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SPECIAL REPORT: Retailers are gradually going back to the drawing board in 2010, and expecting their fixture suppliers to produce quality, service, price and new ideas.
Last year was a rough one for retailers and the store fixture manufacturers who depend on them. But there seems to be the glimmer of a recovery going on in 2010.
“We’re in the midst of the most activity we’ve had in five years,” says Mitch Abbott, global retail development manager for The Rockport Co. (Canton, Mass.). “We’ll be opening between 15 and 20 doors in the U.S. by the end of the year.”
Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) is recovering from a drop in 2009 projects after a record year in 2008. “We have four more new stores on the books for 2010, plus five remodels,” says Susan Morton, director of interior design and concepts. “And in 2011, we will have three new stores and six remodels for a total of nine projects.”
Similarly, Gamestop Inc. (Grapevine, Texas), the world’s largest video game retailer, is seeing a rebound after things went a little soft in 2009. “This year, we’ll open about 250 new stores in the U.S., plus another 150 worldwide and up to 300 remodels,” says Jason Floyd, director of store development.
Sharon Lessard, vp of store design services at SuperValu Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.), says the nation’s second-largest supermarket operator will continue to remodel its store fleet. “Some locations hadn’t been touched in years,” she says, “and we need to bring them up to current design and merchandising programs.”
All that can only have a positive impact on store fixture manufacturers. The industry that has been reeling from the slumping economy is being awakened. But it’s also being asked to step up its game for what everyone hopes will be a new era of activity.
Together We Stand
Retailers say their fixture manufacturers will be called on to do more than just manufacture. They’re increasingly looking for fixture companies with problem-solving and design skills, too.
“Once we’ve explained our strategic intent, we expect a certain level of creative collaboration on what we’re trying to achieve,” says SuperValu’s Lessard. “We’re encouraging our fixture suppliers to bring ideas to the table.”
Jay Kratz, senior design manager for Luxottica Retail (Cincinnati), says his department will be doing a lot more of its own design work in-house. “So we’re relying more heavily on our fixture manufacturers to be an extra design resource,” he says. “Our concepts often begin with sketches on napkins. We want them to help turn the vague and general into the specific.”
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