September, 2019 - Vertical Advantage

At Vertical Advantage, we know and understand our markets. It’s what we do best. Due to the collaborative, cross-functional nature of our business we truly invest the time in really getting to know the growth ambitions of both our candidates and clients.

But what’s also personally important to us is giving a little bit back to the community and local charities.

We try to fundraise, donate and offer our time in various ways.

From sponsoring events, through to bake-offs and we also take pride in offering every member of staff at Vertical Advantage paid leave each year to spend time with a charity and offer help in whatever way the charity needs.

These charities are close to the hearts of the team in different ways, with some team members supporting them in their own time.

For instance, our Jayna, Associate Director has been a volunteer since 2013 for a charity called Time to Talk Befriending in Brighton who supports the elderly. They can suffer massively from loneliness and are a lot more vulnerable. Time to Talk Befriending gives Jayna the opportunity to give a small bit of her time back to the community. She especially likes it because she feels it helps ease some of that loneliness.

I’m the newly appointed Senior Marketing Executive, Isabella, I have been the Social Media Manager since July 2018 for ASTRiiD. ASTRiiD connects people fighting long-term health conditions with ambitious businesses seeking skilled volunteers or staff on a flexible basis.

Most recently we organised a Great British Bake Off that was an absolute success. Not only was it an internal showdown we also had our lovely neighbours take part and help finish off all the cake. Somehow we managed to raised nearly £400! 1st place unsurprisingly went to our Associate Director Andy 2nd place went to me(but I got the most votes so should have won…just saying!) 3rd place went to Rhys (although we’re not sure he made it)

Apart from a reason to eat cake and get competitive, this is for a fantastic cause as all proceeds go to a charity close to our hearts: Macmillan Cancer Support

Why Mac?

We love that this charity helps everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can, providing physical, financial and emotional support.

If you’d like to still donate for a fantastic cause please do here.

We’ve also raised money for Cancer Research on two occasions. Most recently, our senior consultants, Jack & Tom, took it to the boxing ring with WCB to raise money for Cancer Research, that was completely sponsored for by our MD David. They trained intensively for 8 weeks. Jack raised £400 and Tom raised £240 above his £500 target! Our X employees, Susan and Kathryn also took part in a Race for Life raising 17% over target.

We’ve also supported these charities the years:

Rainbows Children’s Hospice a Leicestershire based hospice that covers the larger East Midlands Area and offers support and care not only to the children but also to their families.

Battersea Dogs Home this speaks for itself…a nation of animal lovers but unfortunately there are one or two people out there who do not have the compassion or responsibility to look after these wonderful creatures and Battersea will rehabilitate and ensure the dogs go to homes that really care

Demelza Children’s Hospice Demelza provides the best care and support for seriously ill babies, children and young people and their families across East Sussex, Kent and South East London.

Matt Hampson Foundation aim is to provide advice, support, relief and/or treatment for anyone suffering serious injury or disability which has arisen from any cause, but in particular from participation in or training for any sport, sporting activity or other forms of physical education or recreation.

There are always new local causes that come to our attention and if we can give them just a little bit of support we will.

We will keep you updated through the year on what we get up to and (hopefully) how much we have been able to raise.

At the beginning of 2019, Crabtree & Evelyn—known for luxury body, fragrance, and home care products — announced they were shuttering their bricks-and-mortar stores around the world. Moving forward, they’ll be operating as an (almost) digital-only company, serving customers in just one lonely London ‘concept’ branch, according to reports.

But while some outlets have questioned “what went wrong” for Crabtree & Evelyn, is it possible that this is actually a savvy business move? (We hesitate to call it a ‘business decision’, given that industry insiders had been chalking up Crabtree & Evelyn’s bankruptcies and store closures for months.)

After all, we are living in the digital age, when beauty brands are able to hold their own online, and Crabtree & Evelyn is a big-name brand with an internationally recognised concept.

But can Crabtree & Evelyn thrive (almost) online-only?
It’s key to consider that Crabtree & Evelyn’s customers mainly consist of Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers. Can they rely on their name-brand, luxury legacy alone, if they abruptly shift focus from the high street?

It’s possible, but considering their target markets skews older and more affluent, they may find their profits taking a hit. After all, while some studies show that Baby Boomers spend more online than Millennials, it’s generally understood that online shopping is a young person’s game.

However, from my experience in this market, it can be done, especially in a world where direct-to-consumer sales are dominating, and other companies have successfully made the move online. Take Lego — a brand selling an ostensibly physical, tangible product—which suffered a steady decline through the 90s, before reinventing itself in the early 2000s via films, games, and applications.

Even so, looking at the FMCG sphere, in particular, we must recognise that many newer companies launch with eCommerce factored into their business plans from Day 1. This makes it particularly hard for established retailers (like Crabtree & Evelyn) to shift their focus to eCommerce and thrive–there’s just too much-established competition. Not only is a huge investment needed, but there’s also a ton of risk involved too. It’s not just as simple as adding an online shopping option to your current set-up.

(Related: See what exciting eCom and Digital opportunities we have at Vertical Advantage now)

Debenhams and House of Fraser know this only too well. Despite both being big-name department stores, their lack of eCommerce strategy has proved to be a real Achilles Heel. The result? Store closures left, right, and centre across the country.

On the other hand, Ugly Drink is an especially good example of a company that hit the ground running with eCommerce built-in and they’re now branching out into subscription services which is great for offices. However, imagine if Coke tried to make such a move! They might have (metaphorical) money to burn, but even so, it would be a risky decision to suddenly shift focus to eCommerce.

Yet Unilever is (sort of) doing just that, aiming to double their direct-to-consumer sales which currently account for just 5% of revenue. And they’re taking inspiration from existing, established subscription models to do so. Time will tell whether their move pays off, but it certainly has for both Dove and Maille, two big companies that have successfully segued into the eCommerce market. Maille, in particular, has taken the whole ‘sell the experience’ aspect of eCommerce to heart, leading with gifting ideas and recipe suggestions for the curious consumer.

But for a flagging Crabtree & Evelyn to survive and thrive in the digital sphere, specialising may be the way to go. Some have suggested they should follow the L’Occitane business model, hyping up product provenance, while data indicates they might need to hone in on beauty or skincare, rather than trying to do it all (who buys fragrance online, anyway?). Most of all, they’ll need to shift focus onto Millennials and Gen Z consumers, who tend to shop online more than their older counterparts.

They’ll also have to ensure their logistics are seamless. In a world where Amazon dominates, uh, pretty much every market, Prime delivery and next-day postage options which cost almost nothing, customers are no longer willing to wait 3-5 working days for their deliveries. (Customers have already complained about Crabtree & Evelyn’s poor online delivery logistics.)

In short: Crabtree & Evelyn need to rebrand and reposition themselves as a brand for Generation Z and Millennial consumers alike, steering away from their Baby Boomer past.

Could concept stores help bridge the physical-digital gap?
Crabtree & Evelyn’s decision to forge ahead with a concept store in Islington, London could be the silver lining of this entire debacle though.

And they’re not the only ones to go big or go home about the concept of, well… concept stores in recent months. Big-name British drugstore Boots has also announced plans for a London concept store, which will include Instagram zones and YouTube studios.

By allowing customers to interact with products in person, in a new and revitalised way, concept stores could prove the gap-bridger that retailers, especially a brand like Crabtree & Evelyn, need as they migrate their business online-only. The saviours of bricks-and-mortar retail?

So is digital-only retail the future?
Signs point to possibly, but only if you’re selling something customers have bought before and are familiar with (a.k.a. repeat purchases). However, hooking the customer with your brand still depends on a high street presence. So, for companies looking to rid themselves of high street overheads, a combination of physical concept stores and a strong online presence may be the way forward. Only time will tell.

Month: September 2019

Giving Back

Is Crabtree & Evelyn ahead of the curve by closing all stores and going digital?