Portas

Welcome to episode 3 of our Windows of Wonder series, the last but certainly not the least. This week Portas’s Director of Retail & Experience James Sheppard and Mary Portas OBE are in Bond Street, most iconic of London destinations and home to global titans of Luxury.    We won’t sugarcoat it – for well over a decade we’ve seen this street more than lose its mojo. Grandeur yes, always, but so very austere - lacking that frisson of excitement you should always experience stepping into the realm of true Luxury. Well, this Christmas, the frisson is back…and it’s frissin’ awe-inspiring.    From Chanel’s stunning light installations, inspired by the legendary N°5 fragrance, enveloping the street with a canopy of golden glow; to Vuitton’s dazzling carrousels; to Dior’s utterly magic mythological seascapes; and Cartier’s celestial fanfare - all are reaching far beyond their window frame for a pure and intensely beautiful expression of their brand in culture. Signature behaviour from what we call a brand’s ‘Spiritual Home’ (to read more in last month’s newsletter dedicated to Spiritual Homes, sign up at weareportas.com and we’ll gladly send you a copy).    The impact is palpable. Everyone, us included, is just spellbound. We’ve not seen Bond Street like this for many years, buzzing with international tourists, Londoners, Brits all here for no other reason than to marvel. Exactly how it should be.    We hope you’ve loved this year’s Windows of Wonder series as much as we’ve loved making it. But we’re not quite done yet. Every week we’ve asked you independent retailers to share your best Christmas windows. And wow you’ve not disappointed. The response has been unbelievable – thank you. Keep following our stories for our daily call outs. Keep sharing with the hashtag #windowsofwonder. And next week, look out for our absolute favourites to round the season.   #windowsofwonder #beautifulbusiness

Here we are, episode 2 of our Windows of Wonder series, and this week Portas’s Director of Retail & Experience James Sheppard and Mary Portas OBE are at Fortnum & Mason’s, the quintessentially British department store of artisanal deliciousness. And what a feast for the soul this was.   You’ll have heard us at Portas talk of People Experience or PX – the art of a making your brand’s body language felt in every single corner of the experience and every interaction. This Christmas Fortnum & Masons remind us why they are the masters.    Each one of the 9 windows beckon you in, setting the scene for the Woodland Wonderland theme that imbues the entire experience – from all the packaging and visual merchandising to the very heart of the store, F&M’s grand stairwell glistening with dancing silver acorns bobbing up and down in harmony (a worthy successor to last year’s delightful Christmas puds).    It genuinely feels like you’re walking into a picture book filled with fluttering birds, twirling ballet mice, and a very regal looking crocodile. And if the store is the book, well, the windows are undoubtedly its irresistible front cover.   F&M’s CEO Tom Athron kindly popped down to say hello while we were filming. His words of wisdom? Be utterly, unapologetically, unswervingly true to your brand. Amen to that.   Next week a very different energy – and you won’t want to miss it. We’re reviewing the luxury titans of Bond Street – and, spoiler alert, the iconic street is back and more wonderful than ever.   Now you know how much we love you independent retailers, and know how incredibly creative you are with your very own windows – especially at Christmas. So we want to see your fabulous windows. Share them with the hashtag #windowsofwonder and the team and we will choose our favourites and spread the joy of your amazing work.    Check out this week’s newsletter for our take on the ‘why’ behind this explosion of real-world creativity we’re loving right now… sign up at weareportas.com.   #windowsofwonder #beautifulbusiness

This month we’re dedicating our stories to Windows of Wonder – celebrating the crème de la crème of London’s Christmas windows (Fortnum & Masons next, trust us you won’t want to miss it). But there’s a why behind all this wonder. Windows aren’t just windows. Stores aren’t just stores. They’re together-places that are magnetic and memorable, giving us joy, awe and wonder at a time when we crave it. The most progressive brands get this, using real-world presence to reach into people’s hearts and inspire new modes of engagement. Discover why we wonder at windows - now more than ever - in this week’s newsletter. Sign up at weareportas.com And don’t forget – if you’re an independent retailer with fabulous windows of your own, we want to see them! Share them with the hashtag #windowsofwonder and the team and I will choose our favourites and spread the joy of your amazing work. #windowsofwonder #beautifulbusiness

Our Windows of Wonder series wouldn’t be complete without creating our very own wonderful Christmas windows here at Portas HQ. So we have. In partnership with the brilliant talent at UCL, we’ve dedicated every one of our 17 windows to their creative hand. The brief? All white, all festive, with a (Portas) spot of orange. We bloody love them. A huge thank you to Alice Piller, Lily O’Neill, Naqi Azizi and Samirah Palton, for making everyone who walks past our corner of Clerkenwell smile. Keep following our Windows of Wonder these coming weeks, lots more to come. And if you’re an independent retailer with fabulous windows of your own, we want to see them! Share them with the hashtag #windowsofwonder and we will choose our favourites and spread the joy of your amazing work.    #windowsofwonder #beautifulbusiness

Welcome to Portas 3-part series Windows of Wonder, back for a second year by popular demand! Celebrating what’s probably a retailer’s most powerful creative canvas at Christmas – their windows and, more than ever, the entire facade of their stores. Our very own Mary and Director of Retail and Experience the wonderful James Sheppard will be taking a closer look at the exceptional creativity and craft of London’s best (because, let’s face it, we’re still the masters at this stuff) To kick us off - Selfridges. Always more is more…this year they’ve gone even MORE with their ‘More the Merrier’ take over theme bringing OTT, maximalist joy to Oxford Street. But unsurprisingly for Selfridges, the real coup here is as ever their brilliant use of with very different, multi-disciplinary artists including Emily Pugh, Max Allen, Andrew Logan, Charles Jeffrey and Flaminia Veronesi to come together in all their artistry for a whole bigger than the sum of its parts. Now you know how much we love you independent retailers, and we know how incredibly creative you are with your very own windows – especially at Christmas. So we want to see your fabulous windows. Share them with the hashtag #windowsofwonder and Mary and the team will choose our favourites and spread the joy of your amazing work. Check out this week’s newsletter for our take on the ‘why’ behind this explosion of real-world creativity we’re loving right now… sign up at weareportas.com. #windowsofwonder #beautifulbusiness

The onslaught of recent world events has made our reality feel overwhelmingly chaotic and, at times, near on impossible. In our businesses. In our home lives. Societally. So how do we move forward? This week’s newsletter draws inspiration from the people who, with beautiful intent, focus on what they can control and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Because progress isn’t inevitable, it’s what we make it – together. Sign up to our newsletter here : https://lnkd.in/e-UQg3PW #beautifulbusiness

Here it comes, the onslaught of Christmas campaigns, festive tinsel, Black Friday…the season of intense selling. It can feel like it's getting earlier every year - but for many businesses the next 10 weeks can literally be make or break.   For Molton Brown this Christmas, we wanted to do things a little differently by getting to the heart of what the festive season is really all about - our meaningful connections with one another. “Gifting is the Art of Knowing” celebrates the idea that a gift shouldn't ever be tick-box or transactional - it should be a beautiful expression of a unique relationship. At the heart of this campaign is our handpicked cast of real people and their diverse relationships. Each shares what truly knowing someone means to them - from old friends, to lovers, through to sisterhood. It’s in revealing the depth of their bonds and what gifting means to them that the idea truly comes to life.   The humanity of the films and posters carries right through into Molton Brown’s store windows and e-commerce experience. Demonstrating what we at Portas always believe: that if you genuinely care about every single customer interaction, it comes naturally to brand beautifully and sell beautifully #beautifulbusiness Discover these unique connections and watch the campaign film : https://lnkd.in/e6Gpewq2

Isn’t it wonderful when something you’ve always loved so much returns and becomes the thing of moment. So of course we are revelling in the resurgence of physical retail. But this isn’t about lazily filling high street space with ‘stuff’. This is a celebration of a new golden age, a fundamental shift from old school flagship stores - muscular, impressive, consumer temples - to beautiful brand homes - inviting, immersive and social. We call them ‘Spiritual Homes’. Sign up to this week’s newsletter at weareportas.com to discover what it all means and the brands doing it better than any. #beautifulbusiness

We’ve partnered with the brands behind iconic Aussie retailer The Sussan Group for over 20 years. Sportsgirl, Sussan, Sussan Grae – all cornerstone brands that have been part of the fabric of Aussie women’s lives for generations. From shaping their business and brand plans, to most recently defining their sustainability strategy, it’s been a journey we’ve walked together, side-by-side, through all the trails and tribulations of fashion retail. So we were high on with pride when they called last week to tell us they’ve achieved BCorp Status. Because we know only too well the grit and determination it takes to get here. If you need help on your sustainability journey, drop us a line - we’d love to chat. beautifulbusiness@portasagency.com #beautifulbusiness #BCorp

Undeniably, we are in a time of so much world trauma and turmoil. But amidst all that we’ve seen wonderfully inspiring movements, new cultural narratives, innovative entrepreneurs all fuelling the appetite for the better we see today. So why, we can’t help but ask, is change still so slow…and so damn hard? We’ve been deep in thought and research this summer living and answering just that question. Read more in today’s newsletter. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e-UQg3PW