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"To show attention to the elderly audience, European brands are developing unique sets of advantages," reports Anna Lebsak-Kleimans. They are connected with convenience and comfort, which are important for this particular group of the population, the expert explains. – ​An interesting example is the development of the French cosmetic brand Ducray: when they were planning packaging and design, they were thinking about convenience for older people. Hence the shape (stable), the surface (matte and non-slip), the use of Braille. Even the design of caps and lids is carried out taking into account possible violations of fine motor skills in humans. In Japan, Wish Hills has started selling shoes for the elderly, the heel of which has a GPS navigator built in. Such shoes will allow you to track the path of its owner and eliminate the possibility of an elderly person getting lost.

An important indicator of the appeal to the elderly audience is a new trend in communication - the appearance on fashion catwalks and in advertising of elderly models. For example, the iconic model on the catwalk is 82-year-old beauty Carmen Dell'Orefice. 85-year-old actress Jennifer Rhodes became the face of the British brand Vielma, 83-year-old Jacqueline Murdoch was the face of the Lanvin advertising campaign, 77-year-old Danish model Gitte Lee advertises Celine, and 84-year-old Daphne Self poses in the iconic bodice Jean-Paul Gaultier for the charity company Oxfam. Some designers choose an elderly person as the muse of their collection to create collections focused on the so-called silver market. For example, Fanny Karst launched the label The Old Ladies Rebellion four years ago for her 90-year-old grandmother and her friends. The basis of the collection is beautiful dresses, skirts and blouses. Maxim Lisitsin from ITD Properties also lists brands that have chosen famous elderly people as the face of their advertising campaign: Old Spice, Kraft Foods, KRAFT Macaroni&Cheese, American Apparel, M&S, Procter&Gamble, L’Oréal Paris, MAC Cosmetics.

"Although older shoppers are much less likely to visit stores, there is an interesting practice in Europe of organizing sports clubs for pensioners within the shopping center: elderly people are engaged in sports walking on the territory of shopping centers, the long straight corridors of which are perfectly adapted for such walks," says Olga Yarullina. Looking at the goods in the windows along the way, later people make purchases. ​However, this is not a very commercial story, and it is unlikely that it will take root in Russia. There are also few age sellers in stores yet. As a rule, students work as consultants.

Waldemar Weiss supports: if in Europe the age seller is often an indicator of the brand's status, especially in department stores where brands of the price segment "average plus" are represented, then in Russia this is rather an exception to the rule. "Among the Russian projects, the example of the Teremka is interesting: of all the Russian trade operators, I can single out only them in the preferences of older people when hiring line staff," says Anna Panyukova. – ​This is due to the identification of the brand with "traditional Russian cuisine": it is clear that the consumer is psychologically ready for the fact that his grandmother will fry pancakes for him (even if not his), and not a young girl or a young man. This inclusivity in the recruitment of personnel is a pleasant trend and a symbol of a new time, breadth of views and new approaches in business. Ksenia Ryasova notes that Finn Flare «is happy to hire age sellers ». "With the condition that a person is ready to stand on his feet all day," the expert clarifies. – ​They are competent, inspire confidence in customers and are very disciplined.

To be continued.

Text: Ekaterina Reutskaya

Photo:< a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock.com , Elena Shipilova