Retail Strategy and Concept
ENDOTA SPA'S NEW RETAIL CONCEPT AND STRATEGY.
If it wasn’t true that real-world shops can fundamentally shape brand perception and establish emotional connections with customers, Apple wouldn’t be building glass boxes all over the world. Yet this fact is too often overlooked in conversation about the challenges faced by bricks-and-mortar retail in the digital age. There’s tension between the imperative to sell a brand’s product and the desire to tell a brand’s story, of course, but if the right balance is achieved, well, that’s the moment a brand can take off.
"THE FIT-OUTS ACHIEVE A RARE BALANCE BETWEEN RETAIL PRAGMATISM AND EXPERIENTIAL MAGIC."
When Endota Spa first engaged Melbourne retail design specialist Luke Cannon, they weren’t thinking about the brand side of that equation so much as the retail side – specifically the in-store sales performance of their range of skincare and cosmetics products. Endota has Australia’s largest network of day spas, but their product offering had been merchandised as a complement to their spa treatments, much like incidental add-ons at a hair salon, rather than being sold in its own right. Luke’s job was to design a new fit-out that would place product centre stage, attract more foot traffic and increase sales.
On a purely retail level, the designers’ response has been transformative. The new stores, five of which have already been rolled out in both strip shop and shopping centre contexts around the country, are designed to draw people in from a distance: apart from a bold entry column, the shop frontage is completely glazed, providing an enticing window to the carefully choreographed retail theatre within; and a faceted ceiling folds down into the rear wall, creating a sense of openness to passers-by.
The most decisive retail move, however, and the one most clearly linked to the original brief, is the relocation of product from walls to floor. Just inside the lease-line, a small display podium provides the first opportunity to browse and explore the product, a tempter to come closer; further in, a dabble bar encourages customers to touch and feel some more. Far from being a service-focused environment that seems open only to spa customers, these new stores feel welcoming and actively encourage casual visitors. Tellingly, in the new stores, the proportion of revenue generated by product sales has grown significantly on the national average.
CLIENT
Endota Spa
WHAT WE DID
:- Customer Insights
:- Brand personality positioning
:- Shopper profiling
:- Customer journey planning
:- Zoning and category planning
:- Interior design
:- CAD Documentation
SPAS
15+