WGSN Mindset launches, as WGSN expands consultancy services

LONDON, Sept. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- WGSN Group, the knowledge partner for the global style and retail sectors, today launched WGSN Mindset, offering bespoke consumer insight, market strategy solutions and consultancy services to style-led retailers, brands, designers and supply chains around the world.

WGSN Mindset provides clients with access to a dedicated team of consultants; harnessing the creative minds and industry expertise of WGSN around the world. WGSN's team of more than 250 industry experts, is powered by WGSN and Homebuildlife data, INstock trading information and by Planet Retail consumer panels.

WGSN Mindset merges the years of knowledge and expertise around consumer insight from the Mindset Brazil business, which joined the WGSN family in 2013, with the advisory businesses of Stylesight and WGSN.

The team from WGSN Mindset will apply their unique knowledge and methodology to clients' individual brands and markets. Three core services have been launched with more expected to follow to match market need and client requirements:

• Ready Made - curated content, focused on key market drivers, with expert interpretation and analysis
• Tailor Made - workshops and presentations built around Ready Made content, and tailored specifically for clients' particular needs
• Custom Made - a dedicated WGSN Mindset team, harnessing the full creative and industry expertise of WGSN, to deliver a custom-made solution for clients

"By working with some of the most talented people in the industry, we are enabling our clients to be more effective and the industry to be even more creative," said Isham Sardouk, Senior Vice President, WGSN Mindset, and former SVP Chief Creative Officer, Stylesight.

"Many organisations have referred to creating this style of Advisory services; however our revenues for these products rose over 70% in 2013, showing we already can deliver market leading capability plus we have a strong demand from our clients seeking the ultimate edge for their brands commissioning bespoke research. Anchored in the legacy of WGSN and the methodology of Mindset we are now able to take the services we offer to an even higher level, and it is fitting that their heritage is reflected in the new name of the business," he added.

All WGSN Mindset services are available to existing subscribers and our Custom Made proposition is also available to the wider market. They have been developed to ensure clients know what their customers need now, and what they will need next in order that their brands and products stay ahead in their markets.

WGSN Mindset is based on four core pillars, designed to create commercial success and give competitive advantage:

• Consumer insight: understanding and anticipating consumer behaviour in order to deliver relevant products to target consumers
• Market intelligence: analysing changes to the competitive landscape, in order to position for commercial success
• Product development: identifying current and future design direction to help capitalise on emerging trends
• Academy: translating trend forecasting, and the inspiration it provides, into world class briefings, training and education

The launch of WGSN Mindset is the third, in-house developed, new product launch from WGSN Group in the past 12 months. In September last year, the business launched WGSN INstock, its first big data product allowing merchandisers and buyers to plan pricing architecture and stock levels in an almost real time application. WGSN INstock tracks around 10m SKUs across 700,000 products from retailers in US, UK and Australia. In August 2014, it launched the new WGSN.com, bringing together the former WGSN and Stylesight products onto an enhanced, single technology platform.  The new WGSN is easier to use, with expanded features, fast search, customisation functionality, increased shareability and a sophisticated design toolkit. It also offers much richer content, available in five languages and with significantly improved technology.  

Over the past two years, more than £50m has been invested in WGSN people, technology, infrastructure, content, innovation, new products and acquisitions.

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Notes for Editor: 

WGSN Group

WGSN Group provides strategic intelligence, trend forecasts, actionable insights and accurate product performance data to the style and retail sectors. It has a solid reputation as a leading provider of global, powerful information services that offer market, brand and product forecasts up to five years out. Its unique and innovative products and services enable global users to reduce risk and make better-informed business decisions. WGSN has trends and information hubs in New York, Hong Kong and London and has 16 offices around the world. It employs approximately 500 people, and more than 50% are content experts.

Carla Buzasi, the former launch editor of Huffington Post in the UK, has joined WGSN as its Global Chief Content Officer, and will lead the content strategy across WGSN.

WGSN is owned by Top Right Group. www.wgsngroup.com

Top Right Group

Top Right Group is an international, B2B, multi-platform media group. Its operating companies provide trusted information, proven analysis and access to new customer groups. The Group delivered revenues of £271.4 million in 2013 and headline growth of 12% (9% organic). It has three main business areas, serving around 170,000 global clients:

• Events, comprising i2i Events Group and Lions Festivals - owner of Cannes Lions, International Festival of Creativity;
• Information Services, comprising 4C Group and WGSN Group; and
• Subscription Content, comprising EMAP and MBI.

In 2013, Top Right Group delivered eight new geo-clone or launch events and further increased its international footprint through acquisition of three significant businesses - Educar and Mindset in Brazil and Stylesight, Inc. in the USA. 43% of revenues in 2013 came from international activities.

www.topright-group.com