Fresh Looks
Retail design experts reveal the top 10 trends for 2004
By Erinn Morgan

This dispensary, designed by Ennco Displays, has a sleek, modern look with a splash of color in the waiting area upholstery

For eyecare professionals, this is an important year for business. After most saw staying afloat in 2003 as challenging, building profits is key this year. In addition, intense competition from chain stores, discounters, and consolidation is keeping many independents on their toes.

Store design is a potential leg up in this marketplace. Some ECPs are using this internal investment in defining their image to set them apart from the competition.

"It is getting so competitive out there that you have to be unique," observes Justine Kish, an interior designer at Ennco Displays. "Dispensaries just can't look the same in today's market."

Eye Designs' regional manager, Neil Freemer, says he agrees and notes, "Dispensers are much more savvy in terms of marketing and merchandising today. They find their own niche and they are not trying to be all things to all people."

There are several important trends in today's interior design market--some specific to the optical industry and others more universal. But all can increase the professionalism, and excitement, in your dispensary. In the end, investments in design will often pay for themselves many times over.

Here, retail design gurus share thoughts about the most important design trends for 2004--and how to bring them into your dispensary.

1. INDIVIDUALITY

One of the trends strongly impacting design today is the move toward personalization. One area in which this is showing up is display cases.

"People are moving away from modular cabinets," says Kish. "They want more individuality in their spaces."

At Magic Design, designer Margaret Furman is seeing that dispensers are coordinating all their design options beyond standard colors. "They also want to shop for a lot of the elements themselves," she says.

"If they want a slate entryway, they want to go pick it out themselves," Furman observes. "They want their space to be personalized and customized and they are putting a little bit more of their own style in the dispensary. This makes it different and more unique."

Above: Eye Designs utilizes wood cabinets and neutral carpeting; Below: Accent lighting makes Ennco glass shelving dramatic

2. BUILDING GREEN

Likely, you have noticed the explosion of organic, recycled, and sustainable products on the market today. This trend is also making its way into the retail design arena.

"One of the biggest trends out there that has hit strongly is building green and using sustainable materials," says Kish. "This is especially strong on the West Coast, but it is becoming huge in the design industry as a whole."

According to Kish, sustainable can mean that a product is recycled or it is can be recycled or reused in the future. "Instead of cutting down big old trees, wood cabinets are made from trees grown on a farm that raises them for this purpose," she says. "It is a much more environmentally aware direction."

Carpet companies are one of the leaders in the sustainable resources area. Sometimes, natural choices in products like this can make your dispensary environment healthier. "The formaldehyde found in many carpets is not healthy, and if you are coughing and sneezing, it could be because of the materials you have chosen," Kish says.

With the correct materials, "Everything looks beautiful and the environment is healthier, and patients like this," says Kish.

3. WONDERFUL WOOD

Following the natural theme, wood is becoming an increasingly popular choice for cabinets and other in-store fixtures.

"People are actually going back to wood in cabinets and displays," says Ed Muehlberger, designer with Fashion Optical Displays. "They are the tight-grained woods, such as light maple, cherry, and mahogany."

Adds Magic Design's Furman, "People are requesting wood--either laminate or solid. They like the look of it." The style can be either contemporary or traditional and it runs the gamut of colors. "Initially there were a lot of people liking the blond maple," she says. "Now it's shifted more toward warmer mid-tones. There are also a few who like a dark, rich, lawyer's-look wood color."

4. ACCENT LIGHTING

It has also become popular to highlight certain areas of the dispensary--or the products displayed there--with lighting. "Accent and pendant lights are more important today," says Furman. "It used to be that you saw it only in the fancier malls. Now they are even using it in the strip malls where you will find the regular anchor stores.

"Everyone wants a little more sparkle and richness in their store layout," Furman adds. "Especially in a strip mall, you want to stand out."

	An upscale look from Fashion Optical Displays has mission styling

5. CREATIVE COLORS

Dispensers are using color to woo consumers into their locations and keep them interested during the shopping experience.

On one end of the spectrum are the natural tones of the green movement.

"The popular hues in design are reflecting that and are going toward a more natural look," says Kish. "Some of the palettes are more earth-toned. But there are also vibrant, beautiful colors like those found in flowers. People are taking in all of nature's abundance and colors. It's not just a hippy look."

Following fashion trends, some natural colors are more Caribbean. "Other colors are more bright and tropical," says Muehlberger. The hues include teals and muted melon colors. "The color trends tend to bleed over from fashion and other design industries," he says.

On the other side are the solid, powerful colors of the spectrum with appeal that often follows a demographic direction. "We notice that some of the younger dispensers want more of a stylish, boutique gallery look with cleaner lines and bold colors," says Furman.

"They like splashes of color complemented with bold lighting and interesting art," she adds.

There is also a movement in prints. "Especially in upholstery, but it is still very conservative," notes Furman. "The prints are smaller and geometric rather than large, floral, and wild."

6. AN UPSCALE LOOK

With the increased success experienced in recent years on the high end, many dispensers have shifted their frame and lens assortments to include at least a selection of premium products.

At the same time, these dispensers are looking to upgrade the look of their optical shop to a more luxury feel. "A number of eyecare professionals are trying to upsell as much as they can," says Eye Designs' Freemer. "They want to design their dispensaries to sell more high-end eyewear, so an upscale look is important to them."

He also says that eyecare professionals simply want a more professional, upscale image--even if their dispensary is moderate or lower-end. "They want to show their own identity. No one wants the me-too look any more. People need to recapture the biz they are losing to the chains, so they have to differentiate themselves from the chains."

Rich wood cabinetry and furniture-look display tables from Eye Designs

7. READY FOR TECHNOLOGY

Like every other area of business, technology is taking the design industry by storm. Make room in the optical dispensary, because it is coming this way.

Virtual try-on systems that are becoming popular require table or floor space. Computers and laptops are now a regular fixture in most optical shops. Finding the proper positioning in the dispensary for technology is key. "New furniture now accommodates a computer, and try-on systems as well," says Furman.

Unique signage that employs technology is also just around the corner. "Interactive signage that uses unusual graphics is expensive but very effective and efficient," says Steve Kaufman, editor of Visual Merchandising and Store Design Magazine (VM+SD). "As price comes down you might see more of that updatable digital signage."

Kaufman also notes that electronic shopping lists are the wave of the future. "Customers will go to a retailer's Website and put in their ID number, which will allow them to put things on their shopping list. When they get to the store, they can again enter their ID number and their shopping list pops up. All of this technology is going to benefit the shopper--and the retailer."

8. SIMPLIFY

In the midst of all the directions in design and technology, there is also a wave of simplification.

One of the main trends is really to simplify the shopping process. "This has been an objective of retailers--to make stores clearer and to better communicate with customers through things like simple store layout and graphics. The key is to make it clearer to the customer what your store represents," Kaufman says.

	A Magic Design client's cherry wood dispensary has timeless appeal

9. INCREASED BUDGETS

Investments in the design area are evident in all industries, including optical. We are now seeing even more of this trend as retailers look to differentiate themselves and remain competitive in a tough marketplace.

"Many eyecare professionals understand they have to invest more dollars if they are looking to get an increase in their overall gross," says Freemer. "They are willing to invest their dollars to take them to the next level."

10. RESPLENDENT RESTROOMS

Some retailers are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for customer retention. Have you noticed nicer water closets in retail operations across the country? Some experts say this sort of attention to detail can help keep customers coming back to your store.

"Some doctors have been doing extra decorative touches with their bathrooms," says Kish. "This is in keeping with the idea that if the patient sees you have a beautiful restroom, they will come back to visit and shop again." A long shot? Perhaps, but even pleasant restrooms improve your image--and customer service.