STUDIO is a shoe concept that is needed in Norway as there is nothing similar on the market. The difference is that STUDIO works with a more responsible and circular business model. It achieves this by offering services such as cleaning, repair and returns. The cleaning and repair service, “clean &care”, gives the customer the opportunity to maximise the life of the shoe. This could be by cleaning the shoes, changing laces or repairing heels, for example.
In addition, the “Recycling” deposit system offers the customer two options: either to return shoes with minimal wear and tear so that they can be sold in the store as second-hand, or to hand in used shoes for recycling. The former gives the customer a gift card amounting to 40% of the new price when the shoe is sold. If the shoe is not sold within a period of three months, it must be collected by the consumer. In the second option, the consumer receives a discount coupon for10% off their next purchase. This is a gesture by which the consumer takes responsibility, while also making it more likely that STUDIO will secure the second purchase from this consumer.
In this bachelor’s thesis, it was absolutely necessary to make strategic decisions in the store design to achieve the vision of the concept. The main goal is that one third of the income should come from services and second-hand, which means that this has to be made clearly visible through the store design. It was therefore decided to put all three departments on an equal footing. It should be as attractive to buy second-hand as new – and it should be as attractive to come by with a pair of shoes to clean as it is to come out with a new pair.
The concept was inspired by the classic laboratory, but has been combined with softer shapes to give the concept a unique identity. To make STUDIO more visible and attractive, colours were chosen that are easily recognisable, which is also clearly expressed in the visual identity.
In order to bring the services in the concept as much as possible to the front, the checkout, which in this case also functions as a workstation, is located by the window. This makes it clearly visible to the passing customer. This also means that a window display on this side of the store was not necessary. In addition, the emphasis was placed on intelligent solutions for the employees and clear lines to achieve a minimalist and futuristic appearance of the store.
