Creating Displays That Sell

Article by Mark Muller published in Retail Pharmacy Magazine May 2013.

"Walk along any high street shopping strip or retail mall and you’ll experience a wide variety of storefronts competing for visual exposure. Brand names, window displays, sale signs and special offers are abundant: all carefully placed in the hope they’ll catch your eye and reel you into explore their range and buy their products...."

read more

Colour Branding for Retail Success

Article by Mark Muller published in Retail Pharmacy Magazine April 2013.

"Colour is a powerful psychological tool. Humans identify with colours on an instinctive level and appropriate meaning to them in everyday life. It may be a simple communication such as red for ‘stop’ and green for ‘go’, or a complex emotional connection from the beauty in a golden orange and yellow sunset..."

read more

Product Zoning for Increased Sales

Article by Mark Muller published in Retail Pharmacy Magazine March 2013.

"Understanding the selection strategies that customers use can help you arrange products in your store to maximise sales by encouraging exploration of the range and building awareness of alternatives."

read more

Retail Design Seminar - Kuala Lumpur

Mark Muller will be presenting a two-day seminar on Strategic Store Design & Fitout in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 18th & 19 March 2013.

"Despite the challenges faced from online competitors and the global economy, traditional bricks & mortal retailing is still experiencing growth..."

For more information click here.

Clever Store Layouts Increase Sales

Article by Mark Muller published in Retail Pharmacy Magazine February 2013.

"Have you ever stopped to think about how customers move through and around your store? What attracts them to travel in a certain direction? What motivates them to turn one way or the other?...."

read more

Design to make your sales POP

Article by Mark Muller published in Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2012.

"Point of purchase retailing is commonly through of in terms of counter displays and product promotion, but shop design expert Mark Muller says your whole store should be considered as a point of purchase, and that integrating design and merchandising goals can lead to improved sales. He talks to RP about how pharmacists can grow their businesses with clever design...."

read more

NewsXpress City Flagship Opens in Raine Square WA

The NewsXpress brand of newsagents is well-known across Australia, and the recently opened store in Raine Square, Western Australia is another example of this member's commitment to the brand.

Located in the heart of Perth, the Raine Square development links the CBD to the Perth Train Station, ensuring thousands of commuters pass by its shops every day.

The design of this store was completed by Mark Retail and constructed by local shopfitter Galaxy Displays. Whilst the utmost attention was given to the high design standards required by the shopping centre, particular emphasis was placed on store layout & decor to both create a striking image from the mall and provide ease of access and browsing around the shop.

The final design uses a central display window with entries either side to capture traffic from both directions. A large impulse gift floor area is located directly at the front of the shop to entice impulse sales, whilst a lower ceiling with coffered lighting highlights the magazine & stationery departments at the rear.

This store also incorporates Hallmark cards and a Lottery West outlet.

Nextra Express Opens New Chermside Store

Congratulations go to Shannon Hickey for opening the new incarnation of his Nextra Express store at Westfield Shoppingtown, Chermside Queensland.

Having previously traded from a kiosk location in the same centre, this store has now moved into a nearby 65sqm shopfront location. The increase in floor space gives Nextra Express every opportunity of capitalising on increased sales of greeting cards, magazines and stationery products that could not be accommodated in the kiosk location. The new store also showcases the latest Golden Casket Lottery retail image to help build on the already excellent sales generated in lottery products.

Recently, the Nextra Chermside business was formally recognised for retailing excellence when it took out the ANF Newsagent of the Year award for the second year running. Shannon and his family, who currently have three stores in Westfield Chermside, have now serviced Chermside patrons for a period spanning three decades and clearly will continue to provide the highest level of customer service with this new store.

Well done Shannon, and good luck with sales success in the new store!

Stihl Australia Launches New Retail Concept

The worldwide outdoor power equipment manufacturer Stihl has recently launched it's new store design concept at several sites across Australia.

The leading German manufacturer best known for its high quality chain saws also distributes a wide range of line trimmers, hedge trimmers, brush cutters, blowers, concrete saws, pressure washers and vacuum cleaners through more than 400 independently-owned and operated outlets across Australia.

Designed & developed in conjunction with Mark Retail, this store concept aims to make Stihl retail outlets look less like intimidating "trade centres" and more like friendly retail shops. The scope of the design project included complete re-imaging of the building exterior colours and signage, and re-design of internal layout, fixtures, and signage elements.

By creating an enticing retail experience, Stihl aims to capture a greater share of the broader retail consumer market currently serviced by the major hardware stores.

"Mark has made a significant contribution in designing our new corporate identity for our dealer network. His retail expertise in both external signage & internal layout design has been instrumental in a many dealers upgrading their stores with resulting increased sales."

Hugh Freeman-Rice,

Retail Development Manager - Stihl Australia

New South Wales Lotteries - New Logo Design

NSW Lotteries has recently launched its new logo design in New South Wales and the ACT.

Mark Retail is proud to have been commissioned to work with the Tatts Lotteries, a Tatts Group company which owns NSW Lotteries, to develop the new logo which will appear in print, TV, web, and retail shopfront signage to maintain the strength and popularity of its products.

Whilst creating a more contemporary image for the business, the new logo has also been designed to fit with both the new retail store design, and the NSW Lotteries family of products.

Alluring Lace Upgrades Image With New Store

Fashion bras & briefs retailer Alluring Lace has been a time-honoured destination for more than a few generations of  women in Mildura, Victoria.

After operating from the one CBD location for many years, owner David Yunghanns recognised the store was becoming tired and was in need of upgrade. Short of space and facilities, a new location was secured less than a block away to create a new store concept.

David engaged Mark Retail to develop a store design that would help cement Alluring Lace's position as the number 1 choice for ladies lingerie in Mildura. The new store has a soft, feminine appeal whilst providing elegance and privacy to clientele. Featuring an expansive change room area designed to allow mothers, daughters, friends and wedding parties to shop together, the new store is sure to remain and build upon it's local market strength.

Profit Update - May 2012

Choices Opens At Building Design Centre, Braeside

Choices Flooring at Narre Warren Victoria has just launched their new flooring display concept at the recently opened Braeside Building Design Centre.

The Braeside development links builders, suppliers, consultants and financiers all under one roof to provide new house buyers with a one-stop shop for creating and purchasing their new home.

The Choices display offers an exciting new way to select carpet, vinyl, timber and laminate floor coverings by creating a virtual walk-in brochure card. With over 370 flooring options on display across 57 ranges, the Choices display stand really does live up to it's name!

Mark Retail are proud to have designed and constructed this new flooring retail display concept and wish Choices Narre Warren the best success in the Braeside Building Design Centre.

Studio 196 Upgrades Store Image

As a long-time men's fashion retailer at Westfield Chermisde, Studio 196 has just completed their store refurbishment.

The latest incarnation of the Studio 196 store design shows a striking presence to the mall, with high contrast colours and dramatic product lighting.

"The greatest challenge with this storefront was creating a totally new image whilst retaining the existing shopfront structure", says Mark Muller of Mark Retail. "We achieved this by constructing new continuous ceiling & wall elements that projected through the glass to unify the entire width of the store frontage."

Owner Jamie Warner is very please with the result, texting "Shop fit finally finished looks gr8" immediately upon completion.

NewsExtra Chermside Gets A Facelift

Newsagency kiosk News Extra at Westfield Chermside QLD has recently undergone a re-lease facelift to refresh its image.

The News Extra kiosk posed a challenging project for design and fitout due to its location directly underneath an escalator, however this location also provides tremendous opportunity for customer traffic in the cross-roads of the food court and cinemas of this busy Westfield mall.

The right store branding and product mix were crucial to the success of this outlet, with lotto, confectionery and greeting cards all contributing a significant part of sales.

Mark Retail wishes to congratulate Shannon Hickey of News Extra Chermside on opening the latest incarnation of his store.

Golden Casket New Logo Design

Along with a new retail image in 2011, Golden Casket are now rolling out their new retail logo which Mark Retail were engaged to design.

Having been involved in the development of the previous 1997 logo and retail image for Golden Casket, Mark Retail were again asked to create a refreshed and contemporary incarnation of the highly recognisable Golden Casket moniker.

Mark Retail worked closely with the Golden Casket marketing department over a tight three month period to create this more contemporary version of the logo which will appear in print, tv, web, and retail shopfront signage and maintain the strength and popularity of the Golden Casket products into the next decade.