1. MAKE YOUR MANNEQUINS PART OF THE SOLUTION

Physical mannequins still have their place in our retail stores and concepts. Combating against the ways in which traditional mannequins have been produced and looked for a very long time, retailers are turning to new raw materials and fabrics, as well as to more realistic body and ethnicity representations. The possibilities and sources here seem endless, ranging from converting aviation waste, such as cups, plates and cutlery, into sustainable 3D printing material (e.g. Hans Boodt) or cleaning the ocean from plastic waste and re-using it to create new material for mannequins, to producing a bio-resin from corn that is not only renewable but also easy to combine with many other ecological fabrics (e.g. Window France).

However, as we know, sustainability is only starting there, leaving room for an increased rise of less idealized body types and a fairer representation of our society and its diversity. It is time to change together for the better.

‍

2. EMBRACE THE POWER OF CIRCULARITY IN YOUR STORES

Whether you are considering your retail store or the way you communicate your brand messages and campaigns, every detail here can be approached from a more climate-friendly perspective. With this in mind, two thought-through concepts especially stood out for us at the EuroShop this year. With the invention of a completely new and unique solid surface, called KRION®, a company of the Porcelanosa Group has managed to find an increasingly versatile, durable and circular way of equipping a retail store with its components. And while this solid surface is composed of two-thirds natural material, every product made from it can be decomposed, 100% re- or upcycled and reintroduced into the production cycle, making it ecologically quite valuable.

Other than that, change in our industry does not always stem from the manufacturers or suppliers, but sometimes also from the big players as well. From Kendu we got to know that H&M has approached them with the impulse to solve the issue of regularly reproducing keder canvases and lips. Their solution? Closing the loop and extending the products’ life-cycles by re-using every canvas as material input for the next production up until it is entirely depleted. On top of that, the Kendu Group created its own and patented plastic-free alternative for silicone or PVC keder lips, called ked.eco, which is both, made from recycled keder textiles and recyclable to make new ked.eco over and over again.

‍

3. BE OPEN TO COLLABORATE WITH SMALL START-UPS AND PIONEERS

Next to the countless number of established brands and corporations, the EuroShop 2023 has offered a special presentation area for young and future-oriented start-ups that are dedicated to finding innovative solutions to pressing challenges. As industry experts at SHOWZ, we have noticed an interesting development within the start-up market. Rather than trying to tackle every possible issue at hand, the start-ups in the hub have showcased more consolidated concepts and solutions, knowing where to focus on with their problem-solving approaches. This time, these solutions revolved mainly around technological innovations regarding payment analytics, smart stores, artificial intelligence, communication technologies, POS solutions and more. One of our highlights with the most relevant insights was the take of a Berlin based start-up on making anonymous offline shoppers known and addressable. Their idea is to make use of one of the daily used messenger services and integrate a chatbot or messenger contact that is able to address the shoppers’ real-time needs and create a personalized and experiential solution for them. Some of the proposed use cases include offering a coupon at the check-in, providing product advice and consumer information or giving forth a supplier promotion, the possibilities are huge. Our learning here was time and again that we should always take into account the creative and solution-oriented potential of smaller start-ups and see them as our partners of tomorrow for a better tomorrow.

“SHOWZ cares for its employees. That’s why all team members have benefits that help balance work and personal life, making the working process less stressful. It also encourages a healthy lifestyle, so check out all the perks you’d get as part of our team.