Jos de Vries The Retail Company Toolbox: Development of retail concepts (Part 3: Lighting)

In the last phase of the process of creating a store concept, Jos de Vries The Retail Company makes use of a toolbox. This practical toolbox includes instruments required to deliver a complete and discerning shop interior. The toolbox prevents decisions regarding the image of the store from being made at random. These must always be rooted in the framework of the concept.


The instruments in the toolbox are*


Storefront
Today we continue with describing the third part of the toolbox.

Lighting
From the total instrument package for creating a shop formula, lighting is one of the key components, as lighting has the power to create the atmosphere that suits the positioning, look and identity of the shop formula. However, shop lighting is not an exact science and the investments required are considerable. That’s why we are often inclined to choose a simple or cheap solution and that’s hardly ever the best solution…
However, choosing a suitable lighting type is not difficult and a good basis makes an enormous difference.
Welcome to the world of lighting!
Please contact
Jos de Vries The Retail Company for further information. * For more information about using the toolbox, we refer to the book ‘The store manual’, which can be ordered from this website.: www.josdevries.eu







Jumbo choosen as best supermarkt of the Netherlands

Jumbo Supermarkts can look back at a great year. The company had a turn-over of 1.473 billion euro in 2008, a growth of aprox. Seventeen percent compared with 2007. The growth was higher than expected. The growth was mainly realized in the existing stores.
The number of new stores was limited to four stores (Enschede, Lichtenvoorde, Amersfoort and Oirschot). The board of directors of Jumbo expects to open tien new stores in 2009 and looks forward with trust to the upcoming year, despite the threat of the financial crisis. “We see the current economical situation as an opportunity for our formula with the focus on the lowest price”, comments Jumbo-director Frits van Eerd. “In combination with the big assortment, quality and service this formula currently is stronger than ever. It doesn´t mather what other formulas will do, we remain with our lowest price warantee. This is how we guarantee that the consumer always buys the cheapest at Jumbo (Translation from origal source: RetailNews)


The last year Jos de Vries The Retail Company developed the newly opened Jumbo stores and is currently working hard with Jumbo to succesfully open various new stores throughout 2009.

Next to the growth in turn-over Jumbo has been elected as the best supermarkt chain of The Netherlands (12th time already), this is for the 6th year in a row (Source: Foodmagazine).

Below we present some of the information of our projects with Jumbo. Please contact our head-office in Maarssen if you have further questions or enquiries.



















Jos de Vries The Retail Company Toolbox: Development of retail concepts (Part 2: Store design)

In the last phase of the process of creating a store concept, Jos de Vries The Retail Company makes use of a toolbox. This practical toolbox includes instruments required to deliver a complete and discerning shop interior. The toolbox prevents decisions regarding the image of the store from being made at random. These must always be rooted in the framework of the concept.
Today we continue with describing the second part of the toolbox.
Store design
Colour, shape, material and space perception combined with the lighting concept form the basis for the consumer’s emotional experience in the store. Architectonic principles combined with commercial content bring the store alive. Proper visualisation in the design process using sketches, mood boards and computer impressions provides insight into the store’s future appearance.
Please contact Jos de Vries The Retail Company for further information. * For more information about using the toolbox, we refer to the book ‘The store manual’, which can be ordered from this website.: www.josdevries.eu




Jos de Vries The Retail Company Toolbox: Development of retail concepts (Part 1: Lay-out)


In the last phase of the process of creating a store concept, Jos de Vries The Retail Company makes use of a toolbox. This practical toolbox includes instruments required to deliver a complete and discerning shop interior. The toolbox prevents decisions regarding the image of the store from being made at random. These must always be rooted in the framework of the concept.

The instruments in the toolbox are*


Today we start describing the toolbox, we start with the lay-out of retail concepts.
Lay-out
A proper lay-out is the right translation of the store brand tailored to the location. A lay-out tells the consumer which retailer he/she is dealing with. This gives more possibilities than just placing racks and check out points.

The range and logistics form the basis of each shop floor plan. Therefore it is necessary to understand the structure of the range, the focus groups within the product range, the bulk and fast-movers within the range. By means of routing, focal points and sight lines, the lay-out of the store is formed around the range. For instance, the ‘must’ groups are often found in dead corners and the key range is exactly in a sight line.
A lay-out must be transparent in order to allow the costumer easy insight into the store set-up. But a lay-out must also be dynamic, flexible and surprising.

















Please contact Jos de Vries The Retail Company for further information.

* For more information about using the toolbox, we refer to the book ‘The store manual’, which can be ordered from this website.: www.josdevries.eu

Mercator supermarkets Slovenia: Clear positioning on the luxury segment.

In August the 1600m2 large supermarket Maxi in the Slovenian city Ljubljana reopened. The concept focuses on luxery and convenience, cleary supported by the store-design.
Regularly visitors of this Maxi are members of the parliament, tourists but also students. The variety in visitors is offered a clear luxury and fresh assortment with a lot of personal sales, this all offered in a pleasant environment due to the visual merchandising. The store concept is developed by Jos de Vries The Retail Company. The environment is stimulated by the furniture, shelving and communicatin. Various “convenience”-islands are introduced in the supermarkt.

Please take a look at the Jos de Vries The Retail Company-website for further information.

Development Markant Store Concept by Jos de Vries The Retail Company


The Markant in Offenburg has developed a new store lay-out and communication concept together with Jos de Vries The Retail Company and the franchisees of Markant.

The aim was to develop an innovative and modern concept, focusing on the emotional and personal contact between the company and the client, being able to adapt to the local customer demands. New focus points were the company-identity-elements and company colours, having created a totally new dimension of welfare-atmosphere. The Markant magazine mentions in the next edition the newly initiated market concept in detail of the Offenburg store.

For further information you can take a look at the
Jos de Vries The Retail Company website.
Elegant and high quality store design: the new beverage department of Markant

Some of the projects of Jos de Vries The Retail Company

Please contact m.vanderkooij@josdevries.eu for further information on these or other projects.

Jos de Vries The Retail Company: "Let me tell you a store"

Christiaan Rikkers, General Director Jos De Vries The Retail Company.
I was recently interviewed* by a leading German retail magazine. As part of a series of interviews with famous retails and retail experts, they wanted our take on things. The theme was the striking revolution taking place in German retail. For the first time in decades, German retailers seem not to be working based on price alone, but acknowledging assortment and service as having added value.

These types of interviews are also valuable because they force you to take stock and look at what it’s really all about right now. To differentiate between short-lasting hypes and actual market trends and developments. Making the distinction is not always easy. In 2008, with the entire European economy growing and Eastern European nations developing at a breakneck speed, everyone seems to be looking for new opportunities. Innovation is the watchword. But is every innovation equally useful?

Now that funding is available for development, the question of what direction we want to move in must be considered carefully. Even in the best of times, money can only be spent once. Renewal does not always mean innovation, after all. By placing too great an emphasis on technological development, the most important communicative elements of the retail concept are often forgotten. And these are what consumers really care about. Is it time to take a step back from the cold, often useless technology, and put people back in the spotlight?

As an organisation, what is your position in these developments, what are your values and how do you express them in your day-to-day operations? What is your story? Today’s consumer wants the answers, but also wants to belong. ‘Who are you, where do you stand, and is what you’re doing acceptable’, asks the modern consumer. So Nike has to tell us where the shoes are made. And Ikea needs to explain where the wood in their furniture comes from. The key message of the interview is this: creating your own story is important. And activities like innovation, renewal and development are only useful and deliver returns if they serve this story. They need to fit into the whole. And the store… as always, this the place to tell your story to the consumer.

Our company also has a story. And a vision. That’s where this new book comes in. Our sixth publication since the company was established in 1986. This time, it’s a book filled with stories from enthusiastic people who pour their creativity into new developments in the retail sector, day in, day out. In addition to our own employees, trend setters, trend watchers and leading retailers tell their stories. We hope that reading their stories will inspire you to work on your own success story.
More information in our book "Let me tell you a store"
Please check the Jos de Vries The Retail Company website for further information and contact data.

Capabro moving towards fresh products - Jos de Vries The Retail Company-case


We would like to present one of our succesfull projects realized 2 years ago for the Caprabo-chain in Barcelona.

In its new store model, located in the Shopping Centre L’Illa de Barcelona, Capabro is carrying out a pilot programme firmly committed to the inclusion of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The chain is committed to transforming the shopping experience into a quick, convenient and functional one for the client by strengthening its offer of fresh produce. In order to do this, and in contrast to standard retail practice, the fruit and vegetable shelves are the first ones to greet visitors to the store directly after the checkout area. Another new feature is the height of the shelves themselves, which are lower than usual and more accessible. Illumination plays an essential role in all of this adding quality to the atmosphere of the whole area.

The design was created by the Dutch company Jos de Vries The Retail Company, specialist in retail areas. The store has been divided into three areas: fresh produce on entering the store, packed products, wine cellar and perfumery at the back and household accessories on the right.The company completely remodelled 5,000 square metres of floor space in only three weeks (4,000 in the sales area) at a cost of 2.5 million Euros.

The project was inspired by the British group Tesco and the company is thinking of extending it gradually to the rest of its stores. During this period the company will invest 105 million Euros in opening 73 new stores.In the first six months of this year Capabro has opened nine new establishments spread throughout Madrid, Catalonia, Navarra, Barcelona and the Valencia Region. These have a sales area of between 700 and 2,400 square metres.
Please check our website for further information.

3000 time Jos de Vries The Retail Company!


Today we have seen the 3000st visit on the Jos de Vries The Retail Company. The high number of e-mail responses and the high rate of returning visitors show that we are on the good way. The number of 3000 is special there we started on the 13rd of november with this online version, many changes already took place. We will change much more, we will try to make it more interactive and our experts will write more interesting articles for you based on the latest retail trends.

As you probably know this weblog is not only available in the English language, but also in Dutch, Spanish and Russian. Soon we will present you also the German version. Ofcourse we will inform you on any changes.

We want to thank you for interest and invite you to share your opinion on maurice@josdevries.eu or via the comment fields below every article.

Once upon a time, there was this hypermarket…

Bob Damen, creative director with Jos de Vries The Retail Company

The history of the hypermarket dates back much further than most people would think. The first hypermarkets were started some thousands of years ago: at the Soukh in Arab countries people were selling food and non-food products. Many of these markets were covered passages that were open from morning to night. Later on, tradesmen began to sell kitchen implements in addition to dates and this gradually led to the beginning of the one-brand store. The tradesmen were capitalising on the fact that their customers didn’t have the time to stop at all the different shops: one-stop shopping was a great solution for customers who travelled from far and wide. Present-day hypermarkets may look a little different, but in essence not much has changed as for the philosophy: selling a large variety of products under one roof. Nevertheless, the hypermarket is developing in different ways depending on the country.

Western European countries
Only after the death of general Franco (1975) the first Hypermarkets were established in Spain. By that time, the French had already gained substantial experience with assortment and location and they flooded the Iberian peninsula with their Carrefours and Auchans. In the meantime, Italy was learning that it was much better to be using inner cities for attracting tourists. Therefore, the Italians built their hypermarkets in the periphery. The Germans taught us that that where rational people live you need to build rational stores: just look at the success of supermarket chains such as Aldi and Lidl. This is why the German family business Globus is the success that it is. The company acknowledges the need of its fellow countrymen to not spend too much money on groceries.

The state of affairs in Eastern Europe
After the wall came down Eastern Europe has become a force to be reckoned with. In the former Soviet Union and especially in Russia one is investing at a speed that makes it difficult for ideas to be fleshed out. One is aiming at the present social classes: on the one hand there are Azbuvkusa with a high positioning, for a relatively large group of affluent consumers, while on the other Moscow houses a stripped version of Auchans for the common folk.
In Slovenia and Croatia one is doing everything possible to please the customer by means of broad product ranges in beautifully designed cosmetics and wine departments. In these countries, shopping is a way to express one’s social status and this is reflected on the shop floor. These and other rapidly rising countries (China!) must also start to focus on the large upcoming middle classes. Because at the end of the day, this is the main group of consumers that have a strong need for service, a good assortment and affordable products.

Organic products in the United States
People in the United States have never shunned luxury and the expression of affluence; however, here we see a development towards organic and socially sound products. Organic products are hot: customer satisfaction studies performed in 2006 showed that anything to do with organic products is highly appreciated. And this was the case even before Al Gore’s launched his film ‘An inconvenient truth’’.

Fluctuations per department
Still there have been fluctuations over the past twenty years that have had an impact on the success of the hypermarkets. Because a hypermarket encompasses many different retail sections, there are differences in the success rates and difficult periods across the different departments. Various departments, such as textile and multimedia have been put under pressure because specialist chains like Zara and Mediamarkt provide a more complete range at lower prices. As for textiles, most hypermarkets would be wise to stick with a basic range that is not as susceptible to trends, e.g. underwear, socks, winter and sports gear. The ASDA hypermarkets in England have been able to go with this flow quite perfectly by launching it’s own clothes brand (George). This brand now has a 30% market share where the sales of children’s clothes in England are concerned.
In terms of entertainment hypermarkets can stand out by communicating a hint of modernity. Make sure you have a strong range of music and audio carriers on offer and make a great display of your flatscreen televisions. This way, the hypermarket as a whole will come across as trendy and modern in the perception of consumers.

Extra turnover in cosmetics and organic products
We are also seeing shifts and developments in departments like cosmetics, household and organics. The cosmetics department has a lot of potential. A comprehensive body care department in an exclusive setting can generate a lot of extra turnover. As developments in the US show us, organic products have the future. One could opt to include these products in the regular assortment, but why not let them be a department in their own right? This is how you will add value to this group of products as well as to the private label.

We see many different developments per hypermarket, per country and per department. Nevertheless, all hypermarkets should observe these 10 Golden Rules:
Hypermarkets 10 Golden Rules

1. Create an experience – make the store worth a day’s visit
2. Develop three to four worlds maximum
* The Trendy world (Non-food)
* The Market place (Fresh food)
* The Discount world (Dry groceries)
* Seasonal and promotions
3. Give the store a non-food profile
4. Make staff visible in all departments: they are part of the sales process
5. Be a specialist and generalist at the same time
6. Make the store visit a journey, creating perfect navigation
7. Create a dynamic layout with promotions and seasonal departments
8. Be dominant and strong in all aspects
9. Protect the human aspect
10. Communicate with your customer, starting in the parking lot

For more information contact info@josdevries.eu or take a look at the Jos de Vries The Retail Company-website

Jos de Vries The Retail Company: "Building a bridge between commerce and professional design

In 1986 Jos de Vries decided to start a professional agency for concept development and design focused exclusively on the retail trade. Prior to that date, no such agency had existed. Creating a store layout had been a task of the shopkeepers themselves, with technical support from interior designers and shop fitters. The retail trade was too humble for the likes of the established design
community, because shops mean trade, something no respected designer would want to be associated with.

Commerce and design, two extremely different areas. One of the few exceptions to this was the start of the department store. From their very start in the 19th century, department stores formed bridges between these two areas. For instance, the well-known Paris department store Printemps engaged architects to create its interior design from the start. And the Dutch Bijenkorf was praised for its specially styled interior and its much talked-about window displays.

Chain stores need to be recognisable
Change came gradually around 1980. The retail trade was booming as a result of the creation of chain stores. Successful stores began to open multiple branch stores, first nationally, but soon also internationally. As of that time they also began to dominate the city centre scene. When chain stores were founded, the importance of a uniformly recognisable image was acknowledged: the consumer should be able to recognise immediately a particular shop in any town. This much sought-after familiarity and the accompanying distinctiveness thus constituted the first steps towards the creation of the store brand. And the people who accomplished this were specialised designers.

The power of marketing
At the same time, marketing was first introduced on a limited scale in the development of store formulas. Looking at the success of well-known product brands, shops at the forefront saw that familiarity and distinctiveness were not just determined by product range and prices. They saw that the identity of a store was at least as important. This view not only grew in non-food and
department stores: some supermarkets were also trend-setters in this respect. More than that: many of them were at the forefront of this development! It was the founder of the most noted Dutch grocery chain, Albert Heijn himself, who said: "In the end, we only sell one product and its name is Albert Heijn." This shows that he understood that the brand value of the store formula would eventually surpass that of product brands. Together with chains such as Tesco in England and Migros in Switzerland they were pioneers in this area. What foresight! Now we all know that this vision eventually caused a revolution in retailing at the end of the 1980s. Chains understood that it was less important what you sold and more important how you sold it.

Jumping on the bandwagon
This corresponded exactly with the vision of Jos de Vries, on the basis of which he had started up his agency. As a result, the agency experienced a huge growth within a short period of time.
Combining a commercial, marketing-oriented attitude with creativity and design proved highly successful. And, thanks to chain stores such as Albert Heijn and Tesco, the entire industry experienced rapid professionalisation. Jos de Vries’ agency was one of the few independent
agencies able to meet market demand. So it is not surprising that the agency expanded far beyond the borders of the Netherlands. And, moreover, was able to stretch beyond the boundaries of the food industry. As a result, the agency is today's uncontested authority in the entire spectrum of modern retailing. In addition to extensive know-how of the food-industry, an enormous amount of expertise has also been acquired in non-food, services, department stores and shopping centres. Moreover, the agency has built up unique expertise in Europe, in an industry where all of this comes together: the hypermarket. Jos de Vries' agency’s expertise goes beyond store design. A team of the agency’s own marketing specialists contributes ideas towards strategy and positioning issues. And RBM, the agency's own project management office, provides professional supervisory services from the first sketch until the opening.


A pioneer's vision
As he passed away in 2002, Jos de Vries himself has not been able to experience the latest developments in his agency, but he would have been proud. Proud that his vision has now been widely acknowledged and forms the basis of an entire, comprehensive field of expertise. Proud that the link between design and commerce he envisaged has now grown into a firm bridge. And proud
that his agency, first as pioneer and later as authority in the field, has played and will continue to play such an important role.


Jos de Vries The Retail Company: Retail Courier 13



The Retail Courier is a periodical from Jos de Vries The Retail Company. In this Periodical we inform you about the latest trends and developments in the Retail area in The Netherlands and in other Countries. Herein we also discuss the most recent Projects from Jos de Vries The Retail Company and there are a number of interesting subjects like Instore-Communication, Lighting concepts, etc.

You can download the latest Retail Courier here (PDF, 3,5 MB)
You can apply for a free copy of the Retail Courier by way of our “Contact and Information” button on the site. Have you missed one? No problem, you can always back-order a copy. The Retail Courier is printed in Dutch, English, Spanish and German.

Retailing needs change
Without doubt, the current financial crisis will change consumer behaviour and shopping patterns at unprecedented rates.Read on >

Are you ready for the next generation?
In the short term current developments in the financial world will naturally have a major impact on consumers shopping behaviour.Read on >

Supermarket of the Future
To form a picture of how things will be in the future, it is first necessary to take a good look at the past, and to ask a number of different questions.Read on >

Merry Christmas and happy new year!


Soon we will celebrate Christmas and New Year again, Jos de Vries The Retail Company would like to overview this fascinating year; the opening of our new European offices, the succesfully finishing of several interesting projects and the actual economical situation in retail.

During the year we opened new offices in Moscow and Barcelona, next to our homebase in Maarssen and the German office in Dortmund. All these offices were responsable for the succesful development of many new retail concepts in various sectors spread out over Europe, from Slovenia to Finland and from Spain to Russia.

That our projects are being appreciated can be noted by the succes of 2008 and the already good filled order book for 2009. After having completed our project it can be concluded that our clients face a significant growth in customer loyalty and turn-over. Furthermore we are proud to mention the awards obtained by some of our clients. (Jumbo Supermarket, choosen as best supermarket chain of The Netherlands) and Globus Ludwigshafen (choosen as best winery of Germany).

As mentioned the prevision for 2009 is very positive with some current interesting projects and new projects ahead, where the development of the new shopping mall in the old center of Beirut (Libanon) confirms the international development of Jos de Vries The Retail Company. The economical situation also offers many new opportunities, there are many new retailers on the market who with the help of Jos de Vries The Retail Company further develop and expand their concepts.

With the presentation of “Retailing needs change: Are you ready for the next generation?” a manual has been developed by Jos de Vries The Retail Company, giving the option to turn around the threats of the current economy into new opportunities.

We are pleased to personally clarify this presentation. For more information regarding the presentation and further infromation on communication and strategic topics in retail you can contact your contact person or take a look at our website
http://www.jdv-trc.blogspot.com.

The whole team of Jos de Vries The Retail Company International wishes you, your family and colleagues a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a PROSPEROUS 2009.

Jos de Vries The Retail Company International

Suggestion: Are you on the search for the ideal present for under the christmas tree or for your colleagues? In the book “ Let me tell you a store “Jos de Vries The Retail Company adapts the theory of the succesful book “ Store Manual “ into practise.

New generation in service stations







From Jos de Vries The Retail Company we would like to show our last results from one of our new realized projects in The Netherlands for one of the leaders in the service stations market.

Jos de Vries The Retail Company has developed and realized the concept of the future store of the latest generation in service stations. The stores focus on fresh and prepared products: wellfare / coffee / bakery / drinks. The open and innovative mentality make it one of the leading formulas in The Netherlands and Europe.

Please contact us for additional information on this project: (
m.vanderkooij@josdevries.eu)

New office Jos de Vries The Retail Company in Barcelona


The last three years have shown an increased interest in the strategic and communication experience in retail concepts of Jos de Vries the Retail Company in Spain. This experience has been appreciated by the important players on the Spanish retail market like Caprabo, Carrefour, Coca Cola and Procter & Gamble as well as regional Spanish companies like Plusfresc, Lupa, AquĆ­ and Coviran and non-foood retailers like ForumSport, Venca and Forlady. These and other companies have seen their results grow significantly after having realised strategic and communication projects with Jos de Vries the Retail Company.

The well-establisheid name of Jos de Vries the Retail Company in the Spanish market and the increasing order situation the recent periods made it nesecarry to find a bigger office in the center of Barcelona. The new office is located at the Rambla de Catalunya from where the team of professionals further advize the Iberian retail market into professionalization.

International experience Jos de Vries the Retail Company
Alexis Mavrommatis has been the responsable person obtaining the name and growth in the Spanish retail market, positioning Jos de Vries the Retail Company as the leading consultant in retail concepts. Alexis is doctored in positioning and image of international distribution companies at the University of Stirling (United Kingdom), Master in Retail Management at Stirling (United Kingdom), Licensed in business administration at the American Collage of Athens (Greece). Working over 5 years at the Carrefour-group in Greece and since 3 year responsable for the growth of Jos de Vries The Retail Company in Spain, furthermore he is active as director of the marketing department of the prestigious MBA business school EADA in Barcelona.


Think global, act local
Cristina Carvajal Coll is the architect responsable for the succesfull developments of the several projects in retail concepts. These results can be seen in the Caprabo supermarket in shopping mall L´Illa in Barcelona and the new shelves of Coca Cola and Procter & Gamble, made by Cristina are more and more integrated into the Spanish supermarkets. With her international vision she is acknowledged to adapt her experience into each regional and national project in Southern Europe.

Jos de Vries the Retail Company in Europe
The team of Jos de Vries the Retail Company exists of European specialists (languages spoken are from Dutch to Spanish and from Greek to Russian), dominating the European retail markets trough shop-analysis, a strategic plan and the development of a complete and unique shop concept design a total solution for the desired formula is provided.

The increased number of orders in Southern Europe has resulted into acquiring the new international marketing specialist Maurice van der Kooij. Dutch born van der Kooij emigrated to Spain, after succesfull finishing the Retail Management (Hogeschool Rotterdam) and Marketing (Erasmus university) working at several positions at Laurus in the Netherlands and Belgium. In Spain he has been responsable in several marketing / sales management positions in consumer products. With the incorporation of Maurice van der Kooij into the Jos de Vries the Retail Company team, the European experiences can even be better adapted to the local needs of our European customers.

Contact: m.vanderkooij@josdevries.eu

Globus Ludwigshafen, chosen as Germany’s Best beverages dealer for 2008

by Jens Bork

From this point I would like to express my warmest congratulations to Managing Director Hermann Hamann and his team, as well as Team-leader for Beverages Steffen Sold (see also awards photo), and to thank them all for a fantastic team effort. I should now like to give a short explanation of the title of my article.

Size: With its 2,200 m² of floor space, this market is at the present time the only one in Europe boasting such a size. As space was to become available next to the self-service department store, Globus Ludwigshafen, the Globus management decided to remove the beverages market from the department store and build a new one together with the adjacent tire centre and petrol station. The large petrol station with a two-lane car wash is located in front of the beverage centre. The tire centre is directly adjacent to the beverage centre.


Clear concept: due to its excellent orientation system, made possible through the use of large focus points above the product groups, the market’s classic ‘man’s world’ environment is also very popular with its female customers. The customer resonance in the initial 3 months following the market’s opening clearly reflected this. A large, clean-lined deposit return station and cooling section for tap beer complete the market’s service and increase long-term customer bonding.

Perfect realisation: As a result of years of partnership with Jos de Vries The Retail Company, the realisation of the concept was executed to a T. A large service island, promotion modules atop the beverage shelves, and a high orientation pylon in the car park give the concept transparency, orientation and a positive shopping atmosphere, leading to a very positive reception of the centre in the region.
Please take a look at our website www.josdevries.eu for further information or contact c.wester@josdevries.eu.

Food Court Maxi-Mart, MERCATOR, Slovenia

For Mercator, we designed Ljubljana’s most beautiful supermarket, with a floor space of 1,600 m². MERCATOR, Slovenia’s largest trading firm, asked Jos de Vries The Retail Company to transform the ‘aging’ supermarket concept at Ljubliana’s Maxi department store into an exclusive food shopping concept with a high percentage of delicatessen products. In creating the concept, Mercator also wanted us to take account of the historic architectural style of the department store, as well as of its orientation toward the target groups: parliamentarians, functionaries, tourists and residents of central Ljubliana.
The starting points for the project were: luxury, expert service, high quality and customer-orientation. As the store is often frequented by students, the concept also needed to contain a convenience-food department of a high standard. As the food level is a department within this department store, we deviated from certain elements of the classic supermarket layout. The entrance area needed to give customers a free-flow feeling.
As a result, linear check-out zones were largely avoided. Small circular paths for the checking out were placed in the shop-in-shop departments, Convenience Foods, Bio/Herbs, as well as Gifts. In the fresh-foods area, however, the customer does receive the impression of being in a classic supermarket. The fresh products department forms the heart of the supermarket. All the departments are supported by means of communication elements, in which graphic representations and 3-D visual merchandising alternate, mounted on the rear walls. This stimulates an intense high-quality freshness experience. The idea is to give customers the feeling that they are receiving high-quality products for their money.
With the goal of providing everything for one’s daily needs, the assortment of the rather small Dried Products Department was given a luxury orientation. In the Wine Department, the exclusive, high-quality wines and spirits are given maximum appeal through the use of walnut shelves and dimmed lighting. The market’s reopening took place in late August 2008. The Results have exceeded the market’s expectations and goals, thus demonstrating that a good strategy, together with a well-realised shopping concept yields successful results.

New Dynacoat Retail Concept Launched in Poland




Dynacoat, an AKZO-NOBEL brand, provides a range of quality automotive refinish products. Dynacoat products are available throughout Eastern and Western Europe, and the brand is expanding into Africa and the Middle East.



Originally limited to primers, clears and other ancillary products, the Dynacoat international paint brand now includes a quality basecoat and a direct gloss topcoat mixing system. The Dynacoat mixing machine system offers thousands and thousands of local and international solid, metallic and pearl car colours.

Dynacoat has commissioned Jos de Vries The Retail Company to develop a total, but easy-to-use, merchandising concept to optimise the sales system and help its dealers with a professional merchandising system. The new concept has been created around the mixing machine and strongly communicates the Dynacoat brand. The objective is to present the entire Dynacoat range in a manner that is user friendly and solution oriented.
The concept is modular and contains both presentation and communication components and units.
In its smallest form, it consists of an efficient presentation shelf and in its most comprehensive form, it consists of a complete stand-alone store concept.

Jos de Vries The Retail Company and the Dynacoat team are also jointly providing training and presentation sessions to optimise the use and success of the concept.

The new concept has been launched in Poland with a first pilot store. A second store will be opened in the Czech Republic next month. A further roll-out in central Europe is envisaged.

Jamin whetting Dutch appetites again



Jamin has been a household name in the Netherlands for 125 years. Its famous macaroons, super smooth ice-creams and assorted delicacies for Easter, Sinterklaas and Christmas have made Jamin the number-one specialist in sweets and confectionery. In 2008, Jamin had 145 franchises and eight fully-owned stores.

At the beginning of October this year, two pilot stores incorporating the new Jamin concept were opened in Zwolle and Geleen. Jos de Vries The Retail Company devised this new concept and RBM aided the construction and layout of the two brand-new stores.

Minno Venema, operations manager at Jamin Winkelbedrijven, explains the partnership:
‘With the advent of a new management at Jamin at the start of the year, it was decided to breathe a new lease of life into the company. Although Jamin enjoys widespread popularity, we were keen to know exactly how customers view the brand image and product range in 2008.
What attracts customers to Jamin?
The current store concept was put under a microscope. We came to the conclusion that the stores were missing two key elements: communication with the customer; and the focus on Jamin’s history and tradition.
We have a great deal of in-house experience with store concepts, but we were looking for a fresh look. We therefore approached a number of retail strategy and design agencies to help crystallise our ideas. Ultimately, we selected Jos de Vries The Retail Company. We identified the most with their vision. No revolutionary change in store image, but the expansion of our model store in Rijswijk into a modern-day concept.

The fact that Jos de Vries The Retail Company is under the same roof as Retail Bouw Management, was instrumental in our choice. Cooperation between all parties involved was extremely favourable. We are quickly able to translate design into implementation. Not only does it lead to savings in time, but we are well within budget.
We have high hopes for the future and we have ambitious plans. It goes without saying that the new store concept will lead to higher turnovers per store. If we attain these results, our aim is to expand to over 300 stores throughout the Netherlands.’

Further information:

http://www.rbm-retail.com/
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