What We Do
Defining the brand statement
Defining the brand statement
Who is the brand, what does it offer and for who?<br />Our expert consultants immerse themselves in your brand’s DNA, heritage and ambition to identify the reason for its existence (its WHY), the specificities of its know-how (its HOW) and the uniqueness of its offer (its WHAT). During a workshop, they help you express the very essence and richness of the brand in one sentence.<br />The brand statement is the anchor point of the brand strategy in terms of image and codes. It is then translated into a consistent and proprietary Retail Story in a boutique, unifying all levers of the client experience.
Setting up a retail strategy
Setting up the retail strategy
The famously coined statement that successful retail is all about “location, location location” remains valid to this day, however, being in the right place at the right time is becoming progressively more challenging. We help our clients to define their distribution channel strategy, to target the right retail locations (malls / cities / countries) and to build a strong and profitable network. But beyond location, it is also about defining the correct format and the optimal product assortment. Our role is to help develop and fine-tune our Clients’ distribution models, whether it be for a new brand seeking exposure, or for a more mature Maison looking to reposition.
Creating a unique client experience
Creating a unique client experience
What is it that makes a store so special, and how for example, do powerhouses such as Dior or Cartier manage so well to niche their distinctive and unmistakable brand identities? Our expert consultants work with you in a series of workshops to determine what we call your 'Retail Story’: driven by the Brand DNA, the Retail Story is the very essence of the store, and provides a clear definition of the store’s personality, which is what makes each visit memorable. We then apply the Retail Story consistently across every single aspect of the customer experience, in a omni-channel approach.
The Retail Story and the client experience are then formalized in a Retail Brief which will be the reference document for all stakeholders and will take into account the various retail formats. It gathers the project’s objectives and strategy, the Image Brief to inspire the creative partners as well as a Commercial Brief and a Functional Brief to ensure the retail efficiency of the future spaces.
Improving the space productivity
Improving the space productivity
The client’s in-store experience is essentially what he feels, understands, loves, and senses in his interaction with the brand. Here, the magic is driven by logic, through the consistent activation of all levers : architectural concept, visual merchandising, product assortment and merchandising, technology and digital integration, staff attitude and selling ceremony.
Our consultants provide a comprehensive assessment report of a concept or of a specific boutique and identify axis of improvement on various subjects like brand expression, commercial and functional efficiency, client treatment or digital impact.
We issue guidelines, bibles, tangible booster plans, … Everything that impacts traffic, conversion rate, average basket value and ultimately sales: our goal is to reach double digit growth after the activation of our 360 action plan.
Helping choose the creative talents
Helping choose the creative talents
The choice of an architect (or a designer) is such a commitment that it ought to be driven by more than reputation, fame, or hyped-up articles published in design reviews and architectural digests. We have developed a rigorous tender process, conducting over the past 8 years, more than 45 successful competitions. Because we have carefully hand-picked and nurtured a network of more than 300 architects, we know where to find the relevant potential partners for you – based on your needs, not on what the press says.
We also help choose creative talents designing marketing and communication campaigns for distributor brands such as SKP, the biggest luxury mall in China.
Malls and department stores
Malls and department stores
Malls and department stores across the world are facing challenging times, especially in Asia : customers are changing fast and have become more demanding, international brands are implementing new opening strategies, and the competitive landscape is getting tougher amid a cloudy economic environment. To succeed, department stores and malls have to win the experience war and need to develop a rigorous approach to boost efficiency at every floor (category management, brand assortment, entertainment and services,…), to develop new skills (branding, visual merchandising, multibrand areas,…) while embracing innovation… every single day! Over the last 4 years, MAD has gained an unparalleled expertise in working with leading malls and departments stores, the most iconic example being the internationally appraised renovation of SKP in Beijing.
Defining a unique way to connect with clients
Defining a unique way to connect with clients
Long live CRM and clienteling! We believe that the age of ‘people driven CRM’ has arrived, for which the full empowerment of the sales associates is the veritable driver. We work with you on 'The Last Mile’, making sure that your investment in CRM data, infrastructure and tools is fully leveraged and calibrated to a more engaged staff - able to build a more personalized and durable relationship with your clients.
Securing the best skills
Securing the best skills
You may have the best Retail Strategy, the most amazing Retail Story and the best merchandising guidelines, if the staff do not empower the brand attitude, and create a unique and personalized relationship with the customer, nothing will remain long term… Beyond the training path and the training modules, we build with our clients bespoke soft skills programs (training path, coaching, recruitment processes and profile definitions). This is where the synergies between MAD and MAD Talent are the strongest.