walk this way

Most retailers are looking for the wow factor when it comes to revamping their stores. But this needs to be balanced by commercial realities notably cost factors.

As a highly experienced fit-out contractor, Dimension Shopfitters is frequently called on to achieve that balance, says director Nick Turpin. Translating designers' concepts into working installations can be challenging, but it is also one of the more exciting aspects of the job.

"Finding inexpensive ways to achieve a particular look, or finding an innovative use for a standard material can make all the difference to the look and functionality of a store fit-out," he says.

For Sylvia Park, Dimension Shopfitters fitted out several stores, including Barkers menswear boutique, Shine and Roxy boutiques, West Coast Coffee, Queen Bee, Telecom Shop, The Gamesman, Games Workshop, Secrets' jewellery store, Smart Sushi in the food court, and the confectionary kiosk Splash.

"Barkers was a particularly exciting and challenging fit-out, being the chain's new concept store," says Turpin. "As well as creating a new merchandising system of metal racking, there was also a sculptural wall, timber louvres, large aluminium gates and a variety of interesting materials to work with."

Store designer Adrian Nancekivell says the use of honest materials, such as raw black steel, basalt stone flooring, and rough-sawn dark oak evokes a strong masculine feel in keeping with the new branding.

Nancekivell also designed the West Coast Coffee shop fitted out by Dimension. Interesting materials are again a feature of this fit-out, and include rock and ceramic tiles, and stained oak and beading.

"Shine boutique, designed by Martin Skinner of Springboard Design was another interesting project," says Turpin. "Being a corner site limited the amount of room for interior displays, so we had to look at different ways of merchandising. There are a lot of hanging fixtures, for example. As with many of these projects, the result may be simple and striking, but it can be a very complex process to achieve such a look."

Turpin says Roxy, another corner store, is a case in point. The Roxy boutique fit-out incorporated a 30m glazed shop front.

Corporate re-branding was evident in several of the projects, including the Telecom Shop.

"The Telecom Shop incorporates many new features, which Dimension helped design in conjunction with Telecom and Telco, the asset management company," says Turpin. "These include a new rail-and-plate merchandising system for secure phone displays. The system needed to be versatile, particularly as phone styles change frequently."

Turpin says Dimension also found a way to create the special ceiling fixture required for the store. This features powdercoated aluminium fins on a backlit acrylic background. The fins wrap down the rear wall, helping to enclose and illuminate the store.

To provide a complete service to clients, Dimension Shopfitters recently joined with Display Point (now Dimension Display) to create Retail Dimension a client service company that provides a single point of contact for all display, merchandising and fit-out requirements.

"Many of the projects we have worked on in Sylvia Park were commissioned by clients looking to work with a single company," says Turpin. "Dealing with just one contact can provide both cost and time savings."

For details, contact Dimension Shopfitters, PO Box 101-387, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, phone (09) 914 3619. Website: www.retaildimension.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas