Apparel July 2019 Apparel July 2019 issue | Page 161

FEATURE
have had with them for years and fortifying it
by turning their retail space into engagement
zones. Customers can now not only shop but
also engage with the space in a non-retail activity.
Some interesting brand engagements that come
to mind are as follows:
Westside: The first of this kind of format was
explored by Trent for Westside. The company
introduced an artisanal grocery store in one of its
spaces in South Mumbai, in addition to a café.
However, this was soon discontinued, probably
because the store tried this format out much
before customers could adapt to it. Taking a leaf
from this model, Fabindia recently a introduced a
similar format called Fab Café across many of
its stores.
Fab Café: Fab India has included a café and
wellness centre in its revamped stores. The café
lends itself to book readings and craft workshops
and has therefore registered an increase of 10 per
cent in its footfalls. The brand currently has 11
experience stores. While analysts say that it might
not work out in the long run, this is an interesting
turn of events for the loyalists of Fab India who
get to shop at a diverse store while dining at a
café that is very apt for the brand in terms of the
menu on offer.
CUSTOMERS CAN NOW
NOT ONLY SHOP BUT ALSO
ENGAGE WITH THE SPACE
IN A NON-RETAIL ACTIVITY.
Project Eve: Reliance Retail’s Project Eve
launched an experiential store in Mumbai, which
includes an in-store salon, a personal stylist,
and plush trial rooms with a lounge area along
with a curated collection of apparel and beauty
products. Reliance has aggressive plans of
expansion for the new premium retail format and
aims to expand its reach to the top ten cities
across the country. The format will also have a
café in its standalone stores in future.
The Label Life: The flagship store of this niche
website owned by Sussanne Khan, Malaika
Arora Khan and Bipasha Basu regularly organises
workshops for engaging walk-in customers. They
reach out to the less engaged customers, too,
persuading them to walk in and experience the
store. One such recently announced initiative was
with Saucery, where customers were asked to
whip up five-minute meals.
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