Jos de Vries The Retail Company: June 2009

Green retailing: the green revolution that changes the retail landscape

Jos de Vries The Retail Company and Retail Bouw Management are focusing on the the development “ The Green Shopping Experience “, green retailing and environmental thinking ánd acting in retail. We have to think of the paradox between of earning money on the one side and on the side to “educate” the consumer of consuming less, that the customer adapts will be adapted and that environmental friendly and social responsable products are being purchased.

Last week Alexis Mavrommatis, senior consultant at Jos de Vries The Retail Company Spain gave an inspring presentation on green retailing for the prestigious EADA Mba business school in Barcelona. This school will launch a new speciality of retail management, where one of the central themes will be “green retailing”.
In the presentation he mentioned that especially in these difficult crisis it is difficult to think and act environmental friendly. Important aspects for green retailing for retailers are adapting to the different senses of the consumers: the mental, emotional, intellectual, fysical and motivation aspect.

It is necessary to be different, authentic and to increase the multisector perception, break routines and communicate with the customers. The green revolution is not just a trend, but an increasingly important phenomen in the world of retail, it will change our lives, the way we consume and the way we buy.

In the United Kingdom and Germany we can see the retailers develop their own green plans, like for example Marks&Spencer with their Plan A. But also Tesco and Sainsbury focus on the green aspect in the retail landscape.

Below we give some of the example of green retailing in the United Kingdom.

Investment in logistics and recycling: Tesco invests 150.000 euro per store in recycling.

Sainsbury´s invests in logistics: the trucks use fuel which is generated from the recycled garbage of the stores.

Environmental friendly shopping bag of Tesco, which includes the recycling of 15 cans of Coca Cola.

Clients are being rewarded with the loyalty system when they do green purchases.

www.actgreeninretail.blogspot.com

Carrefour removes all plastic bags from Spanish stores

Carrefour is taking the admirable green step of removing all plastic bags from its Spanish outlets in its bid to have a positive impact on the environment. Carrefour is the first supermarket chain to take this step.

The chain hopes to make its stores in Spain plastic bag-free by the end of this year. The aim is to replace them with "long-life" bags which can be re-used, and are thus better for the environment.
The cost of the bags has not been made public.

Top-10 most visited pages Jos de Vries The Retail Company

We would like to share the top-10 of the most visited pages of our Jos de Vries The Retail Company blog. Below you can find the overview based on the more than 31.000 visitors of the "blog".

We thank you all for visiting our website and hope to welcome you again soon.

Please contact us for further questions on our company or our projects.
maurice@josdevries.eu www.josdevries.eu

Official Russian Award for Dutch Retail Design office; Jos de Vries The Retail Company wins Rus Prix Award

Friday the 5th of Juni, Christiaan Rikkers, Managing Director of Jos de Vries The Retail Company received in Noordwijk (The Netherlands) the prestigious Rus Prix Award from the Russian Ambassador, Z.E.K.G. Gevorgian. Jos de Vries The Retail Company received this award for the special support of the good relationship between Russia and The Netherlands.
On the Russian Indepence Day the Rus Prix Award is handed out yearly to the persons and institutions that achieved highest results in development of business and cultural relationts between the Netherlands and the Russian Federation.

The awards this year were among others for The Royal Dutch Shell Group, the Dutch minister of Economic Affairs Mrs. Van der Hoeven and Mr. Wientjes, Chairman of VNO-NCW. Jos de Vries The Retail Company is awarded for the best results achieved by a Dutch company of middle/small business on the Russian market.

During the festive Rus Prix Award celebration in the Palace Hotel in Noordwijk, Rikkers shared his appreciation for the cooperation with Russia and the Russian people. Furthermore he agreed the award is a big compliment for the team: “This award is a coronation for all the labour our team realized for our Russian contacts. It confirms that our special retail know-how untill the highest level is being appreciated. For Jos de Vries The Retail Company it is is a big stimulation to continue with even more energy on this challenging market.”

Jos de Vries The Retail Company based in Maarssen is active on the Russian market since 2006 developing retail concepts, shopping centers and airport retail. The teams of specialized designers and retail-marketingspecialists guarantee a direct link between creativity and commerce. A combination which proves to be a success formula for our customers in The Netherlands and Russia, but also in many other European countries, India and the Middle-East.

Technical developments and their role in helping create the store brand's distinctive profile.

- Developing the store formula: The right combination of creativity and process based development

- The Discovery Phase: Discovery: Evolution or revolution? That is the question

- Translate trends into a successful strategy for the new store formula

- The new store formula: The concept phase, the actual design phase

- The store lay-ou t

- Store design and the 10 golden rules of store design

Technical Innovation
Stagnation means decline.
Technical developments and their role in helping create the store brand's distinctive profile.
Of all the tools in the toolbox used to create a store formula, (technological) innovation is the
one least benefited from. This is mainly caused by ignorance – what is innovation and what can I achieve with it? – and the resultant fear of innovation.

What does innovation mean? Briefly, innovation means keeping up to date (or keeping ahead of) technical developments in the field of retailing. Innovation can be introduced front stage or behind the scenes. Behind the scenes, the latest technical developments – with regard to logistics, to take one instance – can save a great deal of time and money.
In the past few years, some innovations have won ground in the store. For instance, self-scanning devices have appeared in supermarkets, both saving employees’ time and adding a service for the consumer. This kind of innovation is also very important for the store brand. If you wish to be thought of as a trendsetter or at any rate want to be up-to-date in the market, you can ill afford to fall behind your competitors; rather, you would like to be at the forefront. Use of the latest gadgets in the shop tells the customer in a very direct way that your store is modern. Lagging behind in this respect can be fatal; consumers very quickly get used to the new possibilities offered by innovation and will want to see them in your store. At one store you can see yourself on a television screen wearing the shoe of your choice, at another the computer is used to fit the right sports shoe.

Convenience, service and professionalism are general characteristics of good technical innovations that can be used in the store. Modern consumers are no longer interested in TV screens simply showing a music channel. However if the screen displays explanations of recipes
combined with a special offer, this would be called added value and the consumer would certainly appreciate it. Supermarkets are currently working on a self-thinking trolley. When it passes special offers or special product ranges, the consumer's attention will be drawn to the product by the trolley's computer and he or she may be tempted to buy the product. This may be a lucrative way of advertising for the supplier, but it remains to be seen whether the consumer really needs it…

So, in order to fit technical innovations into the sales process in the best possible way, one will have to think carefully each time what value is added. Ten guidelines for using technical innovations in the most appropriate way are listed below:

Rule 1
Before adopting any technical innovation, ask: ‘What does it add’? What real added value do I offer my customers? What do I want to achieve with the innovation?

Rule 2
What are the management costs? Not only is the initial investment in a technical innovation important, but so also are the costs of long-term use.

Rule 3
How long will my innovation remain new? Will what is new today not be outdated tomorrow? Technological developments simply happen very fast.

Rule 4
Capitalise on your edge. Tell your customers about the developments at your store. This will give you the image of being an ‘innovator’.

Rule 5
Keep it simple. Consumers have no patience for learning how to use complicated systems.

Rule 6
Consider the styling. Besides technical quality as regards content, a technological development also requires the right ‘emotional’ design to support the concept.

Rule 7
Bricks and clicks. Where possible, try to link the technical developments in the shop to your website.

Rule 8
Know who your users are. Where possible, try to get your customers to identify themselves. These customer ¡groups are often trendsetters who are also up for other modern marketing communication applications.

Rule 9
Collaborate. Technical innovation is an outstanding example of an area where new possibilities and solutions can be created together with manufacturers.

Rule 10
Try to make the results measurable and evaluate them on a regular basis. Dare to make decisions when something is not working. Daring to make mistakes is also part of innovation.

This chapter is part of the book "the store manual" of Jos de Vries The Retail Company The Store Manual (2005) Jos de Vries The Retail Company has been working his way through the marvels of the Retail world since twenty years. Since the Retail branch on its way to professionalism is developing and also scholarly interest was growing, there still wasn’t a manual.Jos de Vries The Retail Company has made a definite change in bringing out “The Store Manual” a must for every store. You can order this manual for € 35,00 (excl. Postage and Package)

M.vanderkooij@josdevries.eu
www.josdevries.eu

Store design and the 10 golden rules of store design

- Developing the store formula: The right combination of creativity and process based development

- The Discovery Phase: Discovery: Evolution or revolution? That is the question

- Translate trends into a successful strategy for the new store formula

- The new store formula: The concept phase, the actual design phase

- The store lay-out

Store Design
When the store formula is being developed, the careful determination of the store layout is followed by the design of the 3-dimensional image of the store: the store design. Store design is much more than simply a matter of translating the flat store layout into a visually attractive spatial design. For this component of the toolbox, too, it is essential that your design clearly translates into the strategic positioning and market approach of the store formula. Colours, shapes and materials are therefore not only selected on the basis of the taste and vision of the designer or client, but rather on the basis of the image you wish the consumer to have of your store. The designer has to operate within this context. His or her creativity, quality and talent determine the final result.

The emotional aspect is highly important in the store design. Colours, shapes and materials, combined with the right selection of furniture and lighting, evoke a certain feeling: the visitor experiences the store emotionally. And fitting this emotion into the desired store brand perception is where the real art comes in.

Besides these emotional objectives of the store identity, the effect of the store design also has some functional aspects. These aspects have less to do with how the customer perceives the store, and more with how he moves around and finds his way. The store design can provide the customer with points of reference in the store. For instance, by painting walls in different colours or creating higher or lower rooms with a view. The excitement and surprise thus created is also important. Lighting plays an important role in this respect. The final – but not the least – important factor is that the design of the store is important for product presentations and displays. You can read more about this in the section on visual merchandising.

10 golden rules for store design
Rule 1 – The store as storyteller
The store interior should match the positioning of the store formula and is selected in such a way that the communicative aspect of the message conveyed by the design is never forgotten. This means that you need to make decisions that have been well thought out. There are a number of store design types that match certain positioning types. Store formulas are often developed on the basis of a combination of one or several types. Roughly, seven different store types can be distinguished:

The no-design store
The store has not been designed, but has been developed on the basis of sheer functionality. Straight aisles, white walls. General lighting at a high level. Hardly any emotional perception of colour, materials or spatial arrangement. Familiarity often prompted by nothing more than parts of the interior in the logo colours.

The market place
A store where product presentation and visual merchandising determine the ambiance. No advanced display formulas, but simple, product-oriented presentations. A great deal of atmosphere and warmth. Use of natural materials and colours. Often Mediterranean atmospheres. Accessible. Product-focused lighting. A high level of emotional perception. The store creates the impression that it has grown organically.

The formula store
Well-considered and well-thought out store image. Good integration of all the aspects of store design, layout and in-store graphics. Good variety of various types of lighting. Can be contemporary and modern, but also classic and traditional, depending on the position opted for. Highly recognisable for the target group. Professional. Often a little less distinctive.

The white world
Modern and contemporary store. Clear and bright interior. Sharp contrasts. Colours mainly in product and presentation, in-store graphics and some wall surfaces that determine the image. Currently very popular.

The experience store
This store formula focuses entirely on theme and experience. Recognisable environments in combination with product groups. Often very much focused on the target group. This type of formula seems to be somewhat past its peak now. The design palace Not the product presented, but rather image and design are the focus of these formulas. Distant and inhibiting. Introvert. Luxury materials. Exclusive lighting, product-oriented. Often used by brand stores in the top end segment.

The Pop-up store
Temporary store, often in a remote but eccentric location, for instance on an industrial estate. Not just intended as a sales location, but much rather as a brand statement. Attraction not only by design and product range, but also by the events around the store during its short period of existence. Much talked about and contemporary. Highly focused on target group.

Rule 2 – Combine and integrate
If you are to fit the store design into the formula in the right way, all the communicative and spatial elements need to be applied in a well-balanced manner. Nothing is in isolation. A well-balanced link is created to the other parts of the toolbox: layout graphics, shop front etc.

Rule 3 – Focus on the consumer
When developing all of the aspects within the store design you always need to take into account the consumer’s behaviours and wishes. Here, too, you should distinguish between emotional aspects (how do I reach the consumer?) and functional aspects (does the consumer know how to use it?).

Points requiring attention are: the right amount of lighting, use (or, rather, absence) of bright colours or materials, the height of displays, but also such things as the adjustable shelf for shopping bags at the cash desk. These functional details are the practical aspects of store design developments.

Rule 4 – The product is boss
At the store, everything revolves around generating sales. This means that the store design as developed should never outshine the actual product or the product presentation. Attraction and transaction are the watchwords here. Being easy to reach, accessibility and clarity are the main starting points. The design should be developed in such a way that the consumer can find his way quickly, without having to ask employees.

Rule 5 – Create excitement
A store should be exciting. Visiting a store is like a trip through various exciting countries. And in the same way that a country has various landscapes, the store should also offer change and surprise. High and low walls, clear and bright rooms, panoramas and peepholes, cool and warm environments.

Rule 6 – Dare to be different
Everything is increasingly similar and trends alternate more and more rapidly. Store design is the tool in the toolbox that can really help you to be different. Dare to use it to push back frontiers, get off the beaten track. A store is often designed to be used for a long period, and what seems too modern today, can be 'ordinary' by tomorrow.

Rule 7 – Be clear
Make sure that your concept is clear. The consumer quickly gives up trying to understand a concept that is too complicated. Consumers are often in a hurry and have little time. Therefore, a communicative message should be conveyed quickly and clearly, otherwise the consumer ignores it. The development of the concept should be based on simplicity.

Rule 8 – Use the right lighting
Lighting is one of the most important aspects of store design. It provokes a strong emotion. A store where the colour of the lighting is warm has an ambiance completely different from that found in the same store using cold lighting colours. Use of direct or indirect lighting also has a visible impact on the store. (See also the information about lighting in the frame on page [number].)

You’ll make it with lighting
In brief, the following types of lighting can be used:
> daylight
> general lighting
> focused lighting
> department lighting
> special lighting
Daylight, of course, creates a natural impression, but the disadvantage is that the light intensity varies with the time of day and cannot be influenced. Many shopping centres and hypermarkets use daylight, but combine it with artificial light.

First, general lighting
The same amount of lighting throughout the store can be achieved by means of symmetrical strip lights or spotlights (high). In this type of environment the light levels are often intense and there is not much stimulation.

Adding directional lighting
When you use directional lighting for products, this influences the atmosphere and creates an emotional environment. Supermarkets often use an asymmetrical strip light for products. Other store types often use spotlights, whether or not combined with general lighting. When products are focused on, the amount of general lighting should be considerably less so that the spotlights
can have the intended effect. The consumer perception sought for can be achieved with the creative use of warm and cold light colours and wide and narrow beams of light.

Creating emotion using department lighting
To complete the ‘shopping experience’ different lighting can be used for each department. This creates ‘environments’ with a different ambiance, each with its own atmosphere. Customers will be pleasantly surprised by this. An additional advantage is that for each product the right source of light, light colour and possibly a filter can be used to display the product in the best possible way. For instance, you can use lights for the vegetable department that enhance the red colour of tomatoes.

Special lighting
Special lighting can be individually designed to form part of the store formula's brand identity. Special lighting also includes lighting for visual merchandising, shop windows, showcases. Frame lighting continued
Exterior lighting etc. A lighting object can be a work of art inside (or outside) the store and will be directly associated with the store concept.

Rule 9 Collaborate
Collaboration with suppliers is very important when developing store design and layout concept. Suppliers often have the latest in racks, display materials etc. But never forget that your own identity comes first!

Rule 10 Draw up investment guidelines.
A fantastic design is great, but it is also an investment that should yield a return. This is the basis of retail design. It means that the budget should be known when the design phase starts. By drawing up guidelines beforehand and integrating them into the design process you will avoid having to make adjustments in the course of the process.

Award for the best results achieved by a Dutch company of middle/small business on the Russian Market

The aim of RUS Prix Award

The main aim of RUS Prix Award is the encouragement of Dutch companies, public organizations and figures of culture and art, that achieved highest results in development of business and cultural relations with the Russian Federation. Establishment of RUS Prix shows the improvement of investment climate in Russia. It helps to attract the attention of Dutch state and business to the positive development of economical and cultural cooperation between our countries, and will demonstrate mutual interest in such cooperation, and improve the image of Russia around the world.During last years the economic relations between Russia and The Netherlands are characterized by favorable, stable development.

Today The Netherlands are one of the most important commercial and investment partners of Russia. A significant increase in mutual trade is noted in recent years. In 2005 its volume exceeded 17 billion dollars. According to the index of mutual trade The Netherlands are one of the most important straight investors into the Russia' economy. Dutch investors actively leave for the Russian market, manifesting characteristic of them innovating and readiness for the specific risk.

"The Netherlands and Russia demonstrate an example of business collaboration to remaining Europe and world." - From the letter of President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. E.M. Primakov to laureates of RUS Prix Award.RUS Prix Award is conducted under the patronage of Embassy of Russian Federation in The Netherlands.

RUS Prix Award’ promoters

Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Trade Representation of RF in The Netherlands

INTRINA & Public Diplomacy CorpsUnion of Journalists of Russia

Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion (NCH) [since 2006]

Format of ceremony RUS Prix Award

Annual ceremony of awarding RUS Prix, timed to Independence Day of Russia.The ceremony is taking place in The Netherlands.The quantity of persons invited to attend official part - 300 - 500 persons.Program of ceremony RUS Prix Award consists of Official part, Cultural part and Reception.JuryJury staff consists of the representatives of state structures, cultural organizations and creative unions.RUS Prix nominationsDutch companies achieved the best results on Russian marketThe best Russian-Dutch project in cultural field Award for mass media

Jos de Vries The Retail Company
- Award for the Best results achieved by a Dutch company of middle/small business on the Russian market. This award will be handed out on the 5th of June. More information and pictures will follow after the Rus Prix Awards.