Sign in to view
member only content

Opportunities

Even though Springwise thinks all of this is getting slightly scary, it is nonetheless an interesting twist to Pine and Gilmore’s ever-expanding ‘experience economy’, in which the usual suspects (lifestyle brands like Disney and Nike) are now being joined by more mundane, down to earth brands and products. Link this to online companies setting up stores and entertainment spaces (see our earlier Expedia example) just to gain a presence and some credibility in the real world, and you get a bonanza for retail space vendors, decorators, and new business concept consultancies.

Might seem like a lot of fuss for such a small chocolate covered candy, but M&M’s World was packed with buying customers when we dropped by.

Remember the customised M&Ms in our February 2003 issue? Well, M&Ms seems determined to keep the buzz going: there’s an actual 26,000-square feet, four-storey ‘M&Ms World’ extravaganza on Las Vegas Blvd. South, complete with a Colorworks section, which was, well, MOBBED by wild crowds when we visited. Besides being able to choose and mix M&Ms candy in dozens of exclusive colors, customers can shop from endless rows of branded mugs, T-shirts, pillows, school supplies and stuffed M&Ms ‘dolls’, and be entertained in the M&M Academy and 3D movie theater.

Opportunities

Even though Springwise thinks all of this is getting slightly scary, it is nonetheless an interesting twist to Pine and Gilmore’s ever-expanding ‘experience economy’, in which the usual suspects (lifestyle brands like Disney and Nike) are now being joined by more mundane, down to earth brands and products. Link this to online companies setting up stores and entertainment spaces (see our earlier Expedia example) just to gain a presence and some credibility in the real world, and you get a bonanza for retail space vendors, decorators, and new business concept consultancies.