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A Tale of Two Cities
After the cold bite of the disappointing retail winter, we have decided to cheer ourselves up by taking a look at opulence on both sides of the pond. Our resident retail expert, brand director of Visual Thinking Karl McKeever, compares a selection of luxurious department stores in New York and London to see who is setting the benchmark this season.
01 June 2011Copenhagen
Resident retail specialist Karl McKeever travels to the Copenhagen, once home to Hans Christian Andersen, and finds that despite all the global economic doom and gloom the idea that cities can fight back with imaginative retail schemes is more than just a fairy tale.
15 January 2011Lisbon: A return to past glories?
Portugal is best known these days in the UK as a much loved summer holiday destination, but does that label sell it short and is there a retail offer to match in this former gateway to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic? Our resident retail specialist Karl McKeever, brand director of Visual Thinking flew in to the capital, Lisbon, to find out.
13 November 2010Dubai - Is the desert oasis still on ice?
Since Dubai announced the $23.5bn restructuring of the state-owned Dubai World, the region, like the rest of the retail world has been in the financial doldrums. However, last month Dubai returned to the capital markets - an event that has given financial markets renewed confidence. To see what the mood is like on the ground, our resident retail specialist Karl McKeever, brand director of retail consultancy Visual Thinking, paid visit to the land of the opulent supermall to find out.
16 October 2010Berlin – will it take your breath away?
September is a great time for anyone working in retail. It's when stores are finally cleared of the old season's merchandise and a big effort is made to start the key autumn / winter selling period with strong promotional impact. So, we sent our VM expert Karl McKeever of retail consultancy Visual Thinking to Berlin to see what the German capital has to offer shoppers.
18 September 2010Majorca: Sun, Sandy and sadly disappointing shopping
The holiday season is upon us and so we sent our VM expert Karl McKeever, brand director of Visual Thinking, packing off to sunny Majorca - the original foreign holiday destination and preferred holiday retreat for the celebs, to see if the retail offer is more Hermes Bag than Straw Donkey nowadays.
15 August 2010Birmingham’s not sold out
It's summer sale time and our resident retail expert Karl McKeever of Visual Thinking has been to the UK's second city Birmingham, to see how retailers were maximising the opportunity to clear stocks and make way for their new autumn ranges.
17 July 2010Milan - La dolce vita?
Of the venerable quartet also comprising New York, London and Paris, Milan is literally the hottest destination on the fashion circuit, but outside of Fashion Week and in these post-recession times, does Milan still offer a shopping experience worthy of a top four fashion city? Our resident retail specialist Karl McKeever, brand director of Visual Thinking flew in to find out.
19 June 2010London - Is the West End still the best end?
The ash cloud has impacted on us all, but this month our resident roving retail specialist, Karl McKeever of Visual Thinking, took advantage being grounded and took a trip to London's West End to see how the UK's own shopping capital was shaping up after the recession.
15 May 2010San Francisco – The shopping beat still goes on
This month our resident retail specialist Karl McKeever of Visual Thinking visits San Francisco to see if the celebrated city of cultural diversity and visual splendour still has the retail offer to match in the post-recession climate.
17 April 2010