Page 24 - RLI November 2019

SPACE NK WiLLiAMSBURG
Virginia, US
tarting out as a single store in Covent Garden over
20 years ago, Space NK has become the ultimate
destination for beauty discovery. In stores and
Sonline, customers will find a finely honed selection of
the most innovative products in the beauty world, including
super-charged skincare, cutting-edge cosmetics and game-
changing gadgets.
Today the business operates 70 freestanding stores in
the UK, along with nine freestanding stores in the US along
with 22 Bloomingdales concessions and 21 Nordstrom
concessions, with four of these in Canada, and finally eight
freestanding stores are in operation in China.
“The last 12 months have been incredibly exciting, we
have been reframing our strategy and plans for embarking
on an ambitious three-year plan to cement our position as
the global destination for the most in-demand brands in the
world,” explains Andy Lightfoot, CEO of Space NK. “As part
of this, we have opened 15 new locations and accelerated our One of the mechanisms they use “To us, loyalty is about
investment in technology to bring our customer experience to build this loyalty is its N.dulge
on par or ahead of the best in online retail.” loyalty programme. It offers generous being there when the
Right now the company is going through a customer benefits and the company uses the data customer needs us, to
transformation. Lightfoot explains this by saying that the it provides to improve its service levels
brand is actively breaking down the artificial barriers between for that customer on a micro level and its be the first place they
London, UK
stores and online and investing heavily in creating seamless customer understanding on a macro level. consider coming to
journeys, whether a visitor is in the early stages of research On the topic of the brand’s success,
or whether they know exactly what they want to buy. Lightfoot says: “Space NK offers a unique when they need advice
From a stores point of view a test and learn approach has proposition. In any other retailer the onus or want to purchase”
SPACE NK SOUTH MOLTON
been adopted. Instead of immediately rolling out an initiative is on the customer to pre-determine the
across its store portfolio, Space NK now use test groups of brand or product they want to buy. With
five or ten people to quickly test a business case. There are our expert advisors and unbiased approach to brands we start
currently around half a dozen of these tests in place, with with the customer and then, based on their needs and wants,
some performing incredibly well and others in need of some we can advise the best product or products for them.”
Discover the open sell merchandising on colour brands. Starting as a single partners, they have some incredible brand partners and they
The second key driver for success has been brand
iterative improvements.
“An example of this approach is our recent rollout of
have worked hard over the last 18 months to find ways to
brand in one store it’s now 4 brands in 20. When things
create more moments with them.
work, we move fast!”
The ethos behind Space NK has always remained the
Speaking on the topic of social media, Lightfoot believes
same, to serve the beauty obsessed with the same expertise
New You that it should be just that, social, and that many retailers view and innovation they are renowned for and to remain a place
for discovering the new and the new to yourself.
the channel as an opportunity to sell. Instead, the brand uses
it as an opportunity to engage its audience and mobilise its
While Lightfoot admits there are a number of well
documented challenges on the horizon such as Brexit, US
advocates around new product and brand launches. They
use Instagram to gauge engagement and that drives some of
biggest challenge for the company in the next few years is
its other marketing investments through channels in which political uncertainty and UK rent and rate pressures, the
Delivering a personal and bespoke service, Space NK employs a team of highly trained they do not expect to see a return. success in international markets.
“The US for example, where the sheer size of the
The idea of loyalty is something that can be defined very
makeup artists and skin and hair care specialists that are devoted to offering well-informed differently by retailers and customers. “To us, loyalty is about competition restricts our ability to cut through with our
being there when the customer needs us, to be the first
points of difference, our solution has been to experiment
and unbiased advice. Here, RLI speaks with CEO Andy Lightfoot to discuss the next steps place they consider coming to when they need advice or with store formats to find the winning formula in high-
want to purchase. We invest in this and customer loyalty trafficked, community locations and we see this as the way
for the brand and to learn more about the company’s distinct style. follows,” explains Lightfoot. forward in international markets,” concludes Lightfoot.

SPACE NK MARLBOROUGH SPACE NK SOUTH MOLTON SPACE NK MARLBOROUGH
London, UK London, UK London, UK

NOVEMBER 2019 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL 25