design:retail - April 2017 - 64

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WWD KEYNOTE: SHINOLA AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

LO BA L S HO P 2 0 1 7 K I C K E D off

March 28 with the WWD keynote session featuring speaker Jacques Panis,
president of Shinola. In the session,
titled "Shinola: The American Experience," Panis shared the lifestyle brand's story and
the key elements of their in-store experience, followed by a Q&A session with Women's Wear Daily
(WWD) Style Director Alex Badia.
Since launching in 2011, Shinola has invested
heavily in bricks and mortar, now with a total
of 19 stores across the country (as well as one in
Toronto and one in London), and another opening
shortly in Brooklyn, N.Y. Panis began the discussion by recapping the history of the brand and its
roots, and the motivation behind selecting Detroit
as the location to build its watch factory. "There's
not just history in Detroit," Panis said. "There's a
future in Detroit." The reinvigoration of this storied American brand is taking place in a storied
American city, he added. Shinola celebrates the
beauty of manufacturing and investment in the
American workforce.

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"We're a job creation vehicle," Panis said of the brand's
mission. "And we're focused
on creating an exceptional
experience that leaves the
consumer with a smile on
their face, time after time
and again."
The journey began with
an ad in March 2013 that
told the Shinola story-with
their first watch selling out
in eight days. It was then
that the founders knew they
were on to something. Today, Shinola offers several
categories of products, from
watches, jewelry and leather
goods to bicycles and even
turntables and speakers.
For their store locations,
Shinola selects unique
neighborhoods and off-thebeaten-path streets. All of their stores are a little bit
different, connecting to the individual communities
in which they are located while weaving through
their brand story in an authentic and transparent
way. Stores offer interactive moments, to bring
community into the store.
Panis discussed the five senses of the guest experience and what it means for the retail space.
For sight, key elements include: visual and team
presentation standards, positive body language
and non-verbal cues, theatrical lighting, narrative signage and artwork. All these components
work to make shoppers feel comfortable in the
space. "The narrative is important in telling the
brand story in-store and connecting with the
consumer," Panis said. Sound, touch and taste are
also essential elements of the guest experience,
in addition to smell, which is the most important
since it is the only sense directly connected to the
brain. Shinola incorporates scent into its stores, for
example, through a Shinola candle burning, the
scent of leather goods, the smell of oak fixtures and
the aroma of coffee brewing. "Smell can activate

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behaviors in-store," Panis said, explaining that
they are studying this much more in depth and are
working to bring it into the space in a peaceful way.
"We don't want to 'mist' people," he joked.
Community engagement is another cornerstone of the brand, which is focused on developing
purposeful and meaningful relationships with
organizations throughout town in the places their
stores are located. Dinners, book signings, tastings
and other events are some examples of ways that
the brand develops conversation in-store.
Panis also shared exciting developments regarding the Shinola Hotel, which will be debuting in
Detroit in fall 2018.
Following his presentation, Panis sat down with
WWD's Badia to further explore the brand story,
location selection for stores, training associates,
the importance of people, maintaining the integrity of the brand and the emphasis on narrative.
His advice to attendees included to never forget
the importance of word of mouth when it comes to
someone's engagement with the brand.
"We are living in a digital world that's wanting
to be analog," Panis emphasized at the end of his
talk. And he also offered advice to people working
for larger organizations who want to affect change.
"Be disruptive and do things that are innovative,"
he said. "Do things that are different, maybe even
things that make people uncomfortable."
- Jessie Dowd

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