Store Launch - & Other Stories

This week's brandlight comes from the Swedish clothing brand & Other Stories. The brand opened it's first store in London this month and launched it's products and shopping experience for the first time to the UK public. Launching a brand in a new international market is an extremely difficult task however & Other Stories have managed to create a significant buzz around their UK launch - here's how they did it. 

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The day before it was open to the public the brand invited the press to an exclusive look around the new store. As the brand are a sister company to H&M and Cos, who already have a loyal press following, this was a very successful initiative. The launch of the store was published in a wide spread of fashion as well as local and national press including vogue.com, The Guardian and Time Out magazine.

There was a variety of promotional activity surrounding the opening of the store that customers shared on social media platforms. There were umbrellas given out for the crowds of people queueing outside the store, free lipsticks for customers waiting in changing room lines, competitions to win a discount cards and at the till point everyone who purchased from the store received a free beauty sample and free shipping from the stories.com site.  

Arguably though there is only so many PR 'shortcuts' and so much association with other brands that people can talk about. A brand needs to offer more to ensure they stand out on their own. In this case the coverage of the launch focussed on the shopping experience, product and price.

Once inside the store customers are exposed to a unique and well designed shopping space that is clean, simple and modern. With exposed brick and studio lights it appears like a photography studio or art gallery showcasing products. Merchandised in stories, all products can be shopped as a collection or as key pieces including clothing, accessories and beauty. The sleek design of packaging for the comprehensive range of beauty products was something that both press and consumers focussed on and talked about. The experience also continues online as the website has the same modern look and feel of the store with a combination of lifestyle and cutout imagery as well as an interesting use of integrated video.

One of the most talked about aspects of & Other Stories was the affordability and perceived low price points of the products. By creating this very modern shopping experience the brand are reaching out to a consumer who expects more for their money and despite the economic climate, doesn't want to compromise on shopping experience or quality of product. The brand fills the niche between the other two brands, H&M and Cos, bringing a different style and price range to the high street.

& Other Stories have created significant brand awareness through the launch of their first UK store. The promotional activity, positive press coverage and association with H&M and Cos drew people to the doors however the success of the launch is arguably due to the niche in the high street that the store fills. The in-store and on-line experience as well as the affordable and unique product offering has created a positive customer and press reaction that has opportunely spread through word of mouth and social media platforms. The key learning from & Other Stories is therefore that promoting and getting consumers to attend a launch is only a start; ultimately success relies on positive experience of consumers when inside.