FOOD AND FASHION? NOW THAT’S A DELECTABLE COMBINATION!

The cafe-inspired retail space has roots in a company always known for its innovations - Apple - which made headlines back in 2001 when it opened its first physical store with a coffee house table layout and friendly atmosphere. Since then more and more retailers, including the ones in fashion space, are adopting the core of what made Apple’s retail model so successful.

So why have the retailers that are in the business of dressing us up suddenly started feeding us? The key motivation behind adopting this trend is to create excitement, increase dwell time in the store, enhance the brand experience and give customers another reason to visit. “Retail has changed through the generations and the new-age consumers don’t want to go shopping in the traditional sense of browsing through stores,” says a retail industry expert. So get this: Ethnic lifestyle retailer Fabindia launched its new retail format ‘Fabindia Experience Centre’ last year which houses a Fabcafe, an interior design studio and an organic wellness center, among others. “We are investing in ‘experience’ and the goal is to interact with customers at a whole new level of engagement,” says Viney Singh, MD, Fabindia Overseas (P) Ltd., which plans to open 10 such centers by this year end.

Feeding the Footfalls

There is a good synergy in the concept as cafes feed off the footfalls of the store and vice-versa. As Singh informs, “Fabcafe contributes up to 25% of our total footfalls.” While it is difficult to assess how much sales have increased on the back of the cafe, there surely has been a positive impact. “In Delhi, we have a large number of young people visiting our cafe and becoming regular customers.” Besides, luxury brand Good Earth, which has a range of clothing, crockery items and home décor products, also houses a cafe known as Latitude 28 at Delhi’s Khan Market store. The food and wine menu of the cafe was curated by Chef Ritu Dalmia. It certainly is a trend that’s catching on fast!

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