VMSD - May 2015 - 57

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Neiman Marcus, Walnut Creek, CA

Tesla, Century City, CA

Thinking about how retailers approach the design of
their stores, what trends are you seeing that excite
you?

Tiffany & Co. (luxury), Tesla (luxury/environmentalist), Whole Foods

The popularity of e-commerce has provided a tremendous

among our larger-scale retail clients like Target, which just opened

platform for reinventing the way that guests will interact with

its first TargetExpress store in San Francisco. The store is designed

brick-and-mortar retail environments in the future. Rethinking how

to work uniquely with San Francisco's downtown population in both

to draw guests into a store and how to engage them has been an

layout and inventory.

Market (health-conscious/organic) and Dollar Tree (economically
conscious shoppers). We also see the impact of this paradigm shift

exciting challenge. Introducing technology into physical stores

of retailers' priority lists. Instead of forcing shoppers to weave

What single development do you feel has the
potential to radically change store design over the
next few years?

through intricate maze-like stores, retailers are focusing on making

Decreasing the size of operational technology or in short, changing

the experience more enjoyable for shoppers by personalizing

the way you pay, is changing stores dramatically. Instead of being

it and drawing consumers in through engagement in the tactile

confined to a line and a specific check out point, guests are free to

experience of the brand with the help of knowledgeable,

roam the store and continue to browse during checkout. On the

specialized employees. Social media and internet data has helped

same token, mobile payment methods, such as Apple Pay, are

retailers to address what is important to consumers and deliver

making it easier to spend money without feeling your pockets

what they want faster, and thus we see how online shopping can

emptying.

helps to bridge the online gap by streamlining the shopping

Photogra P hy: Mi s ha Bruk , Brukstudi os. coM, san F ra n ci s co Bay ar ea

process and puts convenience and efficiency at the forefront

help us improve the brick-and-mortar experience as well. Retailers
are listening to the millennial generation and realizing that they
have to find creative ways to put the thrill back into the physical
shopping experience to be competitive.

How has the rise of omnichannel retailing affected
the mindset and strategies of store planners?

AreA of experTise
MBH specializes in retail,
restaurant, housing, mixeduse, work-space, hospitality,
and health care design.

The seamless integration of the online and offline retail experience

MBH ArcHiTecTs
2470 Mariner Square Loop
Alameda, CA 94501

is becoming increasingly important to store design. Our goal at

(510) 865-8663

MBH is to help our retail clients create spaces that complement

info@mbharch.com

rather than compete with their online platforms- and vice versa.

www.mbharch.com

The market shift is very much a two way street. Exclusively online
retailers opening successful brick-and-mortar concept stores

West Elm, Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA

shows us that the tactile experience is still important to consumers,
while brick-and-mortar stores work to integrate the convenience
and personalization of the digital experience into storefronts.

What makes a successful partnership between
retailers and design firms?
Trust is the most important ingredient in all of our client

Which retail sector is on track for the greatest
growth potential over the next five years?

relationships. The retail marketplace is a volatile arena, and

We are seeing a great deal of growth among retailers that have

pride ourselves on the long-term relationships we have had with

targeted a specific market sector rather than going for the one-size-

brands like Target, Gap, and Williams-Sonoma, which are rooted in

fits-all philosophy of yesteryear. Specialization and personalization

foundations of mutual respect, patience, flexibility and shared vision.

are crucial as we have seen with many of our clients such as

educated risk-taking is what puts you ahead of competitors. We
http://www.mbharch.com http://www.Brukstudios.coM http://www.mbharch.com
VMSD - May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - May 2015
