Lead Retailer: From the Cultural Process to the Service Logic

The evolution of global competitive scenarios deeply influences economic actors, pushing them to redesign their competitive drivers. The only certainty consists of the highest uncertainty crossing all the industries while a deep cognitive dissonance characterizes the relationship between the firm and the market, in reason of the increasingly complex architecture of knowledge affecting the entire supply chain and asking for better control. This is even more evident in the realm of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) and, more specifically, in the fashion industry, which is the main focus of the present work. Given for granted the knowledge of how consumers behave is a key to succeed in retail, the paper focuses on the possible new models through which retail can implement a «servicedominant logic» in order to convert the cultural investment into a competitive dimension. Starting from the identification of «lead retailer» as an actor acting as a node of knowledge, the article presents the results of a research project based on the integration of an interventionist approach and a case study methodology, defining the main traits of two different figures: the «curator lead retailer» and the «evolved lead retailer ». These are able to intervene in the process of meaning construction thanks to their innovative and culture-led proposal. The research has been developed in the specific context of fashion, and supports a critical thought on both the reorganization of retails service and the development of better synergies in the realm of cultural and creative industries.