London: Mayfair & Carnaby Street

For our task we had the opportunity to travel to London, and research the different retail environments within London. I love going to London and as a fellow Londoner I was appointed as tour guide, however I would refer to myself more as a bespoke leader.

I visited a number of areas within London, but I choose to focus on two in particular Mayfair and Carnaby Street. The journey began in Mayfair, which is a prime location for luxury brands, as predominantly most of the stores are luxury brands such as Prada, Chanel and many more. The location of the area and the shops complement one another, by painting this picture of luxury and exclusivity, for example by the number of doormen allocated precisely at each door.

Each store looked very classic and perfectly positioned, with glass windows and doors. The visual merchandising of each store was immaculately put together, and highlighted the essence of luxury and sophistication. The visual merchandising used by many of these luxury brands draws your attention immediately, and attracts customers and walkers by from the precise detailing used which highlights fashion but also art.

Another area within London we visited was Carnaby Street. Carnaby Street has a history of being a famous shopping street within London, and is still considered a popular destination for youth subcultures. With such a distinctive past Carnaby Street is the perfect location for street wear brands, and boutiques, which we saw many of. Most of the shops had modern architecture, the shops were very colourful and vibrant from outside and inside, which both represented the brand and made it stand out more.

The shops were also very situated close to one another almost squished together, compared to Mayfair where the shops are more spread out. The visual merchandising used was very similar to other high street stores, however it was appealing to their consumers and represented the area well, as it was young, colourful and edgy. However it lacked the distinctiveness and creativity, compared to the visual merchandising of retailers within Mayfair. 

Within Mayfair one of the stores we did go to was Abercrombie & Fitch, which looked like a gallery from the outside as well as the inside. The building was amazing inside and outside, however it was very dark and gloomy inside. The staffs were very helpful and friendly, however the smell of the store was literally intoxicating and very inviting. However the atmosphere within Mayfair was very subdued and quiet, with very little shoppers. 

On the other hand the atmosphere within Carnaby Street was more vibrant, and exciting with many shoppers. For example when we went to American Apparel the atmosphere was very chilled, and I felt comfortable whilst shopping. Whereas in Mayfair some of the stores have an intermediation factor especially if you are not their typical consumer.

Researching and visiting the different retail environments within London was very interesting, as it gave me a better insight into noting the tangible and intangible differences within different retail environments.

By Sabrina Blake-Smith.