Store Design: Every Retail Environment Should Have A Story To Tell

 

 

NIKE: Maple hardwood flooring with basketball markings on the floor. Wooden bleachers cladding the walls. Gorgeous displays of cutting-edge athletic shoes. The coolest mannequins in town. Great lighting. Unique and perfectly designed store fixtures.

 

As you enter their store they are challenging you to keep up with their brave new world, and that makes you want to keep up!

 

 

BANANA REPUBLIC: Elegant white walls. Dark mahogany floors. Tasteful moldings. Black lacquer display tables. Stunning black and white photographs.  Great lighting. Men’s clothes are here. Women’s clothes are there. The garments are perfect for your lifestyle.

 

 

The store design is telling you their clothes are refined and perfect for your upwardly mobile lifestyle.

 

 

Neither Nike nor Banana Republic simply stumbled upon how their stores look. Maybe they did early on, but not now. Both chains have crafted a storyline that is unique to their brands and guides their designers as they create each store. I’m not talking about their style guides, I’m talking about their corporate themes.

So what might these story lines be that Nike and Banana Republic might use to keep their designers on target? How do they consistently stay so good?

Nike’s retail environmental story might be, “Imagine each retail store as a locker room like no other. Be so far out front that we don’t look back! Keep two recognizable references to locker rooms, then throw everything else away. Lead the charge to the future!”

Banana Republic might be, “Imagine our stores as being a high end New York townhouse. We are tastefully & classically refined. We are timeless, and our clothes need only to be displayed against white for you to recognize their perfect suitability for your lifestyle!”

The right story will inform everything

 

 

The right story will inform everything, from the design of the logo, to the display systems to be used, to the colors and materials chosen. Staying focused on that story keeps the designer’s ideas on track, and if done carefully, the store will set the stage to enroll your guests in your merchandise.

Every store has a story to tell, and choosing the right one will help guide you to a perfectly balanced retail environment.