LSN : Daily Signals : Gucci’s New Bond Street flagship store focuses on VIP consumers

LG releases 27-inch portable television screen in a suitcase

LG StanbyME, US

US – LG Electronics has released LG StanbyME Go, a 27-inch touchscreen built into a suitcase. Unveiled in August 2023 and designed with travellers in mind, the rotating screen allows users to watch films on the go and in outdoor environments.

With three hours of battery life, LG’s webOS smart tv platform and a 20W four-channel speaker system, the screen can be tilted, rotated to 90 degrees, adjusted by up to 18cm and even put into table mode to play virtual games such as chess. The screen can also withstand high and low pressure, low temperatures, salt spray and accidental drops, making it a durable product to travel with. Priced at £798($999.99, €930) and available for pre-order in the US, LG has plans for a European roll-out next month.

Until now, big-screen portable entertainment innovations have been dominated by the car sector, as we explored in our Auto Entertainment microtrend report. The LG StanbyME GO indicates Big Tech’s growing interest in this market and is a testament to LG’s leading-edge thinking.

Strategic opportunity

By stepping out of the house, LG is exploring the development of innovative, portable entertainment devices that cater for consumers’ desire for flexibility and mobility. How can your brand adapt to this demand for on-the-go entertainment that moves the attention away from smartphones?

Gucci’s New Bond Street flagship store focuses on VIP consumers

Gucci, New Bond Street, UK

UK – Italian luxury giant Gucci opened its new flagship store and exclusive salons on London’s prestigious New Bond Street in September 2023. The 15,000-square-feet megastore, located in a historical Grade II-listed building, marks a significant development in Gucci’s brand strategy.

The store’s layout is designed to prioritise Gucci’s most luxury-focused customers, offering an elevated shopping experience. The ground floor showcases a range of products, including handbags, footwear, fine jewellery and more. But the store’s true innovation lies on its upper levels. The fragrance and timepieces sections are complemented by a mezzanine floor housing the Gucci Valigeria travel collection, while a Tudor Room on this floor will exhibit items from Gucci’s archive in Florence.

The crowning jewel of the store is Europe’s first Gucci Salon on the top floor, which made its debut in Los Angeles earlier this year. This VIP space is designed to resemble an elegant home, and offers made-to-measure and made-to-order pieces, and promotes intimate, personalised interactions with the brand for its top-tier clients. The opening of such a VIP space underlines the growing importance of catering to Guilded Luxury clients in retail, as discussed in Five Luxury Brands Recrafting Heritage In-Store.

Strategic opportunity

Amid rising inflation, luxury returns to its exclusive roots with VIP spaces or salons that provide a private, luxurious and personalised shopping experience for top-tier clients. How can your business create such spaces to foster deeper brand loyalty and increased spending?

Lifestyle magazine The Face begins multi-functional talent agency

UK – The Face magazine (published under Wasted Talent) has launched The Face Represents (TFR), a one-of-a-kind agency offering bespoke talent representation, curation and artist services.

Intended to bridge the gap between talent, brands and fans, TFR uses The Face’s reputation for finding and platforming under-the-radar talent across the creative industries. The initial roster includes musicians Beabadoobee and Annahstasia, and sustainable fashion designer Freya McKee.

‘For the Face’s entire history, we’ve always been about finding the most talented, forward-thinking people – not just the biggest – and letting them tell their story to a wider audience. But increasingly, the people that we work with are operating outside the system and need to find new ways of connecting with our industry’s most innovative brands,’ managing director Dan Flower told WWD.

As explored in our Elastic Brands report, embracing flexibility and diversifying offerings to remain relevant amid rising inflation and budget cuts is crucial for brands. TFR is the second such initiative for Wasted Talent and The Face, following Accelerator, an in-house TikTok talent agency that was launched in March 2021.

The Face Represents (TFR), UK

Strategic opportunity

To create new revenue streams amid a magazine industry in crisis, The Face repackaged its USP to service the emerging needs of the creative industries. How can your business build resilience and prioritise reactive and flexible growth strategies like this?

Stat: American Gen Z workers plan to change jobs frequently

Toi Toi Toi Creative Studio for Contentful. Photography by Koy+Winkel, Germany

US – A report by ResumeLab released in September 2023 suggests that young Americans aren’t planning to stick around for long in the workplace. The majority (83%) of all Gen Z workers surveyed consider themselves job-hoppers. Some 77% of those with no degree and 92% of those with a master's degree also consider themselves to be job-hoppers.

ResumeLab surveyed 1,100 US-based workers belonging to Gen Z, defined as the generation born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, to examine their work expectations, demands and habits. Although they seem to be ready to move from job to job, a majority (97%) of the young people surveyed admitted that work is part of their identity.

Contrary to initial impressions, 78% of the Gen Z respondents said they plan to spend between two and five years with their current employer, showing a willingness to grow for several years at the same company.

As explored in our Work States Futures macrotrend, it is up to employers to understand and respond to Gen Z’s various needs to retain them in the long term.

Strategic opportunity

As Gen Z value career growth but may not be interested in traditional, linear career paths, consider implementing flexible career development plans that allow your Gen Z employees to explore different roles and experiences