Today was our first official day of class and we went to Selfridges! I was the only one from Hampden House that had SDVM but didn't take the museum class so I had to go there on my own. I ran into Anna Marie on the way into the tube station so we actually got to go together! We got to Selfridges a little bit early so we started taking pictures of the window displays. They were amazing. They were so clever and creative. That has to be the coolest job ever.
We met up with the class and went inside. We visited the handbag, men's clothing, women's clothing, furniture, and shoe departments. Each one was so incredible. As you move from one to the other, it's like you're transformed into a different world. They all have their own feel. The music, lighting, fixtures, organization, and overall appearance of each department were so different...but all very typical Selfridges. My favorite part had to be seeing the Big Yellow Shop and the Big British Shop. The Big Yellow Shop is so unique. I love that it contains yellow items from all end of the spectrum - shoes to food to bicycles. The Big British Shop had to have been my favorite though. I loved seeing Queen Victoria's historic gloves and all the patriotic items decked out in red, blue, and the British flag.
Selfridges was founded by Henry Gordon Selfridge in 1909. He worked in a department store in Chicago and was leading the retail revolution, which turned that store into the largest in the world. He didn't get the recognition he wanted so he left to start his own department store. He redefined what a department store meant by making Selfridges so unique. He had art or historical pieces displayed there, dancers perform there, and even sold the most innovative items, such as the television in 1926. The Queen of Time clock was installed in 1931. The building itself was known as being extravagant and grand. Selfridges was sold to John Lewis and then to Galen Weston, who owns it today.
I think Selfridges is targeting a young, fashionable, wealthy market. Their store has bright colors, bright lights, up-to-date music, simple/industrial racks, and lots of wood. It's always sophisticated. It also features clean lines and impeccable organization. The store is trying to create a fun, upbeat, stylish, innovation, fashion forward image, while carrying the finest brands. They accomplish this image with store design and visual merchandising through their creative windows, vibrant lights and colors, and unique displays. The store introduces new products in visual merchandising through placing them in a central/focal point usually in extravagant ways, such as with mannequins. Central lines and designers are promoted through visual merchandising by displaying them in attractive ways to lure the customer in and in central locations. Vivienne Westwood was the only designer featured in their windows. The store is promoting the Jubilee through their store windows and the Big British Shop, which is extremely patriotic. The only sales that were visible were in the Shoe Galleries. The visual merchandising was different in those sale areas in that it was more toned down. Although it was still pretty organized, none of the pairs were highlighted or displayed in a focal point.
I visited the Miu Miu store within Selfridges. The saleswoman told me they change out the handbags every week and there are merchandise helpers that come to do this. Classic handbags are in the back of the store and the newest and latest trends are always in the front. The wallpaper, furniture, and fixtures are changed out every 3-6 months. The handbags displayed in glass cases are changed out at least twice a week as purchases are made.
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