RETHINKING RETAIL THROUGH DESIGN

Dan Murphy’s launched their state of the art new format store in South Melbourne in March 2021. Here, we talk to Head of Format Operations, Tyson Holbery on the journey since then.

The launch of the Dan’s 2.0 format was a result of extensive collaboration across the Endeavour Group and was established to help bring the brand’s vision of Discovery to life.

With great collaboration across Format, Marketing, Merchandise, Operations, Finance and People and Culture, the format tested new ways to invite customers to discover new products and category experiences.

Big bets were placed in categories such as Craft Beer which saw the explosion of over 500 lines, a new Fine Wine department, a Cellar Release section to introduce customers to amazing back vintage wines, and a magic moment for customers to immerse themselves in new discoveries. Electronic shelf labels were also a game changer for team efficiency and allowed customers to search products via near field communication (NFC) with a simple tap of the phone.

Designing for customers

With the successful launch of South Melbourne, another four 2.0 stores launched across the nation later in 2021. “This was the format’s first Christmas with the team and customers providing some great reflections to build upon,” Tyson said. “Differences were noted with the customer feedback and team experience in each of the stores which kicked off some great curiosity into what customers most liked about the 2.0 format, and how we could better deliver a great experience for our customers.”

A series of customer shop-alongs and store immersions were conducted, partnering with research agency Click Research. Customers were recruited across a variety of life stages and affluence groups to understand if the 2.0 format was aligned to a specific demographic more than others.

“We had an initial hypothesis that younger customers loved the format but suspected that some of our more traditional customers were taking a little longer to adjust to the new format,” Tyson explained. “What we learnt has helped to shape the evolution of the format and refine the brand strategy and crystalise the purpose of each of our formats across Large, Neighbourhood and Cellar.”

What we learnt

• What customers told us was they loved the extended range of Craft Beer and Premix, but wanted to be able to continue to buy not only chilled, but also ambient beer across multiple pack sizes.

• Customers told us that they loved the ‘warehouse’ feeling in Dan Murphy’s and the ability to buy in bulk, and wanted us to merchandise our stores to help them buy in bulk and identify great value in our stores.

• Customers loved the improvements we made in Cellar Release and Fine Wine and want to be able to readily buy a case of their favourite drop.

• One of the key learnings was that customers associate Dan’s with bulk buying and our focus on discovery had reduced the amount of stock weight in our stores, so this was addressed with our teams to strike the right balance between value and discovery.

• Ambient Beer and Premix was reviewed in the stores to increase its presence and better provide for the bulk buying occasions.

• Customers told us they loved the lower fixtures and navigation in our stores but there were a couple of new fixtures that they didn’t understand. We took this feedback to further improve sightlines through the store and simplify the equipment we used which also allowed us to bulk up and amplify value perceptions across the store. Overall, the 2.0 format has been well received by customers and the research has helped us crystallise what matters to a customer at Dan’s, both across the fleet and in our new format stores. The newer 2.0 stores have further enhanced the customer experience and have the perfect balance between discovery and value for our customers.