Reinventing Retail

Extracted from Monocle:

Blackmarket is among the region's pioneers melding fashion and art. It has an active network of some of heregion's most daring artists and fashion designers, but a firm foot in mainstream retail too.

Gabbani is an old-school family business that lives or dies on its name: Francesco on food and drink, his brother Domenico bosses the hotel, Mama and Pap oversee the whole shebang.

Noble. The staff are expert and passionate about wine, and it's ideally placed in a community that rates quality, service and design.

Baker D Chirico, Melbourne. The bold designs and playful delivery draw the customers in but it's Daniel's genuine passion for a good product that keeps his shops bustling.

Intersect By Lexus is a project with bigh imagination beyond the product and long-term goals.

Yakushima Messenger. Kikuchi moved here because of its natural beauty and his business  is a way for him to contribute to the island's preservation.

La Central. Allowing each bookshop to evolve according to local demand rather than a rigid model.

K11 Art Mall is innovating while other retail developers in China are stuck in a rut. The concept should avoid gimmicks and become a true platform for the city's art scene.

This is Mahalle's answer to the cosmopolitan food halls found in London and New York. Yet it is cleverly rooted in Turkish food culture with a strong identity.

J.Crew's strength is both its consistency - as a seller of casual classics - and its multi-faceted approach. Drexler's and Lyon's role has been to steer these divergent paths yet deliver great design and high-quality clothing and services.

Semley is a non-profit outfit staffed by volunteers and stocked with them in mind. If its members ask for a servise or a product they usually get it.

Warby Parker. The bus is an opportunity to have a physical presence in new markets and serves as a way of seeing in which cities it would be worth opening a permanent shop.

Greyhound has a strong identity that can migrate from fashion to food.

Tsutaya. By attracting more users, the library is being put to better use and has become a source of local pride.

Press Tea. The project takes the apparatus and culture of the coffee industry to a new product.

Jelmoli has taken a traditional formula and injected new life by taking on luxury labels and investing in customer services. Balancing these changes with the brand's unique Swissness had been its real achievement.

With its focus on premium products and design the Liquor Control Board combines the weight of state buyer with an expert, discerning approach. Despite the recession, the board turned its largest profit ever this year, $128.4m - largely off a 6% annual gain in wine sales.