Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Ok, the good news is the spring Jack Wills catalogue arrived yesterday. Judging it as a catalogue alone it gets top marks - keeping true to brand while stepping forward from its previous one in terms of look and style. And how flippin' Sloane-tastic great is it that you can now buy JW tv blankets!?



The bad news is that they appear to be taking suspiciously sticky leaves out of the American Apparel book of 'barely legal' advertising. The opening page of the catalogue features the reproduction of a 'concerned' letter from a parent "aghast and disgusted' by the "blatant sexualisation" of JW's young female models.

Firstly, if they chose to go down this route they should go down it with bullish confidence, rather than poking fun at their nay-sayers like a reprimanded child who knows they have done wrong. Secondly, unlike the slutty American Apparel ads which feature proper models, Jack Wills have open casting calls at their shops and sponsored events. Without evidence to the contrary, I can only assume, therefore, that these scantily clad teens aren't professional models, capable of drawing a line, but willing wannabe's grateful to be part of the JW dream.



Careful Jack - we all love a bad boy but they always break our hearts in the end.

Success in a downturn

A recent study conducted by the Design Council has revealed that 'more than half of UK businesses are using design to help them to survive the economic downturn', while the number of businesses who feel that design is integral to their business has doubled in the past three years. Which leads me to explore a topic I have been pondering for several weeks - namely, what will 2009 hold in store for UK retail?

A quick scan of the papers and magazines of the past few months show that thiftyness, eco-trends, and the demise of the highstreet are already hot topics and we have seen what happens to companies that have failed to move with the times as Woolworths and Whittards went into administration. So which businesses will thrive and why?



As consumers struggle with the environmental consiciousness developed in 2007 and 2008 coupled with a reduced disposable income, companies who offer - or appear to offer - both ethical and monetary value in the products they sell will do well. The co-op has been doing this for a while, while the tone of the new Thompson holiday adverts seems to pay homage to the sentiment. Highstreet fashion brands are taking the inconspicuous consumption approach - with American Apparel and H&M's January window displays looking decidedly understated and monotone.



And what will become of luxury and artisan brands? If credit crunchers do decide to treat themselves to something special, they will no doubt want to feel they are also getting a little something extra. This may be found in the service - places like Rococo Chocolates and the Monmouth Coffee shop pride themselves on their free samples, and knowledgeable, attentive staff. Or it might be in the shopping experience - the new Dunhill store in Mayfair also has bar, private screening room, and barber on site. Or it might be in the finishing touches, which is where this newfound commitment to design will come in. Consumers will demand beautiful packaging, a stunning, navigable website, and a welcoming, comfortable shopping environment if they are to feel their precious pounds are going further.

2009 is going to be a tough ride for everyone, no matter what industry, but it will be those companies who insist on pushing boundaries and exploring the new, who will enchant their customers and come out the other side.

For the Design Council's list of companies working with designers to improve their performance during challenging conditions, click HERE.

Pop-ups and nomads

You'd think that mobile libraries full of batty old people and ice-cream vans fronting drug-dealing cartels would give nomadic retailing a bad name. Quite the contrary, it seems that hip brands are modern circuses as they swoop into town, shout there wares, entertain the masses and then skip out before we begin to get bored.

American Apparel has pop-up shops



Starbucks has the Starbucks Salon



While over here we have the Chocstar bus

Over- fed, over-hyped, and over here: The American Invasion.

It started a while back with Urban Outfitters opening on High Street Ken as the go-to place for fashionable bo-ho Londoners who prefer their vintage looks without the smell of old lady. Then American Apparel appeared on Carnaby Street luring generations of Gap-fans with their soft cotton tees in rainbow colours. But it was unleashing Abercrombie & Fitch on the nation's 15 year old girls that really made everyone sit up and take notice of these sexy American stores charming their way onto our high streets and into our wardrobes.

Unlike their reserved and somewhat eccentric counterparts, the American stores know no bounds. They are vast, glossy and immaculate. No amount of British propaganda (apparently A&F in-store models are fired if they stop dancing) can penetrate their alluring shell. Whole Foods swanned into Kensington, kicked the Barkers building into shape, piled the shelves high with over-priced Organic veg and, like unwitting Northerners with a penchant for coal, had Londoners swooning in the aisles.



It is Banana Republic, however, that is quietly giving British retail a major run for its money. And it's not due to their office-perfect twin-sets, or their preposterously massive changing rooms, it is their standard of service. We have laughed for years at candy-pop cheerleaders who greet everyone with 'Hi! How are you folks doing?', but it is sixteen years since Ab Fab's Eddie quipped 'You only work in a shop, you know. You can drop the bloody attitude' and still we are putting up with surly, unwelcoming assistants.

Will Banana Rep's pioneering development of a beautiful midway point between Olivia Newton-John and Jeeves see things begin to change on the shop floor?