What is the secret of great in-store design?

Online, February 16, 2010 (Newswire.com) - To be successful these days, your store needs to stand out from the crowd, be user-friendly and work - so what is the secret of great in-store design?

Every retailer wants to be ahead of his or her competitors. Of course, it can be done by product offering alone, but by going too far up - or down - market, the store buyer risks alienating the core customer base. In these days of globalisation, it can be tricky for many retailers to offer something different, especially in the fashion business. One of the things that can improve the retailer chance to succeed is a store design . A trendy, cool interior will immediately draw customers, and they would also like stores where they can easily find what they want, pleasant places to shop or browse in will keep those customers coming back for more. In-store design is particularly difficult, as a good design team will become heavily involved in the retailer's ethos, as well as things like footfall, shopping patterns and brand loyalty.

Ultimately, you're looking for a detailed concept that responds instinctively to the environment, taking the customer on a journey around the store. When it comes to chic journeys, the cool Lola's Bakery in Primrose Hill is really attracting the crowds in since the cupcake bar opened in the food hall at Selfridges. The outlet created by Sheridan&Co features a display area for the mouth-watering cakes as well as a seating area, where shoppers can linger over a coffee while they get their sugar fix. Sheridan's design team adapted the existing sugar-dusted logo to create a solid, multi-coloured brand, which projects more successfully in a detailed landscape. Cakes are displayed with much reverence and celebration, and a colour-coded menu of flavours matches the cake display trays. Michael Sheridan, chief executive of Sheridan&Co, says: 'Lola's is a delightful brand and a very fine bakery, which produces exquisite cakes.' The design, which is almost good enough to eat, is an amalgamation of 1950s kitchen and trendy coffee house, and features wood and glass displays set against a backdrop of white. Sheridan continues: 'The installation we have designed captures that joie de vivre in a fresh, crisp design, which gives clarity to the brand's proposition and enables the cakes to visually sing. I defy anyone to visit and not to buy at least one cupcake!'

Another example of Sheridan's great in-shop design is the new revamped World of Whiskies, at the Heathrow Airport. Sheridan&Co maintained World of Whiskies reputation of being a specialist whisky store and also expanded its appeal to a more diverse audience such as young professional men and women and the whisky novice as well as the whisky experts. When costumers enter the store they are encourage to sit at the bar 'Discover Your Taste' and taste different varieties of whiskies to discover their favourite. Sheridan&Co used RFID technology that displays information on screen when the customer picks up a bottle from the back wall, and headphones are used to communicate with the shopper. The store consists of different zones, which offers different level of customers experience depending on the time they have available. The store is also provided with seating area with leather armchairs at the back, where customers can consider their purchase and discuss it with the staff. In the 'Rare & Vintage' corner customers can find exceptional whiskies displayed in a museum-style design, however, all the whiskies are for sale. The new look of the store offers 'something for everyone'.

For a great in-store design contact Sheridan&Co, a full service retail design agency. Working with some of the world's most famous luxury brands including William Grant & Son's Ltd, Pernod Ricard, Clarins, LVMH over the last 25 years, Sheridan&Co have created some of the most exciting, and successful retail designs to inspire brand experience.

For more information please contact:
Fiona Gilgrist
House PR
01536 772256
[email protected]