Video platforms like Zoom have rekindled the technology side of businesses, and helped reimagine how retail can target everyone working from home, to shop from home and new creative partnerships are springing up.

In June, Frame entered into a four-month pilot agreement with Bambuser AB to bring its consumers a new kind of shopping experience through live video shopping.

“This partnership allows us to create an even more immersive shopping experience and engage with our customers in real-time in circumstances when we can’t interact in-person,” said Jens Grede, cofounder and creative director of Frame. “We’re always looking for ways to enhance our shopping experience and Bambuser’s live shopping video feature allows us to blend our off-line and online channels in an engaging and entertaining way that more prominently highlights our current collections.”

Bambuser was founded in Stockholm in 2007 as the “world’s first company with a platform for interactive mobile live video broadcasting” though introduced live video shopping just last year. The company’s proprietary streaming technology is an end-to-end solution that enables mobile livestreaming directly on a brand or retailer’s web site.

“With the live shopping videos, we’re taking a leap into the future of retail and allowing brands to interact with their audience in the way they interact with each other, online or via smartphones,” said Sophie Abrahamsson, chief business development officer at Bambuser. “As the e-commerce space has grown over the past few months, retailers are looking for more efficient ways to deliver their products and brand experience to their consumers while they’re unable to interact in-person.”

“Brands like Frame are interested in taking their e-commerce channel to the next level by creating an even more engaging digital shopping experience where consumers can shop their latest pieces while also asking everything they want to know about it and getting feedback in real-time,” Abrahamsson said.

“We’ve seen an increase in e-commerce sales over the past few months and believe that consumers will continue shopping online even as some cities begin to reopen,” Grede said. “We pride ourselves on providing authentic and seamless customer experience and believe that brands need to create an e-commerce platform that helps consumers shop on their terms. Right now, consumers are looking for seamless and contactless ways to shop their favorite brands whether it’s shopping online, curbside pickup or one-on-one virtual shopping appointments — and our biggest priority is to continue to ensure the health and safety of our customers and workforce.”

Through the new functionality, Frame will be hosting live shopping videos on a monthly basis tapping into its large base of influencers and stylists to present the newest products and collections. The videos will highlight clothing fit, fabric technology and styling.

“Working with influencers and stylists has been a part of Frame’s DNA since Day One having collaborated with notable names in the industry like Imaan Hammam, Karlie Kloss and Tamara Mellon to name a few,” Grede said. “It only made sense to continue providing our customers with the best content and insight into fashion with stylists and influencers who’ve been longtime friends and supporters of the brand.”

The first live shopping video was hosted by Zanna Roberts Rassi, E! News style correspondent. During the session, Roberts Rassi walked through how to style various looks from the brand’s latest products and answered questions submitted by viewers.

According to Bambuser’s web site, its live video shopping technology sees an average of 6.2 times engagement rate compared to the industry average and 4.7 times the add-to-cart rate.

“Technology is a driving force that’s helping consumers and businesses alike navigate through the new normal we’re living in. It can help us now more than usual, as it allows us to connect people, products and data together, as well as give you access to share information around the world practically instantaneously so that everyone can stay connected. For businesses, this is crucial in order to survive during these unprecedented times by efficiently connecting virtually with their teams and customers,” Abrahamsson said.

On July 10, Bambuser announced a new partnership with Moda Operandi.

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The brand behind Vogue, New Yorker and Vanity Fair are forced to take some austerity measures after losses of up to $120 Million last year. They have taken measures to cut spending and be more digitally savvy, but it is expected to adopt strategies to ensure that it does not disappear completely.

After Boston Consulting Group did a monthlong audit of their internal systems, Robert A. Sauerberg Jr., the chief executive of Condé Nast, plans to address senior staff members on August 8th.

The company having lost more than $120 million last year, plans to put three of its 14 magazines — Brides, Golf Digest and W — up for sale, three executives said. The marquee titles, including Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker are safe, for now.

The decades-long magazine boom that made the ostentatious possible, is a thing of the past. A shift in media-consumption has elevated Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube above the printed page. Before Time Inc. was sold to the Meredith Corporation, it experienced sharp declines in annual revenue. The ad buying firm Magna projects print magazine ad sales will fall by a double digit rate this year.

The $120 million loss in 2017 came about because of a sharp decline in ad revenue generated by the print magazines. Gains in the digital arena have helped offset the loss, but not enough to make the company profitable. Condé Nast reached its decision to entertain offers for Brides, Golf Digest and W partly on the recommendation of Boston Consulting Group.

This story appeared in the New York Times.

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Nike Inc.’s Converse brand lost its chief marketing officer to streetwear label Supreme, Business of Fashion reports.

Julien Cahn resigned from Converse earlier this year and left the company in February for a marketing role at the up-and-coming brand. Cahn joined Converse in 2016 from parent Nike. Several executives have recently left Nike in the wake of an internal probe into misconduct, though Cahn’s departure wasn’t related, people said. Nike began an internal review of misconduct last month, after complaints from employees. A handful of executives have exited, including Trevor Edwards, who was one of the favorites to succeed Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker.

Last week, an analyst’s report said nine Nike employees at director level or higher, including Cahn, had left the company in the past 35 days amid “recent cultural turmoil.” Nike executives go from director to senior director and then vice president. The departures are seen adding additional “downside risk” to Nike’s long-term growth trajectory, Sam Poser of Susquehanna Financial Group wrote in a note to clients.

Gucci is introducing a series of global, pop-up stores, designed to create even more reasons for customers to shop across the year. This is especially in regions where luxury brand may not already have a physical outpost. Target destinations over the next year include Chengdu, Sao Paulo, Taipei, Bangkok, Moscow, Mexico City, Dubai and many more across Europe, Latin America, the US, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

The Pop-Ups are called “Gucci Pin” and will each be open an average of five weeks. In some cases, shops will open and close over the course of a year in the same city or location, dependent on different occasions. Digital content will play a major role in keeping the customers hooked.

The first shop opened on November 5 in Hong Kong, and will be followed by Fukuoka, Seongnam, Paris and Denver in the first wave of openings throughout the month.

Gucci Chief Executive Marco Bizzarri said that the Gucci Pin stores will allow the brand to reach different consumer segments than it can with its brick and mortar stores. “We are therefore looking at Gucci Pin as a new map for new territories, combining an immersive digital activation to further enhance the physical experience,” he said.

The idea is simple, pop-up shops will feed the growing demand for constant newness, especially among younger consumers buying entry-level price point items plus with Limited edition runs creating a sense of urgency.

This strategy is especially important because Gucci’s sales growth have slowed down this year. The brand saw revenue increase 11 percent on a comparable basis in the third quarter of 2019, compared to 35 percent in the same period the prior year. But Gucci is still on track to reach its goal of €10 billion in annual revenue in the coming years.

The first wave is all about gifts for the holiday season. The second, opening in early 2020, will celebrate the Chinese New Year, later in the year, there will be a “psychedelic” theme, with products designed to reflect the concepts.

Asia is Gucci’s largest and fastest-growing region, so it’s no surprise that many of the first stores to open are in the region.

Looking forward to whats in store for Dubai and the rest of the Middle East.

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