queer Eye star Tan France sends board game pieces flying into a fish tank. And the pop star, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, takes a culinary blow torch to the cards she’s meant to be writing. </p>
<p>There is, of course, much to dislike about Christmas. It has long been associated with <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2117564">destructive consumption</a>, <a href="https://www.businessleader.co.uk/the-dark-environmental-impacts-of-our-christmas-season/">environmental harm</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-your-christmas-list-supporting-modern-slavery-the-dilemma-of-shopping-ethically-this-festive-season-173111">workplace exploitation including modern slavery</a> and even increasingly divisive <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14775700.2023.2273078">culture wars</a>. Nonetheless, Christmas ad producers seem to have become adept at combining commerce with the heartwarming message that this is a time of year when everyone shares responsibility for each other’s happiness and wellbeing. </p>
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<p>In my recent book, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Organizing-Christmas/Hancock/p/book/9781032552705">Organizing Christmas</a>, I show that, whatever misgivings people might have, there remains good cause to welcome the festive season. The excesses it promotes are still underpinned by the idea that generosity, compassion and empathy are values that matter. </p>
<h2>Christmas controversy</h2>
<p>John Lewis’s Snapper has been hailed as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/09/john-lewis-christmas-advert-a-terrifying-dog-eating-plant-that-vomits-presents-yes-please">something of a departure</a> from their past Christmas offerings. The message nonetheless remains that openness to and inclusion of others is the true meaning of the season – even if they happen to be a giant carnivorous plant</p>
<p>Somewhat in contrast, the takeaway of the M&S ad is that we should prioritise more “me time” at yuletide. Moreover, unlike the John Lewis offering, the M&S ad, with its emphasis on glitzy celebrities and adult-only fun, appears to be targeting – relatively narrowly – the much-maligned metropolitan elite, albeit one slightly shorter on cash than usual. The ad therefore encourages its viewers to self-indulge while they can get away with it, the festive dreams and traditions of others be damned.</p>
<p>This has provoked a backlash from more conservative commentators. </p>
<p>The vocal headteacher and former chair of the Department for Education’s social mobility commission, Katharine Birbalsingh, wrote a <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/katharine-birbalsingh-marks-spencer-christmas-advert-b1118005.html">letter of complaint</a> to M&S. She accused the retailer of ignoring “the spirit of Christmas self-sacrifice, gratitude, giving of one’s time and finances to help one’s fellow man”.</p>
<p>This sentiment has found an echo in the media. GB News presenter Mark Dolan <a href="https://youtu.be/v1S5Hx05pf0?si=tQ13f0K2Z1cGQ08F">described</a> the advert as “wokery at its finest” and a “denigration of a national tradition”. </p>
<p>By contrast, others, including <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/marks-spencer-ms-christmas-ad-katharine-birbalsingh-b2442177.html">radio presenter James O’Brien and broadcaster James May</a>, have derided Birbalsingh’s comments. To <a href="https://twitter.com/writehandmedia/status/1720463231876026829">journalist Sonya Thomas’s mind</a>, Birbalsingh has simply “lost the plot”. </p>
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<h2>Hope at Christmas</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Organizing-Christmas/Hancock/p/book/9781032552705">research</a> suggests, however, that Birbalsingh might have a point. The consumer juggernaut that Christmas has become still relies not on what we can get out of the season but on what we can give to and share with others for much of its legitimacy. And that generosity, as a value, does remain integral to understanding the season’s continued popularity. </p>
<p>This is what German philosopher Ernst Bloch <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2013/apr/29/frankfurt-school-ernst-bloch-principle-of-hope">might have called</a> the season’s “cultural surplus”. This is a set of ideas that, despite the worst excess of Christmas, stubbornly legitimises the season for the better, sustaining a sense of hope for a more compassionate and generous world. </p>
<p>From a purely commercial point of view, while provoking discussion can enhance a brand’s seasonal presence, the last thing any retailer wants is <a href="https://theconversation.com/glittering-penguins-the-power-of-the-christmas-ad-to-win-over-and-lose-customers-34025">negative publicity</a>. This is particularly true of flagship Christmas ads, given their ability to contribute to the <a href="https://www.mediaperformance.co.uk/2022/04/01/the-importance-of-christmas-advertising/">seasonal uplift in retail</a>. More importantly, though, the ad could have more widespread impact than to tarnish M&S’s reputation. </p>
<p>The problem is that the M&S ad does not just hold these values up to closer scrutiny. Unlike the John Lewis ad, it visibly celebrates the more narcissistic side of Christmas, thereby undermining the credibility of those ideas that have long served to sell us the annual Christmas dream. </p>
<p>On a more progressive note, it might also rightly prompt viewers to critically question just what this Christmas is that we are being sold. This could, in turn, nurture a more open and less self-serving way of embracing the season – and our lives together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Hancock received funding from the British Academy (SG54347).</span></em></p>The excesses Christmas promotes are still underpinned by the idea that generosity, compassion and empathy are values that matter.Philip Hancock, Professor of Work and Organisation, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1764222022-02-08T10:04:20Z2022-02-08T10:04:20ZThe case of the caterpillar cakes: why legal protection for a shape is so hard to come by<p>UK retailers Marks and Spencer (M&S) and Aldi have finally <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/01/marks-spencer-and-aldi-call-truce-in-colin-the-caterpillar-cake-war">called a truce</a> to the trademark-based legal spat pitting their caterpillar cakes, Colin and Cuthbert, against each other. While details of the settlement have not been made public, Aldi’s Cuthbert will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/01/marks-spencer-and-aldi-call-truce-in-colin-the-caterpillar-cake-war">not reportedly</a> return in quite the same form. As Aldi tweeted, upon announcing that an agreement had been reached:</p>
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<p>Colin the Caterpillar, a roll sponge cake decorated with milk and white chocolate icing and sprinkles, has been an M&S stalwart for more than 30 years. The retailer claims to have sold more than 15 million to date. Since 2011, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/food-drink/colin-caterpillar-cuthbert-aldi-cake-b2005818.html">rival products</a> with similarly alliterative names have appeared: Asda’s Clyde, Tesco’s Curly, Waitrose’s Cecil, Co-op’s Curious and <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/05/aldi-selling-cuthbert-caterpillar-cake-yes-ms-knows-10867060/">Cuthbert</a>.</p>
<p>In April 2021, presumably because it was thought that, of all the caterpillar cakes, Cuthbert most closely resembled Colin, M&S launched legal proceedings to protect its intellectual property and get Aldi to remove the product from its shelves. The retailer claimed that the similarity between the two cakes would lead consumers to think that they were of the same standard, thereby allowing Cuthbert to ride on Colin’s coattails. </p>
<p>Companies often seek to protect, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CM9-4Qrj3I&list=PLij_WrWeezY8lmE7_m35m_LxPm2H3bta0&index=3">as trademarks</a>, certain signs that help them distinguish their products and services from those of their competitors, such as brand names, logos and slogans. Along with patents (which protect innovative technical solutions) and copyright (which protects creative or intellectual works such as books and music), they are a form of intellectual property. </p>
<p>The Colin v Cuthbert dispute hinges specifically on trademarks, because it related to the distinctive characteristics of commercial assets. M&S has held trademarks in the UK in relation to <a href="https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00002499694">Colin’s name</a> and <a href="https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00003509740">green packaging</a> since 2009 and 2020 respectively, but these have not been infringed. </p>
<p>The problem for M&S is that its trademark would probably not extend to the underlying idea of a chocolate roll with a smiley face on it. Securing protection for the shape of a product is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpx028">actually quite difficult</a> in trademark law – not to mention proving that a competitor has presented his goods as those of somebody else.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/nestle-kit-kat-trade-mark-denied-eu-court-four-finger-chocolate-shape-a7477196.html">four-finger-shaped KitKat</a> chocolate bar and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/01/black-cab-shape-not-distinctive-enough-to-be-trademark-say-judges">shape of the London taxi</a> are two examples of iconic shapes that have not succeeded. One key reason behind this is that the average consumer doesn’t usually make assumptions about the origin of products on the basis of their shape, or that of their packaging, when other graphic or word elements are absent.</p>
<h2>Passing off</h2>
<p>There have been cases in the UK where shapes and packaging have attracted protection under what jurists refer to as the law of passing off. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/unregistered-trade-marks">Passing off</a> offers legal protection against harm to what is termed the “goodwill” of a business. And it can be used to protect unregistered trademarks.</p>
<p>Goodwill here is a <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/edinlr13&div=15&g_sent=1&casa_token=oT2yr7CIW7EAAAAA:aUZr8kIEfsPoGbidzl9h1oXNL2899aQaZAJ_qeBbw9qeXo_OZbuf8KPC86e2qRvXFk1BVJOIEuA&collection=journals">legal concept</a>, which refers to a business’s means of attracting people’s custom. It is harmed when a trader suggests – through misdescription on packaging or parasitic copying of a well-known product – that their product or service has some association or connection with another trader, when this is not the case. </p>
<p>In 2015, pop-star Rihanna famously <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fenty-others-v-arcadia-others1.pdf">won her battle</a> to stop fashion brand Topshop using an unlicensed image of her on a T-shirt. She did so by convincing a judge that customers buying the top would think she had endorsed it. The Court of Appeal ruled that the unauthorised use of her photograph amounted to passing off.</p>
<p>Passing-off claims are notoriously difficult to establish. If someone promotes their bottled drinking water business as “the De Beers of still water”, they may be infringing the De Beers trademark but it is unlikely that a judge would find that they were passing themselves off as connected to De Beers in any commercial sense.</p>
<p>To win a passing-off claim against Aldi, M&S would have essentially had to prove that Colin had built up such a reputation as a signature product – in the same way that Rihanna had done as a music artist and <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fenty-others-v-arcadia-others1.pdf">style icon</a> – that customers would be able to recognise it without difficulty. The retailer would also have had to prove that Cuthbert was so similar to Colin that consumers, after opening the packaging, would be misled into thinking that the two were somehow associated.</p>
<p>What is more, the fact that so many supermarket chains now have their own version of a caterpillar cake – coming in a variety of sizes and decorative features – would not have helped in establishing that Colin is unique. M&S would have had to prove that in the minds of cake buyers in the UK, the caterpillar has not become a generic shape for cakes.</p>
<p>Further, Aldi’s <a href="https://twitter.com/AldiUK/status/1383076426224705540?s=20&t=px0UuyGf_zbaeoAJgpTcyw">excellent Twitter campaign</a> – and the widespread publicity the lawsuit has attracted – will have also contributed to dispersing any consumer confusion. </p>
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<p>Lastly, it would have been difficult for M&S to argue that Aldi’s caterpillar cake had damaged or had the potential to damage the goodwill in Colin – that is, its power to attract and retain buyers of the cake. The market for caterpillar cakes is saturated: there are just so many to choose from. </p>
<p>The agreed settlement between the two parties means there was no court judgement on the facts. The terms of the settlement remain confidential. It is unknown whether liability – that is, blame – was admitted by Aldi for the wrong allegedly suffered by M&S.</p>
<p>Rarely does a party in a settlement walk away thinking, I have won. Typically, there is no winner and no loser in a negotiated resolution. This case will nonetheless have seen both M&S and Aldi benefit from the kind of marketing exposure that money cannot readily buy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trademarking a shape of a product, or proving that a competitor is passing off their product as your own, is not easy. A high-profile settlement, though, is marketing gold.Stavroula Karapapa, Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Law, University of EssexAlexandros Antoniou, Lecturer in Media Law, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1098272019-01-15T16:25:38Z2019-01-15T16:25:38ZConsumerism in crisis as millennials stay away from shops<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253888/original/file-20190115-152989-1smloz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pur-leeeze. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shopping-tourism-concept-woman-bags-263312894?src=aZnfBilPCi6hPujhzjNWfA-2-4">Syda Productions</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Christmas may seem like a distant memory, but retailers won’t forget it in a hurry: <a href="https://londonlovesbusiness.com/2018-was-the-worst-christmas-for-retail-since-2008/">it was</a> the worst on the UK high street since 2008. <a href="https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/5c2f8d617880b21084450f5e/q3">Marks & Spencer</a> and <a href="https://ir.debenhams.com/news-releases">Debenhams</a> saw sales fall, while the likes of specialist retailer <a href="https://www.halfordscompany.com/investors/rns/rns-announcements/3555642">Halfords</a> and discounter <a href="http://www.bandmretail.com/%7E/media/Files/B/BM-Stores/reports-and-presentations/financial-reports/q3-18-19-trading-update-final-pdf.pdf">B&M</a> also struggled. Even that most Christmassy of stores, John Lewis, is <a href="http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/content/dam/cws/pdfs/media/regulatory-announcements/john-lewis-partnership-plc/2019/john-lewis-partnership-christmas-trading-statement-to-5-January-2019.pdf">forecasting</a> a dive in profits after discounting to keep up with competitors. </p>
<p>Put simply, the British high street is a horror story just now. Debenhams, founded in 1778, has seen its <a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/quote/DEB.L/chart?p=DEB.L#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%3D">share price</a> drop more than 90% over the past year. HMV <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/13/potential-hmv-buyers-given-until-tuesday-to-make-an-offer">has gone into</a> administration for the second time in six years and is seeking a buyer. M&S is closing 100 stores, with the latest tranche <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/breaking-locations-next-17-ms-13858665">just announced</a>. An <a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/news/high-street-closures-claimed-93000-jobs-in-2018/7033633.article">estimated</a> 93,000 UK retail jobs were lost in 2018, and 2019 could well be even worse. </p>
<p>Economic stagnation, unfair online competition and global warming are all cited for the malaise – and certainly not for the first time. Brexit fears are <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ceedad7e-1404-11e9-a581-4ff78404524e">said to be</a> dampening the economy, for example. British brand Superdry <a href="https://corporate.superdry.com/investors/results-and-presentations/">blamed</a> its poor autumn results on unseasonably warm weather reducing demand for its jackets. And it has not gone unnoticed that Amazon’s UK business rates tax bill for 2018 <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6571389/Amazon-pays-just-63m-business-rates-despite-8billion-worth-sales.html">was significantly less</a> than smaller high street rivals. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253880/original/file-20190115-152965-16qq7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Old news.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kuala-lumpur-malaysia-june-24-2018-1151275526?src=SwqLKeuyzo9VU5244sVZfQ-1-1">TY Lim</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Though online sales have in fact <a href="https://internetretailing.net/industry/industry/online-sales-grow-half-as-fast-in-september-as-last-year-while-store-sales-continue-their-decline-brc-18511">also struggled</a> in 2018, poor business practice must also be playing a part in the wider problems. Many retailers are overburdened with debt, focused on cost-cutting rather than reinvestment, have poor stakeholder relationships, or simply lack vision. WHSmith, to take just one example, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44274654">came bottom</a> of a 2018 survey of British shoppers by consumer magazine Which?, criticised for its overpriced and out-of-date stores. Its latest results are due later in the month. </p>
<p>Yet there is another crucially important culprit that is mostly overlooked. It happens to be the one that poses the most serious long-term threat to traditional retail – more than Brexit or even Amazon. Consumerism is arguably in terminal decline, with millennials leading the change, not only in the UK but <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-19/europe-s-consumer-and-retail-woes-five-things-to-watch-in-2019">in many</a> other leading economies <a href="https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/06/global-retail/">around</a> the world. </p>
<h2>The omens</h2>
<p>Consumer studies academics have been picking up on changing habits for a number of years. This includes an increased ambivalence towards consumption itself: people are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/01/goodbye-curtains-clutter-learned-to-buy-less-stuff-shopping">buying less often</a> and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/xd79n3/we-asked-a-removal-guy-if-people-really-have-less-stuff">less overall</a>. This is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-death-of-clothing/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40523171">particularly</a> true in the clothing industry, where research <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-death-of-clothing/">shows that</a> millenials <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/millennials-prefer-to-buy-less-buy-better-buy-authentic/2018030328471">are especially</a> unforthcoming – even after you factor in the shift to online retail. A lack of bricks and mortar did not, for instance, prevent online fashion retailer Asos from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2018/dec/17/asos-profits-warning-retail-sector-sales-november-business-live">shocking</a> the City with a profit warning shortly before Christmas. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253875/original/file-20190115-152968-1ee33f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shop or drop?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/DiO3iZjMrMU">Allef Vinicuisa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The American car industry is another harbinger of generational change: sales are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40523171">stalling</a> because younger people seem less interested in ownership. The <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/notes/feds-notes/2016/the-young-and-the-carless-the-demographics-of-new-vehicle-purchases-20160624.html">average age</a> of a new car buyer in the US was 50 in 2015. Or to give one more example, witness Apple’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-really-eating-apple-and-why-steve-jobs-would-not-be-doing-a-lot-better-109377">recent</a> trading problems. People are not only opting for cheaper smartphones, but they are keeping them for longer. If the world’s first company to pass <a href="https://theconversation.com/apples-1-trillion-value-doesnt-mean-its-the-biggest-company-101225">the trillion dollar value mark</a> is showing signs of struggling, we ought to take note.</p>
<p>Some of this shift in consumption may be ideological. Researchers have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1162/1088198054084734">suggested that</a> environmental concerns might be pushing some people to consume less. Economic drivers are also probably involved. Since the 2008 financial crash, for instance, alternative consumer communities <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0267257X.2012.668922">have emerged</a>. They are more collaborative and self-sufficient; doing things among themselves rather than buying in from outside. The rise of the <a href="https://stitchedup.coop/5-reasons-swapping-is-better-than-shopping/">swapping movement</a> is a good example. </p>
<h2>Post-consumer?</h2>
<p>Yet more broadly, lifestyle changes are seeing us moving away from the consumer model which has dominated post-war capitalist economies. Buying more and more things as a source of identity and meaning seems to be gradually but consistently falling out of favour. People are <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/17/the-rise-of-experiential-commerce/?guccounter=1">increasingly interested</a> in experiences instead; the priority is making and sharing memories – interacting with other people and places, attending events, undertaking adventures and so on. We could be talking about the era of the post-consumer. </p>
<p>To fit this new ethos, it has repeatedly <a href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/economics-and-finance/why-the-future-of-the-high-street-is-all-about-experiences">been said</a> that the future of the high street lies in providing experiences. Retailers have tried to incorporate new, interactive and surprising experiences into their offerings for years now. Success stories include the bath bomb and politics-peddling cosmetics retailer <a href="https://engagecustomer.com/how-the-customer-experience-strategy-of-lush-made-it-the-uks-number-one-customer-experience-brand/">Lush</a>; or the revitalised bookseller <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/03/balancing-the-books-how-waterstones-returned-to-profit">Waterstones</a>, which promotes books using everything from huge in-store murals to themed events. </p>
<p>Experiential marketing is not a panacea, however. The casual dining sector, for example, once held up as the answer to the woes of struggling shopping centres everywhere, has itself <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/ConsumerIndustrialProducts/deloitte-uk-casual-dining-market.pdf">had a difficult 2018</a>. The problem with selling experiences is that it is easier for someone to create them themselves. We buy things because it is convenient or we don’t have the skills to make them. But some of the best experiences, such as going for a walk or meeting a friend, are free. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253863/original/file-20190115-152977-11scibg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trolleyed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/empty-shopping-cart-on-blue-background-796791667?src=5KcmAoiJuKpAcpC2JH_yZA-1-84">Zhenzhirov</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In short, there’s not necessarily an easy answer for this long-term decline. We’re talking about a growing dissatisfaction with the idea that passive consumption equals happiness. The reasons are certainly varied and complex, but if consumption is increasingly passé, we must start thinking about how to respond. </p>
<p>The retailers that survive will be the ones that genuinely understand what is happening; the answer is likely to lie in offering objects, services and experiences that feel genuine and enriching. In many cases, it will be about building a long-term relationship that foregoes selling things now and perhaps, say, provides a space where people can make meaning for themselves – French beauty chain Sephora looks like a pioneer here, with its very casual, try-before-you-buy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/fashion/sephora-beauty-retail-technology.html">approach</a> to retailing. </p>
<p>Whether such initiatives can sustain economic growth is another question, however. Consumerism has been the beating heart of Western economies for generations; if it can’t be resuscitated, it raises profound questions about how society will function in future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Canavan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Forget Brexit or online competition. Millennials are just not consuming with the same fervour as their mums and dads.Brendan Canavan, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/790652017-06-28T14:06:33Z2017-06-28T14:06:33ZM&S delivers – but is it too late?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175854/original/file-20170627-24813-w8gtfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C30%2C5116%2C3377&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/liverpool-uk-3rd-november-2016-people-511384453?src=bWVRj9_srFK-b5sdTmoUvA-1-12">Kenny1/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the last five years <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11282688/How-the-UK-embraced-the-online-shopping-revolution.html">a revolution</a> on the British high street has seen businesses and their customers wholeheartedly <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9157237/More-High-Street-shops-to-close-as-shoppers-move-online.html">embrace online</a> shopping. </p>
<p>Some companies seized the opportunity to branch out into often unfamiliar territory, while others failed to recognise how forcefully and quickly this market trend would blossom. When Marks and Spencer – the iconic socks-to-sausage rolls retailer – finally gets round to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/27/this-is-not-just-any-online-grocer-ms-plans-food-delivery-service">trialling food deliveries</a> this autumn, it will find out if that particular lucrative ship has sailed.</p>
<p>M&S is playing catch-up with pretty much every one of its direct competitors in food retail. And the warnings are there for high street laggards. Now gone are places like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/06/blockbuster-video-closes-remaining-stores">Blockbuster video</a> and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/09/12/first.borders.bookstore.closing/index.html">Borders bookshops</a>, which failed to adapt their business to the “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11714847/Online-shopping-is-king-high-street-stores-must-adapt-or-die.html">sofa-surfers</a>” whose shopping style was attuned to the advent of rivals such as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/09/05/a-look-back-at-why-blockbuster-really-failed-and-why-it-didnt-have-to/#759e41fa1d64">Netflix</a> and <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/03/18/amazon-prime-bigger-more-powerful-more-profitable-than-anyone-imagined/">Amazon Prime</a>. </p>
<p>It’s worth remembering that Netflix in 2000 <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/blockbuster-laughed-at-netflix-partnership-offer/">proposed a partnership</a> to Blockbuster CEO John Antioco and his team, only to be turned down. Choosing your moment can be crucial.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175861/original/file-20170627-24760-48qt69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ancient history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chichester-england-november-10-closing-down-163045838?src=cHAnMG8TRnX4mXn1KqCaKw-1-1">JLRPhotography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Belly up</h2>
<p>Whether or not a company survives depends on a number of factors, but mostly it concerns one key objective – can it remain profitable? What this often translates to is how well a company can maintain a market presence by offering a <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/14301696">unique selling proposition</a> – what marketing types like to call a USP. This can include offering the best price, best quality, market-leading service, widest choice, best guarantee or a market-leading product. In short, anything that distinguishes it (positively) from the main competition. </p>
<p>M&S has traded on its reputation for quality and a mixed offering, but with equally mixed results. Clothing has consistently struggled, while food has <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/ms-to-trial-online-food-delivery-service-this-autumn-10853563">underpinned its performance</a>. When trying to maintain a fine balance like that, the line between thriving and failing becomes a fine one. </p>
<p>Many in the past have offered a USP, and been much-loved by the public. Once-renowned companies such as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-36127732/three-things-bhs-got-wrong">BHS</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25345257">Blockbuster</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/26/borders-closure-stores-amazon">Borders</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20164228">Comet</a>, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/6570626/Woolworths-the-failed-struggle-to-save-a-retail-giant.html">Woolworths</a> were all once market leaders in their respective fields, but eventually they all failed. They failed to remain relevant in their respective markets and often failed to embrace technology which would have allowed them to keep up with the competition.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175863/original/file-20170627-24776-10zt5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hitting the wall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/4692390873/in/photolist-89DJjV-7e6ir4-5HLdDR-6LwTFc-92NEia-7dayCk-5Lxgjk-7DEecT-7AL8xy-fxAHaS-wXrc51-7dnC8v-5UVy6C-favAL-9nWBqA-5UVKtR-5UVw8d-5UVx2Y-6gpPLH-62DRrS-5jvi5Z-5MyiK2-pNdgWn-dtGTR4-4pvgss-q5pN5p-844rKR-p8QybK-p8MYXL-5WZDRF-5NU1ti-4xAVW-q5pMcn-pNdi9T-5Xve7t-78upnz-6fXYfR-dhcFdP-6gvrvJ-6yTmKo-6fXXQx-7BiBXE-6oZYnB-jLsJF-5WFFh9-69DV6L-63fCzd-9HGreM-6g3aLA-5Ns5pq">Leo Reynolds/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Staying alive</h2>
<p>Survival involves much more than management making the right decisions, it often involves being ahead of the curve. We can see the effect of this dynamic in the UK high street right now. It is why M&S has had its <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11513251/Marks-and-Spencer-has-no-place-in-the-modern-world-which-is-why-its-recovery-should-be-celebrated.html">place in the modern world questioned</a> on a number of occasions. </p>
<p>M&S’ sustained issues with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35251415">its clothing range</a> have been masked by strength in food, which has made it all the more odd that the move into deliveries <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39743611">has taken so long</a>, and seems so tentative, even now. At a time when retail space is no longer entirely essential, M&S is caught between <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/11/04/marks--spencer-to-shut-uk-stores-in-shop-shake-up/">closing some stores</a> and opening new food-only stores as it tries to understand changing demand.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175865/original/file-20170627-24776-phhw5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New benchmarks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-november-19-2011-ikea-422348707?src=9j2NkAzwAxMSXFxQOi3WCg-1-5">Tony Baggett/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The warnings from retail experts are all about failing to latch on to <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/retail-trends-2017.html">market movements and trends</a>, but M&S has seemed more worried about the risks of being the front runner. It is true that trends can quickly fade, but anyone watching Tesco, Asda, Ocado and Sainsbury’s vans rattling up and down our streets every day must have wondered what M&S was playing at.</p>
<p>Clicks are king for the moment, and for “bricks and mortar” retailers to thrive, they must develop a business structure that makes sense right now. If M&S wants an example to follow it could do worse than <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2012/12/05/ikea-is-a-world-wide-wonder/#2434bd8f27b9">Ikea</a>, which has worked to get rid of inefficient practices and established teams that collaborate across all channels, not just one, a tactic that may help M&S with the challenge of running its clothing offering alongside food and homewares. </p>
<p>Food deliveries are an effort to meet new customer demands, but M&S would do well to view its all of its operations from the position of the consumer – from the outside in – to develop an environment that actually enhances brand loyalty across all products. <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2013/01/25/apple-trademarks-design-stores/">Apple’s product showrooms</a> are world leaders in this respect.</p>
<p>M&S faces another testing year on the high street and on the internet. It no doubt hopes that a late foray into food deliveries will expose its business to more sofa-surfers and in turn help its ailing clothing division. But, a word of caution. Competition will be fierce, and if those previous company failures have taught us anything, it is that brand loyalty can vanish in the face of poorly handled strategy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79065/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Wood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What the lessons of failed high street brands mean as M&S finally makes a big move.John Wood, Lecturer in Law, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/778212017-05-17T15:09:53Z2017-05-17T15:09:53ZWho needs experts? UK retail giants take a calculated risk with new bosses<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169597/original/file-20170516-11956-hw7kxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=245%2C303%2C4955%2C3227&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-uk-may-11facade-marks-spencer-638496250?src=BDlY_untuPuhm47idK3dPQ-1-19">george green/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two established British high street stores have announced senior appointments, both of which have sparked some surprise across the industry. A new CEO at department store House of Fraser and a new director of home, clothing and beauty at Marks & Spencer share an intriguing characteristic: both will arrive in these posts with little relevant experience of their new fields.</p>
<p>You might think this taps into a wider, global trend, where in the US and France, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have both won the presidency after seeing off rivals with more impressive and relevant CVs. </p>
<p>But business, and in particular the retail business, tends to reward detailed industry knowledge gleaned from time spent at the coal face. That’s why there was much surprise at <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/03/ms-poaches-halfords-bossjill-mcdonald-run-struggling-clothing/">Jill McDonald’s move to M&S</a> from automotive retailer Halfords, and <a href="https://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/house_of_fraser_names_new_chief_executive_12-05-17/">Alex Williamson’s switch to HoF</a> from running the Goodwood sporting estate in Sussex. Both are tried and tested managers, but both would appear to be fish out of water in their new roles.</p>
<p>Although the leadership turnover in the retail world is relatively high – across the UK’s largest 300 retailers there were 41 changes at CEO level <a href="http://www.kornferry.com/institute/uk-retail-tracker-2017">in the past year alone</a> – these kinds of unconventional appointments are rare. </p>
<h2>Sporting chance</h2>
<p>But perhaps the electoral success of Trump and Macron could help explain it. Do those at leadership level in UK retail really need to have had specialist functional skills or prior sector experience?</p>
<p>Both M&S and HoF already have product design, buying, marketing, data analytics, supply chain and store management teams, full of very talented individuals, and so it may be that exemplary transferable skills, in particular leadership, are the real requirement, whether gained in the retail sector or not.</p>
<p>There are some parallels that can be drawn with recruitment and development programmes in high performance sport. They include <a href="http://www.eis2win.co.uk/expertise/pathways/">Performance Pathways</a>, the collaboration between UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS), which sought to identify talented athletes who had no previous experience of a specific sport and develop them for success at Olympic and Paralympic Games. That project has resulted in over 100 newly identified athletes across 17 sports, and secured more than 150 international medals. </p>
<p>Their <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/from-pitch-to-podium-footy-rejects-get-lifeline-1693418.html">Pitch to Podium scheme</a> tried to do a similar thing with young footballers who hadn’t made it to the highest level in their chosen sport, but who might have the right physiology and attitude to succeed in other sporting disciplines. In both these examples, it is transferable strengths that were sought after and valued, rather than specific previous experience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169599/original/file-20170516-11952-amvh9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Second chance?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/football-soccer-387311377?src=NNDrG6TCmz40YloVLbTaSg-1-23">makieni/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Team talk</h2>
<p>At M&S, McDonald will have the support of an experienced clothing and beauty director, and will also work with Neal and Mark Lindsey, the former sourcing gurus at high street rival Next, who have been retained to sharpen M&S’ <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/03/ms-poaches-halfords-bossjill-mcdonald-run-struggling-clothing/">clothing supply chain</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, HoF have built up one of the strongest retail management teams to ensure they <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/11/house-fraser-hires-new-boss-no-retail-experience/">have a balance of skills</a> and so Williamson will be leading a team recently strengthened by the recruitment of several experienced retail operators from, among others, online fashion retailer Asos, M&S and rival department store John Lewis.</p>
<p>While McDonald’s appointment prompted predictable <a href="http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/marks-spencer-new-boss-jill-mcdonald">“from jump leads to jumpsuits”</a>, press coverage, M&S CEO Steve Rowe sought to highlight her customer knowledge and experience in running dynamic, high achieving teams <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/03/ms-poaches-halfords-bossjill-mcdonald-run-struggling-clothing/">which he felt</a> “made her exactly the right person to lead this all-important part of the M&S business from recovery into growth”.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169600/original/file-20170516-11920-1rpg1c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Trouble in store? M&S clothing lines have struggled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>As Nick Bubb, a leading UK retailing analyst <a href="https://www.retail-week.com/analysis/opinion/nick-bubbs-verdict-on-jill-mcdonalds-move-to-ms/7020628.article">pointed out</a>, the role that McDonald takes on at M&S is crying out for somebody who is good with customers and people and that “leftfield” choices for key leadership positions can sometimes be inspiring. He also thought that the task of managing the inexorable decline of M&S clothing may well need new talents from outside the fashion industry.</p>
<p>The House of Fraser appointment is perhaps slightly more difficult to understand, but again you need to look behind the headlines. Last month, HoF revealed plans to turn its shops into a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/11/house-fraser-defends-department-stores-online-shoppers-drive/">“lifestyle-led experience”</a> by adding restaurants, cafes and more beauty services.</p>
<p>With that in mind, Williamson’s experience at Goodwood starts to make a little more sense. And HoF chairman, Frank Slevin, focused on his new CEO’s ability to deliver “compelling and engaging experiences for the customer” <a href="https://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/house_of_fraser_names_new_chief_executive_12-05-17/">when announcing the appointment</a>. He also said: “Transformation isn’t delivered by classic retail appointments.” </p>
<p>Perhaps that says it all. It may well be a risk to bring in new retail leaders – or even presidents of G7 countries – without them ticking off all the traditional staging posts on their career path, but they certainly have the capacity to shake things up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nelson Blackley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When presidents are elected with no experience, perhaps M&S and House of Fraser are right to try the same formula.Nelson Blackley, Senior Research Associate, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/705432016-12-21T12:06:14Z2016-12-21T12:06:14ZHow TV channels are selling themselves this Christmas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151002/original/image-20161220-26738-1njsw9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">BBC One's Xmas ident. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Television <a href="http://www.barb.co.uk/trendspotting/analysis/online-tv-viewing/">might be</a> rapidly migrating online but channels are fighting hard to stay relevant. Making the brand stand out, especially at Christmas, is still a big priority for broadcasters aiming to be part of our viewing decisions on whatever device we are watching on. Spend any time on a channel and see the festive idents – the branding sequences between programmes – and this immediately becomes obvious. </p>
<p>So how best to do this? As Andy Bryant and Charlie Mawer of TV ident veterans Red Bee <a href="https://www.koganpage.com/product/the-tv-brand-builders-9780749476687#region">put it</a> recently, the key is for a channel to look fresh, maintain a distinctive personality and break the rules of what should come between programmes. BBC One, the UK’s flagship channel <a href="http://www.barb.co.uk/trendspotting/analysis/share-by-channel-2/">with about</a> 22% of the total audience share, is a good example this year. </p>
<p>The channel has gone for a concept branded One-ness that feels very similar to how supermarkets or department stores are advertised – not surprising when the same creative team was <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/worlds-creative-partnerships-john-lewis-adam-eve-ddb/1398507">responsible</a> for TV advertising for the likes of department store John Lewis. The BBC One advert feels less about television and more a post-Brexit hug. Set to an indie-folk version of Merry Christmas Everyone, the one-minute film includes mixed-ethnicity couples and a <a href="http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/55947/sex-couple-share-kiss-bbc-ones-christmas-advert/">gay kiss</a>, following the path set earlier this year by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siBRvC9YSc4">Lloyds Bank’s</a> same-sex proposal “For Your Next Step”. </p>
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<p>The whole approach is about creating an air of authenticity with vignettes of real life coming together at Christmas time. It’s being used by advertisers around the world this festive season, though for retail not television channels – department store <a href="https://vimeo.com/190736076">David Jones</a> in Australia, for example, and Norwegian electronics chain <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFAmiKo33s">Elkjøp</a></p>
<h2>Dragons and hashtags</h2>
<p>In complete contrast is Sky 1. Sky 1 has a only fraction of BBC One’s audience, <a href="http://www.barb.co.uk/trendspotting/analysis/share-by-channel-2/">1% of</a> the UK total. But it is backed by commercial leviathan BSkyB and plays a flagship role in the broadcaster’s pay-TV offering – arguably the main threat to the BBC in the UK. </p>
<p>It is running a fairly generic <a href="https://youtu.be/5etMwhY7YOY">40-second round-up</a> of its Christmas highlights, branded “New. Unmissable. Exclusive.” but also a separate advert dedicated to The Last Dragonslayer. This is the cinematic adaptation of <a href="http://www.jasperfforde.com/dragon/dragon.html">Jasper Fforde’s book</a> that is the <a href="https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2016/sky1-announces-brand-new-christmas-drama-the-last-dragonslayer">centrepiece</a> of Sky’s push to win the Christmas evening ratings. </p>
<p>Flanked by a logo “Sky 1 Presents”, the advert uses snowy mountain ranges and a dragon’s head to build excitement ahead of the premiere. It is an example of “day and date” marketing, <a href="https://www.koganpage.com/product/the-tv-brand-builders-9780749476687#region">one of</a> the biggest trends in global TV, and Sky clearly thinks it could have big audiences on its hands given the huge success of other fantasy dramas such as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/">Game of Thrones</a>. </p>
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<p>This is about a collective family television experience with a second-screen commentary running in parallel on social media using the hashtag #SlayDay. It is part of a phenomenon that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maya-grinberg/superbowl-2012-breaks-soc_b_1260869.html">began with</a> the American Super Bowl in 2012, which rewrote the marketing strategies for television channels. Not to be outdone, BBC One has its own day and date event lined up for New Year’s Day with <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-12-06/when-does-the-new-series-of-sherlock-start-on-tv">Sherlock</a>. </p>
<h2>Television personalities</h2>
<p>The UK’s other terrestrial channels are approaching Christmas in roughly the way you might expect, following the personality concept I mentioned earlier. So ITV is seeking to woo its older more family-oriented audience with idents that feel like a fancily packaged but familiar box of camp sweet-smelling soaps. </p>
<p>The strapline is, “All your favourite favourites, from our family to yours”. There’s a run-down of programmes backed by jingling bells and the Twelve Days of Christmas, and a subtler nod to inclusivity in the form of a black girl playing beside a Christmas tree. </p>
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<p>Youth-leaning Channel 4 has parked its usual <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-channel-4s-new-branding-is-worthy-of-a-turner-prize-49162">avant garde idents</a> and gone for a film themed around a sharp postmodern Mrs Claus pulling up in her red sports car at C4HQ to help launch Christmas. Interestingly, this is a tie-in with retailer M&S, which used the same Mrs Claus in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK-Vv_q5OsQ">its festive advert</a> (wearing M&S clothes, naturally). </p>
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<p>BBC Two has repeated its recent trick of offsetting BBC One’s high spending by <a href="https://theident.gallery/bbc2-2015-xmas.php">reprising</a> iconic idents from the last 25 years in a long run of make-do-and-mend nostalgia. BBC Four is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P9EfWd-28E">even more modest</a>, placing a snowflake like a figleaf over the letter “o” in a suitably lo-fi way for its artier and more niche offering. </p>
<p>In short, you can tell a lot about a channel from what it does at Christmas, not to mention the state of a nation. It’s not easy to be innovative – a bit like dusting down old baubles and Christmas decorations for your tree each year – but it’s at least a reminder that there are different things on offer. If a programme gets stale or you become restless between helpings of turkey and cake, be sure to remember where you left the remote control.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iain Macdonald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From that gay kiss to dragon slaying, festive TV adverts speak volumes about the broadcasters.Iain Macdonald, Associate Professor of Advertising and Graphic Design, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.