Easy come, easy go

If it ain't broken, don't fix it. This cliche, stillpertinent in many environments, has become less relevant to the world of retail, where fierce competition and increasingly discerning customers are looking not just for well-priced products, but for an easier, more pleasurable shopping experience.

Over the past 26 years, The Warehouse's formula for success, which revolves around a huge selection of goods at bargain prices, has allowed it to develop from a single store on Auckland's North Shore into a chain of 85 nationwide.

While the formula is as viable today as ever before, some of The Warehouse's more recent store developments have seen the redesign of some layout aspects. The Warehouse Te Rapa, designed in collaboration with Auckland architectural firm Gascoigne Associates, is a concept store. Its design includes subtle changes that provide customers with easier access to a more diverse range of goods and services than is available at more traditional stores.

Outwardly, The Warehouse Te Rapa retains the highly-visible red colouring for which the chain is renowned. Inside, the space is cavernous.

"The Warehouse hadn't had any significant new concepts introduced for many years," says Cynthia Church, the group's corporate affairs manager. "We wanted to use Te Rapa as a test store to trial new ideas for the chain. However, we also didn't want people to forget where they were. Our aims were to make shopping easier and more pleasant, increase the volume of sales, improve efficiency and make it easier for our people to offer better customer service."

Making the store easier for customers involved de-cluttering the environment, moving to a cleaner, improved layout, upgrading shelving, regrouping the merchandise for greater convenience and adopting significantly improved signage, says architect Mark Gascoigne.

"The Warehouse has always done its own store design, so this collaboration was a new approach. We wanted to make it easier for people to navigate through the store. With the new information kiosks, you know where you are all the time. A price scanner also enables you to find the price without needing to locate a staff member."

As in other stores, apparel is located centrally, but a changed fitting room area makes trying on clothes more enjoyable. Elsewhere, layout changes and new display techniques include lifestyle settings and graphics that give customers a clear idea of what they are buying.

"We made a whole department out of music, DVDs, electronics and toys and placed it in a rear corner, rather than in the mid-front where it would normally be located. This exposes customers to more merchandise as they navigate their way through the store. The bulkhead over the top makes it highly visible," says Gascoigne.

Increased service levels in this area provide easy-to-access advice to customers interested in electronic products. Another new feature, the Grab and Go, focuses on basic foods and drinks. As if a microcosm for the wider store, the small self-contained area offers customers convenience and speed.

Story by: Trendsideas