Sportsgirl, Perth, Australia

IN-STORE PURCHASES ACCOUNT for about 70 percent of total retail sales, according to the National Retail Federation (Washington, D.C.). As retailers deal with labor shortages and the virtual world assuming a greater role, what’s a visual merchandiser to do?

A retailer like Sportsgirl (Melbourne) will choose a course of centralized control. Its newest design features a fixture package with a merchandise presentation to mimic its website and coordinate styles. The thinking works both in store and online to assist its target millennial shopper.
Recently, Sportsgirl (founded in 1948) opened “three prototypes (and) some retrofits, for internal evaluation,” says Mark Landini, Creative Director, Landini Associates, the Sydney-based brand and design consultants asked to reinvent its physical format.

Sportsgirl’s 3000-square-foot store in Perth, Australia’s Karrinyup Shopping Centre is now a completely open storefront with full-height, double-glazed glass, allowing shoppers to see past mannequins as they are drawn into the bright interior. Here, customers see stripes of green, red, yellow and blue – taken directly from the Sportsgirl logo – and applied to the fixturing system.

The new design, Landini says, “further articulates the brand offer with clarity while maintaining stocking density and delivering operational efficiency.” Notably, the prototype allows visual merchandising to be centrally controlled and planned by its head office.

At nearly 7 feet high, the series of wardrobes act as a frame around ensembled merchandise and reflect how Sportsgirl’s website presents outfits. The wardrobes draw customers deeper into the store, where they will discover the retailer’s recent additions of accessories, cosmetics and gifting departments.

The new design is also adaptable. “[Sportsgirl’s] store portfolio varies considerably, from smaller standalone high street stores to shopping center formats of multiple sizes,” says Landini. “As such, our solution is both modular and flexible.”

PHOTO GALLERY (8 IMAGES)
📷 TREVOR MEIN, MELBOURNE, VIC, AUSTRALIA