Drawing on the World: Retail in India

Recently my colleagues Alison Carr, Smita Gupta and I accompanied our retail client, ColorPlus, and our local architect partner on a whirlwind tour of retail centers and historic sites in four major cities of India, allowing our team to get a good sense of the local flavor and the current state of the global retail scene in this country of 1.2 billion.

That number is staggering when you think about it, and it’s growing rapidly. In fact, this trip actually brought back many memories of previous retail research trips to Bangkok, Thailand, in 1995, and to India in 1997. On those trips it was striking that there were plenty of malls and shopping centers in Thailand, and yet none in India. Fast forward to 2012, though, and India has already changed dramatically with even more construction everywhere. International brands have established footholds in India’s major cities, and they do seem to have a strong appeal for the growing class of customers with money to spend on foreign goods. There are no signs of slowing down, and naturally the pace of our own tour was quick.

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How Green is Your DNA?

In the recent past, it seemed like every retailer tossed a few recycled materials into their store, posted a corporate responsibility statement on their website, or hung a community board in the back of their store and claimed to be green and sustainable. While these efforts were recognized and commended, it quickly became clear that they didn't reveal a company’s true core values. So customers started lifting the green veil from retailers’ faces to try and find the color of their DNA.

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Do Non Profits Equal Brand Loyalty for Retailers?

Image ©Vogue/Evan Sung

When I read an article from Vogue about Nordstrom opening a charitable NYC concept shop, it got me thinking about the future of cause marketing. In case you’re not familiar, cause marketing is basically a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a for profit business and a nonprofit organization for mutual benefit. There are a tremendous amount of cause marketing initiatives in the world today with some of the most notable being Product (Red), TOM’s shoes, and Yoplait's "Save Lids to Save Lives."

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What Is Your Social Brand?

What's your social brand? As business and strategies evolve to respond to economic conditions, so must your brand. Part of this evolution is to develop your company’s Social Branding. Social Branding looks at a company's commitment, communications, connectivity and creativity in the following areas:

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Face-to-Face with Arne Sorenson

On Tuesday, July 13, Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Marriott International, Inc. visited Gensler’s DC office for a “Face-to-Face” discussion with Doug Fruehling, editor of the Washington Business Journal (WBJ). The event was part of a series co-hosted by WBJ and Gensler, and more than 100 members of the hospitality, design, consulting, and real estate industries were in attendance.

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