The retail environmental design creates the foundation of the retail experience and the very identity of a retail brand. As such, we aim to create meaningful retail experiences that captivate the customer and build a distinctive and enduring brand image. How do we do this? Like any great Hollywood director, we tell stories, stories that connect with human emotion, stories that stand out, and stories that beg to be retold.
Our integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to environmental store design combines architectural design, space planning, interior design, graphic design, in-store branding, fixture design, and visual merchandising. The overarching objective of our approach is to create retail environments that increase revenue and create a superior ROI. To achieve these objectives, we follow a 4-phased process:
Phase 1: Research– We conduct detailed market research in 3 primary areas:
- Customer/Market– We analyze the market to understand the size, growth, demographics, geographic boundaries, neighborhood characteristics, target and secondary customer characteristics, etc.
- Competitive Analysis– We research and evaluate competitive retail offerings, available formats, value propositions, competitive positioning and strategy, customer characteristics, etc.
- Company Analysis– We focus on understanding our customer’s strengths and weaknesses, mission and vision, operational capabilities and strategies, current approach to branding, management objectives, etc.
Phase 2: Design– Equipped with detailed research from Phase 1, we set out to design a distinctive retail environment that tells a unique and compelling story and enables the retailer to connect with the customer. The design process incorporates a number of key elements, including:
- Branding
- Architectural/Interior design and space planning
- Signage and décor
- Custom Millwork
- POP Displays and Store Fixtures.
Each of these elements plays an important role in telling the story.
Phase 3: Production– Once the design direction is set, we move into the production phase in which we take the detailed mechanical and architectural drawings developed in the design phase and make them a reality. We leverage our 25 years of production experience and our blended overseas and domestic production capabilities to create high quality and cost-effective retail elements, including signage and décor, custom millwork, and a wide range of point of purchase displays and retail store fixtures. Production encompasses the creation of physical prototypes, production units, and quality control.
Phase 4: Implementation- During the implementation phase, we rely heavily on our deep project management experience and warehousing and logistics capabilities. We customize each program to match our customer’s rollout schedule. Our installation teams have the skills and experience necessary to install anything we design. Our goal during this phase is to achieve operational excellence through on-time, on-budget, and hassle-free installations.
Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.