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 feels like a mix-up at greatest and a model identification disaster at worst. Why would the world’s greatest on-line retailer — a tech large recognized for one-click purchasing, cloud computing and good audio system — out of the blue need to reduce 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 individuals 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. When 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 greatest: 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 individuals off guard. Isn’t that the place you pop into for milk, a meal deal and perhaps some rest room roll? It feels a bit odd to think about the identical model finding out your weekly store and your closing send-off.
However dig a little bit deeper, and it really suits. Co-op has at all times positioned itself as a community-focused organisation — not only a retailer. They’ve tried to be concerned in every part from pharmacies to authorized companies, so taking care of individuals at life’s greatest moments isn’t such a stretch. Funeralcare is simply one other manner they help native communities, with a concentrate on belief, dignity and affordability.
And in a market typically dominated by massive chains with rising prices, Co-op affords a extra private, moral different. It could seem to be an surprising transfer, but it surely ties again to their wider mission: being there for individuals locally.
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 any case, Tesla is thought for glossy electrical automobiles, photo voltaic panels and rockets — not sipping spirits from a lightning bolt-shaped bottle.
However whereas it raised eyebrows, Tesla Tequila is traditional Elon Musk. It began as a joke tweet, then was a limited-edition product that offered out virtually 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 automobiles.
It additionally suits Tesla’s model of disruption and way of life. This wasn’t about getting into the alcohol market; it was about creating buzz, deepening fan loyalty and exhibiting that even a shot of tequila may be recharged with a spark of Tesla aptitude.
Enterprise insurgent → Fashion insurgent
Once you consider Virgin, you in all probability image planes, data, perhaps even area — however wedding ceremony clothes? That’s the place issues get a bit surprising. Virgin Brides, launched within the mid-90s, was Richard Branson’s try and shake up the bridal business with a daring, fashionable twist.
At first, it appeared completely off-brand. Virgin had at all times been about vitality, rise up and breaking the mould — not precisely the vibe most brides have been in search of. However that was the purpose. Branson wished to disrupt a standard, typically overpriced market with one thing more energizing, extra enjoyable and inexpensive. Virgin Brides was meant to supply trendy clothes for girls who didn’t need the identical previous 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 normally hyperlink with music, motion pictures, and perhaps a couple of heated gaming marathons — not life insurance coverage and on-line banking. So when individuals 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. Shifting into finance allow them to use that belief, plus their digital know-how, to supply easy, 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 popularity for precision and design.
It may not include encompass sound or a flashy controller, but it surely’s Sony doing what it does greatest — discovering good methods to broaden, backed by tech and constructed on belief.
Innovation lab → Creativeness park
Once you hear Samsung, you in all probability consider glossy telephones, cutting-edge TVs or perhaps kitchen home equipment — not curler coasters, zoos and flower gardens. So discovering that Samsung owns Everland, South Korea’s greatest theme park, can undoubtedly immediate a double take.
However the transfer isn’t as random because it appears. Samsung is a large conglomerate with pursuits in every part 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 option to deepen the model’s emotional reference to individuals, particularly in its house nation.
Operating 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 seem to be a wild detour, however within the Samsung universe, even thrill rides match the marketing strategy.
Scandi design → Scandi eating
At first, the concept of IKEA making plant-based meatballs may sound a bit random. Isn’t this the place you go for bookshelves, not burgers? However for anybody who’s made the pilgrimage by these maze-like showrooms, the meals — particularly the enduring 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 greatest methods to scale back environmental affect. The plant balls give eco-conscious clients a greener possibility, with out shedding the comfort-food allure.
In traditional IKEA vogue, it’s sensible, accessible and a little bit bit surprising. As a result of whenever you’re constructing a greater house, why not construct a greater plate too?
