Retail maintenance is often a matter of keeping signage, fixtures and fittings, glass and other hardware items in good working order. But if a store takes on a broader role, that will change somewhat.
Berghaus could be a case in point, with the outdoor clothing and equipment firm having just opened its first standalone store in the north-west of England, in Manchester’s Arndale centre, Retail Gazette reports.
This step marks a departure from having its gear sold alongside various other brands at outdoor gear retailers. However, the company has set out not to simply be another gear shop, but a “community hub” and “gateway to the outdoors”.
Its opening week included activities like a ribbon cutting by brand ambassadors Ed Jackson and Chris Bonington, the handing out of limited-edition branded crisps, a community hike and even a day for dog owners to get their pets pictured on the ‘Pawlaroid wall of fame’.
Pentlands Brands CEO Franck Denglos called the new store a “homecoming”, as it was founded in the north of England in 1966.
How Is In-Store Experience Becoming About More Than Transactions?
However, it is evident that this approach is about making a store into something different, creating a community and a story. In effect, this seeks to do in-store what online marketing might seek to do.
This could make the task of retail maintenance about frequent changes of signage and the addition of new facilities for special events to reflect that an outlet will no longer just be a store and will require a different ambience from places that merely present shelves of stock.
It also means creating an attractive interior that provides something different to the functional and impersonal nature of the purely transactional approach that online purchasing involves.
In effect, it enables Berghaus to offer alternative propositions:
- A simple and convenient online purchase facility
- An opportunity to buy in-store and speak to staff about particular requirements
- A further opportunity to engage more deeply in-store beyond simply buying gear
The concepts of ‘community’ and brand loyalty have been pushed for some time now in online marketing. The new Berghaus store highlights the fact that these efforts can be directed back to the in-store experience.