Waterstone's

website: waterstones.com

Challenge
As retail book sellers become more competitive with online retailers, Waterstone’s recognised a need to enhance their in-store experience to attract more footfall and provide a more compelling brand experience to their customers. Waterstone’s approached The Brewery to redesign it’s flagship store in Manchester’s Arndale Centre, with a view to rolling the new layout across the rest of it’s flagship UK stores.

Insight
Waterstone’s main aim is to interest and excite its customers and continually inspire people to read and engage with books. This aim needed to communicate itself through the store design and layout, imagery, photography and tone of voice..

Solution
We redesigned every aspect of the customer experience, from the overall store landscaping and departmental definition, to the merchandising fixtures, furniture, counters, information points, display systems and environmental graphics.

The new store includes a number of new features, including a relaxing book lounge, children’s amphitheatre and “wi-fi” Internet access to Waterstone’s exciting new online business which offers customers access to over 2 million titles, in-store and at home.

Results
The new Waterstone’s is bright, contemporary and more accessible to a wider range of book buyers and is all about helping the customer connect with books and the Waterstone’s brand. In particular, it explores how real and on-line environments can work together to add value to the customer experience, by providing calm, sanctuary and the excitement of accidental encounter, with access to a virtual range of over three million titles.

Says Jackie Robinson, Waterstone’s Regional Manager: ”We always strive to give our customers the best possible book buying experience and to inspire them to read and engage with books. We’re delighted by the new design which makes our books even more accessible and shows them to best effect.”

The new design is being rolled out across a number of other pilot stores, nationwide.