When Hush Puppies licenses its name to international retailers, the footwear brand sets the parameters for a consistent store merchandising design.

But, as is often the case with franchising, the local retailers have dissected, tweaked and used the program in their own way. “They weren’t getting a consistent brand representation,” says Beth Dorsey, vp, retail, for Big Red Rooster (Columbus, Ohio), the firm that reshaped the prototype. “The company wanted to develop a simple program that would translate well in multiple countries so this range of retailers would adopt it 100 percent.”

The result was a contemporary, clean design featuring an easy-to-execute fixture and graphics program. Colors and materials are derived from the company’s iconic dog image, which also appears as a graphic in the store. The pooch’s reddish-toned, velvety soft ears inspired bright red accents and a suede fabric behind the cashwrap. Wall and fixture colors of brown, gray and white appear in the dog’s coat.

“We kept everything neutral with these amazing pops of red,” Dorsey says. “The look has caught on with retailers. Now they don’t want to change it.”

Client: Hush Puppies Co., Rockford, Mich.

Design: Big Red Rooster, Columbus, Ohio

Architect: Wright Oxley Architects, Leicester, U.K.

Fixtures: Marlite/Visplay, Dover, Ohio; Singer Contract Group, Kings Island, Ohio

Flooring: Hamilton Parker, Columbus, Ohio; Greenwood Products Co., San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; Invisions, Dalton, Ga.; Interface FLOR, LaGrange, Ga.

Photos courtesy of Big Red Rooster, Columbus, Ohio