Yankee Candle doesn't mind leading customers by their noses. But one sense alone wouldn't be enough for the retailer's new Yankee Candle Home concept, within a 90,000-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex in South Deerfield, Mass.
“The Yankee Candle Co. Scenter of New England complex is the second biggest tourist attraction in Massachusetts after the Freedom Trail,” says Hugh Hall, the company's director of store planning. “So the goal was to create a bright, warm and inviting environment, maintaining that New England feel with a contemporary overlay.”
Kuhn Riddle Architects (Amherst, Mass.) was called in to convert an existing car museum space into a retail setting. “Yankee is primarily a candle manufacturer, but it wanted to expand into other lines appropriate for the home,” says principal John Kuhn.
The space is organized into four major groupings: Garden, where items such as outdoor decoratives, statuary and hammocks reside; a Kitchen store-in-store, containing specialty foods, utensils, glassware and an area for cooking demonstrations; a Personal Care bath and fragrance area; and Home Decor, with lighting, framed art and rugs. Candles can be found throughout the store.
“Each of the three entrances to the space becomes a major portal into the home area,” says Kuhn. “The signage grabs the customer's attention so she knows she's going into a new section of the store.”
Hall developed all the fixturing concepts and asked Greenville, S.C.-based American Wood Works (a Leggett & Platt Co.) to design and manufacture approximately 100 fixtures. All fixturing includes casters, allowing for easy mobility and flexibility. According to Hall, a lack of storage room meant fixturing needed to accommodate back stock. The Personal-Care area features small cabinets with large risers, allowing for easy storage of excess product.
Hall also designed an S-shaped fixture with adjustable glass shelving to feature Yankee Candle's new line of personal care products, Yankee Candle Bath. “The fixture looks like a wooden picture frame wrapping around the glass,” he says. “Customers are drawn to this product line by the wave of color the display projects.”
The outer part of the kitchen area is treated as a weathered shingle exterior, with white trim creating a pergola around the entire length of the grouping. “You have the feeling of being outdoors looking through a window into the kitchen of a New England residence,” says Hall.
A lighter color palette throughout the store adds a more inviting hue to the atmosphere. Pale yellow, beige and green were used on the walls; in the garden area, marmoleum flooring mimics slate, while blonde maple wood paves the kitchen area. Fixturing features linen white, creams and an oiled-cherry look on maple wood.
Client: Yankee Candle Co., S. Deerfield, Mass. – Gail Flood, senior vp, retail; Hugh Hall, director, store planning; Al Witham, director, retail construction and facilities; Steve Levin, project manager; Jim Ovitt, director, flagship store operations; Robin Murphy, creative manager, retail; Bill Blake, senior designer; Traci Sackery, retail buyer; Joann Kocot, project manager, visual display
Design: Kuhn Riddle Architects, Amherst, Mass. – John Wood Kuhn, principal; Robert Shycon, project manager; Jennifer Kauls, interior designer
General Contractor: Western Builders Inc., Granby, Mass.
Suppliers: Johnson Acoustics Inc., W. Springfield, Mass. (acoustical and tin ceilings); American Wood Works (a Leggett & Platt Co.), Greenville, S.C. (custom freestanding fixtures, kitchen fixtures and trim package, bath and body fixtures); Fleetwood Industries, Reading, Pa. (standard hutches, cart units); Flair Industries Inc., Providence, R.I. (podiums, spinner racks); Yankee Candle Co. Carpentry Shop, S. Deerfield, Mass. (portable walls, display platforms, slatwall fixtures); Wilsonart Intl., Temple, Texas (laminates); Summerlin Floors, Amherst, Mass. (flooring); Berkshire Furniture, Berkshire, N.Y. (furniture); Lighting Management Inc., New City, N.Y., Gittens Electric, Greenfield, Mass. (lighting); Wood and Signs, E. Dorset, Vt. (signage); Berger Painting Inc., Holyoke, Mass. (wallcoverings, paint); Solid Surfaces Unlimited, Leominster, Mass. (kitchen Zodiaq® countertop); Salemi Appliance, Springfield, Mass. (kitchen appliances)