Doug Gollan @ luxurysociety.com

Doug Gollan, founder of Elite Traveler, shares key insights into how the Internet, technology and mobile devices are impacting consumer retail behaviour

Former Women’s Wear Daily Editor Robin Lewis is co-author of the 2010 book “The New Rules of Retail.” He has also held executive positions at DuPont, VF Corporation, Goldman Sachs and is CEO and Editor of The Robin Report, a newsletter on retail trends.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Robin speak during a private luncheon and the content was so interesting I wanted to share it with the Luxury Society community.

“The Harvard Business School may have a different answer,” believes Lewis, “but here’s my definition of a Disrupter: The guy who comes into your market and screws up your business by doing something different.”

In a period of brand extensions, global expansion, economic uncertainty where macro data doesn’t match micro actions and where technology is moving faster than it is possible to track, here are some of Lewis’ thoughts I found interesting:

“ The Smartphone is the Igniter-in-Chief ”

THE CLIMATE

– Internet Technology and Globalization = The All Powerful Consumer

– The words retail and wholesale will cease to exist
– Everything will be accessible to everybody 24/7
– Today consumers have everything in their pocket
– The Smartphone is the Igniter-in-Chief.
– Retailers need to get to the customer first
– Traditional planned media strategies are not longer relevant

Pre-emptive disruption means if there are 100 equally compelling products the key is to get to the consumer first. Hockey great Wayne Gretkzy when asked what made him the best player in history said, “I don’t go where the puck is. I go to where the puck will be.”.

“ The point of sale today is the consumer ”

THE CONSUMER

– It’s a consumer centric world. The store must go to the consumer.
-The point of sale today is the consumer
– Consumers have too much stuff.
– The Mass Affluent consumers want exclusive products at affordable prices.

Boomers are downsizing and dying. Their career as luxury goods consumers is over. They are putting discretionary money into health and wellness.

Luxury consumption has moved from Need Stuff to Demand Experience. It used to be a yoga rack, now it’s the yoga lifestyle with community, classes, trips.

To reach Millennials luxury providers need to embed technology throughout the supply chain

Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship

EVERYTHING OVERLOAD

– The tsunami of new technology is overwhelming
– In 1980 there were six major blue jean brands. In 2010 there were over 800.

There are over 500 million websites. There are over two million apps for consumers who do not need anything. Consumers are overstuffed. The mass affluent consumer wallet is shrinking mean there are share wars, with increased price promotion and discounting, a troublesome trend for luxury.

There is retail saturation in America. In the United States there is 20 square feet for every person versus three square feet in the UK, two in France and Brazil and one in Germany.