Retail & Luxury Special Edition. 3 questions for Jonathan Siboni, founder of Luxurynsight and co-founder of MINISO France

What’s the role of the store?

We’re starting to see a global transition to omnichannel retailing where the previously separate entities of “online” and “offline” are finally disappearing. Traditionally, the store was often considered as ‘disconnected’ as opposed to online channels. But, for the consumer, operating separate entities is meaningless. It’s something that’s often bothered me. Physical stores should complement what’s offered online. You should also view the role of the store as another means of communicating with the consumer, not just a place to sell. These days, there’s much more blurring between the lines, distribution and communications platforms are merging: for instance, social networks, like Instagram or Wechat which were initially communication platforms, are now active retailers; or how Farfetch has now become a communication media for fashionistas. Gone are the days when it’s considered essential to do a fashion show and get into Vogue before shoppers flock to stores. The store is a place to showcase the brand, present products and define the customer experience by creating emotion. That’s something Amazon will always struggle to do.

What has inspired you in China that could help European retailers?

Have you got any advice for luxury brands?

Luxury is all about high quality, requiring a 360° view and understanding that distribution and communication are intrinsically linked. It’s no longer enough to just be “brand-centric”; you also need to become “customer-centric”. It’s not only about analysing KPIs by category, but tracking KPIs by customer across all sales and tracking them throughout a shopper’s entire journey. You need to understand what is going on in the mind of the consumer and how you’re viewed across all touchpoints. You need to look around and ask yourself why they go for one brand and not another. It’s not enough to sit back and expect customers to favour one brand and keep coming back for more. New brands emerge with shorter stories, but they thrive because they are closer to their consumers and more fun. And analysing data is a key ingredient to understanding all this and making sure consumers desire more .

About Jonathan Siboni