New Window Concepts Point to Retail’s Resurgence

IT HAS BEEN A busy time for the retail industry since my last blog. I am certainly noticing that the tide is finally changing for retail, especially given the superb window concepts I am beginning to see throughout London paired with the positive things I am hearing when talking with key stake holders – all very uplifting. In recent months, retail across the board has tried to picked itself back up, despite what we are hearing from and reading in the media.

Here in the U.K., the first window concepts celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee have been installed at the iconic department store Fortnum & Mason in London’s Piccadilly. This huge British celebration will undoubtably will play a major part in the retail industry and increase visitor numbers to our capital city. (Creative Download has several Platinum Jubilee windows scheduled in the diary and these will be quite fun to install. It will be something completely different!)

Retail abroad is also starting to recover: This past March I spent 10 days in Dubai working with a client, overseeing the installation of Ramadan themed window concepts in a number of stores. Once again, the retail mood around the city was very uplifting, and it was good to see so many engaging window concepts from Bloomingdale’s to Harvey Nichols, to name a few.

The small VM team I was working with on the Ramadan windows were very excited to get to work with me, knowing how passionate and enthusiastic I am about retail and VM. Now back in the U.K., I am working with my client remotely with forthcoming concepts such as travel, back-to-school and Christmas, which will be here before we know it.

In other uplifting retail news, The British Display Society (of which I am Chair) exhibited at The VM & Display Show at the Business Design Centre in London in early April. This was the first time in two years that the show has operated, and the general consensus was positive. Both exhibitors and visitors welcomed the face-to-face interaction, lots of people exuding a congenial attitude and a forward-looking standpoint for how 2022/23 will turn out, mostly through the lens of the concepts they are planning.

As we continue to move forward, I believe the next year to year-and-a-half is going to be a very exciting time for retail worldwide. There seems to be a growing interest in the visual merchandising profession. It’s great to see creativity and passion for the industry begin to resurface post-pandemic.

I am also thrilled to announce the new Creative Download website. It has taken several months of planning and change of hosting company, hence the slight delay, but I am very pleased with the end result. Onwards and upwards!