On October 24th, we had the pleasure of attending the Retail Talks Outdoor Summit organized by Epicenter Store in Stockholm. Conversations focused on a key topic for any modern brand: the importance of building a compelling brand story to differentiate, create a customer experience that truly inspires, and make the brand both relatable and desirable.
The event featured thought-provoking speakers who are leaders in their fields, including:
- Peter Blom, Serial entrepreneur in sports fashion and co-founder of Peak Performance, Cross Sportswear, and The Mountain Studio
- Yvonne Magnusson, Founder and CEO of ShiftRetail, former CEO of Indiska and Cervera
- Charlotta Kjellstrand, Strategic Advisor with extensive experience in luxury brands like Moncler, OTB Group, and Kering
Let’s start with Peter Blom, who emphasized how vital it is for brands to integrate their values into a lifestyle, creating a clear and consistent message across all touchpoints. He recommended developing a “brand book” that outlines the company’s mission, vision, and values to guide every decision – from marketing to product design – ensuring that the brand story resonates well with customers and is told consistently across all channels.
Yvonne Magnusson then shared the impressive story of Norrøna’s flagship store in Oslo. With over 800 square meters, it’s more than just a retail space – it’s a destination where the brand’s core values are brought to life. There is, for example, Norrøna’s Storm Lab - a Gore-Tex-approved environment - which allows customers to test products in real conditions. Norrøna has even built an entire history wall showcasing 94 years of the brand’s journey, including key expeditions and the evolution of their collections. This immersive experience extends beyond shopping to events and community-building activities, with a theater room for catwalks and concerts, and a Nordic brasserie opening in 2024, all of which help deepen the brand connection.
Last but certainly not least, Charlotta Kjellstrand touched on the critical importance of in-store experiences for luxury brands, and the art of balancing physical and digital experiences. While many retailers focus on online sales, luxury brands like to limit their online presence to maintain a sense of exclusivity and service that’s essential to their identity.
To sum up, depending on your brand’s journey and goals, striking the right balance between digital and physical interactions with your target audience is becoming all the more crucial. Even for brands that are predominantly online, it’s important to create physical touchpoints that foster community and customer loyalty.
Many outdoor and fashion brands, like Norrøna, Trek Bikes,Isbjörn of Sweden and Decathlon, have taken this concept further by creating their own travel platforms. These platforms allow customers to “live the brand” through experiences that align with its values and can scale easily, offering more flexibility than traditional, one-off events.
However, setting up and managing such platforms can be costly and time-consuming. That’swhy we launched Your Brand Travel – to provide an out-of-the-box solution where brands can seamlessly integrate travel experiences into their offering without dedicating additional internal resources. We handle everything, from designing experiences that align with your brand’s guidelines to seamless e-commerce integration, all at a fraction of the cost.
Ready to take your brand to the next level? Reach out to us at info@yourbrandtravel.com to learn more!
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