 | |  | | Big Ideas for a Big Box Retailer: New Shopko Prototype |
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Shopko, a multi-department value retailer, needed to connect with their busy core customers, women who are driven by value, convenience, and family.
Chute Gerdeman Retail designed a new generation store, a fashion-forward concept that appeals to this shopper while maintaining discount store efficiencies. It needed to be warm and welcoming to ultimately connect with Shopko’s core customer—the female shopper. Striking a balance between practical components and aspirational elements was key.
The design team’s efforts included a complete re-think of the store experience—everything from the brand identity and exterior architecture to the interior design, floor plan, fixtures, adjacencies, and graphic communications.
The first step in the re-branding effort was a redesign of the Shopko identity to better complement their new female focused brand position.  The previous logo used a heavy font, bold, primary colors (blue and red), and an uppercase “K,” (stressing the “Ko,” leftover from a long-past trend in naming convention), all of which sent a masculine message to Shopko patrons. The new, more sophisticated, identity is easier to read and the all uppercase letters ensure less emphasis on the “Ko.” The updated version features a more feminine and fashion-forward aesthetic with an earthy palette.
Inside, the central entryway layout was designed to feel like a specialty store. It is modern and warm and features the new logo integrated within the flooring.  The softer elements of the new identity come to life in the store. Rounded visual cues are integrated with the high service touch points and wayfinding strategy.
The environment was thoughtfully designed to promote a relaxed but stylish experience and features a new “landscaped” approach to optimize storytelling opportunities. To create a layered, visually-appealing aesthetic while also ensuring merchandising density, high gondola fixtures were placed around the perimeter of the store to house stackable hard goods. Fashion-related products were positioned in the center of the store at lower levels to be within the customer’s sightline and accessible. Elements of the existing fixturing systems were enhanced through the use of residential architecture and furnishing cues and then repositioned to create focal points along the customer’s journey.
Because outfitting her family is important to her, the fashion aspect of Shopko is visible as soon as the customer walks in the door-it’s not just about fashion for her, its about fashion for her entire family.
In addition to quality name-brand merchandise at a great value, Shopko offers pharmacy and optical services. Their professional dedication to retail health sets them apart from other retailers. The prototype store features a pharmacy, health center, and an optical center. The design needed to be functional to serve its many customers and includes a private area for pharmacists to provide one-on-one consultations with patients. Stylish mirrors that lean against a curved display wall accentuate the comfortable, residential look. Furniture-like tables make patients feel like they are at home—sitting at their dining room table rather than at a clinical optician’s desk. Eyewear displays have been updated to shift the focus from health to fashion to appeal to female shoppers.
 At the entry of each of the store’s major departments, dramatic boutique focal points, styled in the Midwest sensibility, help break up the big box feel and make the store easier to shop. Each focal was positioned to help guide the customer through the store, encouraging her to shop multiple departments by showcasing Shopko’s extensive, quality merchandise.
To appeal to Shopko’s target customer, residential cues (armoire fixtures, overhead lamp shades, coffered ceiling elements, picture rails, crown molding, and crisp white woodwork) highlight the merchandise and ensure design longevity. Color plays a crucial role in creating segmentation among the departments. In addition, fifteen large-scale graphic patterns, in signature Shopko colors, were specifically designed for each category area. The patterns add an artful backdrop to the store and serve as a highly-stylized residential backdrop.
To more closely connect to the core customer, department-related lifestyle imagery was layered into the backdrop to let her know that this is the store for her. The framed lifestyle imagery is displayed on the integrated rail system around the perimeter of the store—much like she would proudly display family photos at home.
The Shopko store design and identity have been rejuvenated from head to toe, capturing all of the elements that are important to the core customer. While the 80,000 square foot prototype location in Green Bay still offers the Shopko products and service she expects, the store is now a more comfortable place to shop for her family. It’s her life, her style, her store.
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