Detskiy Mir Group of Companies, the largest children's retail chain in Russia, and the branding consultancy Fitch announced the first stage of a new, large-scale retail concept rollout. Four Detskiy Mir stores in Moscow have been re-designed according to the new retail concept, all located in new shopping malls developments.
Fitch's retail concept includes a brand communications system for the retail space, in-store navigation and zoning principles. The developed concept is flexible and can be applied to many different store formats.
Fitch was appointed by Detskiy Mir in March 2007 to create a brand that would become a category leader in children's retail, and a store environment that would appeal equally to children and adults. Fitch undertook the full scope of works, including; current retail concept audit, trends analysis of the international children's retail sector, and development of a new visual language and new retail concept for the chain.
The design language and colour scheme are based on the well known corporate identity of Detskiy Mir, i.e. four colorful cubes turned at a 25 degree angle towards each other. To achieve the required balance between toy and clothing sales, the customer journey was designed to satisfy both rational and emotional customer requirements. The rational area includes the following zones - shoes, girls' clothing, boys' clothing and maternity, while the emotional area includes Creative, Reading and Play zones. "Rational" vs "Emotional" are determined by the scale of a child's participation in the shopping process. Each category has been allocated a unique colour that helps to segment and find necessary products in the retail space.
The in-store navigation system includes navigation signage for both adults and children. Navigation for adults includes signage and colour solutions for key product zones, while the children's navigation system is based upon the Detskiy Mir brand hero - a dog called Djoma - who is the kids' host around the store. Djoma shows children how to use the toys and games, and is interactive and entertaining. This helps to involve children in the shopping process - which, in itself, helps the adult to make the right purchase.
Anastasiya Laska, Director for Marketing and Advertising at Detskiy Mir, comments: "Using advanced retail design technologies helps us not only to make the most of our brand potential - its history and brand awareness - but also to develop deeper relationships with our customers. Now we are offering the widest assortment of children goods on the Russian market and our aim is to make our stores multifunctional, comfortable and appealing. Detskiy Mir today is more than just a store - this is a true centre for communication between parents and children, where they can make necessary and pleasant purchase and spend great time with all the family". Elena Chuvakhina, Head of Business Development for Russia at Fitch, says: "This project is unique for children's retail in Russia, as well as for the Western market, as here we face a large target audience and assortment of goods. In order to achieve our client's goals we developed practical and easy-to-use retail principles, a customer journey for both parents and children, and a unique and memorable brand experience. We are happy that we got a chance to make our input in the development of the Detskiy Mir brand which is well-known to each Russian from childhood."