This feature first appeared in Inside Retailing Magazine. Click here to subscribe.



Story-telling is one of the recurring themes of this year’s Westfield World Retail Study Tour and nowhere is the concept more easily illustrated than in Timberland’s new London store in the Westfield London City.

The ‘wrapped in timber’ look of the store is a major enticement to enter. Once inside, the shopper is engaged with messages underlining the brand’s values and commitment to the world. Stock is stacked on wooden pallets that look like stacks of freshly sawn timber - and the store even smells of lumber.

There’s a message about giving: "So far we have planted 700,000 trees and we’ll keep planting."

Another personalising the store’s construction: "Our store painter Steph... had these shoes for 10 years." Right next to the sign are an old pair of Timberland shoes not so much the worse for a decade’s wear and tear.

And then the reassurance of a commitment to sustainablity: "Our mannequins are 100 per cent recycled". The floor is a blend of coarse chip and concrete, a hint of recycled content.

A wall of wooden shoe moulds convey a sense of heritage and experience in the art of shoemaking.

And then there is the company’s Traid promotion: bring your old boots or jackets into the store to be reconditioned and sent away to developing countries and Timberland gives you a 20 per cent discount on your new purchase.