Checking Out: Lee Carpenter

It was 1978. What were you trying to accomplish with Design Forum?
I just wanted to change the world of retailing. That’s all.

What changes were needed?
Shopping should be a fun, social and enjoyable experience, and in too many cases, it wasn’t. Many of the experiences where you make purchases or business transactions – the grocery, an automotive dealership, the bank – were hard to shop, time-consuming and not customer-friendly. We saw the opportunity to shift the mindset from “the way it’s always been done” and “what works best operationally” to an in-store environment that can be appealing and fun, but still functional and profitable.

Change seems to be the one constant in retailing.
Think about all the retailers and formats that existed when I started and don’t exist today: Western Auto, Best Products, Kids-R-Us, Just for Feet, Ekerd Drug, Circuit City, Borders Books. Now think about all of today’s leading-edge retailers that didn’t exist 15 years ago: Amazon, eBay, Gilt, Bonobos, Warby Parker, Birchbox.

Is there a common theme there?
That retail is an exciting, demanding, exhausting, rewarding and ever-changing whirlwind of an industry with an insatiable appetite for change. There will always be a place for companies who have a new idea. I’ve preached that my clients must be anxious and able to adapt to the constantly changing consumer.

How have you done?
We offer clients both the “art” and “science” of retail. We were the first retail design firm to add a complete architectural and engineering component to our list of services. We were also the first to totally integrate insights and analytics into our service offering.

Have retailers absorbed the “brand” message?
Gradually. Retailers are still learning to think of themselves as retail brands and of their stores as the three-dimensional personification of that brand. In this age of omni-channel, it’s becoming more critical, because a brand creates desire, drives choice and inspires loyalty. Today, customers expect a seamless experience each place they interact with the brand – the store, the app, the package on their doorstep.

What’s left to do?
The integration of technology still needs to be improved. Digital advancements have the potential to make a huge impact on the shopping experience. Retailers think they have digital figured out, but they’re just scratching the surface in enhancing the brick-and-mortar store and extending their brand to new places, allowing customers the ability to shop anywhere, anytime, any way. 

Success Story
“Holiday Inn had lost relevance with modern consumers, who were opting for new low-cost hotel stays over the brand that had once been the innovator in the category. In 2007, after a global research study to determine which hotel experiences mattered most to consumers, we developed a brand hallmark program, improving the experience where it would be the most meaningful to guests. Our design was rolled out to 1250 locations and the company reported substantial increases in booking and revenue. This work is visible everywhere you go today, and we continued to develop brand guidelines through 2012. It’s an example of how we helped change the architectural landscape across America.”