By / DEREK MACKENZIE, Managing Director , designphase dba

designphase dba, the interior designers for Robinsons Orchard, believes very strongly in the power which design can bring to bettering business for their clients. “So the application of three dimensionally creative services can never be arbitrary or superficial in the way it is deployed, says Mr. Derek MacKenzie, Managing Director of designphase dba. He adds, “more ‘considered’ approach is demanded to achieve the highest and best value for the retailer’s investment and the more assured the retailer can be that this investment will pay off through increased sales, higher customer returns and retention of loyal patronage.”

Robinsons understands this completely. The new owner of the 156 year old Robinsons brand, Al-Futtaim, know how respected the brand is to its customers, but also how under appreciated it has been to the growing and diversifying retail shoppers of Orchard Road and elsewhere.

Relocation for Robinsons was a commercial imperative. Moving uptown, squarely to the heart of one of the world’s most famous shopping streets and adding 43% of space to their previous footprint were clear signals of Al-Futtaim’s intentions for a renaissance of the Robinsons’ brand.

As the interior designer for this bold move, the responsibility for caretaking this venerated retail establishment was both weighty and wonderful. Making the most of this ‘once a generation’ opportunity for Robinsons, was a ‘top-ofthe- mind’ consideration for client and designer equally.

It was clear from the beginning, that the Orchard Road location deserved flagship treatment. It was equally clear however, that the strength of loyalty embodied within the Robinsons’ customer base, could not be neglected.

In studying the potential customer profiles, three categories were quickly identified:

1. Existing, regular Robinsons’ shoppers
2. The younger generation of existing Robinsons’ shoppers
3. New customers (Singaporeans and visitors) who may never have thought of Robinsons as a place for them to shop

Our objective in appealing to this tripartite audience was to create a very large store (nearly 200,000 sq.ft.) that has wide demographic appeal and yet feels like a boutique. Although the outcome is young, fresh and exhilarating, it is not so foreign as to alienate the Robinsons family of customers.

One of the early decisions toward achieving this target was to think of Robinsons in a new way; as more of a lifestyle store and not just as a place for quality merchandise and fashion. This led to the infusion of restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and kiosks into the planning mix. There are 10 outlets peppered into the six floors of retail merchandise, so there’s no need to leave the store to take a break.

These outlets are a key-point in that they are a place to meet friends, family and colleagues. This is tremendously convenient if friends come to the store from elsewhere or families want to shop in different departments and catch-up for a coffee, a bite or chat about what they just bought or are about to buy.

Robinson’s legendary service gave rise to considering how ‘service’ might also influence some aspects of the design. This line of thinking gave rise to several innovative inclusions:

• Personal shopping salons with privacy akin to a boutique and styled like a Parisian apartment with its own view onto Orchard Road
• Widely distributed, smaller, cash desks in preference to larger, fewer, more centralized stations
• Private beauty treatments and spas – not just those associated with brands
• Tea/coffee service to customers contemplating ‘considered purchases’
• Product and service display centralization, so customers can shop by category rather than by brand. Very large and well-appointed changing rooms with excellent lighting, mirrors with wings and proper, generous hanging pegs, rails, shelves and seating.

This abundance of novel content is not frivolous or extravagant. It pays respect to the customer on many different levels, and especially to those who have become jaded with the same old, same old, department store formulas and treatments. And when you consider the whole as an ‘offer’ to customers, beyond the norm and special by comparison to others, it makes complete sense to describe Robinsons as the biggest lifestyle store in Singapore.

Robinsons themselves believed that it was high time for an evolution in shopper habits and that ‘The Future of Retail’ could not be attained with old world thinking. “People are travelling abroad to get different experiences, we want to provide our very own extraordinary shopping experience!” says Mr. Franz Kraatz, Managing Director, Robinsons.

The thought process behind Robinsons design is to delight customers, visually and emotionally. The more comfortable they feel, the longer they will stay. The longer they stay, the more they will be inclined to purchase. Investment in the design and the quality of service has real meaning when the store is popular. This truism was deployed by designphase dba when we were offered the opportunity to design Borders Books, Music & Café, also on Orchard Road. This became one of the most famous retail establishments in the region and was successful from its first day to its last, breaking many records for customer visitation and sales.

From a design perspective, the reasons for these successes can be explained by just a few things:

• Designer and retailer alignment of objectives and strategies;
• Development of an underlying creative story that holds the scheme together and is a reference point for all design decisions;
• The time and discipline needed to know and ultimately respect the target audience, so that customers, products, design, display and service are completely in sync.

The customer will find Robinsons Orchard is not just a collection of new merchandise nicely displayed. Robinsons’ retail team has approached this project very differently. Their mission from the outset was to ‘curate, re-mix, collect, blend and sample’, rather than to simply purchase or order the latest product ranges.

As designers, with that message from our Client, we directed our creativity toward the customer’s experience and asked ourselves:

• What would touch me, as a shopper.
• What would mean something to me?
• What would be important to my choices of where to go, how to spend my time, be interested enough to stay, meet my friends and yes, to shop!
• Would it be different across genders and what are the expectations of the increasingly diverse culture of Singapore?

We firmly believe that department stores will universally develop in a different direction to what we have seen become ‘standard’ over the past 50 or 60 years. A key driver through this process will be to celebrate the enjoyment of the shopping experience. So what is that? Where does it come from?

We started looking for examples, but not just in retail. We looked at galleries, exhibitions and public attractions. We also included streets, avenues, by-ways and squares of cities, towns and villages. And our study would not have been complete without benchmarking the most contemporary and sexy retail experiences worldwide.

By revisiting the ‘arche-type’ of department stores, (mid late 1800’s), we refreshed our appreciation of their original success and re-invented it for our contemporary audience.

Robinsons Orchard occupies the entire 6 levels that were once a shopping center. Although each level is very different in merchandise and design, the concept is managed as a single narrative, so you will never get the feeling that random ideas have been cut and pasted out of context.

What customers will feel is that the store is more personal. This was borne from customers’ expressed frustration of department store formulas that feel generic and so repetitive.

The whole team has been very sensitive and respectful of the imperative to keep it ‘accessible’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘attractive’ to the local population – while pushing for an international quality experience.

One of the key issues here was the decision to re-plan and replace the existing vertical circulation. The movement up and down over six stories needed to feel easy and natural. Keeping the existing skylight atrium, repositioning and enlarging the escalators and keeping void spaces around these, really opens up sightlines.

In their own way, the individual customer and each of these groups will find their own favorite corner of the store. “You’ll never get bored with this store” says Joris Angevaare, the Design Director of designphase dba.

It is always very gratifying to have a happy client, but even more so when you hear that early feedback from shoppers has been overwhelmingly positive… a breath of fresh air on the retail scene.

Doubly impressive have been the crowds swirling through all levels and the number of shopping bags leaving the store!