These are strategic pivots or evolutions that may not comply with the apparent path — however open up new development, stickiness, or differentiation.
E-commerce → Immersive commerce
At first look, Amazon Salon appears like a mix-up at finest and a model identification disaster at worst. Why would the world’s largest on-line retailer — a tech large recognized for one-click procuring, cloud computing and good audio system — abruptly need to minimize your hair? It feels bizarre as a result of salons are the alternative of what Amazon is legendary for: private, gradual, hands-on, and deeply human.
But when we glance nearer, and it begins to make extra sense. The salon is definitely a testing floor — much less about styling and extra about learning how folks work together with magnificence tech and merchandise in individual. It’s a real-world lab for issues like augmented actuality try-ons, good mirrors and contactless funds. Whilst you get your hair achieved, Amazon will get to showcase magnificence merchandise, monitor what catches your eye, and nudge you to order straight from the mirror.
It’s Amazon doing what Amazon does finest: studying from clients, gathering information and quietly reshaping how we store — this time, from the barber’s chair.
Neighborhood grocery → Neighborhood upliftment
Listening to that Co-op runs funeral companies can catch folks off guard. Isn’t that the place you pop into for milk, a meal deal and possibly some rest room roll? It feels a bit odd to think about the identical model checking out your weekly store and your ultimate send-off.
However dig a bit of deeper, and it truly matches. Co-op has all the time positioned itself as a community-focused organisation — not only a retailer. They’ve tried to be concerned in the whole lot from pharmacies to authorized companies, so taking care of folks at life’s largest moments isn’t such a stretch. Funeralcare is simply one other means they help native communities, with a give attention to belief, dignity and affordability.
And in a market usually dominated by large chains with rising prices, Co-op presents a extra private, moral different. It might look like an sudden transfer, however it ties again to their wider mission: being there for folks in the neighborhood.
Auto model → Icon model
When Tesla launched its personal model of tequila, the web wasn’t positive if it was a late April Idiot’s joke or a advertising and marketing stunt gone wild. In spite of everything, Tesla is understood for smooth electrical vehicles, photo voltaic panels and rockets — not sipping spirits from a lightning bolt-shaped bottle.
However whereas it raised eyebrows, Tesla Tequila is basic Elon Musk. It began as a joke tweet, then become a limited-edition product that bought out nearly immediately. It’s much less about changing into a booze model and extra about constructing a cult following. The tequila was a collector’s merchandise, a flex, a little bit of enjoyable — one thing that turns heads and sells out quick, similar to the vehicles.
It additionally matches Tesla’s model of disruption and way of life. This wasn’t about coming into the alcohol market; it was about creating buzz, deepening fan loyalty and displaying that even a shot of tequila will be recharged with a spark of Tesla aptitude.
Enterprise insurgent → Type insurgent
While you consider Virgin, you most likely image planes, data, possibly even area — however wedding ceremony attire? That’s the place issues get a bit sudden. Virgin Brides, launched within the mid-90s, was Richard Branson’s try to shake up the bridal business with a daring, trendy twist.
At first, it appeared completely off-brand. Virgin had all the time been about power, riot and breaking the mould — not precisely the vibe most brides have been on the lookout for. However that was the purpose. Branson wished to disrupt a standard, usually overpriced market with one thing more energizing, extra enjoyable and reasonably priced. Virgin Brides was meant to supply trendy attire for ladies who didn’t need the identical outdated fairy story.
In the long run, it didn’t fairly take off — however the thought wasn’t utterly wild. It adopted the Virgin playbook: tackle a stuffy business, problem the norm, and inject some character. It simply turned out that weddings, in contrast to flights or data, weren’t fairly prepared for a revolution in purple.
Tech + music → Tech + cash
Sony is a reputation you’d often hyperlink with music, films, and possibly a couple of heated gaming marathons — not life insurance coverage and on-line banking. So when folks hear about Sony Life or Sony Financial institution, the response is usually a confused “Wait, that Sony?”
However beneath the shock, there’s technique. Sony isn’t simply an leisure large — it’s a tech and innovation firm with deep roots in shopper belief. Transferring into finance allow them to use that belief, plus their digital know-how, to supply clean, tech-driven monetary companies. Sony Financial institution, for instance, focuses on online-only banking — years forward of the curve when it launched. Sony Life provides a personalised, data-savvy contact to monetary planning, backed by the model’s fame for precision and design.
It won’t include encompass sound or a flashy controller, however it’s Sony doing what it does finest — discovering good methods to increase, backed by tech and constructed on belief.
Innovation lab → Creativeness park
While you hear Samsung, you most likely consider smooth telephones, cutting-edge TVs or possibly kitchen home equipment — not curler coasters, zoos and flower gardens. So discovering that Samsung owns Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park, can positively immediate a double take.
However the transfer isn’t as random because it appears. Samsung is a large conglomerate with pursuits in the whole lot from electronics to insurance coverage. Everland began as a part of its broader technique to create a full way of life ecosystem — leisure, leisure and household experiences included. It’s additionally a technique to deepen the model’s emotional reference to folks, particularly in its residence nation.
Working a theme park permits Samsung to showcase its innovation past screens, providing real-world pleasure powered by the identical values: high quality, know-how and expertise. It’d look like a wild detour, however within the Samsung universe, even thrill rides match the marketing strategy.
Scandi design → Scandi eating
At first, the thought of IKEA making plant-based meatballs would possibly sound a bit random. Isn’t this the place you go for bookshelves, not burgers? However for anybody who’s made the pilgrimage by way of these maze-like showrooms, the meals — particularly the long-lasting Swedish meatballs — is a part of the complete IKEA expertise.
So swapping in a plant-based model isn’t only a quirky add-on — it’s a wise transfer. IKEA has lengthy positioned itself round sustainability and affordability, and slicing down on meat is without doubt one of the largest methods to scale back environmental influence. The plant balls give eco-conscious clients a greener choice, with out dropping the comfort-food appeal.
In basic IKEA trend, it’s sensible, accessible and a bit of bit sudden. As a result of once you’re constructing a greater residence, why not construct a greater plate too?
