Retailers targeted by rioters suffer fall in brand perception

Electricals group Dixons Retail, which owns both Currys and PC World was hit by looters in London and elsewhere. Currys’ brand buzz fell from 3.2 to -2.5 while PC World suffered a fall from -0.7 to -3.4 between the 5 and 16 August.

Dixons Retail has partnered with crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers in response and launched a £50,000 reward fund for any information that leads to a conviction following theft and property damage to its stores.

The retailer is running full page print ads in national newspapers to encourage the public to contact the police or Crimestoppers with information.

Sportswear brand Adidas’ brand buzz , has fallen by more than half to 5.5 in the wake of the looting, down from 12.9 on 5 August.
Adidas branded clothing featured prominently in media coverage of the looting including appearing on the front page of many national newspapers at the peak of the unrest.

The brand declined to give any further detail of how it might look to address any negative fall out or perception, but has previously said: “Adidas condemns any antisocial or illegal activity. Our brand has a proud sporting heritage and such behaviour goes against everything we stand for.”

Nike, a brand worn by many of the rioters pictures in coverage has seen its brand buzz fall from 10.6 to 3.3 over the past week while Footlocker, a retailer that sells many urban sportswear brands worn by looters during the riot, fell from 0 before the rioting to -5.9 a week later.

Blackberry’s well documented involvement in the riots through the use of its Blackberry Messenger (BBM) platform has resulted in its brand buzz crashing from 7.9 to -6 since the unrest began.

Although the buzz around Curry’s and PC World fell dramatically, the retailers’ reputation scores improved marginally as they responded to the social unrest.