Concept store is a term often heard, but many people are not sure what it means. If you are one of them, you are certainly not alone, but the strategy behind the words is simple: the shop should be attractive, take customers on a journey of discovery and motivate them to buy things – time and time again. With the invitation to touch and experience products, the concept represents a charismatic alternative to anonymous online shopping.
Tendence in Frankfurt am Main from 24 to 27 June 2017 will show ways in which smaller retail formats can react swiftly and flexibly to changes in demand and, via their creative commitment, attract potential customers. This year’s edition of the trade fair is devoting a complete special exhibition to the concept store.
At the exhibition, the themed ‘Cool Materials’ and ‘Mix of Fun’ areas will give trade visitors the opportunity to slip into their customers’ role. Each of the two contrarian assortment concepts shows how traditional retail space can be turned into a concept store and be rounded off by instructions, tips and practice-oriented ideas.
“Many retailers who opt for concept-store solutions are pleasantly surprised”, says Claudia Hain. With her ‘Mutlabor’, the master goldsmith and specialist for home and lifestyle accessories is not only much in demand as a consultant for the consumer-goods sector but also the creative mind behind the Tendence area. “A successful concept store is oriented towards the preferences, interests and perspectives of its most important customer target groups. Anything goes – however, the assortment must be in line with an easily identifiable theme, including elements of surprise”, adds Claudia Hain.
With this area, Tendence is once again championing the European retail trade and offering a special area that helps explain the thinking behind the concept-store idea in a comprehensible and tangible way. Twice a day, guided tours of the contrasting fields of Cool Materials and Mix of Fun explain ways in which retailers can set up their own concept store.
Tendence is Germany’s prime international order venue for the second half of the year. The wide-ranging product portfolio covers fields of the home, furnishing, decorating, gifts, jewellery, fashion accessories, home textiles and outdoor living. Special shows and a wide-ranging complementary programme of events are multi-faceted sources of sales-boosting impulses for retailers. Strong brands and key communicators use this new-products platform to present their trends for the winter and Christmas season. At the same time, they give bulk buyers from the international trade the chance to place orders in good time for their spring and summer collections.
