Being inexpensive and desirable are not exclusive notions – just look at Aussie stationer Smiggle.

News arrived in the form of a press release last week that a new branch of Smiggle has opened somewhere, and it’s not in a big metropolitan centre or a mall.

What? Why would they do that? Surely it makes sense to head for Oxford Street or one of the destination shopping centres ahead of a small(er) town?

Well, yes, that would be the reaction of those with large estates and a fervent wish to operate only from locations that everybody knows and admires.

“Smiggle uses what is sometimes referred to as ‘the lipstick effect’. This is a retailer that amuses and entices owing to its brightly coloured products that demand to be looked at as shoppers walk past its frontage”

This would be the reaction of a ‘legacy’ retailer, and you don’t have to think too hard to come up with a list of candidates. If you are starting from scratch, however, things may be a little different.

Smiggle uses what is sometimes referred to as ‘the lipstick effect’. This is a retailer that amuses and entices owing to its brightly coloured products that demand to be looked at as shoppers walk past its frontage.

It’s actually almost impossible to ignore and, once inside the doors, almost equally tricky not to buy something due to some pretty winsome visual merchandising.

Most of what’s on offer is ‘pocket money’ priced. This does not mean cheap, but it does mean it’s within reach of a very broad range of consumers.

Pick something up here and the chances are good that the recipient, adult or child, will thank you for something that’s a bit of fun.

Cheap and cheerful

This is the lipstick effect: cheering yourself or others up with an item that hasn’t cost a fortune, but which brings a smile to the face and possibly makes things seem a little better.

And every retailer has the option to do this. At the luxury end of things, there are what’s known as ‘entry price’ products, and from there downwards it’s something that all can be part of.

Of course, if your proposition happens to be nothing but lipstick, then when times are tough you are in clover, which may well be why Smiggle is now appearing in places where anybody from beyond that location is unlikely to shop.

Smiggle remains a relatively new arrival and seems to have judged the mood correctly.