Archive for March, 2012

There is a big elephant walking the sidewalks and shopping for new items

Friday, March 30th, 2012

RDD Associates has recently designed a store in Kingsburg, CA for a drug store that has reinvented itself. The new 6000 s.f. store is selling everything to assist the aging baby boomers with mobile items. Scooters, lift chairs, walkers, are some of the items on display in a big box format. The breath of assortment is telling their customer that they know what the customer wants, what they stand for and instilling a sense that A-Z Home is the leader in this category. The store opened and sales are through the roof.

At this point, I wonder how many retailers have stopped reading this article as it does not relate to their product in the store. As a guest lecturer at Retail design seminars, I often point out that the average person looks but does not see. The example above should ring loud and true for you. The message is what can I be selling to this affluent, large body of mass, to improve my business and their quality of life. Whether the customer you are not selling is a baby boomers, gen x , or milleniums they all have common likes and needs which you can be providing product for.

The answer is simple but the execution is not always easy. As a Store Planner our skill is to get more items out in the same space and not have the customer feel they are trapped in a sea of displays. Most retailers have a hard time giving up product to just trade off volume with a new item. That is not what I suggest. As a merchant your responsibilty is to find the next great item before your competition does. Intrench the item with assortment into your store all of which will prevent your customer from seeking alternate retailers to shop for these items. As a Store Planner, our goal is to blend the new product into the store by making the customer aware of the new offering. 

For those retailers that do not want to see this train coming, you can stand next to Sears and JCP, Kmart, and so many other retailers who are standing on the platform while the train has left the station with their customers on board.