The buying workshop involved selecting a product mix for women’s clothing and accessories for a multi-brand store located in Milan. We decided to name our store ‘+39’.

We analyzed our competitors and found that they had vastly different strategies. While some targeted specific customers and showcased only a particular style, others did not really have a specific target customer.
We worked on how a multi-brand could be optimized. We suggested that 3 principles be followed namely organize, attract and progress. Organize involved building a definitive path. Attract involved creating a unique experience to attract potential customers and progress involved the use of new technologies to make further inroads.

The next step was to select a target customer. Rather than cater to a single type of customer, we decided to have 3 different target types. We called them the Urban Chic, the Sophisticated Romantic and the Sexy Freak.
We decided to take an innovative approach to store design and came up with a concept where the store was a house with 3 rooms surrounding a central gallery. The Urban Chic line was displayed in the ‘kitchen’, the Sophisticated Romantic line in the ‘dining room’ and the Sexy Freak line in the ‘bedroom’. The central gallery was a display area to showcase the work of artists, designers and DJs using augmented reality and displays.

We then picked Black Label, Contemporary and Emerging designers for each room, keeping in mind the theme and target customer of each room. We also picked five emerging designers from Spain and Italy, who we thought had the potential to become big in the next five years.

We also explored some ideas for window displays, packaging and website. +39 would also have its own magazine. Loyalty card holders and other regular customers would be invited to be part of the magazine. They would be photographed wearing clothes that they themselves picked. This would allow people to see what people actually chose to wear on a daily basis.