Last week, I paid a visit to a very popular multi-brand store called Selfridges. Its on Oxford Street in London. Its a very popular store in U.K. As I enter the store I saw very sophisticatedly designed shops of different brands. The shops with glass partitions. Shops with beautiful lighting. Shops with superbly designed clothes hanging on display.As I move ahead absorbing the design information overload, I’m seeing people with ‘Yellow’ coloured bags going about. The ones with the yellow bags took long strides in a very proud fashion while the ones without it would just walk normally. Initially I was puzzled and then I began to see a pattern. The bags were of Selfridge & Co.
It just so happens that buying something from Selfridges is considered to be a very ‘in’ thing here. And if I was an avid customer and bought something from the store and wanted to show it off, how would I brag about it?
Selfridges gives a solution to its customers for bragging. Its the yellow bag. Its what their branding is all about. They especially made sure that nothing else in the store is yellow. Apparently, this colour is very close to what Amanda Green calls “Sarcoline” in her post 11 Colors You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.
This yellow colour bag of Selfriges raises the self-esteem of its customers in their own sense and promises to be a head-turner. The only place you see this blazing yellow colour is the on the bags and maybe on the entrance of the store. Nowhere else will you see this colour in the store and any other thing brighter than this. This gives the customers a feeling of exclusiveness.
This inspires me a lot as Selfriges has used a simple thing as a carry-bag to brand their store so nicely. The did it so well that they don’t even need to advertise in the streets of Central London as their loyal customers do it for them when they come out of the store and walk proudly with the Selfridges bags in their hands.
Do you think of more examples? Please reply in the comment area below.
