Why Virtue Is The New Cool!
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design|January 2021
Among other things, the pandemic of 2020 has necessitated the need to align businesses with values such as transparency and social responsibility. Brands that genuinely champion causes are likely to resonate better with the socially aware millennial consumers of today. Ian Johnston, Founder and Creative Director at Quinine, a world-leading retail experience consultancy known for its research-driven user-centric design approach, explains why virtuous brands have an edge today, and how retail space and experience can best reflect a brand’s values and virtues.
- N. Jayalakshmi
Why Virtue Is The New Cool!

Priorities of the modern consumer have shifted to make kindness and empathy the key to sustained market growth and consumer trust and loyalty. The Millennial generation is the largest in history and has unprecedented buying power. This younger consumer group has a different set of values than the generations before them; they want a job that they are passionate about and they view their consumer choices as a mechanism to support movements and make change. Their concept of identity is intertwined with consumerism, where buying products and supporting brands is a form of self-affirmation.

As brands try to capture the attention of consumers, there has been a shift from brands seeking engagement, to having to earn public approval. Making quality products or supplying quality services is no longer enough, brands need to benefit society. Successful brands of the future must be virtuous. And the most successful retail brands will have virtuous store experiences.

What do we mean by virtuous?

Virtuous is conforming to moral and ethical principles. Virtuous brands do good things because it is an extension of their brand DNA. There is no playbook for what is considered virtuous. Truly virtuous brands act because they feel it is the right thing to do, irrespective of judgements or profits.

Why do we need virtuous brands?

We need brands to be virtuous because brands have power and wield influence. Today, brands are replacing politics and religion as moral pillars that we trust and seek guidance from. Global brands can wield their power to make large scale change. Brands have the ability to take a stance, but they also tell stories and engage us in the process.

この蚘事は Visual Merchandising and Retail Design の January 2021 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Visual Merchandising and Retail Design の January 2021 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

VISUAL MERCHANDISING AND RETAIL DESIGNのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
The Curated Art Of Window Shopping-Delhi
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

The Curated Art Of Window Shopping-Delhi

The new AIS Window experience center in Delhi designed by Four Dimensions Retail Design redefines the whole experience of buying window solutions in an immersive spatial narrative that blends storytelling and cutting edge technology.

time-read
4 分  |
March 2021
Retail @ Small Town India: Way To Go?
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

Retail @ Small Town India: Way To Go?

Even as markets get re-adjusted to a post-Covid reality and retail brands realign their business strategies to shifting market dynamics, India’s tier2-3-4
markets might just be what the retail economy needs to get back on growth track.

time-read
3 分  |
March 2021
Where the police go to shop - RAJKOT
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

Where the police go to shop - RAJKOT

Designed by IKS ARCHITECTS, the Dhiraj Police Store in Rajkot, Gujarat, has been conceptualised to craft a unique retail experience. Located in an urban dense fabric on the ground floor of a commercial building near the old city, the government licensed store is designed to serve the police force and associated dignitaries.

time-read
3 分  |
March 2021
For the love of Laminates
 SURAT
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

For the love of Laminates
 SURAT

The EightxFour Experience Centre by Shivshakti Laminates is an experience centre of a leading laminate and veneer retailer of Surat, created in an erstwhile textile manufacturing unit. Designed by Utopia Designs, the centre’s design focuses on effective display strategies, both tried-and-tested and new, within an industrial vocabulary.

time-read
3 分  |
March 2021
Tyre retailing takes experiential route with Bridgestone Select +
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

Tyre retailing takes experiential route with Bridgestone Select +

Bridgestone India, one of the leading brands in the passenger car tyre segment, recently launched the country’s first concept store in Pune. Designed by LANDOR & FITCH, the store offers an educative tyre buying and service experience, while redefining the whole retail experience in the category .

time-read
2 分  |
March 2021
When design enables purchases in a hypermart - DELHI
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

When design enables purchases in a hypermart - DELHI

Departmental stores are spaces where the functional aspects take centre stage and design is more a matter of simply enabling product purchases. But Kwality Bazaar, Delhi, designed by Aatika Manzar, accentuates the incredibly important role design and aisle planning play in enhancing the shopping experience and thus maximising sales, in a supermarket environment.

time-read
3 分  |
March 2021
High on hospitality - RAIPUR
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

High on hospitality - RAIPUR

Spread over an area of 50,000 sq. ft., and designed by Raipur based Azure Interiors, Clarks Inn Suites,the 52 key suites hotel is all about elevating the experience quotient of the space.

time-read
2 分  |
March 2021
The Design Divas

Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

The Design Divas


It’s the month that celebrates women with the International Women’s Day observed on March 8th. In this edition, we present three women entrepreneurs working in the retail design space who share their experiences and professional insights in an exclusive interaction with VMRD. Read on


time-read
5 分  |
March 2021
Reformed, restyled & restored - MUMBAI
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

Reformed, restyled & restored - MUMBAI

Mumbai based Miyabi store designed by NACL ( Natasha Aggarwal Creative Living) is a stress-free fashion space that enables customers to browse and shop in a relaxing retail ambience.

time-read
3 分  |
March 2021
A rich narrative with diverse materiality - AURANGABAD
Visual Merchandising and Retail Design

A rich narrative with diverse materiality - AURANGABAD

Pehnawa is a three-storey fashionwear outlet in Aurangabad, designed by Portico Design Concepts. Spread across 5,400sq.ft., the space’s striking design adds its own muscle to the showroom experience.

time-read
3 分  |
March 2021