Jay Highland, Director, Brand Communications at Chute Gerdeman, says pet retailers should think of their stores as a journey with purposefully placed merchandise areas that create interest and excitement. “The front of the store could have a grooming area or salon, a training area or a place to conduct classes on adoption,” he says, “to emphasize the retailer’s commitment to knowledge. Placing fashion items, such as collars, beds, clothing, toys and accessories, near the front door with a boutique presentation emphasizes fashion and tells new merchandise stories to returning customers.”

Attention-getting store design and visual merchandising can give you a major advantage over your competition. You may not have deep pockets (who does these days?), but creativity, initiative, and a sense of humor don’t carry a price tag. To help you get started, the experts at Chute Gerdeman offer the following “do’s” and “dont's” to help you take a critical look at your center and prepare for a successful future.

Digital printing played an important role in the Bob Evans POP prototypes because of speed, flexibility, and lower cost for smaller quantities, shares Steve Johnson, senior designer, graphic production, Chute Gerdeman.

Proving that extending menu items into retail doesn’t have to involve a grocery or convenience store, Bob Evans is taking the concept of retail into its own stores.

Columbus, Ohio-based family-dining chain Bob Evans launched a retail and carryout division in December for its restaurants called Taste of the Farm. The mini-stores, designed by Chute Gerdeman, use antique-white, old-fashioned display cabinetry and lettering that evokes a down home, fresh-from-the-farm feeling.

Marrying drive-through convenience with a fresh-food emphasis was the goal behind Swiss Farms’ new prototype. A drive-through convenience store really elevates the notion of “convenience.” How desirable not to have to get out of your car on that rainy midnight run for a carton of milk or loaf of bread.

The new concept, developed by Chute Gerdeman Retail, includes bakery offerings, a cold case with grab-and-go items, self-serve coffee, pantry items and food suitable for gifts. The takeout area, which has a separate entrance, was set up in a 600-square-foot space that used to be the restaurant's lobby and waiting area.

Flippers Pizzeria, known for its handcrafted pizzas fired in authentic brick ovens, is taking its 23-year-old concept to the national franchise market.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Chute Gerdeman’s Bess Anderson, director of visual strategy, and Joanna Felder, director of creative strategy, offered GlobalShop attendees a comprehensive novel of visual merchandising information and inspiration.