Why be in the navy when you can be a pirate?

The title of this post comes from a message delivered to the audience of Centerbuild 2012 by Richard Tait, the Chief Boomboom of Boomboom brands.  Sounds a little ridiculous, right?  The funny thing is that the Chief Boomboom’s question couldn’t have been any more appropriate for the themes that popped up throughout the event.  Mr. Tait, who is the inventor and ex-Grand Pooh Bah of Cranium Brands, challenged our audience to think outside the box, reminding us that anyone can be an innovator.  

The challenge for out of the box thinking was applied to a multitude of retailer, engineer, and contractor concerns throughout the Centerbuild event.  The top discussion issues included multi channel sales, reduction in store footprint, and advanced engineering design. Here are some high level notes I gathered on each of those topics.  I plan to investigate some of the more interesting ones in later posts.

Multi-Channel Retail

• Most retailers have an all-of-the above strategy with investments in e-commerce, social media, and bricks-and-mortar (B&M) spread differently depending on corporate priorities.   
•  Valuation of in-store vs. online traffic also varies widely between retailers.  One small format store (average store size 5,000sqf) explained that his company uses in-store team members to help customers choose outfits online, thereby driving from the store to the web.  On the other hand, some larger retailers said that they’ve begun offering in-store returns for online purchases in hopes of bringing more foot traffic into the B&M environment.
• Most retailers agree that taxation of online sales is critical to level the playing field between B&M and virtual sales formats.

Reduction in Store Footprint

• Stores are reducing square footage for 2 reasons: 
• Compression of current stores for space-use efficiency 
• Development of prototypes for expansion into city environments
• As footprints are compressed in already-built environments, new engineering concerns are introduced.  Some of these right-sizing initiatives require significant capital investment to re-size mechanical systems for the new store layout.
• City environments require redesign of engineered systems as well as merchandising strategies.  Multi-floor store planning, increased curb-appeal requirements, and a need for targeted merchandise selection go hand-in-hand with urban store planning.

Opportunities for Advanced Design

• The retail engineering sector has been under-served by efficiency innovations.  Today, there are opportunities to challenge codes and standards on the basis of advanced design. Challenging standards requires strong engineering expertise and relationships with standards bodies like AHRI, ASHRAE, and the DOE.
• Retailer communication with engineers, manufacturers, and even competitors is critical for speeding technology and standards development.  
• Retailers have an opportunity to use their large national footprints as test labs for new design prototypes and to offer manufacturers the economies of scale that will allow production of advanced technologies.