Category Archives: Retail

02/05/2014 · 10:17

Retail notes from Riga (1/2): Organic beauty from the Baltics

I am currently writing an article on the Baltic cosmetics markets so I just spent three days in the capital of Latvia, Riga – for research, for holidays and to revel in organic cosmetics, baked goods, Art Nouveau, birch trees and wooden houses. All of which Riga has in abundance.

I arrived back in Berlin yesterday with a suitcase full of organic beauty products, including products from Madara (Latvia),  Joik (Estonia), Natura Siberica (Russia), Planeta Organica (Russia), Graenn (Latvia), Anna Liepa (Latvia), Gusto (Latvia) and Uoga Uoga, a niche brand from Lithuania. Continue reading →

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17/04/2014 · 00:13

Store Profile: Show-rooming and curated shopping at Bikini Berlin

A few weeks ago Berlin’s latest shopping mall opened: the eagerly anticipated Bikini Berlin. It’s a very long building which stretches along Budapester Strasse, extending from Bahnhof Zoo to the Europa-Center. Bikini Berlin describes itself as “Berlin’s first Concept Mall” and it combines curated pop-up stores, brand boutiques and flagship stores on 17,000 sq m of retail space. Their pop-up store concept really is quite impressive. Continue reading →

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12/04/2014 · 14:44

Estonia’s organic beauty brands: Eesti looduslik kosmeetika

Have you ever come across Ingli Pai, Green Nature, Moshi, Jovely, Sohvy, PanicaOrganica, Luminordic, Vestige Verdant or Ontic Minerals? They are all organic beauty brands from the Northern European country of Estonia. These labels have a very selective distribution even in their own country. And none, at the time of writing, are available outside of Estonia. Unless you count online stores. Talk about niche retail! Continue reading →

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24/03/2014 · 16:01

Beauty International 2014: [Show Report]

Last week I was in Düsseldorf to visit Beauty International, Germany’s most important trade show for salon C&T. Beauty International 2014 was as busy – and as interesting – as last year’s show. Besides the usual big German exhibitors like Babor, Dr. Grandel or Alessandro International I noticed a number of organic beauty brands, including Annané and Aiomyth from Switzerland, Amala from Germany and Zinobel Organic Boost from Denmark.

Continue reading →

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21/01/2014 · 10:54

Travels in Zürich (1/2): Vintage design, Inuit sculptures and contemporary art

I just came back from a few days in Zürich, Switzerland. It’s a very pretty, historical city in a rich country, a European financial capital and one of the most expensive urban areas in the world; with a high density of rich individuals and minimal unemployment. The city centre is packed with luxury stores, property prices are unbelievable high and consumer goods, food and cosmetics are expensive. But there are some cool museums and galleries. Continue reading →

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31/12/2013 · 13:22

Mintel articles: Harry Lehmann and Manhattan Pop-Up Store

Here are two more articles I wrote for Mintel’s BPC website last year: colour cosmetics brand Manhattan’s first pop-up store in Berlin (publication date: July 2013) and a company profile of Berlin perfumery Harry Lehmann (publication date: August 2013). These articles are copyrighted!

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21/12/2013 · 12:12

SPC article: C&T Market Report Germany 2013

For all those who want a nice compact analysis of the German C&T market in 2012/2013 – here is the article I wrote for SPC Magazine a couple of months ago. It’s the fifth or even sixth time I’ve been writing this country profile over the past ten years and it’s one of my favourite repeat assignments! Enjoy but please respect the copyright: Holding Steady

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30/10/2013 · 15:21

Mintel article: Planet Prestige

Here is my Cityscape article on online perfumery Planet Prestige: Planet Prestige covers all the bases. As always: this article is copyrighted so please don’t post it elsewhere! [EDIT: Planet Prestige’s Berlin store has closed down!]

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26/09/2013 · 15:35

Natural Cosmetics Conference 2013: [Show Report] Authenticity, consumer insights and LOR

The Natural Cosmetics Conference took place this Tuesday and Wednesday here in Berlin. It’s the third year that I’ve attended the event and, as always, it was very worthwhile. Interesting people, good keynote speakers and well-chosen discussion topics, not to mention a very nice venue!

This year the Branchenkongress had a strong sociodemographic focus; the first day especially revolved around demographics and market research, trends and consumer behaviour – exactly my areas of interest so I took lots of notes. Here’s a brief review (find out all about LOR!): Continue reading →

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18/09/2013 · 19:31

Brand Profile: Kryolan

Kryolan is a professional makeup artist brand from Berlin. It was established in 1945; Kryolan’s core business is film and theater makeup, they make artificial blood, body fluids and scars, camouflage and HD products; they are also very popular with makeup artists. And they have a great range of “regular” makeup. I love their Camouflage Powder; have been buying it for years. Read my Mintel article here.

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