OfficeMax

But when the office supply company turned that question on itself, it discovered part of its thing was an industry-standard warehouse environment that didn't inspire customers to linger and shop among its more than 8000 SKUs.

“There's so much confusion in the office superstore marketplace as to who is who because everyone looks and sounds the same,” says Jim Dismukes, OfficeMax's vp, visual merchandising. “We wanted to break out of that mold and build a store that had a true retail look and feel.”

So it hired behavioral market research and consulting company Envirosell (New York) to conduct customer surveys and then turned to FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati) to build a store where people would want to spend time. “If you give people a place that is soulless,” says FRCH creative director Andrew McQuilkin, “of course they're going to get in and out quickly.”

OfficeMax's two leading competitors, Office Depot and Staples, had tried the same, turning to bolder color schemes and new layouts to make a statement. In October, OfficeMax unveiled its new prototype in Macedonia, Ohio, the company's first major redesign since 1998.

Using data from Envirosell and its own in-house research, Dismukes says OfficeMax built a store design and layout “from the customers' viewpoint.” First, to encourage shoppers to linger, it introduced a new OfficeMax Café, located next to the print and documentation services area. Here, customers can wait for orders, download documents using free WiFi and enjoy a complimentary cup of coffee.

The designers' to-do list also included adding a little color to the space. According to Envirosell's Paco Underhill, many shoppers associated OfficeMax with the color white. FRCH's McQuilkin translated that to mean, “you don't own a look.”

So, to establish a brand identity, the new prototype infuses OfficeMax's signature yellow and black with shades of orange, green and blue and dark wood tones. In addition to softening the environment, the residential palette helps draw shoppers to the back of the store, an area that was being overlooked.

Dismukes says the second biggest change was a new lighting concept that includes accents, spotlights and wallwashers. In fact, Dismukes sounds like he's describing a vendor shop at Bloomingdale's rather than an aisle inside OfficeMax. “We've controlled the customer's eye by creating peaks and valleys and hot spots,” he says, “so that as you walk through the store, you have these emotional moments where you see something really exciting and then there's a pause so you can prepare for the next big thing.”

But we're talking about pencils, binders and copier paper, right? “Office supply products aren't dazzling,” says Dismukes, “so it was important to romance the product and create a human connection.”

To add another touchpoint for shoppers, designers created a signage system that combines artistic product photography with inspirational words and action-oriented phrases on hanging LamLite banners. The words “accessorize, manage, streamline” mark the desktop supply area, while a bulk product supply wall displays the word “express.”

A new ring road floorplan allows OfficeMax to double the amount of aisle fronts. In addition, gondola runs were shortened from 30 feet to 18-20 feet. “It's a lot more approachable and comfortable to shop and easier to find what you're looking for,” says Cynthia Westover, FRCH's project designer.

Finally, the company reorganized its SKUs, creating worlds of related products for better cross-selling opportunities. At the store's center is the electronics hub.

“We didn't have the right relationships of products with the old format,” says Dismukes. “So we've made great strides to create these worlds so that it makes sense why a customer is shopping an area of the store.”

OfficeMax opened 13 new-concept stores last year and plans to roll out new and retrofit locations throughout 2006, possibly giving them a new tagline: If you brew it, they will come.

Client: OfficeMax, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Ryan Vero, executive vp, chief merchandising officer
Jim Dismukes, vp, visual merchandising
Tom Russell, senior director, marketing
Jim Witt, director, construction
Ted Clemens, vp, store planning

Design and Architecture: FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati
Jim Lazzari, principal-in-charge
Andrew McQuilkin, creative director
Niki Adrian, vp, graphic design
Janet Wernke, project manager
Mike Daly, project planner
Brad Kalcheck, architectural document production
Carol Osterbrock, resource designer
Barb Beeghly, planner
Santiago Crespo, senior graphic designer
Cynthia Westover, project designer
Greg Smith, graphic production

General Contractor: Hanlin Rainaldi Construction, Columbus, Ohio

Outside Design Consultants: McHenry and Associates, Cleveland (MEP)
Lighting Management, New York (lighting)

Fixtures: Madix Store Fixtures, Terrell, Texas

Millwork: Benchmark Fixture Corp., Richmond, Calif.

Flooring: Armstrong World Industries Tile, Spring, Texas
Dal-Tile, Cincinnati
Milliken Carpet, LaGrange, Ga.

Lighting: Rexel, Cleveland

Furniture: W.E. Gingell Associates Inc., Livonia, Mich.

Paint: Sherwin Williams, Cleveland

Plastic Laminates: Wilsonart Intl., Columbus, Ohio

Metal, Glass and Finishes: Samaritan Display Group Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.

Video, Electronics and Special Effects: Adflow, Burlington, Ont.

Signage/Graphics: Retail Navigation LLC, Cleveland

Interior Graphics: iDL Merchandising Solutions, Pittsburgh

Hub Ring and Panels: EPS Specialties Ltd. Inc., Cincinnati

Photography: J. Miles Wolf, Cincinnati