Keep Odd Molly odd

The fashionbrand Odd Molly opened up a store in central Stockholm in February. I like the brand. It is different and has a great female touch. The story behind it is good too. Read about it at oddmolly.com. Some guys met a girl who was different from all the others. Everyone wanted to spend time with her. They called her Odd Molly.



Photo: oddmolly

As long as the fashion clothes from Odd Molly are odd enough, they are interesting. When too many people start wearing them, my interest will drop. They should be part of building personal personal brands, not fashion for everyone. A way of handling that is to keep the price quite high. Not so good for our wallets, but probably good for the brand. Both their own and our own.

The Pharmacy reform

The monpoly of the Swedish Pharmacy will turn into a competitive branch of trade in a few months. Anyone will be able to start a pharmacy, as long as there are certified pharmacists working there. Today there are about 900 pharmacies in Sweden. Half of them will be sold to other parties. We can probably expect players like Boots on our market in times to come.



The Swedish Pharmacy will move into this new competitive situation with their heads held high. They are modernising their visual identity - although they keep the basics so that people will feel secure and can trust their longterm thinking. There will be more private label as part of their branding- and differentiationprocess. They spend time, money and energy on education, so that every single co-worker will be a natural part of the new Apoteket. The storeconcept will be more modern than before.

I am looking forward to this change, although I guess I will feel a bit confused in the beginning. Who shall I choose when I need special bandaid for my sore trekkingfeet in the future? More choices, more possibilities.

Brand Extension part II

One of the insurance-companies in Sweden has opened up stores where they sell some trendy products for our kitchens. They say that they want to meet their clients before there is an accident and get a chance to teach them how to avoid accidents.

I am not yet convinced about this type of brand extension. It seems like a giant step away from their core business. I may be wrong - and I hope so, since I am one of their clients - but why would I choose to buy my kitchen-stuff in their stores? They are specialists when it comes to insurances, but not when it comes to trendy products for my kitchen. At least that is what I believe. They need to convince me. I don´t need that kind of excuse to get advice about my insurances. Or do I?

When we extend our brand, we need to balance between being brave and being logic. Our customers will wonder what is going on if they can´t associate the brand with the new businessarea. At the same time, they will enjoy positive surprises.

In this case, I can´t really tell if this will be a flip or a flop. We´ll see - and let´s hope for a flip.

Some have it.

Some stores have it. Some don´t.

Today I visited one of the largest Stockholmian stores for outdoor-equipment. They have a well-known brand with a good image. However, it seemed like something had happened - the staff were doing something else, the lay-out of the store made products hard to find and it was messy. I didn´t stay. I went somewhere else. I won´t be back for long. I wonder if they realized that they lost some sales on me...

Imagine a store with qualified and service-minded staff, shelves filled with great stuff and an attractive and selling interior. How easy it is to buy too much in a store like that - and to be happy about it!

Branding continues day and night, all year around. Good branding pays.