26 May 2021
Retail industry charity the Retail Trust has transformed its brand identity and purpose to broaden its appeal and reach a wider number of people while continuing to draw on the charity’s heritage.
The rebrand includes a new colour palette and logo inspired by the Retail Trust’s 189-year history and focused on its new purpose of creating ‘hope, health and happiness’ for everyone in retail, which is particularly poignant following one of the most challenging years for the sector. The charity’s support for retail workers includes learning and development, financial, emotional and physical wellbeing services, and supported-living estates.
The Retail Trust was founded in 1832 with a founding principle ‘to promote the happiness and interest of those engaged in the trade’, and later became closely associated with the development of the big department stores of the late-1800s, with Peter R Jones, William and Frank Debenham, and David (DH) Evans among some of its earliest supporters.
Its updated colour palette revolves around a new ‘blue skies’ colour, inspired by the forget-me-not flowers that were once worn by its members, alongside a ‘bright yellow’, ‘greener grass’ and ‘coral flourish’ to reflect boldness, optimism and joy.
The new logo has been inspired by the historic monograms previously used by the charity and shows the letters R and T intertwined to reflect collaboration and unity, with a new wordmark underpinned by the year it was founded.
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust, said: “The rising demand for our financial aid and counselling services over the last year has really shown the vital role the Retail Trust still has to play in protecting the lives of people working in retail, and how crucial it now is to create hope, health and happiness for the sector.
“We want to reach many more people by providing them with the foundation to flourish and this means building on the Trust’s history of supporting retail workers and the industry since 1832 to ensure our visual identity and values stay relevant to all our colleagues in the diverse and dynamic world of retail.”
The Retail Trust has updated its website and social media channels from this week to reflect the new branding and purpose, with a new report also launching this week looking at how to build health and wellbeing in the sector.
Jamie Malcom, chief marketing officer at the Retail Trust, added: “It was important for us to build on the Retail Trust founding principles that have been guiding us since 1832 so that we could capture that sense of the charity as a purpose-led organisation and create a more inclusive brand for the diverse and growing number of people that we now support.
“The approach we have taken utilises key elements from the Retail Trust’s proud heritage and combines them with a fresh and modern approach to reflect today’s retail workforce.”
The new brand identity was developed by brand and design consultancy Baggi.
