Teen apparel retailers such as Hollister and One Thousand Steps shoot for the well-defined California beach culture of surfing, boarding and skating.
Anchor Blue has another California demographic in mind: the melting pot of cultures and minorities that exists throughout the state.
“Anchor Blue has built its brand around embracing these California lifestyles,” says Craig Wollen, creative director at Twenty Four*Seven (Portland, Ore.), which partnered with the retailer on a comprehensive store design program. “As a result, the new stores feature a contemporary mix of color and textures, bold graphics and an architectural aesthetic inspired by California’s innumerable post-war warehouses.”
Why a reference to post-war warehouses for this teen demographic? “Because,” says Wollen, “that’s the California these kids know. They don’t think of Venice Beach; they think about four blocks away from the beach. It’s that middle place, where cool things are happening.”
Anchor Blue started out in the 1980s as Miller’s Outpost. In 1981, it developed the Anchor Blue brand of clothing and denim. The brand name eventually overtook the retail name and the first Anchor Blue store opened in 1996. Now, under new ownership, all the new stores are opening under the Anchor Blue banner. The initial roll-out of 25 stores with the new concept has begun opening in the Sun Belt states of California, Florida and Texas. The retailer says it expects to reach 500 stores within the next several years, including such decidedly non-beach cultures as Arkansas, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.
Anchor Blue has a particular take on its teen demographic. Unlike, say, Hollister, which challenges confident teens to enter the Hollister world, Anchor Blue says its mission is to “make hesitant teens feel good about themselves.”
The brand message is: “Life is good.” The shopping is fun, easy, comfortable and non-judgmental.
“We wanted a place where everyone feels he or she can belong,” says Bob Higgins, Anchor Blue’s vp, real estate and development, “that’s inclusive, accessible and relaxed.”
The store itself is open and inviting, making customers want to wander. Fixtures and graphics are blended to provide information and guidance. The surfaces are reclaimed wood and other everyday materials on mundane furniture like tables and desks. The graphics have a hand-written effect. But everything conveys a message. The fixtures are placed in adjacencies to suggest outfits. They’re also made so that graphics can be casually dropped in to announce sales or define merchandise areas (such as distinguishing between men’s and women’s departments).
The expansive fitting area has been crafted as a teen’s bedroom, a group experience where shoppers share opinions and judgments. “The fitting area is a huge part of where sales happen,” says Wollen, “and this one was designed as a hangout. Teens don’t want to be in there alone. They want to share the experience, to get their friends’ reactions.”
Here, as elsewhere in Anchor Blue, the teen sensibility is the first concern.
Client: Anchor Blue Retail Group Inc., Ontario, Calif.
Design/Architecture: Twenty Four*Seven, Portland, Ore.
General Contractor: TRC Inc., Harmony, Pa.
Fixtures: Twenty Four*Seven, Portland, Ore.
Lighting: Regency Lighting, Los Angeles
Wallcoverings/Materials: Architectural Systems Inc., New York
Photography: Micah Smith, Los Angeles