By James Wells
ADELAIDE: After a six month re-design and refurbishment project, South Australian retailer, Harris Scarfe, will unveil its new store design format tonight at its store located within the West Lakes Westfield complex in Adelaide.
The new design concept, developed by Melbourne-based consultancy Retail Environment Design (RED), is intended to move the retailer from a traditional department store footprint to a big box specialty retailer.
According to RED design director, Robert Ovcaric, the design brief called for the incorporation of two specialty volume destinations within one store footprint – ‘At Home’, for homewares and ‘In Style’ for casual lifestyle apparel.
“Harris Scarfe has taken a major step towards their vision for the future of retailing. The West Lakes store sets a new standard in specialty stores,” said Ovcaric.
"It was important for the store to be modern, with a fresh ambience to provide an enjoyable shopping experience,” he said.
According to Ovcaric, the store features a contrast in floor finishes including a neutral porcelain floor tile at the entrance and contrasting timber vinyl floor planks to create a notion of aisles to move the customer through the store.
The retailer has also decided on a subtle brand shift by using a more contemporary green from the traditional Harris Scarfe colour and changes to the fixtures to allow better supplier branding.
“The new colour has been used to modernise and enhance the brand and to create a dramatic impact in-store,” said Ovcaric.
“The colour has been applied to the shop front as a vertical blade which adds impact to the entrance. Inside the store, boldly coloured ceiling canopies provide drama while at the same time presenting a showcase for brands.”
“Neutral tones and an understated flexible fixture suite allow for product density and variations in supplier offers."