Unchained guide

Infobox Company
company_name = Unchained Guide
company_type = Private
genre =
foundation = 2007
founder = Lea Simpson, Dave Birss and Pedro Garcia
location = London, England, UK
origins =
key_people =
area_served = independent retailers
industry =
products =
services = promoting & supporting independent shops
revenue =
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owner =
company_slogan =
homepage = [http://unchainedguide.com Unchained Guide]
dissolved =
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Unchained Guide is a UK based company founded in 2007 to give independent retailers many of the same advantages that chain stores have.

History

Unchained Guide was founded by three advertising creatives - Lea Simpson, Dave Birss and Pedro Garcia. They started the business because there seemed to be a disconnect between the way people wanted to shop and how they actually do shop. Consumers were saying that they were fed up with every High Street in London being identical. However, chainstores were reporting bigger profits every year while many of the independent gems in the city were shutting up shop. [cite web|url=http://www.unchainedguide.com/about-us.php|title=About Unchained|accessdate=2008-08-06] Unchained was started as a guide to help shoppers find independent retailers and help independent retailers compete more easily.

Services

Unchained is set up to help consumers and independent retailers find each other. Each audience has a different experience of the company.

Consumers

An Unchained website is a directory of the very best independent retailers in a city. Users can search for independent shops by area or type. They can also save their favourite shops and plan a shopping expedition with a map they can print out and take with them.

Independent Retailers

Unchained offers independent shops many of the advantages normally only available to chain stores.

*recognised brand
*marketing and promotional activities
*discounts and buying power
*community
*training

Future Plans

Unchained plans to extend its guides to all the major cities around the world. [cite web|url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/07/elevator_pitch_unchaineds_plan.html|title=The Guardian - Elevator Pitch|accessdate=2008-08-06]

The Unchained Ethos

Independent shops are typically started and run by people who are passionate about what they sell. So Unchained want to encourage people to shop independently because they will have a better shopping experience and get access to more unique products. They are not a campaign group asking people to boycott chain stores or feel sorry for independent retailers. [cite web|url=http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/lea-simpson-unchained.html|title=Planet Green - Meet Lea Simpson of Unchained|accessdate=2008-08-06]

References

External links

* [http://london.unchainedguide.com Unchained's London site]
* [http://newyork.unchainedguide.com Unchained's New York site]