REBOOTING RETAIL
As the recent demise of Arcadia Group and other stragglers of its ilk have shown, retail is undergoing an evolution. All signs seem to suggest that outmoded linear models of consumption and throwaway culture are dying while flexible, sustainable and customer-first frameworks are on the rise. One of the most ambitious initiatives is Ikea’s recently launched BuyBack scheme. Part of its strategy to become a fully circular and climate-positive business by 2030, customers can sell back selected furniture in exchange for a refund card (with no expiry date) to spend in store. The pieces will go back on sale in the brand’s BuyBack area or online. The move recognises the customer’s need for flexibility, but also the fact that the company has been criticised for fostering the notion of ‘disposable’ furniture (ikea.com).
Even more pioneering is Italian brand Supernovas’s Streaming programme. By signing up, customers can buy the new ‘Afterlife’ collection of recycled plastic crates and benches designed by Dutch studio Odd Matter in monthly instalments of £15. They can keep their ‘streamed’ products for as long as they want – even for just three months, for a total cost of £45, or forever (payments stop when the product’s total cost has been reached). Supernovas’s concept aims to ‘enable dynamic living’ so customers feel free to buy in the knowledge that pieces can be swapped and recycled should their needs change (supernovas.world).