New concept for city stores

Download: New concept for city stores (PDF-Datei) With nearly 200 Pet's Place stores, the IJsvogel Group is the leading pet supplies retailer in the Netherlands. The company is currently developing attractive concepts for the various types of Pet's Place outlets. A distinction is drawn between locations with a retail area of approx. 200 m² (neighbourhood stores), 500 m² (city stores) and over 1 000 m² (mega stores). The concepts are to be implemented in stages in the stores over the next few years. The pet supplies company has now unveiled its pilot store for the medium category (500 m²) in Arnhem. Its Pet's Place store there is set amid specialist stores and high-class boutiques on the first floor of the Musiscentrum mall, an upmarket shopping centre in downtown Arnhem. A big advertising panel on the outer façade of the shopping centre, which is visible from some way off, draws attention to the Pet's Place outlet. Its strategically advantageous position right beside the car park entrances and exits and the mall exit also helps to ensure a steady stream of visitors. Appealing ambience In designing and fitting out the pilot store, the IJsvogel Group's chief aim was to create a richly varied ambience of the retail area that also has an emotional appeal. "To obtain a feelgood atmosphere in the store, we invested heavily in the presentation of the merchandise," explains IJsvogel chief executive Ard Malenstein. Great importance was attached to strategic lighting, and high-grade materials were used for the product display units, for instance a wooden shelf for the presentation of dog beds and cushions. "We have deliberately fitted the store out not like a typical pet store, but more like a type of boutique. We have thus attracted many people who would not otherwise shop in a classic pet store," explains Ard Malenstein. Directly on entering the store, visitors encounter a type of shop-in-shop, where original gift ideas, exclusive canine accessories and high-quality grooming products are presented in a smart and stylish manner. The range also includes several products designed in cooperation with the non-profit-making Dutchy Puppy Foundation (editor's note: an organisation that cares for neglected and unloved dogs around the world), which is sponsored by Pet's Place. The store stocks 5 000 products. Each group of pets is colour-coded, so that customers can find their way around the store quickly: green for small mammals, yellow for birds, orange for dogs, purple…