Fashion retailer Guess takes new approach to store remodels
Guess, Inc. is refreshing its store interiors in an innovative — and cost-efficient — way.
Updating a store’s floors, walls, ceilings, displays, counters, even fixtures can be a daunting task for companies with large portfolios and limited budgets. However, Guess found a way to face this challenge head on.
Last fall, the retailer explored how to best update store interiors across some locations, especially those “that were 10 years old and may not have been touched for years,” Marco Arroyo, senior director of store planning, design and construction for Guess, said during Chain Store Age’s recent webinar, “Total Transformation: How to Quickly Refresh your Stores’ Design without Remodeling or Replacing.”
“We needed a solution that would help us revitalize our footprint with the next ‘new look’ our customers expected to see in our stores,” he added. “However, we needed to do so in a cost-effective way.”
For Guess, the ideal design materials had to be durable and sustainable, and “we had to ensure that the project would have minimal impact to the operation of our stores,” Arroyo reported.
In September 2021, Guess kicked off its revitalization project, an effort that revolved around DI-NOC, an architectural finish from 3M. A durable adhesive vinyl that is not only easy to clean, DI-NOC also has aesthetics of natural materials including stone, wood grain, leather and stucco, among other surfaces and available in a variety of shades, textures, grains, patterns and designs. The adhesive enables retailers to update store interiors at a fraction of the cost and time that a store remodel or materials replacement entails.
With the help of its installation partner NGS Films and Graphics, Guess used the vinyl to transform the interior design of 100 stores across the United States and Canada within four months, according to Arroyo.
Specifically, the adhesive was applied to fixtures, walls, cash wraps, fitting room doors, fitting room benches, lightboxes and shelves. Guess opted for a combination of wood grain, anodized metal and glossy white textures across all locations.
Besides creating a new aesthetic, the redesigned stores contributed to “sales jumping a few percentage points,” Arroyo added. “This indicates the design transition is working.”
The project also supports the company’s sustainability goals. Guess plans to reduce waste between 25% and 30% during the next five to 10 years. One initiative contributing to this effort is extending the life of existing furniture.
“Applying the vinyl to aging store fixtures that are in good condition will keep them out of landfills while giving our locations a new look,” Arroyo said.
Guess, which operates 1,068 retail stores across the Americas, Europe and Asia, plans to use the vinyl to revitalize more stores throughout the fiscal year. Arroyo did not reveal the number of stores targeted for the next wave of the project.