Many designers claim there is a huge opportunity for retailers to raise their game by creating stores that offer richer experiences and a sense of drama. Designers might well say this, of course, as it is the conjuring of such delights from the drawing board that pays their bills. But there is no denying that competing on the mercilessly cutthroat high street, as well as against burgeoning online retailers, demands an especially enticing offer. Responding to these challenges, the fashion sector in particular is abuzz with new formats, refreshed branding and store roll-out programmes.
'Retailers are finally starting to do something after four or five years of stagnation with the white-box concept,' says Lewis Allen, director of retail at Portland Design Associates. 'The Spanish invasion of brands such as Zara and Mango has really shaken things up and, to some extent, shown everyone else the way. They have brought theatre and experience to stores with products that are more seasonal.
'There is now greater investment, better ideas and stronger visual merchandising propositions,' he adds. 'Look at Marks & Spencer: it assessed styling, products and packaging, with a much stronger focus on the consumer.'
These changes are not simply the work of retail design agencies alone, but rather a collaboration between visual merchandising specialists, architects, store development directors and marketing chiefs. The result is a constant upward drive toward the luxury, the 'chichi' and the indulgent. As ever, brands need as distinct an image as possible, but to combat the internet in particular, fashion chains are being forced to improve their level of service and create add-on offers for customers.
'There are many products that are best bought online, such as books and CDs, but fashion retail is different; people are different sizes, they need advice and extra service. This means fashion retailers have to retain their high-street presence, which is very expensive and competitive,' says Jonathan Clarke, director at Universal Design Studio, which is working on the interior of the forthcoming Reiss building on London's Barrett Street. He points out that added services are increasingly being used at the luxury end of fashion, reviving the relationship customers once had with dedicated tailors.
One way of achieving this type of intimacy through store design is to introduce boutique elements into what are essentially high-street chains. Last autumn, women's fashion retailer Phase Eight launched a Caulder Moore-designed format, which was described by the company's then-chief executive, Joy Walters, as 'chic and glamorous'. She said it helped elevate the brand with a more personalised, bespoke offering.
Universal's concept for Reiss's 10,000ft2 store will also represent a shift toward aspirational luxury when it opens in October. 'It is a much purer look, a much cleaner space and a totally new approach,' says founder David Reiss. 'We're trying to bring some key elements and special features to the graphics, walls and space,' he adds. The store will be housed in a bespoke redevelopment, designed by architects Squire and Partners, of the five-storey building formerly home to the London College of Fashion. 'It is effectively a branded building, which is a giant leap for the brand and something that I don't think anyone else has done in the UK,' says Clarke. 'David wanted to move the brand forward, but the existing stores (designed by D-Raw Associates) are already good and it's hard to make changes to a good offer. However, some of the stores had started to become reminiscent of the collections themselves, so the clothes were getting a bit lost in the same palette.'
Perhaps the most significant movement in the retail hierarchy is the budget sector's push against the mid-market. As Primark's Oxford Street launch illustrates (see box), the tactical use of visual cues for luxury brands, combined with low price tags, can have a potent effect on shoppers.
Their good-value ethos can also enable brands such as Primark to take on the supermarkets at their own game. 'The value copycat sector has been driving fast-fashion hard - Peacocks has even launched a format that looks more like New Look than New Look,' says Michelle Du-Prat, insights director at design agency Household. 'The store designs convey a fashionable edge, with prices on basics matching those of the supermarkets.'
Du-Prat is sceptical as to whether this tactic is sustainable, but notes that Peacocks is enjoying double-digit growth at the same time as rolling out new store formats.
Caulder Moore joint managing director Irene Maguire also cites supermarkets and value shops' fashion ranges as a cause of major ructions in the high-street fashion sector, claiming they are compelling mid-market players to 'seriously consider' how they differentiate themselves. She says one of the ways high-street retailers are combating the value players is by making their store branding even more central to strategy.
'Retailers are working hard to define their individual, distinct "emotional" territory in the minds of their customers,' says Maguire. 'Our belief is that design can create an emotive bond between the brand and its customer. Establishing this connection successfully allows a retailer to elevate its product beyond a commodity and into a special experience.'
Dalziel & Pow works with companies including Gap, Next and River Island, as well as Primark, thereby straddling the value and mid-market sectors. 'The push by value players has prompted the competition to raise their game significantly,' says director David Dalziel. 'The mid-market retailers are now investing heavily in the design of store environments to protect their position or establish a more premium position.'
H&M's recently launched COS proposition, for example, is influenced by designer brands but addresses the mid-market consumer. There are no piles of jumbled clothes or overcrammed rails in COS stores; they are a pared-down offering featuring neutral tones and modernist wood and metals designed by William Russell, whose clients include fashion designer Alexander McQueen. However, some have questioned how well the format is performing. Dalziel says that although the stores look good, there is too much discounted product and not enough space, while Clarke is unconvinced that the format has been totally effective.
This budget and mid-market jostling is also having an effect on the premium end of the high street. As more retailers take design cues from luxury stylists, the top strata are feeling the pinch. According to Dalziel, they are not reacting effectively. 'The high-end brands are under pressure to respond and, in my opinion, they are failing,' he says. 'Too many premium stores are not providing enough differentiation considering the investment. High-end brands should be fulfilling a fantasy, inspiring their customers, not simply reassuring them with another "smart" store. The spark and creativity are lacking.'
In many respects, this is the challenge for everyone on the high street: to provide an easily identifiable point of difference while developing an efficient and alluring store format. Having just opened Bench's first stand-alone concept store in Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield, the company's head of retail and former Ted Baker man Greig Fowler is aware of the difficulties involved in trying to get noticed in the market. 'Everyone's raised their game, and doing a good shop fit is not enough any more,' he says. 'You have to go the extra distance to stand out, which is extremely hard in this day and age.'
CASE STUDY - PRIMARK
The budget sector is putting the squeeze on mid-market players such as Next, Dorothy Perkins and River Island by improving the standards of store environments.
Primark's Dalziel & Pow-designed 35,000ft2 store on Oxford Street, which opened last year, was lambasted by some for its low-price, high-turnover strategy when it was stampeded by consumers on its opening day.
Although the frenzy has since abated, sales are outstripping initial trading targets by 50% and the store is set to turn over more than 拢100m a year, according to Dalziel & Pow director David Dalziel.
Footfall on Oxford Street outside the store rose by 16% in the three months after its opening, and it takes about 100 staff to replenish stock overnight. 'There are still queues at the weekend and inside it's running at four times the pace of Dorothy Perkins,' claims Dalziel.
The retail design challenge is to accommodate, and indeed promote, this level of footfall. There are 64 tills positioned across two floors. This quantity is typically found in the larger supermarkets, but here, in order to maintain a fashion-store ambience and avoid a sense of clutter, the tills are broken up into four banks of 16.
Sub-brand areas, such as children's range Young Dimension and household goods section Home, give the store a 'departmental feeling', although there are only seven finishes and a limited colour palette of the sort normally associated with higher-status brands.'
Spot and fluorescent-lighting combinations, and accents of other materials, such as baroque wallpaper and heavier timbering, are more sophisticated than you would expect,' says Dalziel. 'But it's also important that people don't think it's out of their price range, so the space is clear and unfussy.'
By using design, Primark on Oxford Street is thus 'trading up' the budget sector, with its low-cost and abundant products being set in an environment which suggests a higher price tag. 'It's almost like the price has been misprinted: a 拢40 dress for 拢4,' says Dalziel.