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IS THE NEW USA PRO STORE FIT ENOUGH FOR THE HIGH STREET?
A new flagship store should be symbolic of the best a retailer can offer; showcasing its brand, its best products and most importantly its customer experience. Today’s customers want shopping solutions and new ideas provided for them, but in my opinion, the store offers a proficient but somewhat predictable shopping experience.
From the outside, the store looks just like any ordinary sports store. Fascia signage could be improved with a stronger use of colour and illumination to attract passers-by. However, the windows are dressed to a high standard; displaying a combination of mannequins in co-ordinated clothing and sports equipment, and plasma TV screens show a recent company fashion show. It’s a good example of a well-established display style with high visual impact and an authoritative message about the brand and products sold.
The store interior was somewhat disappointing as I felt it had a distinct 1980's look and feel – wood-effect floors, white walls, silver powder-coated metal fixture systems and floor gondolas etc. I assume the store was carried out by a ‘shop fitter’ instead of a design company or visual merchandising (VM) consultant, with ‘off the shelf’ components simply tweaked. It reminded me of the ‘Lady Olympus’ concept - the pale lilac women-friendly section of the now defunct Olympus sports store chain.
Merchandising, like the windows was credible and competent – in neat product-led, colour co-ordinated sections, using a good range of basic techniques – outfitting, anatomical dressing, linear scales and informal balance for example. What made the store innovative and more exciting, was the interactive ‘silent salesperson’ - or to put it in correct speak; a barcode reader inset into the wall panels that scans garment tickets.
When a customer scans a product, the screen within the section identifies it and provides a screen of both video and text information - the same system supermarkets use in-store so you can price check the items in your shopping basket. The video shows a model wearing the product, walking and moving as if on a catwalk. The text provides product information about the style, fabrication, fit and size availability. This impressively links up to the stock inventory and POS system, showing the ‘real time’ stock availability in-store.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t working on the day that I visited, due to software issues. This highlights the fact that services provided by technology can be a great asset when working – however, technology is not so good at offering alternatives when it breaks down, which in turn will make the customer annoyed and frustrated. That said the technology element is very new, and an excellent addition to the store concept.
It is mostly being used by men - this is a strange benefit to them, considering they only account for approximately 10 per cent of customer traffic, and the store only sells women's products after all. There is more than a whiff of the novelty factor at play here. Women do use it but on a less frequent basis - preferring to speak to sales advisors, as the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable.
All in all, weighing up the cost versus the benefit of installing the system, in my opinion it would have been better to spend the money on a more innovative store design and an elevated customer service offer, to create a real cutting-edge shopping experience. Perhaps as it is a women-only store, it could have been designed to appeal more as a boutique, making a play between fashion and sport activity, rather than being just a women's sports shop.
Another good VM feature also used technology to a high standard - the MBT Shoe Area. This section of space also features the small plasma TV screens with products below. It is shown on a continuous video loop, which does a credible job at telling a strong product story. However, it is not new or original - Adidas and others have now been doing this for several years.
In my view the store will do fairly well, but the numbers won’t dazzle and the ideas will not provide a wake-up call for competitors. In a dense metropolitan location (central London) with a high concentration of the ideal target customer audience – young, fit, image conscious, lifestyle-orientated consumers on tap – it will attract and become a ‘destination’ for those that know or come across the brand.
