Retail design brings to mind elaborate shop-front displays or the latest ultra-cool shop of the future. And while it’s important to entice customers in with an inviting front-of-house design, making sure they have a positive experience while in store is often driven by back-of-house functionality… products need to be in stock, and Sales staff need to be able to quickly find items for waiting customers.
For the retailer or fitout designer, making it happen in a timely and cost effective way is key!
What makes a great back-of-house?
Think about the BOH as the shop’s nerve centre. It provides storage space for stock not on display and it’s where everything behind the scenes goes on – meetings, deliveries, stocktaking etc. Though customers can’t see it, they feel the effects of BOH design in terms of product availability, speed of service and overall customer experience.
How do you make your next retail store design easier?
1. VISUALISE YOUR IDEAS
Retailers who want to expand their store network often have an idea of how they want the new stores to be like, but translating that into something visual is the next step.
Using an experienced design service that incorporates 3D visualization will make your store design and approval process so much easier – which will follow through to the stockout team and get you trading sooner.
2. START WITH BACK-OF-HOUSE STORAGE
While your BOH is not a ‘glamour area’, getting it done quickly and efficiently will set you up to concentrate on the key front-of-house areas.
And for BOH, there are shelves, and then there are shelves. In this industry, that’s Super 123 shelving. Easily today’s premier retail shelving product, Super 123 has a range of benefits:
- It can be ‘built up’ – allowing full use of all vertical space available; modular and free-standing, it can be customised effectively by staff to cater to periods of increased demand or seasonal changes to inventory.
- Interchangeable accessories, such as garment rails, dividers, draws and so forth allow the secure and efficient storage of a wide variety of product types.
- Super 123 shelving can easily ‘go mobile’ with a unique track and base system, further condensing the storage footprint.
3. SAVE TIME & MONEY BY OUTSOURCING BACK-OF-HOUSE DESIGN TO A SPECIALIST
Reputable retail storage solution companies, such as Shelving Depot, not only provide premium shelving solutions, but also offer a free, end-to-end consultation and design service for the entire back-of-house.
This means that not only are they able to help in sourcing the best shelving solutions, they can also leverage their high level of expertise and industry experience to create a truly-complete back-of-house system.
Taking the retailer’s needs into account, the end result is a back-of-house that not only includes all the necessary elements, but is safe and efficient for staff as well.
Partnering with a storage solution company also benefits the retail designer, themselves. It drastically cuts down on the time it takes to produce a final design without compromising quality.
Further adding value for the retailer are complimentary installation and in-person training for staff in the best ways to use and configure the storage products.
IT’S A NO-BRAINER
For retail fit-out designers, leaving everything back-of-house to the industry experts is the ideal solution. They can guarantee their clients a fully-optimised, high-efficiency back-of-house solution that works while saving themselves the time and hassle of working it out for themselves. Operators can play to their strengths in creating a gorgeous storefront and showroom, made even easier with their extra elbow-room.
Shelving Depot is New Zealand’s leading retail storage specialist, with over 20 years’ experience in the field. They provide bespoke retail storage solutions utilising state-of-the-art retail shelving. They’ve worked with retail fit-out designers on many successful fit-out projects.
When you’re embarking on your next retail fit-out design, consider partnering with a storage solutions expert.
