Fortnum & Mason is a 307 year old business with the ambition to secure another 300 year old future and double the size of the business in the next 3 to 5 years.

To get there, they needed to expand their reach and relevance, and dramatically reassert themselves in a world that is hungry for the passion, knowledge and expertise Fortnum & Mason uniquely possesses. Most of all, they needed to understand the potential for growth beyond its core offer (food) and its single store in Piccadilly.

We worked directly with the CEO and his executive team to shape a brand strategy that could deliver the business. Critically, in the fast pace of retail, we needed to quickly give them tools to activate and instantly use the brand strategy. We devised ways in which Fortnum & Mason could step outside its Piccadilly store and bring its unique way of making the everyday special to a broader audience.

The first manifestation of this has been the F&M Hamperling– a unique piece of product innovation that reinterprets and contemporises the iconic hamper. It will form part of Fortnum & Mason’s takeaway offer both in-store and beyond, and appear front and centre in the experience-led initiative at St.Pancras International, which opened in November 2013.

Since our relationship began we have helped embed the brand in the business. We have given the business a distinctive purpose and clear focus, lent coherency and direction to the product offer, specifically looking at the business opportunity for confectionery and rationalised categories on each floor. We have crafted a narrative that tied together the in-store experience, secured a new retail space, and established a partnership with the Serpentine Gallery.

In the year 2015, like-for-like sales were 15% up over the key Christmas period, the five weeks to 3 January. This pushed annual profits up 31% to £5m. Fortnum said it recorded the best trading day in its history on 15 December.