Soon after Nintendo released smartphone game "Pokémon Go" a couple of weeks ago, the Internet was flooded by the most bizarre news stories. You got the guy who left his job to become a Pokémon hunter in New Zealand; the man lured by Zubat into his ex-girlfriend's flat who allegedly decided to reconcile with her; and then there were multiple stories of distracted hunters causing or getting caught in accidents, or of reclusive human beings who decided to bravely venture into the world and finding that, after all, it wasn't such a bad place.
There was also the occasional piece in which a lazy journalist compared Pokémon images to pictures from menswear shows with absolutely no connections with the cute monsters, but there were also bits and pieces of news that may lead to more in-depth fashion connections.
Created by augmented reality specialist Niantic Inc, "Pokémon Go" invites people to seek for virtual characters in real locations, employing a player's smartphone camera and GPS signal. The game is free and has so far proved extremely popular with millions joining the hunting sessions all over the world.
Some aspiring PokeMasters actually followed cute Pokémon monsters also inside restaurants, bars and shopping malls. After discovering they were Pokéspots, that is places where players can recharge, or Gyms, where people can train their Pokémon, some restaurateurs used Lure Modules that attract Pokémon characters to their specific locations; others, especially the ones with a venue in an area where there are already enough Pokémon, opted instead for a lure-free approach.
Things may change, though, as Niantic may start offering sponsored locations and that's where fashion may be coming in. Think about it: High Street shops selling cheap garments and accessories may not be in need of a boost from "Pokémon Go", but maybe those luxury retailers who have been experiencing falls in sales may be looking for a bait to lure people into their shops.
In the past companies such as Duane Reade, Jamba Juice and Zipcar paid Niantic to be part of their game Ingress. Maybe luxury retailers will start luring potential buyers into their stores by hiding rare Pokémon there. And while the average Pokémon Go trainer may not be carrying a lot of pocket money or may not be willing to splash what's left on their credit card on an expensive bag or a pair of shoes, maybe certain brands will start thinking this option as worth trying.
In June it was announced that Burberry's chief executive Christopher Bailey had a 75% pay cut after profits fell at the luxury fashion house (don't worry, he's not exactly starving as he still received around £1.9m in salary, pension and other benefits last year), while a week ago the brand announced its new chief executive, Marco Gobbetti (Christopher Bailey remains chief creative officer and president). You wonder if it would maybe be cheaper for such companies to lure people into their shops by planting some cute monsters there rather than coming up with complicated and useless business strategies.
Will we soon be engaging in a Pokébattle in or around a luxury store? Or will Pokémon Go "evolve" in "Pokémon: Go on a Shopping Spree"?
In a way, that could turn into a reality: while it would be useless to lure a Pokémon on a runway as a catwalk show works on an invitation basis (though that sounds like the sort of thing Jeremy Scott may do to attract media revenue...), you can bet that, at the moment, there are a few fashion company CEOs out there thinking about how they could transform the spirit of exploration and adventure of "Pokémon Go" into the spirit of selling. They will have to be careful, though: busy trying to "catch 'em all" clever Pokémon trainers and consumers may end up going their way, avoiding their expensive traps.
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