is the sum of several activities and communication efforts that ultimately result in the sale of products to a customer, through multiple distribution channels.
Retail is based upon strategic decision making that defines, among others: the type of geographical and market expansion a company would like to embrace; the type and number of stores to be opened in each country and market; the ideal merchandise typology and range to reply efficiently to customers’ expectations, needs and demands; as well as the definition of the operational infrastructure that would be needed to make all this possible.
The totality of these various strategic decisions constitute the vision through which the brand brings its big idea into fruition. The more clarify in the vision, the more easily and more successfully the EXECUTION through the RETAIL organization will follow. In the EXECUTION process, the strategy is translated into concrete operations that, in turn, are the critical basis of the RETAIL organization’s survival, in particular when the company is expanded through several channels and countries, and therefore deals with multicultural audiences.
Praxis is a consulting practice that works with diverse types of RETAIL organizations during different phases of the RETAIL process, from the development of BUSINESS DATA ANALITICS processes, through the definition of a strategy, to the INTERIM MANAGEMENT and EXECUTION phase.
Working with fashion & lifestyle brands, hospitality groups, museums, cultural organizations and real estate developers, Praxis provides corporate and RETAIL management consulting, and offers hands-on support through INTERIM MANAGEMENT and PROJECT MANAGEMENT business models. It works directly with the client’s teams and partners to follow through on all the phases of the RETAIL organization’s evolution.
Praxis believes retail develops in a continuously alternating motion, where the original concept needs to be continuously inspected and adapted, it provides concrete BUSINESS MANAGEMENT support, operating the corporate and retail business on behalf of clients, so as to support the EXECUTION of the vertical brand strategy during daily activities. Praxis co-creates and EXECUTES the concept in RETAIL brand START-UP phase, when clients would like to launch a new idea or a new division, as well as when they would like to REALIGN existing brand activities, or localize an already developed formula into a new market.
Supporting its clients in the elaboration of a merchant strategy that articulates products into a narrative, a story telling exercise, Praxis helps clients in designing and training its merchandising teams and can take on ‘at interim’ the function of MERCHANDISING MANAGEMENT.
Praxis consults with and guides its client’s decision making process as regards the vertical brand and its commercial integration within diverse distribution channels, as well as within an OMNICHANNEL; it also supports organizations in their mixology efforts as they plan and create mixed-use, multifunctional spaces and real estate developments.
RETAIL is a fast-moving industry that requires dedicated operators who understand the changes in the market and are willing to embrace and engage new visions, with the objective of upgrading the brand value proposition. In addition to the embedded support provided through PROJECT and INTERIM MANAGEMENT models, the Praxis team provide ADVISORY SERVICES, or cover ADVISOR positions, sharing knowledge, data and an informed view, with investors, owners and senior executives who need external, non-biased opinions about their business.
The Praxis team are constantly critically examining their own practices, looking for innovative new ways to provide clients with advice, support and services that grow businesses and portfolios in exciting and unconventional ways. They work wherever the client requires them internationally: from Bangkok to Tokyo, from Shenzhen to Dalian, from Milan to New York.