1. Store Layout and Design
Chapter 13
Store Layout and Design

2. Learning Objectives
List the elements of a store’s environment and define its two primary objectives
Discuss the steps involved in planning the store
Describe how various types of fixtures, merchandise presentation methods and techniques, and the psychology of merchandise presentation are used to increase the productivity of the sales floor

3. Learning Objectives
Describe why store design is so important to a store’s success
Explain the role of visual communications in a retail store

4. Introduction to Store Layout Management
Store setting and presentation are critical factors in serving the customer
To encourage repeat visits and purchasing, online retailers should:
Keep content current
Make the site easy and enjoyable to work
Structure an online community for consumers to interact
LO 1

5. Supermarket Style
Right Handed 90% turn right/Store brands Neatness counts? Dump displays/Hand Written End Caps Highest turnovers/ Creatures of Habit A little bit greedy Limit 4

6. Exhibit 13.1 - Elements That Compose the Store Environment
LO 1

7. Introduction to Store Layout Management
Objectives of the store environment
Creating desired store image- Important factors
Merchandise carried
Promotional activities
Customer service
Cleanliness
Sales force
LO 1

8. $300 per square foot
Yields $1,500

9. Introduction to Store Layout Management
Increasing space productivity
The more merchandise customers are exposed to that is presented in an orderly manner:
The more they tend to buy
Fuel Up, Sit down, Retailtainment, Bathrooms
Length in store
Exposure to merchandize? (Robert Kahn)
Incorporating new advances in technology can help stimulate sales
Shrinkage: Merchandise that cannot be accounted for due to theft, loss, or damage
LO 1

11. Store Planning Floor plan A schematic that shows:
Where merchandise and customer service departments are located
How customers circulate through the store, and how much space is dedicated to each department
Is based around the predicted demands of the store’s targeted customer
LO 1

12. Exhibit 13.2 - These Warning Signs may Indicate a Space Problem
LO 2

13. Store Planning
Microretailing: Occurs when a chain store retailer operating over a wide geographic area:
Tailors its merchandise and services in each store to the needs of the immediate trading area
Adjacencies: Merchandise being arranged alongside other merchandise (IKEA)
Stack-outs: Pallets of merchandise set out on the floor in front of the main shelves (Winco)
LO 2

15. Store Planning Allocating space Circulation Shrinkage prevention
Types of space needed
Back room
Offices and other functional spaces
Aisles, service areas, and other nonselling areas
Floor merchandise space
Wall merchandise space
Space allocation planning
Circulation
Shrinkage prevention
LO 2

16. Store Planning Space allocation planning
Improving space productivity in existing stores
Space productivity index
Compares the percentage of the store’s total gross margin that a particular merchandise category generates to:
Its percentage of total store selling space used
Space allocations for a new store
Robert Kahn’s theory - Retailers should concentrate on the time customers spend browsing and experiencing the store:
Not on how much merchandise they are exposed to
LO 2

19. Exhibit 13.4 - Impact of Customer Traffic and Length of Store Visit
LO 2

20. Store Planning
Planograms: Illustrate how and where a retailer’s merchandise should be displayed on the shelf
Designed to allow the retailer to increase space productivity by taking into account
Inventory
Turnover
Space and inventory investment requirement
Gross margins of SKU’s
LO 2

22. Store Planning Circulation
Ensures efficient movement shoppers through the store, exposing them to more merchandise
Determines the character of the store
Types of layouts
Free-flow layout
Grid layout
Loop layout
Spine layout
LO 2

23. Store Planning Free-flow layout
Fixtures and merchandise are grouped into free-flowing patterns on the sales floor.
Grid layout
The counters and fixtures are placed in long rows or ‘‘runs,’’ usually at right angles, throughout the store.
Loop layout
A major customer aisle begins at the entrance, loops through the store—usually in the shape of a circle, square, or rectangle—and then returns the customer to the front of the store.
Spine layout
A single main aisle runs from the front to the back of the store, transporting customers in both directions, and where on either side of this spine, merchandise departments using either a free-flow or grid pattern branch off toward the back side walls.
LO 2

24. Exhibit 13.5 - Free-Flow Layout

25. Exhibit Grid Layout
LO 2

26. Exhibit Loop Layout
LO 2

27. Exhibit Spine Layout
LO 2

28. Planning Fixtures and Merchandise Presentation
On-shelf merchandising
Display of merchandise on counters, racks, shelves, and fixtures throughout the store.
Must be attractive, easy to understand and accessible
Must be reasonably easy to maintain
LO 3

29. Planning Fixtures and Merchandise Presentation
Fixture types
Merchandise-presentation planning
Selecting fixtures and merchandise-presentation methods
Visual merchandising
LO 3

30. Fixture Types Hardlines fixtures Softlines fixtures Wall fixtures
Bulk or capacity fixture: Display fixture that is intended to:
Hold the bulk of merchandise without looking as heavy as a long, straight rack of merchandise.
Feature fixture: Display that draws special attention to selected features of merchandise
Wall fixtures
LO 3

31. Exhibit 13.9 - Four-Way Feature Rack and Round Rack
LO 3

32. Merchandise Presentation Planning
Shelving- Merchandise is placed on shelves that are inserted into gondolas or wall systems
Hanging- Hangers hung from softlines fixtures
Pegging
Merchandise can be hung from peg hooks
Suitable for small merchandise
LO 3

33. Merchandise Presentation Planning
Folding
large, unwieldy softlines merchandise folded and then stacked onto shelves
Stacking- Large hardlines merchandise stacked on:
Shelves, base decks of gondolas, or flats
Dumping- Merchandise dumped in bins or baskets inserted into gondolas or wall systems
Effective promotional method
L O 3

34. Merchandise Presentation Planning
Key psychological factors to consider when merchandising stores:
Value/fashion image
Angles and sightlines
Vertical color blocking
LO 3

35. Exhibit 13.10- 45-Degree Customer Sightline
LO 3

36. Exhibit 13.11 - Vertical Color Blocking

39. Selecting Fixtures and Merchandise-Presentation Methods
Proper fixtures should
Emphasize the key selling attributes of merchandise while not being overpowering
Match to the merchandise
LO 3

40. Visual Merchandising Artistic display of merchandise
Theatrical props used as scene-setting decoration in the store
Located in a focal point, feature area
LO 3

42. Store Design Creates a distinctive and memorable store image
Includes both exterior and interior of the store
Exterior- Storefront, signage, and entrance
Interior- Architectural elements and finishes on all surfaces
Ambience
Overall feeling or mood projected by a store through its aesthetic appeal to the human senses

43. Store Design Storefront design
Identifies the name and general nature of the store
Gives some hint as to the merchandise inside
Includes all exterior signage and the architecture of the storefront itself
LO 4

45. Store Design Interior design The finishes applied to surfaces
The architectural shapes
LO 4

46. Store Design Lighting design
Helps enhance store sales
Requires an in-depth knowledge of:
Electrical engineering and the effect of light on color and texture
Sounds and smells: total sensory marketing
Effective store design appeals to the human senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch
LO 4

47. Visual Communications
Name, logo, and retail identity
Must be catchy, memorable, and reflective of the retailer’s merchandising mission
Institutional signage
Describes the merchandising:
Mission, customer service policies, and other messages on behalf of the retail institution
LO 5

48. Visual Communications
Directional, departmental, and category signage
Are large and placed fairly high, so they can be seen throughout the store
Category signage is:
Smaller
Intended to be seen from a shorter distance
Located on or close to the fixture itself
LO 5

50. Visual Communications
Point-of-sale signage (POS)
Small signage placed very close to the merchandise
Gives details about specific items
Clearly states the price of the merchandise being signed
LO 5

51. Visual Communications
Lifestyle graphics - Portray the merchandise:
As it is being used
Through images of related items or models that convey an image conducive to buying the product
Lifestyle photography
Must be kept general so as to be attractive to the majority and offensive to none
LO 5