Since opening in 2001, Olly Shoes has undergone three full redesigns, each building upon the original goal of providing a shopping experience that’s fun for kids and easy for parents. For the store’s latest update, designers at Pomegranate LLC (Philadelphia) refreshed the brand’s signature element – an interactive toy train that measures kids’ feet sizes – while refocusing on the adult experience within the space.

Designers brightened the train’s dark, midnight-blue body with touches of green and orange and added tactile elements such as diamond plating around the doors in order to better engage children. The train is equipped with OLLYScan, a patented computerized measurement system that scans a child’s foot and keeps ongoing records of each kid’s growth.

“Kids can feel and touch and run around the train,” says Tony Perri, principal, Pomegranate. “It’s a destination within the store as well as a functional element that drives business.”

Low tables and product displays keep sightlines open so parents can keep an eye on their kids from anywhere in the room, and shoes are stored in vertical shelves along both sides of the room so sales associates never have to leave the salesfloor.

“Time is precious,” says Perri. “You make your selections, go through the process, they pull the ladder along the walls and grab the size. It’s really streamlined the process, which is very different from other shoe stores.”

Graphics tell individual brand stories on displays within the 10-foot-tall shelves. A dropped ceiling above the train leads back to the cashwrap and contains 48-inch circle lights, each equipped with multiple fluorescents.

Designers incorporated carpet in areas where kids take their shoes off to replace vinyl flooring that caused dirty feet. Painted plastic edge banding was added on the corners of shelves for safety purposes.

“The shopping experience really needs to be easy,” says Perri. “It needs to be comfortable for a child to feel like they can go around the store and touch things, but truly designed to be as pleasant an experience for the parents as possible.”

Project Suppliers

Retailer: Olly Shoes, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Design: Pomegranate, LLC, Philadelphia

Fixtures: JDR Fixtures, Pottstown, Pa.

Lighting: Con-Tech, Northbrook, Ill.; Hubbell Lighting, Greenville, S.C.; H.E. Williams, Carthage, Md.; Mercury, Fairfield, N.J.; LSI Industries, Cincinnati

Signage/Graphics: Urbanneon, Collingdale, Pa.

General Contractor: Herman/Stewart Construction, Lanham, Md.

Photgraphy: Dutch Huff Photography, Philadelphia