Mobile carrier AT&T is taking a page from Apple’s books, opening up a flagship retail store on Chicago’s prestigious Michigan Avenue, just down the street from Apple’s property.
The store, opening Saturday, will boast an 18-foot video wall, 10,000 square feel of space, and will be staffed by 40 employees. Including the smartphones and tablets you’d expect from an AT&T store, you’ll be able to purchase a line of exclusive designer accessories at the Chicago store.
Customers will be in a manner familiar to Apple Store shoppers, with staff members closing sales throughout the retail space via tablet and smartphone, rather than behind a register.
Do you think AT&T is positioning itself to earn some Apple-like cool points? Let us know if you think the mobile service provider has found a winning recipe.
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Quick Pitch: Customizable women’s clothing manufactured in classic silhouettes in the U.S.
Genius Idea: A “fit kit” helps shoppers overcome sizing concerns.
Over the past few years, startups as well as existing brands, have begun to invite consumers into the design process. Companies such as Blank Label and Gemvara allow shoppers to design their own shirts and jewelry, respectively, from a range of different forms and materials. On its website, Burberry lets users choose the style, color and details of their own “Bespoke” trenches, which come in more than 12 million combinations.
The latest to enter this arena is Bow & Drape, which opened for business online late last month after raising more than $30,000 on Kickstarter.
Register for the site, and you’ll be asked to identify your height, bust size and shape (i.e. pear or hourglass) to help you choose from a range of different dress and skirt styles. The silhouettes have taken on the names of the style icons from which they were inspired: A wrap-style “Diane” dress pays homage to designer Diane von Furstenberg; the “Jackie Twirl” is reminiscent of cocktail dresses once worn by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Currently, you can choose between eight dress silhouettes, two types of skirts and a scarf. Dresses cost between $155 and $315; the skirts and scarf have lower price points.
After you’ve selected your silhouette, you’ll be able to choose between a few different colors — black, navy, fuchsia and “red currant” are the most common — and where applicable, sleeve length. Some dresses and skirts allow you to alter the bodice, or select a trim (such as brass studs or leather) for the sleeves or waist. Collectively, there are 30,000 combinations to choose from on the site.
Garments are made up in standard sizes in silk, cotton or wool, depending on the design. They are manufactured in Boston, Bedford, Mass. or New York. It takes about two weeks to manufacture and ship an order, although CEO and founder Aubrie Pagano says the company is currently a little behind schedule on account of Hurricane Sandy.
Pagano, a Harvard alum with a background in business strategy, says Bow & Drape opted for standardized sizes over made-to-measure because women typically cannot or will not provide measurements, she discovered while test piloting another startup idea earlier this year. “Women are more complicated to measure, and less comfortable with it,” she says.
To help overcome sizing issues with online orders, Bow & Drape offers a “fit kit” inspired by eyewear-maker Warby Parker’s home try-on system. If you’re not sure what you’re about to order will fit, you can click the “Sizing” button on product pages to order one; you’ll then receive a box containing fabric samples and muslin patterns to try on.
Bow & Drape currently has four full-time employees, including Pagano, and is raising a seed round of funding. The startup is looking to expand into sizes up to 20 by early next year, and bridal in the second quarter.
Admit it: You’ve wandered into a store, looked around and then left empty-handed after you checked your phone and saw you could get a better deal online.
If so, you are driving fear in the hearts of many CEOs at brick-and-mortar retailers this holiday season. Envisioning a future in which their stores become glorified, short-lived museums, retailers like Walmart, Target and Toys “R” Us are fighting back as best they can, with QR codes, online deals and exclusive items.
But maybe you aren’t one of those people. Maybe you believe that showrooming is ethically wrong. Or perhaps you just hadn’t considered it yet. Whatever the case, we’d like to know. Tell us your tales of showrooming or scrupulous avoidance of showrooming this holiday season and take the poll below:
The retailer is America’s biggest private employer. Its minimum wage will rise to $9 an hour this year, and $10 an hour in 2016.
Wal-Mart, America’s biggest private employer, is boosting wages for its workers.
The retailer said its minimum wage in U.S. stores will increase to $9 an hour in April, and rise to $10 an hour in 2016. Some department managers will see a pay raise to $13 an hour this summer and $15 next year. About 500,000 associates will get a raise from the change in the first half of this year, Wal-Mart said in a statement today.
CEO Doug McMillon alluded to worker dissatisfaction in a blog post announcing the changes today.
“We frequently get it right but sometimes we don’t,” he wrote. “When we don’t, we adjust.”
“In recent years we’ve had tough economic environments, a rapidly growing company, and fundamental shifts in how customers are shopping,” he continued. “We also made a few changes aimed at productivity and efficiency that undermined the feeling of ownership some of you have for your business. When we take a step back, it’s clear to me that one of our highest priorities must be to invest more in our people this year.”
Executives emphasized on a call today that the increase didn’t mean anything would be taken away from workers.
Wal-Mart’s decision, which compares to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, may influence other companies to boost their pay as well in order to remain competitive in a world where the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.7%. A lower unemployment rate means workers may have more options — offering higher pay, better benefits and training opportunities is a good way to keep them. Wal-Mart said it had almost 1.4 million U.S. associates in its annual report last year; it’s reasonable to expect the company’s decision to have a ripple effect.
Americans from the retail and fast-food industries have been fighting for a higher minimum wage in recent years, with many pushing for a floor of $15 an hour. Workers have coordinated strikes, walkouts and pickets in cities across the country and politicians on both sides of the aisle have vowed to focus on the plight of low-income Americans.
Once the changes hit in April, Wal-Mart said it will pay an average full-time hourly wage of $13 an hour from $12.85 an hour, and an average part-time wage of $10 an hour from $9.48 an hour.
Executives on today’s call also said that the changes will offer more career opportunities for Wal-Mart employees and lead to better customer service, and eventually benefit shareholders as well. Wal-Mart stock was trading down by about 2.7% on Thursday morning following the announcement.
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