Special Offer Syndrome - Can Retailers Escape?

Put any online retailer, brand or store into any search engine and you will come up with a vast number of sites where, supposedly, you can find a voucher code or special offer.  I say ‘supposedly’ because frequently these codes are expired, filched from affiliate or Sunday supplement offers or restricted to small groups of products.  That notwithstanding you can find some very good offers, it just depends on what you’re looking for and how much time you have to spare to dig and extract the rubbish first before getting to the gold.

Voucher codes have become part of the new online-speak suggesting that most retailers are now discounting to someone, somewhere pretty well all the time.  Forget the twice yearly sale - we are now a nation on sale continuously which inevitably causes huge problems for retailers.  Do they discount early to beat the pack to the detriment of their margins from then on (because they only way forward is down)?  Do they wait and hope that buyers will keep buying at full price and not notice all the others discounters?  Do they start cutting prices right from the start of the season by use of voucher codes at different rates to different publications (hoping they won’t notice) which becomes never ending.

I don’t, of course, have the answers to any of these, but having been in fashion retail for a number of years I know just how dangerous this all is and the necessity of weighing up sliding margins against overstocks.  We are in the middle of a never ending price war - and it doesn’t matter what you sell, someone out there will be offering it for less.

One solution, however has, particularly for the smaller retailer, to be better buying; less trend driven, more thought to the commercial and a balance between what is current and one season only and what will go on from season to season.  Yes trends are important of course but it’s better to buy into them, particularly if in doubt, in a very small way and sell out, then have endless lime green jumpsuits on the sale rail at the end of the season - and I’ve seen that one happen and been astonished that any buyer could think that there were that number of fashion victims out there.

I was put on the spot yesterday by a snap interview (which took place with me on my Blackberry in Selfridges’ doorway on Oxford street) with a major national newspaper discussing trends - how they got out there - who bought into them and why - so if that one appears in print I’ll be certain to let you know.

In the meantime I suspect that there is no escape for now from ‘Special Offer Syndrome’; that each retailer is well and truly ‘hoist with his own petard’ (Hamlet, no less) and that the future answer has to be with customer profiling, analytics and intelligent merchandising.


On a much lighter note my hallway is now littered with the younger son’s ‘stuff’ which won’t fit in his room and which he couldn’t be bothered to put in the ‘dump’ room (which used to be a very nice study) so there it will have to stay until he gets back from his holiday in Cornwall, to be joined on Friday by the daughter’s ‘stuff’ from her trip to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, most of which I suspect is going to be quite nasty.

One thing I had forgotten, because my kids live away now most of the time, was the sheer volume of noise of their music, totally conflicting with mine.  However I have to say that on Sunday morning I won the competition, blasting out Wagner’s Ride of the Walkure at huge volume on my far higher quality speakers (and subwoofer).  The question now is how long will I hang on to my speakers when they are all back?  And my pc?  And my Nano? 

The answer to that has to be a Eurostar ticket, a packed bag, a set of mini speakers and headphones and the aforesaid Nano well hidden and I’ll be happy to take my music with me and leave them all to it for a long, long while………………… 

In the Swim - Swim and Resort for Real People

If this title is slightly ambiguous I’ll explain - I’ve long had a theory about swimwear, regardless of the superb bodies of the swimwear models in all the pics, that where swim and resort wear are concerned, unless you are seriously perfectly bodied and around the age of my daughter (oh well perhaps that’s a bit mean - add a few years on to her 19 then), less is less, and a bit more is better by far.

By that I mean that most women above a certain age look better in a one-piece than an itsy bitsy bikini no matter how much of themselves they’re desperate to bring back home a roasted or golden brown. I’m ducking under my desk right now as someone out there I’m sure is going to disagree with me for saying this.

Go to any beach or sunny poolside and you’ll see numerous sights you’d really rather not clap eyes on and the question is why? The answer is either because some girls seem determined to tan as much as possible, or because their partners/friends are either ridiculously tactful (and thankfully I don’t know any of those) or have totally rosy tinted spectacles and no sense.

To my mind the best swimwear is beautifully cut, one piece and can be bandeau, halter or one shoulder, with enough on show to be sexy, glamorous, chic (or whatever look you're after), but not so much that it looks as if you're trying too hard.

Two of the best places to find designer and reasonably priced swimwear are Figleaves and Simply Beach, both of whom carry glamorous brands such as Gottex, Melissa Odabash, Bond Eye, Seafolly, Manuel Canovas and Fantasie plus Miraclesuit, which goes in many styles up to a size 20.

This year to my mind Simply Beach wins the prize for choice easily.

It’s nearing the end of May and most of us are going to be hitting the beach, pool or deck-side soon - are you ready?

The daughter is now on her way back from New Zealand and has managed to arrive with bags intact - just praying it stays the same way on to Singapore! The younger son is home, four loads of laundry completed, by me of course, and will be away again later today. My peace is definitely going to be totally shattered very soon when they are all back for laundry, dining and other general ‘hotel’ facilities. I may just be away.

Dreaming of a pretty poolside in the South of France…………………………………………………….

Web Hints - The Power of the Picture

At a recent meeting at IMRG the subject ‘Content is King’ came up.

Now of course there was plenty to be bandied about on the latest website innovations; rich media; the use of flash; video streaming and general brand experience but all of these, to my mind, although very important from a ‘keeping up with the Jones’s point of view’ may not necessarily add to the basic shopping experience if you’re in a hurry and looking for something specific. In fact they may just detract from it (and more about this later) if your site usability is not crystal clear.

I know that I’m going to be shot down in flames for saying this, but am I seriously the lone voice out there whining that actually I really just want to buy a pair of shoes, I want them to be black (!) high heeled, elegant/sexy/daytime/night time and I want to get to them as quickly as possible? I don’t want to watch the movie. I don’t want to see 100 pairs of brown, beige, red or, help me here, purple shoes. I just want black. NOW!

Which brings me back to the Power of the Picture, and Content is King, and the things that, if you are a normal, not over cash-endowed online retailer of shoes, bags or anything else, you have to do if you want to keep up in today’s online marketplace and which in fact, if you don't, you will seriously get left behind.

So here they are:

One product picture is not enough; It doesn’t matter how clear it is, how colour correct it is - nowadays you need to show multiple views including interiors. Two of the best websites for demonstrating this are http://www.netaporter.com/ and http://www.forzieri.com/. You need to be aware that now, if I’m going to buy something from you, online, I want to be able to do everything but pick the thing up before I’ll splash the cash.

The benefit of this to you is higher sales and lower returns as your customer can see exactly what they’re buying and will be less likely to make a mistake and therefore have to send their purchase back.

Make zoom as large as possible; There are still (naming no names) some retailers out there whose zoom facility is little better than the original picture. Sorry, again that’s not going to get you there in this market. Make your zoom as large as it can be and really let me get up close and personal. This pic above is not full size by the way, it’s just to give you an idea.

Catwalk and 360 rotation; These are expensive, but I suspect for the larger sites will become the norm and there will be less expensive options developed for smaller applications. One company who does this really well is http://www.isabellaoliver.com/. Take a look at this and tell me that, if you were in the market for this type of dress, you wouldn’t be tempted to buy? There isn’t a lot you can’t see, is there?

Now all of this comes at a price but there are two things you need to do right now. Firstly you need to know what the market developments are so that, when the price comes down, or you get big enough, you can apply what you need to quickly. So keep up to date. Secondly do the smaller things now - take the extra shots, increase your zoom size and be totally aware that if you don’t, you will lose sales and those on the starting blocks now will overtake in a nano-second.

Just a reminder that Liberty of London have given an exclusive offer to http://www.thesiteguide.com/ subscribers - spend £100 and get £15 off. Use Promotion Code SITEGUIDE15 when checking out.

How to Buy a Diamond - An Interview with Mark Walker of Ice Cool

As far as I’m concerned diamonds are most definitely a girl’s best friend - I have to confess I’ve never really understood those who choose other stones over a brilliant, sparkling white one that goes with absolutely everything.

Having read what I considered a not very good piece about diamonds online recently I thought I would get hold of my friend Mark Walker of www.icecooldiamonds.com, Hatton Garden based diamontaire of some 30 years standing who has designed crowns for Indian goddesses and bespoke rings for tv stars and is an expert per excellence.

So I asked Mark for his top points for buying a diamond - and he was kind enough to give them to me.  By the way these are not in any particular order:

Be Yourself:  Don’t listen to anyone else when choosing a special stone.  Don’t be influenced by your  best friend, your sister or anyone else who’s ‘trying to help’.  Make sure that what you choose is totally right for you, in terms of size, style and shape.  No one else matters here - this is something you will wear for a long, long time and the choice has to be all yours.

Bigger is not always Better:  Always go for quality rather than size.  Lesser quality diamonds simply do not have the radiance that a higher quality stone will have.  Better to have a smaller stone that is more special than a larger one that will not sparkle and reflect the light in the same way.

Understand the key terms: Arm yourself with as much information as possible.  These are:
           

Carat = Size/weight.  The weight of a diamond is measured in carats.

Colour = The amount of whiteness in a stone.  The more white a stone is, the more brilliant it will be and the more light will pass through it.

Clarity = This refers to the number of flaws and/or ‘inclusions’.  The fewer of these, the more beautiful the stone will be, and the more valuable.

Cut = There are many ways that a diamond can be cut, from emerald (oblong) to princess (square) to round.  Every diamond gets its brilliance by the expert cutting and polishing which allows the maximum amount of light into the stone.

These are the famous ‘four cs’ and Mark commented that there should, particularly in these days of internet jewellery shopping, be another:  Certification.  If your stone has a Certificate from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), the HRD (Antwerp Institute of Gemmology) the IGI (International Gemological Institute) or the EGL (the European Gemological Laboratory) and provided you are buying from a reputable source, you should know exactly what you are getting.

Always ask for a certificate and question why one is not available if you don’t receive one.

Design: One of the best things about the internet is the range of designs you can see in a very short space of time, from classic to modern.  Just chipping in here, I would say that one of the things you should do is to go somewhere with a large selection of diamonds and have a browse there too, to get a really good idea of what you want.  This way, if you choose to have a piece of jewellery designed specially for you you’ll be unlikely to get it wrong.

Bespoke jewellery, such as the kind that Mark specialises in, can be the most special and individual of all, however you need to have an idea of what you want to start with, and then be involved in the design process right the way through.


Getting Trusted Advice:  Mark had just three things to say here - either buy into a name and brand, such as Tiffany, or Theo Fennell; Look for independent testimonials online, but make sure that they are independent, and word of mouth, probably the strongest recommendation of all.


I did ask Mark about men choosing diamond jewellery for women and how often they got it wrong, but he was unwilling to help me out there.  What he did say was that unless the man was absolutely certain he could get it right he should involve the person he was buying for right the way through the buying process, other than the ££££ side of course!

You can contact Mark Walker via www.icecooldiamonds.com.  He’s amusing, great company  and knows a huge amount about diamonds - when I win the lottery he’ll be the only one I’ll go to to design my 5ct (perish the thought) diamond ring.  And you couldn’t ask for a better recommendation than that, now could you?

Website Review - French Connection

French Connection is one of those brands I tend to dip in and out of. Younger in style than what I usually wear (because it’s aimed at a younger customer please note, not because I wear very classic clothes and my goodness doesn’t that sound defensive?) and not inexpensive it still usually manages to have one or two pieces each season I can’t resist, that work with things I already own, or just highlight the current season’s trends.

Having avoided browsing so far this year I felt it was time to take a peek and this season is no exception, with some very pretty dresses that just about anyone could wear, perfectly shaped knitwear and vertiginous fashion forward footwear among other things, some of which I have no doubt my daughter will be after the second she gets back from New Zealand.

I personally would think twice about ordering most of the clothes here online (apart from jersey, knits and accessories), because I know only too well that the younger brands tend to go for smaller sizing than those aimed at a slightly older market (as do the top designer brands) and after all who wants to send things back? That from me means fine if you’re a size 8 or 10 in which case you will probably be ok, but anything above that be a bit careful and order two sizes to try or, perish the thought, go a size up if you’re really in doubt. Having been in fashion in my past for more years than I care to remember I know, as I’m sure you do, that sizing is a minefield and one brand’s size 14 is the equivalent of another’s size 10. Literally.

There are some really good things in this collection, but the denim hot pants and the silk jumpsuit? Sorry, I’m definitely going to be leaving those to someone else.


Last night at Covent Garden to see La Traviata, mid May and all wrapped up in a shearling coat. How ridiculous is that? The opera was lovely though.

Just two weeks to go until my house becomes an unholy mess again, with plates and glasses in every room, the tv hijacked, attempted raids on my pc and clothes and wet towels all over bedroom floors. This year I’ve decided to operate a closed door policy and ignore. I wonder how long that will last…………………………….

Defining the Undefinable - Just exactly what is Glamour?

The dictionary (at least one of them) tells us that Glamour, is ‘the quality of fascinating, alluring, or attracting, esp. by a combination of charm and good looks.’

Having seen the pics in today’s Daily Mail of ‘global catwalk star’ Agyness Deyn and wondering why anyone who can look quite so spectacular - just look at the picture at the foot of that article (even if she is done up well into extremis) - would be happy looking quite so plain. It brought to mind the whole glamour equation and what it really means.

One major question that I have is, is glamour in the eye of the beholder, or something indefinable that we feel about ourselves? When you put on a chic, fitted LBD, pearls and heels and step out on the town are you doing it for yourself or for someone else? My personal belief is that you should always be doing it for you, and that everything else will feed off of the way you feel, and that whatever comes your way, provided you are happy with your own look, anyone else should be as well (and if they’re not just give them a hard shove from me).

Straying a bit there as I always seem to, and getting back to the main topic, there seems to be an opinion that you do need to be done up ‘in extremis’ to look glamourous, and that glamour is about over dressing, over make-up, over high heels and over plasticity. I don’t think that’s true and believe that glamour comes from a mix of the self confidence of knowing what suits you, great grooming (always) and a smile. There’s sexy glamour, as in Marilyn Monroe and gorgeous classy glamour as in Audrey Hepburn and amazing older glamour in the form of Dame Helen Mirren and a million versions in between.

I also think that glamour is more likely to come with age (well I’m likely to, aren’t I?) because it’s not just about dressing up and piling on the paint but more about how you feel inside.

I was on the BBC twice last week on the subject of appearance - and reiterated the fact that it takes 30 seconds of less for someone to sum you up when you meet them (and vice versa of course). Less than 10% of the first impression you make is based on what you say, over half is how you look (clothes etc) and your body language and the rest is about your tone and inflection. You can pooh-pooh this as much as you want to, but the fact is we are judged by our appearance more than anything else in the first instance.

So finally I would say that glamour basically comes from confidence, that recognition can feed that confidence but it’s not essential, that it’s not just about how you dress, or trying to be sexy, or good looks but a complete package and that the dictionary, with ‘the quality of fascinating, alluring, or attracting esp by a combination of charm and good looks’ doesn’t really get us there. At all.

DKNY - The Summer Bag Collection

As you do at this time of year (well I do, anyway) and despite the fact that it is seriously cold where I am now and I’m back in my sheepskin boots, jeans and fleece I started to think last week about summer handbags - the sort you swap for your winter favourites the minute the sun comes out, and that will take you up to London, over to Paris and down to the South of France.

To my mind that means a handbag that has a decent amount of space, is a summer colour that will go with everything, won’t mark and scuff easily, has a shoulder strap, and has the words elegant, classic/modern and ‘buy me right now’ written all over it.

I decided that just looking online wouldn’t do in this case, so I browsed House of Fraser in London, Selfridges (where I nearly fainted at most of the prices) and HoF again out here near me. And online, of course. As I’ve said so many times, you can spend such a fortune on a designer bag it’s almost heartbreaking walking past that Miu Miu off white quilted leather shoulder bag or Bottega Veneta’s woven grape leather ‘Bowler’ bag but frankly I can do it easily, because the guilt would get me long before my bank manager did.

The collection that immediately got my attention was the DKNY spring/summer collection, with a very good choice of totes, smart shoulder bags and clutches in tan, beige, ivory and black with red highlights (some, I thought, totally unnecessary but if you must, then sporty, and a gorgeously red shopper) and all retailing at prices around a third or less of their designer sisters. The quality is very good and if you want to plaster yourself with logos you can, or if you prefer not to, as I do, you don’t need to. It’s a great collection and needless to say, it tempted me from the get-go.


I’m off to Covent Garden this week to see La Traviata, and all my plans for what to wear are in ruins as it’s forecast to be cold and wet, so the first outing of my lovely Desigual coat that I blogged about a while back is not likely to happen (yes I know it was a while ago and no I haven’t worn it yet and it is so much prettier than the picture and and) and maybe even it’ll be on with the shearling coat again. How boring will that be?

The daughter has just under two and a half weeks to go on her trip, now cruising in New Zealand and I think ready to come home and the younger son will be back at the end of May also, at which point I will be hightailing it off to somewhere warm and maybe peaceful but more likely not. When I told my son I would be away soon after he got back his comment was that he was ‘so uninterested’, so fine by me…………………………………….

Web Hints - Check before Sending

I received an email newsletter this morning from an extremely large organisation - and no, I’m not going to tell you who it was because, although they’re probably too well behaved, someone there might just decide to check through my various blogs, newsletters and other communications and discover all my mistakes, of which I’m sure there are loads.

Anyway, the first line contained this phrase; ‘Upadate to Paud Search’ which I thought was rather special, so I immediately contacted them (as you do when you’re as interfering as I am) and drew their attention to it, and had a charming, very fast response.

I know that I’ve written about this before, but my main point here is that one of the major dangers of ‘online’ everything, is that we now move in a warp speed world, where we abbreviate text messages to disastrous effect, frequently don’t check what we’ve said to make sure that it cannot be misconstrued, and click on ‘send’ without thinking. 

Having sent a friend overseas (where they use strange words to replace ours) a text that ended up being totally misconstrued earlier this week and caused no end of problems, I know all of this only too well.  And no I’m not going to elaborate on that one either.

So.  The answer is, of course, to check before sending, read everything through, check all your links in emails and newsletters and, particularly, check all your headings - those are the very worst to get wrong, because the recipients are likely to think you really don’t know what you’re doing, and hit delete without reading the rest of your message.


Funnily enough (well to me, anyway) I’ve just had a call to go on a live drive-time BBC radio show this afternoon, no, not to talk about the election, which subject I’m avoiding as much as possible, but about the importance (or not) of your appearance.  Boy do I have a lot to say about that? I could talk for hours.  I think I have 15 mins.  ‘Funnily’ because the word which got misconstrued in my infamous text was ‘tube’ which was read to mean television, but really meant underground (metro/railway).  I’m now confusing myself.  Oh well never mind. 

I’m happy to say that my daughter is now living the high life in New Zealand with our marvellous friends, having flown from Cairns to Brisbane and on to Christchurch.  Something tells me the backpack is going to be left by the wayside from now on.

I spent yesterday with IMRG and eKomi, who I do some work for, and discussed some of the Distance Selling Regulations, which I wasn’t sure about and will be writing about as soon as I have further clarification.  We also talked about Henley Regatta, to which I used to go every year as my son Sholto rowed there, and whether to go or not this year and brave the weather.  It’s a wonderful occasion - I think rowing is one of the best sports, but I have lost so many pairs of shoes to the mud there.  The jury’s out on that one but you can be sure I’ll let you know……………………………………………….

And please look for any (non) deliberate mistakes in this blog, and at www.thesiteguide.com, I’ll be only too happy if you point them out to me.  I’m now about to read this through for the fifth time before I publish.