From Concept to Collection – How I created “Good Vibes”

Rashma, Connect CE Consulting

Sometimes the most valuable projects begin with a simple observation.

In 2022, during a conversation with the CEO of WHS/InMotion, we discussed the customer experience customers walking into an InMotion airport store. The feedback was straightforward: the environment felt clinical and efficient but lacked warmth and broad appeal. The aim was to attract a wider more diverse audience, particularly women and younger shoppers, without losing the convenience that existing WHS/InMotion customers valued.

That conversation became the catalyst for a four-year product development programme to develop a complete own-brand collection of headphones, speakers, mobile phone and travel accessories.

Building on a Strong Foundation

The InMotion Core range was already established as a successful core proposition with just a few travel essentials including basic cables and headphones.

Back in 2021, the range focused on everyday technology essentials including headphones and mobile accessories. Simple branding and packaging design, clear product architecture and compelling value made it easy for customers to make quick purchasing decisions in busy travel environments.

When I took over managing the consumer electronics own brand, I rapidly grew the range so that by 2022, a broader selection of products were launched and selling well, including cables, speakers and power banks. Over the following years, the Core own brand range grew to almost 100 SKUs, with the addition of a premium "Pro" tier featuring upgraded specifications, improved finishes and packaging capable of sitting confidently alongside leading global brands.

This “core” range solved one important customer need exceptionally well: dependable technology at an accessible price.

The next challenge was to create something that delivered on emotion as well as function.

Looking Beyond Consumer Electronics

Rather than taking inspiration from the technology sector, I looked elsewhere.

A visit to European lifestyle retailer Ale-Hop demonstrated how accessories could follow seasonal trends, colour palettes and design cues more commonly associated with fashion than electronics.

Working closely with the WHSmith brand team and sourcing partners in Hong Kong, I developed “Good Vibes” - an own-brand collection of fashion-led headphones and tech accessories designed to bring personality, colour and seasonal relevance into travel technology.

For the next four years, I refreshed the collection seasonally with new colours, patterns and products aligned to current retail fashion trends. The objective was simple: create technology accessories that customers wanted to own and wear, rather than simply needed to replace.

Balancing Creativity with Commercial Reality

Developing trend-led own-brand products presented very different challenges from developing core commodity ranges.

Fashion trends move quickly, while product development and manufacturing require long lead times. Minimum order quantities can be significant, often requiring substantial investment before customer demand is fully understood.

Some designs exceeded expectations and sold through rapidly. Others required markdowns as trends evolved and customer demand shifted.

Finding the balance between responding to consumer trends and managing commercial risk became one of the biggest challenges of the product development programme.

The Results

Good Vibes successfully complemented the existing Core range across InMotion and WHSmith Travel stores in airports, railway stations and hospitals throughout the UK and internationally.

Together, the two ranges generated unprecedented sales and profit growth and established InMotion's own-brand sales alongside bestselling brands such as Apple, Bose and Sony.

Importantly, customer insight supported what sales performance suggested. Shopper tracking carried out by Vision-R showed that more women engaged with the Good Vibes displays and spent longer browsing than had been the case with the previous own-brand proposition.

The range was not only adding colour to the fixture; it was attracting new customers and encouraging greater engagement.

The Strategic Lesson

One of the biggest lessons from this programme is that successful own-brand portfolios rarely try to be everything to everyone.

Core succeeded because it delivered outstanding value with absolute clarity.

Good Vibes succeeded because it created an emotional connection with a different customer.

Each range had a clearly defined role, audience and proposition. Together, they strengthened the overall offer far more effectively than a single range ever could.

For retailers and brands developing their own assortments, it is worth asking a simple question:

Does every part of your range have a clearly defined purpose and a clearly defined customer?

If different customer groups are being served by the same proposition, there is a good chance that opportunities are being missed.

At Connect CE Consulting, we help brands and retailers develop own-brand strategies that combine commercial performance with customer insight, creating product ranges that stand out in increasingly competitive markets.

If you're looking to grow or reposition your own-brand offer, we'd be delighted to start a conversation.