By thinking strategically about your retail store design, you can align your store format to your business objectives.
The premier store opened in the US's second largest mall, King of Prussia, Philadelphia.
Flagships for the real world
Often we're asked to help clients find the right balance for their all-important flagship store. Of course they need to be a showpiece for the brand, attracting and inspiring customers. But they also need to work in the context of operations and budgets. So it's important not to get too carried away with inflated budgets and impractical expectations and think smartly about what makes most sense for the business and its retail store design.
We created 'laboratory stores' to test different business opportunities, and learn from 'real life' situations.
Using store formats for learning
In a fast-moving, rapidly changing retail landscape, there are very few hard-and- fast rules. So we work closely with clients to develop 'laboratory stores' to test new ideas and learn from 'real life' situations. This gives us the chance to set up, monitor, analyse, compare and value engineer upgrades. We gather tangible information and insights to understand what works and what doesn't, making business sense of any changes so we can then go ahead and evolve the best retail store design for Rogers Communications.
The laboratory stores enabled us to test a range of ideas in real time. This had significant impact on our retail strategy and changed how we operated across the business.VP of Retail, Rogers Communications
A modular system for a retail partnership between Orange UK and HMV, that worked for the two businesses and their customers.
Formats for retail partnerships
When you work with retail partnerships, it's important to think about both parties. We always start by understanding each business, each brand, and both groups of staff. Then we find ways to balance their different needs. This approach makes the most of the business opportunity and helps create a seamless experience for customers.
A future-proof 'shop-in-a-box' design ready for quick installation for an ambitious nationwide store refresh programme across a variety of spaces and layouts.
The world beyond the flagship
Thinking about the retail estate as a whole is crucial. We start by understanding the short and long-term business objectives and nature of the entire estate. Then we apply our design thinking to a broad a range of store types and sizes — from retail parks, to shopping malls and high streets. We need to consider the legacy and geometry of existing stores, different regulations and cultural nuances, and much more.
Construction cost was 40% less than the previous refit.
Previous refits took up to eight weeks, our record was 11 days.
Quick installation meant less time closed.
Orange UK's most ambitious store refresh, with 120 refits in six months.
