the 2007 music inc. - Music Inc. Magazine

STORE
DESIGN
ANNUAL
THE 2007 MUSIC INC.
tep into a progressive music product
dealership these days, and you’re liable
to notice a trend: Music stores are
starting to look less and less like music
stores. Inspired by a general movement
toward lifestyle retailing, they’re promoting not
only the gear they sell but also the music-making
culture. And nowhere is this more apparent to
consumers than in a store’s design.
Several of the following music product dealers
have taken a cue from lifestyle retailing. They’ve
designed their businesses to accent the intangibles: lesson programs, stages for live music and
the plain-old joys of playing an instrument.
Others have found inspiration in larger retailers
with a sensitivity for aesthetics, like Barnes &
Noble, Starbucks and high-end department stores.
If you’re considering a new look, check out the
following store walk-throughs. At the very least,
they’ll give you ideas on paint schemes, innovative merchandising and better ways to communicate music culture to your customers.
S
By Zach Phillips & Jenny Domine
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MUSIC INC.
STORE
DESIGN
ANNUAL
RICK’S MUSIC STORE
RAYNHAM, MASS.
by Zach Phillips
ith a 2,700-squarefoot showroom,
Rick’s Music Store
is a relatively modest dealership. But
its imaginative use of space, color,
RAYNHAM, MASS.
RICK’S MUSIC STORE
W
fixtures and overall concept serve as
a visual reminder that less can
sometimes be so much more.
Rick’s has been designed to be a
music-as-lifestyle retail center. The
company’s remaining 2,300 square
feet are devoted to space for its lesson program and other goodies. Rick
Santos, the company’s owner, hired
design guru Chris Miller to craft the
overall concept. Santos then added
his own embellishments.
1
2,700-SQUARE-FOOT
SHOWROOM
STORE DESIGN
HIGHLIGHTS:
1 THE ENTRANCE
Customers first notice the store’s openness, the cafe and what Santos called
the “wow display.” Like many of the fixtures in Rick’s Music Store, this octagonal display is easy to move and change
around, and it gets rotated depending on
the company’s latest event. Here, it promotes The Beatles’ gear because Rick’s
had been hosting the John Lennon
Educational Tour Bus. High-intensity
halogen ceiling lights make it pop, and
these lights are surrounded in stage
trussing to give them a concert-like look.
The tile flooring, carpeting and overall
color scheme were Miller’s idea.
3 ART & COLOR SCHEME
2 OFFBEAT CAFE
1 ENTRANCE
7 MOVABLE DISPLAYS
6 GUITAR WINDOW
5 LEARNING SPACE
4 VOCAL BOOTH
2 OFFBEAT CAFE
Rick’s Offbeat Cafe is 500 square feet
of space well-spent. It gives parents a
place to relax while kids take music
lessons, and after hours, it’s used for
open mics and other live music events.
A big-screen television also shows
concert DVDs. Santos mentioned all
video must be screened beforehand for
foul language. “It’s a family atmosphere,” he said. The cafe stage has
been outfitted with an electronic drum
set, keyboard and speakers for easy
music setup. Santos procured the
tables and chairs from a restaurant
supply center, and used laminate flooring instead of wood due to its low cost
and durability.
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3 ART & COLOR
SCHEME
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46 I MUSIC INC. I NOVEMBER 2007
The look of Rick’s Music Store was partly
inspired by a local restaurant chain, Not
Your Average Joe’s. There, Santos first
saw the art of Meg Roberts. When
preparing to redesign his store, he hired
Roberts to paint the cafe, giving her a
conga with Santana’s latest album artwork for inspiration. The result is a look
that’s hip yet appealing to all crowds.
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STAGE
PRACTICE
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PRACTICE
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PRACTICE
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PRACTICE
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COFFEE BAR
GUITARS
RICK’S
CAFE
STORAGE
PRACTICE
ROOM
HOME THEATER/
RECORDING ARTS CLASSROOM
RICK’S MUSIC STORE
PRACTICE
ROOM
VOCAL
BOOTH
PRACTICE
ROOM
ACCESSORIES WALL
PRACTICE
ROOM
OFFICES
ACCESSORIES
DISPLAY
DISPLAYS
RAYNHAM, MASS.
PRACTICE
ROOM
RENTAL
DISPLAYS
PRACTICE
ROOM
PRACTICE
ROOM
4 VOCAL BOOTH
The vocal booth was originally intended
as a nook where shoppers could record
a CD of themselves singing for around
$20 per half-hour. The concept became
too demanding to complete, at least for
the time being. The booth is now used
for Rick’s Music’s recording classes,
which take place in a room on the
other side of the wall. (A window inside
the booth looks into the room.) Santos
said the booth will eventually be used
for its intended purpose.
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5
5 LEARNING SPACE
Rick’s Music’s home theater demo room
doubles as a spot for its recording
classes. Outside are the company’s 10
music lesson studios, which accommodate 500 students each week. The hallway features the work of local artists,
including that of Santos’ wife, Robin,
and two regulars at Rick’s Music’s open
mic night.
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6 GUITAR WINDOW
7 MOVABLE DISPLAYS
Like the display upfront, the percussion
department has movable fixtures for
featured drum kits. This way, the section
can be changed on a whim.
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MUSIC INC. STORE DESIGN ANNUAL
Chris Miller had advised Santos to block
off the window in the guitar department,
but Santos left it. He said he wanted to
show off the guitars to folks pulling into
the parking lot. Santos chose formica
platforms after visiting other concept
stores and realizing they would help the
guitars pop. He noted that the platforms
are easy to clean.
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MUSIC INC.
STORE
DESIGN
ANNUAL
WEST MUSIC
CORALVILLE, IOWA
A
WEST MUSIC
CORALVILLE, IOWA
full-line music store’s
greatest design obstacle
is not drowning in merchandise. “It can feel
like the more stuff you
have the better you are,” said Robin
Walenta, senior vice president of
West Music. In a chain-wide
redesign, Walenta revitalized the
Coralville, Iowa, location with a lessis-more philosophy. The challenge
for Walenta was looking at the store
through a customer’s eyes.
“Sometimes I think we are too
close to the forest,” Walenta said.
“So we really took this opportunity
to go in and think like a customer.”
Clean lines, modern colors, comfortable spaces and flat screen TVs all
play a role in this new environment.
“It’s about less clutter, more
information, more open spaces,
making it feel comfortable and
clean,” Walenta said.
1 EXTERIOR
1
Primary red and blue have been West
Music’s signature color palette across
all six locations. The company updated
the palette inside the Coralville store
by finding modern retail colors like
grays and purples that come from the
red and blue families.
21,100-SQUARE-FOOT
SHOWROOM
2 SLATWALL
& LIGHTING
The warmth and simplicity of the
acoustic guitar room create a relaxed,
mellow area for players. The guitars
are accentuated by soft, red can lights,
a homey purple wall color and a String
Swing wood-slat installment.
STORE DESIGN
HIGHLIGHTS:
2 SLATWALL & LIGHTING
1 EXTERIOR
6 FLAT SCREENS
5 SIGNAGE
3 INDUSTRIAL SNARE DISPLAY
4 GRAPHIC WALLS
2
3 INDUSTRIAL
SNARE DISPLAY
Inspired by booth displays at NAMM,
Walenta gave the store’s speciality
snare display an industrial feel with
diamond-plated metal and fluorescent
tubes. Diamond plating elements are
also used in guitar amp displays.
“I work with a local fabrication
shop,” she said. “He cut those strips
out for me, and then we mounted
them on metal studs. They mounted
them to hand-made brackets and
attached fluorescent lighting behind it.
It’s very cool.”
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48 I MUSIC INC. I NOVEMBER 2007
By Jenny Domine
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LOUD DRUM
ROOM
PERCUSSION
STUDIOS
BAND
STUDIO
STUDIOS
STRINGS
CHECKOUT
ACOUSTICS
SYNTHS
PRINT
BAND
STUDIO
STUDIO
BOUTIQUE
SOUND &
LIGHTING
CHECKOUT
FEATURE
DISPLAY
FEATURE
DISPLAY
MEETING ROOM
KIDS &
MUSIC ED.
DIGITALS
ELECTRONIC
REPAIR
LOUD AMP
ROOM
ENTRY
4 GRAPHIC WALLS
4
Walenta found customizable wallpaper
online and transformed photos of customers into floor-to-ceiling murals for its
guitar amp, piano and percussion departments. The blue-tinted artwork connects
to the color palette — and the customers.
Smaller “lifestyle” banners are used in
product displays throughout the store,
and they can be moved around.
5 SIGNAGE
It’s a design element that often flies
under the radar, but tags, directional signage and labels influence the customer
experience. Walenta explained how West
Music developed FAB signs (Features,
Advantages and Benefits) as a critical
part of the redesign.
“If you’re a customer walking in for
the very first time, what do you need to
know?” Walenta asked. “You need to
know where to go and what you are
looking for. When you get there, you need
to know what it is and how it is going to
benefit you.”
ELECTRONICS
CORALVILLE, IOWA
PIANOS
WEST MUSIC
STUDIO
STORAGE
BAND
REPAIR
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6 FLAT SCREENS
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MUSIC INC. STORE DESIGN ANNUAL
West Music has eight flat screens, each in
a different area of the store. This multimedia tool promotes, advertises and helps
bring in a little income. It scrolls promotions along the bottom of the screen for
upcoming store events, plays videos about
the making of acoustic pianos and advertises West Music’s “priority partners.”
“We sell spots on our TV channels,”
Walenta said. “So a priority partner gets
their logo on the screen and those rotate
out.”
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MUSIC INC.
STORE
DESIGN
ANNUAL
FALCETTI MUSIC
ENFIELD, CONN.
by Zach Phillips
F
FALCETTI MUSIC
ENFIELD, CONN.
alcetti Music’s new
Enfield, Conn., store defies
conventional music retail
wisdom. Its most visible
violation is its location,
next door to a Best Buy. Ironically,
that’s also one of its greatest
strengths.
Previously located down the
street, Falcetti’s management
decided to move the Enfield store to
a higher-traffic area. The new
5,300-square-foot spot is readymade
to drive lesson traffic and even
includes a cafe for waiting parents.
To help with the design, Falcetti
President Tony Falcetti looked to
none other than his wife, Kacie, a
part-time designer. The company,
which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and has five other
stores, is currently remodeling its
Springfield, Mass., headquarters to
resemble Enfield.
1
5,300-SQUARE-FOOT
SHOWROOM
STORE DESIGN
HIGHLIGHTS:
1 CAFE
Upon entering, Falcetti Music’s
Enfield store has a cafe to the
immediate right. It serves as a waiting area for parents with kids in
music lessons and also as a mini
venue for live music events, which
the store hosts several times a
month. Kacie Falcetti found a deal
on the wrought iron tables at
Bombay. The floor is covered in
Tuscan ceramic tiles, accented with
the occasional Deco tile. Kacie mentioned the coffee distributor, Green
Mountain, will work with companies
of all sizes.
3 CLASSROOM
2 PIANOS
1 CAFE
7 IMPULSE BUYS
6 GLASS
5 RUSTIC SLATWALL
4 POSH LESSONS
2 PIANOS
Acoustic and digital pianos are displayed directly in front of the cafe.
The area breathes comfort and
sophistication in equal measure.
Hardwood floors, granite-topped
tables and plush chairs give a sense
of what the instruments would look
like in a luxury home. The relaxing
earth-toned walls, which also feature the paintings of artist Emanuel
Mattini, give the section character
without distracting from the pianos.
3 CLASSROOM
2
The back room has been converted
into a performance area and a
space for Falcetti’s group organ
classes. Again, notice the earthtoned walls.
4 POSH LESSONS
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50 I MUSIC INC. I NOVEMBER 2007
4
Lesson rooms boast the same clean
look as the rest of the store, but
unlike the piano area, they’re
designed to appeal to rock kids
through (framed) album covers and
concert posters.
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MI ROOM
TEACHING
ROOMS
TEACHING
ROOMS
RESTROOMS
FALCETTI MUSIC
ENTRY
PIANO AREA
ENFIELD, CONN.
CAFE SEATING
PERFORMANCE AREA
CAFE BAR
5 RUSTIC SLATWALL
The guitar department resides in an
enclosed combo room across from the
cafe. This section has been dressed up
with applewood slatwall to match the
rest of the store’s look.
6 GLASS
Drum product shares space with guitars
in the combo room. The section not only
benefits from natural light via the front
window but also glass walls to separate
it from the nearby piano department.
7 IMPULSE BUYS
Falcetti’s check-out station harkens back
to old-school retail in the best way. The
counter anchors the front of the shop like
an old general store. It was crafted to
match the applewood slatwall of the
combo room (located directly behind it).
Falcetti had it built by a local carpenter.
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MUSIC INC.
STORE
DESIGN
ANNUAL
PENDER’S MUSIC
DALLAS, TEXAS
by Zach Phillips
ender’s Music President
Richard Gore called
opening his company’s
new Dallas location “a
no-brainer.” He hired
print music industry veteran
DALLAS, TEXAS
PENDER’S MUSIC
P
Richard Rejino as the manager,
along with Carol Wilbur — both
former Brook Mays Print Music
executives. Among their first orders
of business, Rejino and Wilbur
found a local Barnes & Noble in the
process of moving and negotiated
what Rejino called “a dream deal”
to acquire its shelves and fixtures.
At 7,050 square feet, the result is
one of the country’s most-beautiful,
spacious print music dealerships.
1 AESTHETICS
7,050-SQUARE-FOOT
SHOWROOM
Large-chain retailers have upped consumers’ expectations of book stores.
The Pender’s Dallas location delivers a
vibe that’s a little bit Barnes & Noble, a
little bit Starbucks and a little bit music
boutiques. Upon entering, customers are
awed by its sheer size and high ceilings,
which are painted charcoal brown. The
back wall brings in natural, ambient
light via floor-to-ceiling windows, dampened by 9-foot walls. The color scheme,
a combination of creams and yellows
with green accent walls, was chosen to
create a relaxing environment for long
browsing sessions.
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2
STORE DESIGN
HIGHLIGHTS:
1 AESTHETICS
2 TRAFFIC PATTERN
3 FIXTURES
4 SMALL GOODS
2 TRAFFIC PATTERN
2
5 CHECK-OUT
3 FIXTURES
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52 I MUSIC INC. I NOVEMBER 2007
Pender’s layout was designed so its
two key customer bases, school music
educators and piano teachers, would
have their own sections on opposite
ends of the store. This way, both groups
have to walk past more universal product in the middle — pop/jazz/Broadway
music and accessories — before heading to their respective departments.
Other print music sections line the
back of the store.
Pender’s acquired nearly every fixture,
with the exception of its smaller rolling
bins, from the Barnes & Noble store.
This includes beautifully stained
shelves, gondolas (three shelves and
two lower tiers), a check-out counter
and display tables. The gondolas are
ideal for featuring pop/jazz/Broadway
titles, product that moves faster when
covers are given face time. They’ve
been arranged at shifting angles to
break up the middle of the showroom.
“It makes it easy to meander around
the store vs. being blocked in by
shelves,” Rejino said.
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4 SMALL GOODS
Pender’s Music’s stores (it has five total)
have traditionally done well with accessories. For the Dallas store, accessories
and gifts are placed at strategic points. The
octagon gift tables sit in front of the checkout area, and consumers can’t miss them
on the way into the store. Guitar strings are
displayed alongside the guitar music.
Impulse gift buys — music-oriented oven
mitts, ties and umbrellas — get space near
the door, and more general accessories,
like tuners, reeds and stands, get a shelf
next to the register.
5 CHECK-OUT
Pender’s check-out fixture, another
Barnes & Noble find, maintains an aura of
sophistication through the last part of the
buying process. Its generous size also
renders it useful for displaying additional
impulse items.
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MUSIC INC.
STORE
DESIGN
ANNUAL
ECKROTH MUSIC
BISMARCK, N.D.
By Jenny Domine
design consultant Glen Ingles to
divide and conquer the 5,000 square
feet of space. Each department in the
full-line store is distinct but maintains a natural flow. Elements like
line of sight, access to the various
departments and employee walking
distances were all taken into account.
3
3
1 EXTERIOR
2 ACOUSTIC SALON
3 CASE STORAGE
Eckroth Plaza features an outdoor performance
pavilion with a raised stage and a canopy system
for shade.
“Music makers don’t have enough ‘tennis
courts,’” Eckroth said. “We don’t have places to
do things. This whole building was designed to
inspire music making.”
Outside the store, six large light boxes feature
images of people making music. These light boxes
create visibility from the road in a high-traffic location
and light up at night for continued evening exposure.
Eckroth overcomes the stigma of its reputation as
a B&O store by immediately treating customers to
the Acoustic Salon. The enclosed space maintains
specific humidity levels to keep the acoustic guitars in top condition. Mellow lighting and wood
tones create an inviting practice space.
“When you walk in there, you feel like you’re
in a cocoon,” Eckroth said. “The ceiling height is
a little higher, about 11 feet, and the frameless
glass on a third of the wall doesn’t make you feel
trapped.”
Instrument cases can take up valuable floor
space. Eckroth noted his under-counter storage of
band instrument cases minimizes back-stock of
this vital B&O accessory. “In retail accessories,
you shouldn’t have any back stock,” he said. “You
should design your retail floor and purchase displays so you can maintain your inventory right
there for the customer.” By having the cases
available during a transaction, sales staff don’t
have to leave their customers to get one out of a
storeroom.
E
ECKROTH MUSIC
BISMARCK, N.D.
But even with a second floor of studios and office space, Jeff Eckroth,
president of Eckroth Music, keeps
the main showroom a strictly retailonly zone. “If you’re not careful,
your business can poison your retail
environment,” Eckroth said.
He enlisted the inspirations of
ckroth Music’s seventh
location in Bismarck, N.D.,
isn’t just another store, it’s
a plaza. Eckroth Plaza, as it
has been dubbed, includes
an outdoor performance pavilion and
shares the complex with shops like
String Bean Coffee and J.W. Pepper.
1
5,000-SQUARE-FOOT
SHOWROOM
STORE DESIGN
HIGHLIGHTS:
3 CASE STORAGE
2 ACOUSTIC SALON
1 EXTERIOR
7 LOUD LOUNGE
6 CEILING LEVELS
5 FLOORING
4 GUITAR & BASS DISPLAY
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ENTRY
4 GUITAR & BASS
DISPLAY
ACOUSTIC SALON
The surfboard-shaped guitar display defies
harsh square shapes and frees up valuable
wall space. The two free-standing elliptical displays give visual access to the guitars from a
variety of angles in the store. The track lighting
in the cornice above and the slate-gray slatwall
highlight the various shapes and colors of the
products. Both displays are also hollow and
function as storage space for guitar cases.
LOUD LOUNGE
ECKROTH MUSIC
DIGITALS
5 FLOORING
CHECKOUT
PA & SOUND
Rounded edges are found throughout Eckroth
Music. This includes the rounded fixtures,
counter tops, department perimeters and floor
pattern. Using a special concrete with a
pseudo-terrazzo effect, a two-tone pattern of
rings was created with the company’s logo in
the center.
“It is extremely easy to take care of,”
Eckroth said. “A quick, light mop and broom,
and you’re done. So from the standpoint of
durability and maintenance, it has been fantastic.” Cost-wise, the concrete was comparable to a carpet tile installation.
SHIPPING
& RECEIVING
BACKROOM
BISMARCK, N.D.
GUITARS
OFFICE
DRUMS
STAIRWELL
BAND
STRINGS
6 CEILING LEVELS
Eckroth left the ceiling exposed and suspended
various partial ceiling structures to create visual
containment for each department. The band
ceiling has a cornice that wraps in an elliptical
shape, and the ceiling is dropped 11 feet.
“The higher you can get the ceiling, the
larger the visual feel of the space,” Eckroth said.
“It also helps for air movement, and it works.”
5
7 LOUD LOUNGE
The guitar amp room features a red couch, low
lighting and spotlights on the product to create
a space for musicians to hang.
“That’s cool because it really gives [customers]
the freedom to just let ’er rip,” Eckroth said. The
glass walls offer a sense of privacy while allowing
players to stay connected to the store.
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