Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

Vendor shop-in-shops help retailers stand out from the competition while quenching consumers’ thirst for product knowledge.

By Anne DiNardo

When The Kroger Co. opened a Fresh Fare concept supermarket in Cincinnati last year, it didn’t bring just any meat counter into the store. It added a branded Boar’s Head meat counter, located at the store entrance near produce and baked goods and housed within a black-and-white wall tiled shop. In place of a standard cheese counter, there’s a branded Murray’s Cheese shop that looks like it’s been transplanted from the chain’s main store at Bleecker and Leroy in New York.

Traditionally, grocery chains have focused on offering in-store banks, portrait studios and food service-related shops, such as Starbucks in a Kroger store or Krispy Kreme at Walmart. So why is Kroger now experimenting with these branded concept shops (also called vendor shops or shop-in-shops)?

“Highlighting a brand reinforces the level of commitment promised to the customer experience,” says Ken Pray, Kroger’s director, store design. “Assuming there is already recognition, trust and appeal in that brand, it can make the entire store a destination that draws customers.”

While this may be newer territory for grocery retailers, such as Kroger, other sectors have a history of incorporating branded environments within their stores. The idea is regaining popularity across sectors these days to establish authenticity. “Vendor shops have become more relevant in this world of needing to connect with consumers,” says Randall Stone, senior partner, Lippincott (New York), which worked on Samsung’s vendor shop for a Dixons Travel at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Department stores – the original homes of the shop-in-shop – are again seeking more assimilation with vendors, says M.J. Munsell, principal, Callison (Seattle). “Retailers are realizing the power of their brands,” she says, “but they still want a point of differentiation.” So you’ll see a smaller mix of hard shops around the perimeter of a department store for those brands that still deserve that build-out, she says, while more soft shops will be concentrated in the middle, where the retailer provides the shell space, flooring and lighting and the brand provides the fixturing and signage.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

For Kroger’s first foray into branded meat and cheese counters, Pray says the company is evaluating the results to determine if the vendor concepts will be applied at other locations. “The primary reason for including branded shops within a supermarket is to leverage the reputation of that brand,” he says.