Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

Local grocer employs “food and fun” design to attract new customers

By Anne DiNardo, Editor

Ten-year old County Market wasn’t necessarily “broken.” But the local grocery store in Danville, Ill. wasn’t living up to its potential.

So the owner set out to infuse the store with a “food and fun” environment that would improve existing customers’ dwell time and shopping frequency, while also attracting a broader consumer base.

“The old design didn’t include that local connection,” says Jim Jaeger, business development, KDM POP Solutions Group (Cincinnati), which provided all the space planning, creative and design work on the project.

To create more of a gathering place for customers, designers moved the in-store café from the store center to the entrance and added widescreen TVs and Wi-Fi along with a coffee counter and hot food and salad bars. “It opens up an opportunity to create a new routine for shoppers,” says Jaeger.

A redesigned shop-in-shop area for wine and spirits was directed to the backside of the store, with a new and improved product selection. A decorative trellis brings down the ceiling height, adding warmth to the space.

Several departments were also upgraded. The bakery area’s fixture gondolas were replaced with open-sell wood shelving, while seafood was relocated and combined with the meat and food department (now called “Turf & Surf”), giving it prominence on the main perimeter.

An updated materials palette was used throughout the space to appeal to the community’s growing younger consumer base. Wood flooring anchors the café area with its various seating arrangements, including tables, booths and counter seating. Local photography, including seasonal images, is changed out on a regular basis.

Bright, warm colors, including yellows, oranges, greens and tans, decorate the walls along with fun, light-hearted quotes and sayings, created using vinyl die-cut lettering. Jaeger says that phrases were chosen to apply to each department, such as a quote about eating dessert first in the bakery department. Dimensional lettering and signage was kept clean and simple, so not to clutter the space.

“Their reputation as a value leader was not lost,” says Jaeger.

Retailer
County Market, Danville, Ill.

Design
KDM POP Solutions Group, a division of KDM Retail, Cincinnati
Jim Jaeger, business development
Greg Rogers, design consultant
Steve Royer, creative director