Focus on Retail, an Industrial Designer’s Niche

Günter Bauer (35) has been working for Jos de Vries The Retail Company as a Creative Director since 1 May 2006. As an industrial designer (TU Delft) he specialises in the design of and advice on shop inventory and interior elements.

Bauer has proven with several projects that it is possible to offer a creative alternative to standard solutions. “An industrial designer approaches retail differently.” His starting point is a better alignment between the widely divergent worlds of production, logistics, architecture, retail formula and end user.

Manufacturers and A-Brand Producers
Jos de Vries The Retail Company gives advice to and designs for manufacturers of shop interiors, A-brands and retail organisations. Günter Bauer: “A sketch helps the manufacturers of shop interiors visualise the customers’ wishes.
Thanks to the understanding of an industrial designer it becomes possible to deviate from the beaten path. This makes it possible to achieve more customisation within existing production facilities.” A three-dimensional design and an independent view on retail offer A-brand producers the opportunity to better and more uniquely display their brand in the shops. This is a lot more commercially attractive than standard displays.

Affiliation with Shop Experience
Retailers are often confronted with existing shop-fitting elements. In order to best integrate these in the formula, it is possible to consider design refinements together with the manufacturer. For each project, a concept is developed that aligns desires and possibilities.
In the end this leads to a checkout design, a shelf presentation, a promotion concept or an automation solution that supports the formula and the brand and stimulates the sale.
Günter Bauer: “By adopting the customer’s wish you can, for example, organise the checkout in a more intelligent way, improve its ergonomics and create more of an impulse. You will need to find the best balance through technology, layout, looks and sales. If you manage to do this, you can generate additional turnover at the checkout and develop your identity.” Another example is the integration of new shop automation, such as electronic shelf labels and self-scanning.

“In this case it is very important for the shopping experience that the technology fi ts in with the formula. By involving the manufacturer in the development and by evaluating the possibilities of the existing hardware together with the retailers, you will speed up customer acceptance.”

‘Focus on Retail’ Workshop
Jos de Vries The Retail Company is organizing a ‘Focus on Retail’ workshop. This workshop will introduce manufacturers and retailers to the advantages of conceptual design and advice on shop inventory and interior elements. The interactive session will deal with such topics as: checkout design, RFID applications, self-scanning and new opportunities for impulse sales.
For more information about this workshop and/or registrations:
Jos de Vries the Retail Company
maurice@josdevries.eu