ARTICLE POSTED BY: admin

Dayton, OH — The retail experts at Design Forum have released their second annual report on the State of the Industry in conjunction with Chain Store Age’s ranking of the Top 100 retailers. The report is in the August 2007 issue of the news magazine.

The report focuses on retailers’ need to perpetually transform in order to maintain a connection with consumers.

“One-time brand definition is a thing of the past. The new rule is adaptivity,” said Lee Carpenter, CEO of retail consultancy Design Forum. “Value is everywhere and almost everything has become a commodity. Goods and services are not about what they do, they’re about how they make you feel. From now on, retail success will depend on the strength of the emotional benefit the brand has to offer, a benefit that will change as the customer dictates.”

This year’s State of the Industry report looks at a number of themes, including:

* How in-store innovation is driving the resurgence of the middle
* Brand authenticity
* Rapid cycle of trends and how retailers are trying to keep up
* Role of behavioral research in reorienting the question from “what should we put in the store?” to “what will customers choose?”
* Today’s retail watchwords: individual, specific and relevant

About Design Forum
Ranked as one of the nation’s top retail design firms, Design Forum offers a comprehensive range of integrated services including strategy, research, design, branding, architecture, procurement and implementation. The company is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio with offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and San Francisco. Design Forum has produced award-winning designs for an international client list that includes Walgreens, Applebee’s, Toys “R” Us, Smart Car, AT&T, Washington Mutual, Yankee Candle, John Deere and P&G. For more information visit www.designforum.com or contact Beth Ling, 937-439-4400.

Design Forum is the retail arm of Interbrand, a leading global branding consultancy. The organization is owned by Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a strategic holding company that manages a portfolio of global market leaders.

No Comments »-->