Designing it Right!

However, designing a store that reflects the ‘true’ brand image is not an easy task. It requires positioning the store in a planned and tactical manner, based on the location, store size, catchment, neighbouring brands and competition. Once the store is locatable and visible, it’s equally important to entice the customers to enter the store.

The First Impression

The most crucial area that decides a customer’s journey within the store is the ‘decompression zone’ also known as front area and ‘power wall’, the first wall that customers see. These two areas act as a high-impact first impression vehicle for the merchandise, hence, require special attention in terms of what retailers choose to display and how they display it.

Rajesh Jain, MD and CEO, Lacoste India, states, “Our front area carries the current theme merchandise that underline the signature products of that line. ‘Power walls’ generally carry the previous theme products to give a sense of familiarity and comfort to the customer.”

“The store façade representation and the visual merchandise summary are the next steps that lure customers to enter the store,” adds Jain.  

Taking it further, Sumit Dhingra, Business Director – Bridge to Luxury Brand Division (Nautica and Gant), says, “The façade should tell the brand
story – what the brand identity
is all about.”

Explaining the layout concept at their stores, Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, The MobileStore, says, “We have ‘experience zones’ for handsets belonging to various brands which occupy the side walls.”

Merchandise Placement

Retailers have their own strategies to place the new, seasonal, and fast and slow moving merchandise. For instance, in case of jewellery, pricing is the key factor of merchandise placement. Saumen Bhaumik, Associate Vice President and Business Head - North, Tanishq, says, “As you go deeper in the store, the range becomes heavier. The light collection with modest price is displayed on the front, while store walls comprise the range which is likely to sell more.”

Explaining their strategy to boost sales, Manju Kothari, Creative Director, Entice, a luxury jewellery brand, highlights, “We have ‘Special Value Products’ counter in the store, which displays the jewellery that we offer on an attractive price for a short span of time.”

Yet another retail chain, Being Human Clothing, has
a different strategy in which fresh merchandise is displayed all over the store. “It is
spread in a manner that
clearly looks like a walk - through for the customers,”
says Karan Berry, VM Head, Being Human Clothing.

The company also has an interactive display within the stores that lets the customers skim the merchandise quickly.

The mannequin saga

Mannequins are one of the most important aspects in retail, especially in fashion stores.

“Usually, fresh arrivals are displayed through mannequins and as they are easy to find on shop floor, they help in improving conversion rates,” says Somdeb Basu, Brand Director, Reebok, India.

“Sales contribution from product highlighted on mannequins is about 15 to 20 per cent,” he adds.

Berry further shares, “About 25-30 per cent revenue is generated through merchandise displayed through mannequins.”

Clearly, store design can help in improving margins if done with careful detailing; just going lavish and fancy is not enough.

Addons improves store efficiency and conversions

Company:

Addons, Mumbai

Challenge: 

The personality of the store was not completely in sync with its product offering, which was hampering store conversion. Besides, the store efficiency was very poor in terms of product display and space utilisation.

Solution:

The design agency, Madison World, has created a flexible system which enables cross merchandising. Even storage units have been used as display spaces
with drawers.

Result:

The store front has a distinct and sophisticated look. Every footage in store is efficiently utilised to display products without leading to clutter, which helps in increasing the conversation rate.