AIBU to never shop at Space NK again?

[JenniferJupiterr]

I’ll preface this by saying that if instagram, influencers and celeb type culture is not your thing, you’ll be better off skipping this one as it truly won’t be of interest!

Anyway. I noticed a few days ago that Space NK have organised a PR trip to Miami. Stacey Solomon, her sister, Rochelle Humes plus husband, Perrie Sian etc etc are all there and I just can’t understand the point? Could anyone enlighten me because all I can see is sheer bloody excess for the sake of it - tons of freebie products for these people (and all power to them! This isn’t a jealousy thing) , boat trips, £££ dinners laid on, huge limo type vehicles laid on - you get the drift.

but why? What are Space NK hoping to achieve here? They all flew out first class and it genuinely must have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

I get PR gifting and trips. But this seems just sheer OTT excess for no reason that I can fathom. It’s REALLY put me off shopping with them again. Not entirely sure why - maybe because I’ve got the ick?

Anyone else feel similar?

It sounds like you’re not their customer then. That’s great, but I was / am in theory and it’s putting me off purchasing, not tempting me.

I don’t really want to give up nice skincare and makeup though. I can afford it and I like it. But I do want to enjoy the shopping experience and there aren’t many places I feel are aimed at me as a customer now. Perhaps Liberty but I don’t want to go into London that often.

SpaceNK somewhat, but wavering.

It’s probably meant to get Gen Z buying. I’m guessing you’re a slight bit older.

Until I got older I was always intimidated by Space NK. It felt aspirational. Grew out of that and I have spent a fair bit with them. Seeing this trip has made me realise the aspirational side has long gone, it’s chavtastic. It also makes me realise the amount of money sloshing around this sector. And makes me realise that customers are being ripped off by all these companies, the products are way overpriced. I know marketing has always been a thing, but seeing an ad and seeing Stacey Solomon and her clingon sister and Olivia Atwood etc sitting in first class on a freebie grift, really illuminates the grubbiness of the influencer world. (Stacey’s faux I can’t believe my life to all her fans makes me bilious.) I was hoping that the influencer grip was waning, but seemingly not. I am gradually using cheaper products and taking myself out of this pointless game.

Consumerism makes me feel ill too.

You stopping shopping there won’t affect them in the slightest so carry on! Its what influencers do influence people to use a certain brand thus receiving gifts such as trips, expensive products etc for the privilege . Whats to explain it’s quite simple?

I was surprised the other week to notice a huge Space NK at Oxford Circus as it seemed larger and less exclusive a location than I expected. Then I saw a DM sidebar of shame article that Stacey and sis, Rochelle and HER sis (and Marvin) and some other people I had never heard of were in Miami. Am older and don’t use Insta but DID shop in Space NK sometimes although would also use LookFantastic or Cult Beauty online so not a particularly loyal customer but was an Ndulge member.

I was a bit shocked they were working and giving freebies to influencers and their sisters. And it made me question if I want to spend my money with them. Now I have read this thread I learn it wasn’t the first time as they took Stacey to Vegas. And they give Christmas freebies to influencers as well? I guess they are trying to tap into a new market but it’s changed my view of the company. And I will probably buy less there. (I’ve already googled how many LookFantastic stores there are after the Bristol post up thread. Sadly only two - Bristol and Altrincham)

I think Look Fantastic has a collab with Atwood so they are all at it. L’Occitane flies influencers over to their lavender fields etc. It just makes you realise how much money they must add onto a product to pay for all this. These companies will always have had a marketing budget but these jaunts really show the extent of the tawdriness of this.

I don’t get Stacey Solomon, she is losing her instagram following because practically every sentence she utters on her Instagram is a flog, a disingenuous oh you have all been asking so here’s the link. Most of it is plastic tat, yet she fronts a programme that is about getting rid of excess from your house. The two are not in synch. She has a bona fide tv career which most of these influencers don’t. So why is she doing all these Amazon links like she is someone on the rise and not someone with a credible career. (That’s without all her other ranges in Asda etc.) How much money is enough? She is trying to make her whole family a brand, a Temu Beckhams. Her fan base is not wealthy, that is why she keeps them happy with I am so blessed, I am just like you, I am going to donate 3 mascaras from SpaceNK to keep them onside. They are making her very rich by dumbly clicking on the links. Since leaving her premium management company she has taken a wrong turn, maybe they advised her not to go down the influencer route because it devalues her brand.

There is zero integrity in the influencer world. They are second hand car salesmen- they will flog anything.

Oh not L’Occitane as well? Who are they gifting trips and freebies to? There are a couple of their products that I love. Again I am an occasional shopper there - I am clearly not ‘influenced’ much by anyone’s marketing as I dip into many brands and retailers.

I think Stacey really can’t believe her life - from a teen single mum in Essex who could sing a bit to having two BBC series, selling her ‘wedding’ to OK, brands paying her to fly first class and god knows how many social media followers. She knows the followers and the income stream could disappear at any time so she is milking it as hard as she can now.

Compare her to Katherine Jenkins - a similar aged singer who has an amazing voice but who has stayed in the singing sphere and now regularly sings at national occasions where the royal family are present. It actually wouldn’t surprise me if Stacey is now richer than KJ despite not having anywhere near the same level of talent. SS has worked (and grifted) hard to get where she is.

Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I’m Gen X.

I wouldn’t wish an influencer “career “ on my worst enemy. It seems so precarious and can be ended overnight.
These trips and freebies all seem like very hard work. Back in the day it was beauty journos who went on these trips and were gifted by brands. At least I suppose this is the democratisation of access to this world.

Agreed! They aren’t exactly a or even b list ‘celebrities’. I have shopped in Space NK and always thought of it as quite aspirational. Not any more!

I completely understand that it’s happened for decades, first with media journalists and now with social media influencers.

I am comfortable to admit that I am a consumer and well aware I’m being influenced into buying things regularly. I think the comments around this particular space nk campaign are because it doesn’t match the image many of us have of the brand and has actually de-influenced (is that a word?) many of us.

It’s the targeting of the campaign itself with the social media influencers they’ve used that’s the issue that’s raised comments rather than some naivety about the fact that these things happen, if you use social media you know this happens every day.

How is Stacey Solomon and her husband appealing to Gen Z generation?

I agree with you on this one. This trip was overly excessive, all brands do pr trips etc but this was over the top, taking hanger on sisters etc

Or come to think of it - Gen Alpha, they wouldn't have a clue who SS is, old enough to be a Mum of Gen Alpha, old enough to be a Mum of a Gen Z person (and is).

YABU to shop their in the first place. Overpriced, and overhyped .. Fact.

I think that Space NK have lost their USP. They used to be a go to place for brands you couldn't easily get anywhere else ( e.g. By Terry, Korean cleansing oils) but now all the big online providers like Cult Beauty and LookFantastic stock the same lines and at a better price. They were aspirational but I always found the staff very snooty and dismissive even when I was buying sveeral items. I guess they need to pull in a new customer base now. I wonder if the company has changed hands or management and hence the new strategy.

It's so tacky, a real "let them eat cake" feel about the excess these days "loadsa money"

Yes it’s interesting to see where they are going with their marketing. I feel like I’m not their target customer anymore and don’t shop there anymore. I either use cult beauty or I go to one of the department stores. The sales assistants tend to be a lot more helpful than at space nk these days.

dd is an older teen and no longer likes Sephora because she says it’s aimed at younger teens🤣 - she is far more savvy now and will buy across shops and looks for special offers etc but she ultimately doesn’t have a spacenk budget, even if she would like to!!

Hasn’t the makeup & skincare market exploded though in recent times with Korean Beauty & celebrities like Rhianna, Hailey Beiber to name a few topping the sales charts? Anyone from Get Z up are consuming makeup & skincare in a way unprecedented that is heavily reliant on social media for its popularity. I think its a bit naive to think paid for trips are unusual when it’s been the bedrock of any marketing & brand strategy - just think of all the freebie events & “hospitality” that goes on in all kinds of businesses & markets. It does highlight how important the concept of brand is though - if the products are no different in quality or price then it seems the only issue OP has is that Stacey Solomon & Co don’t fit her idea of what Space NK are. It’s a bit like when people started disliking brands like Burberry because they started being worn by people from different socioeconomic groups & areas.
If the brand is so important to you & yet it has nothing to do with the actual product coming out of the tube - you’re guilty of buying into something completely distorted to begin with. A pure concept that doesn’t really even exist!
Maybe it’s time to trial other products or stick with them if they work for you. You’re not tarnished by associatif you buy your items there & so does SS!! Consumerism is truly nuts when you think about it!

I'm a huge Space NK fan and spend a fair bit in there and I totally agree - I saw they'd invited all my least favourite celebrities on this £££ trip and thought firstly that maybe I'm not their target customer, I'm too old and boring and secondly maybe they're not the place I want to shop at either. It's all a bit low rent isn't it!

It would be interesting to see if she dropped a discount referral code what the conversion rate would be.

I get they will use influencers for marketing but it is the influencers they have used that is the issue.

They are more 'superdrug' than premium beauty ;)

I am being terribly superficial but that is the market that Space NK operate in.

I agree op, it’s excessive and unnecessary. ‘Influencers’ should make the most of it though because the tide is turning and many are sick of the constant shilling. ‘Guys, I’ve had LOADS of messages about where I buy my shit crayons from, they’re reduced in price so I’ve popped the link below’ as if we’re all completely stupid.

All influencers can get in the bin, only the easy to manipulate buy into their bullshit.

I don’t really get why they’d use Stacey Solomon. I would not say shes brand appropriate for them.

I just had a thought that maybe SS was invited due to her hair line. But they don’t stock it. Rehab seems to be in Boots (where I saw it on the shelves for products being discontinued) and their own website. So it is purely for her supposed ability to flog products for them. But she is a weird choice. You can see why they would invite the Sali Hughes of the world, but not these nonentities. Shame Bodycare went into administration….