CHAPTER 25
Store Planning and Design
ACTUAL BUILDING

Built from the ground up (block plan)

Rehabilitation

Floor plan/floor layout
FLOOR PLANS

Need to be drawn to scale

Review proportion and scale

Consistant
More common 1/8” scale for bigger areas
 For every 1/8” on the actual floor plan (piece of
paper) that = 1 foot in the actual store


Remember 1 foot = 12 inches
MATERIALS NEEDED

Old school: pencil, eraser, graph paper, rulers

Today: software 2D and 3D

Pg. 314
Allocating Space
• Types of space needed:
1.Back room
2.Office and other functional spaces
3.Aisles, services areas, and other nonselling areas
of the main sales floor
4.Wall merchandise space
5.Floor merchandise space
STORE LAYOUTS(FLOOR PLAN)

Grid layout:
linear
 fixtures positioned in a checkerboard pattern
 easy
 efficient
 creates sight lines
 can be boring

Focal Point
Int. Window
Mannequin
Display
Sightline
e
Sightline
Entrance
Focal Point
Sightline
Cashwrap
Focal Point
GRID LAYOUT
STORE LAYOUTS(FLOOR PLAN)

Free-flow:
interesting formations
 encourages browsing & movement from 1 dept. to
another
 need enough room between fixtures
 Easily cluttered

Free Flow
The Disney Store
Free-flow
Eddie Bauer
STORE LAYOUTS(FLOOR PLAN)

Racetrack:
traffic aisle loops around store’s perimeter
 often in discount & department stores
 Encourages customer to circle/walk around the
entire store

RACETRACK LAYOUT
STORE LAYOUTS

Soft aisle: fixtures arranged into groups,5 ft.
aisles along perimeter walls. Wall merchandising
is vital.
Soft aisle
Laguna Rosa: Colombia
STORE LAYOUTS

Minimal: simplistic, merchandise is presented
like art, little use of selling fixtures, mostly used
by high-end stores. Need dramatic product,
simple use of display strategies, good sales staff.
Calving Klein watch
store
Minimal:
Richard Chai
STORE LAYOUTS
Combination floor: use of best features of standard
layouts in one overall plan to suit the store’s specific
strategies & needs.
Sigrid Olsen
SPINE LAYOUT
• Variation of grid, loop and free-form
layouts
• Based on single main aisle running from
the front to the back of the store
(transporting customers in both directions)
• On either side of spine, merchandise
departments branch off toward the back or
side walls
• Heavily used by medium-sized specialty
stores ranging from 2,000 – 10,000 square
feet
• In fashion stores the spine is often subtly
offset by a change in floor coloring or
surface and is not perceived as an aisle
REMEMBER: SHOPPING ABILITY IS
KEY

Regardless of layout chosen, customer needs to be
able to physically shop your store.

Mobility is key.

Concerns: wheelchairs, handicap, strollers, etc.
ACCESSIBILITY
Asscessibility:
American Disabilities
Act
http://www.ada.gov
Refer to ADA website
and standards manual
(posted on BB)
Forever 21
Hollister
LAYOUTS WITHIN SELLING DEPARTMENTS
Layouts can be permanent/nonpermanent
 Actual depts. seldom move: it is costly &
confusing

Specialty stores use more nonpermanent
seasonal layouts.
1. Fresh, new look, trend responsive
2. Cutting edge
3. Pre-season sales give buyers early “readings”
Due to fast fashion, less prevalent today


Use of adjacencies
PRESEASON/TEST MERCHANDISE
Based on fashion bell curve
 Testing= small orders
reorders
 Prepeak = full selling assortments
replenish
 Peak = Maintain assortments
 Post peak = markdowns
 Outgoing = clearance
