Design in power tools and Product Experience

After fumbling around with my Black and Decker blower / leaf vacuum this fall, I came across Worx power tools. Green because they run on batteries not gas. Innovative because they seem to have taken design considerations very seriously. Their blower switches to a vacuum with one switch flick, not multiple part reconfiguration. Their trimmer has a twisted line cord that they claim wacks through the weeds and grass more efficiently.

The challenge with the online model is being able to see and touch. Do they feel solid or flimsy? Amazon now has several demo agreements with Target and Best Buy to get their Kindle product displays and demo units into the hands of consumers.

A recent trip to Macy's Chicago revealed a whole first floor of store in store departments. One of my favorite online retailers, Levenger, has a dedicated floor block to many of their products. In this case store actually carry some level of inventory.

But what does this mean to innovation of distributor structure and supply chain in retail environments? Will their be distributors of experience? Will product and brand experience be delivered differently from the actual product. Will the new product landscape shift to very niche, highly specific product creation companies? I have read articles about the innovation in Black and Decker and yet, they seem to trail Worx in this case.

The Worx trimmer and blower are on my Christmas wish list, but won't be able to confirm quality or performance til Spring at best.

Glassware

If you watch Mad Men on AMC, you may have noticed the number of retro advertisements that go along with it. You also may have noticed the amount of drinking that goes with the show. Bars in every office. Although I understand the drinking may be overdone even for that time period (I still have my Dad's portable bar), there seems to be a resurgence in cocktails. During a recent visit to Chicago, the bar in my hotel , The Palomar, had the finest muddlers I've ever seen and a ton of herbs and glasses to make a plentitude of cocktails with so many ingredients it spins my head to try to remember them all.

Schott Zwiesel may have caught on to the game with a new Basic Bar collection. I will be watching to see if their eyes and ears to the ground and their fantastic collection will find a way to make ground in the US. They base the collection on Munich bar owner Charles Schumann. Extras include a recipe .pdf to marry the perfect ingredients to the perfect glass.

Almost forgot: More info at: http://www.schott-zwiesel.com/

For those fellow residents in Grand Rapids - G.B. Russo's carry Schott. I have emailed David to get a quote on some Cocktail Glasses: http://www.gbrusso.com/

Marketing Synergy

What do Fluevog Shoes, the Canadian shoe company, and Goldfrapp, the English electronic duo have in common? Well they must believe their target markets collide. I recently received a pair of shoes with a Fluevog Business card from Chicago and a Goldfrapp card with a free MP3 downlaod. Shipping costs for the Goldfrap card $0. Now the only question is -- do I like the song because I like the shoes?

On the importance of flow charts

Ski trip any time soon? Road trip? Live in Middle America where chain food descends on the populous as frequently as UFO's?

Full size

And notice how art imitates life as there is no way to get to The French Laundry.