Vibes

There’s more to being a successful seaside retailer than just the merchandise you carry. How it is presented determines whether a customer will want to come into your store and whether or not that merchandise gets noticed. During the January 2023 Coastal Connections Conference, attendees heard from experienced seaside retailers and design and merchandising experts on ways they could maximize store space, attract customers and increase sales.

Michael Hale, owner, founder and creative director, Retail REHAB, Los Angeles, kicked off the panel discussion titled “Maximum Impact Store Ideas.” He called upon his 30 years of experience in making retail spaces more functional and productive. His company designed the striking new Inis store in Huntington Beach, California, that opened in March 2022.

The Inis showroom immerses guests in the scents and sensations of the sea, with 1,200 square feet of space and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of palm trees and the Pacific Ocean. Decor like the blue floors, white walls, soft cloud and sky felt ceiling detail and signature sea graphics reinforce the Inis brand energy. Hale shared the details behind the design along with other beach, coastal and nautical design inspiration.

Hale started off by saying that a seaside store should have a casual, playful feel. “all five senses should be engaged — sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.”

For design ideas, Hale suggested looking at home-decorating magazines and restaurants and not just other retail shops. “Accentuate the colors of your merchan- dise,” he advised. “Google ‘beach paint colors,’” he said. “Materials like wall coverings, graphics, fabrics and paint go a long way toward creating a sense of place. You can put a big graphic over a slatwall.”

The speaker told the attendees to ask themselves the following questions:

• Is my store fun to explore?

• It is accessible with clear paths?

• Is it well-stocked?

• Is it clean?

• Do I have what my customers are looking and asking for?

• Can I see my customers as they navigate?

Hale said to also ask what your top-selling SKUs are and if they are in the right locations.

He talked about space planning, which he said is a strategy that helps retailers validate space on the sales floor by category (or item) based on historic sales analysis.

“If, for instance, jewelry accounts for 20% of your sales, allocate 20% of your floor space to jewelry,” Hale said.

He also suggested taking into consideration adjacencies for cross-merchandising, theft issues and architectural elements like location of a fitting room or point-of-sale area.

Your customers might come to your area just once a year, Hale said. “Don’t forget that you are an extension of someone’s experience of the area, of their vacation.”

Hale will return to the next Coastal Connections Conference, Oct. 22-24. Read more in the sidebar on page 66.

Giving Customers A Reason To Shop At Loggerhead Marinelife Center

Kate Fratalia, vice president of retail at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida, shared how how the center holds special events throughout the year such as “going-away parties for sea turtles when they’re returned to the ocean. At the end of the party people end up in the gift shop.”

Located at the largest sea turtle nesting grounds in the world, the center cares for sick and injured sea turtles. Under her leadership the center has expented from one retail store to five retail operations.