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Shopping: the purpose of life

English designer and newly appointed Professor Rodney Fitch is an expert in delivering ‘consumer experience’ in retail environments. At TU Delft he will conduct important research into aspects of world retailing.


English designer Rodney Fitch, recently appointed professor of Retail Design at the Industrial Design Engineering faculty, has had a distinguished career in design. He founded his design consultancy, Fitch in 1972 and was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1990 for his ‘influence on the British Design Industry’. His inaugural speech as TU Delft professor focussed on his belief that shopping is the purpose of life. He spoke to Delta about the growth of retail in emerging markets, like the Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and how international graduates of TU Delft are geared to face the challenges posed when returning home to these markets.


What impact will rapidly increasing retail consumption in Bric and other emerging countries have on the global economy and climate issues?

“Global retail will boom more substantially. It’s doubled in the past decade and will probably double again in the next 10 to 15 years. Most of that growth will be in emerging economies, so not only Bric countries but 11 other economies, like Indonesia, Vietnam and parts of northern Africa. So we can expect growing retail throughout the world and declining economies in the western world. But overall the economy will grow rapidly, and this will have a marvellous effect on consumption, well-being and the use of resources in those countries. Everything you see around you in present times, in terms of the climate and ecological conditions, will be intensified over the next 10 to 15 years. It’s a naive concept to expect the global retail economy will slow down, and if the western retail economy embraces climate change, sustainability and ecological issues, the planet would be saved.”


So not good for global climate change?

“Obviously not, unless the economic political landscape changes and the local governments intervene in the democratic choice.”


Is there a special approach – technology, innovation, new product development – for these emerging markets?

“A girl in Brazil or Moscow shopping for a pair of shoes is no different to a girl in Amsterdam or London. People in emerging markets want similar products and a similar approach as they do in western markets. What needs to be done, and what will be done, is that people adapt their marketing and new product development to making local that which is appropriate. But I don’t see the idea of a unique Brazilian retail economy or unique Russian retail economy. A good supermarket is the same in Russia, Brazil or Amsterdam. The basics will be similar.”


Given economic problems throughout western/EU countries, how will less disposable income impact retail buying power?

“Success with retail economy is one that mirrors the society. It’s not whether you have an austerity economy or booming economy; retailers are very smart at adapting to the local conditions. We’ve seen this over the last 3 or 4 years, in the way retailers have made right their essential ingredients of value. Given the EU’s economic conditions, less disposable income doesn’t mean people will eat less or eat less healthfully. It means they’ll be served better, differently, by their retailers and manufacturers. Local retail and manufacturing economies will adapt to meet the local economic conditions, and we see it happening now, and particularly since the economic collapse.”


Are TU Delft’s international students really just consumers of Dutch-made knowledge products, and this is why the university is so keen on attracting more international student consumers?

“TU Delft, like other international universities, has created a particular way of acquiring and teaching knowledge. The same subjects are probably also taught at Imperial College in London or MIT in Boston, and even with different research approaches reach the same results or truth, which constitute the knowledge. What differentiates Delft from others is probably the place, the language, and, I think, it’s less expensive for students at Delft than at Imperial College or MIT. Most universities want to be internationally coloured, and they realise they’re part of a global economy, that they’ll be a better university if they have a good number of international students, and I certainly believe the same.”


Given consumer developments in emerging countries, what new opportunities do TU Delft international students have once they return to their home countries?

“I imagine they have tremendous opportunities in all the emerging markets which we mentioned earlier. Managers, designers, new product developers for these economies will be hard to find locally, and they would look for indigenous people with higher educations to cater to the growth of local retail. I know many Indian and Chinese executives who’ve turned down offers in the west to head back to their countries and help in the growth of the home economy. I think an Indian student who came to Delft or another international university for higher education and then returned to his country has an advantage over someone who hasn’t left India in the first place. It gives them and their employers an edge to cater to a global audience. In a global economy, people who have a global perspective are more likely to be successful than those who are only locally focussed.”


If sustainability and environment friendly must go hand in hand with the growth of retail, does this mean retail goods production and purchase must become more local and less global, in order to reduce transport of goods?

“I think this is a paradox. In Britain, throughout the winter, I can buy summer fruits. They come from Africa and South America, and this would be the same in Holland. There is no retail economy that’s completely sustainable on a local basis. It’s a complete naivete unless someone is going to say that I, as a concerned citizen, cannot have summer fruits in winter. So, as the global economy grows, it must be a mixture of local and global production. There will be a growing local economy, but this has not only to do with saving the planet but much more to do with sustaining local businesses.”


What makes TU Delft unique compared to other leading global universities?

“The other international universities I’m familiar with have either an Americanness or Britishness to them, whereas TU Delft has a Dutchness to it, a sense of local as well as international flavour which makes the Dutch students as well as international students comfortable. It has a unique record in technical teaching and research and a fantastic reputation in engineering, which is quite unparalleled in Europe and comparable to the rest of the world. The atmosphere is relaxed and rather modern and it doesn’t seem too burdened by today’s academic traditions. It does have a very sound statement in the issue of engineering design, comparable to Imperial College in London. The reputation and activities that Delft engages in engineering are quite unique.” 

Editor Redactie

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