Display & Design Ideas - February 2009 - (Page 18)

18 High-end connection Consumer electronics retailer Zonik brings customer interaction to the forefront of its in-store experience By Rachel Brown, Contributor Zonik's 5,000-sq.-ft. flagship features a dark, nightclub-like atmosphere with splashes of brilliant colors and lights. ew, experiential retail concepts never seen before in the West are finding great success in the East. One such venture is Zonik, a high-end consumer electronics retailer that opened a nearly 5,000sq.-ft. prototype store in Teatro Mall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last year. Zonik was born when Al Fozan Group, a major Saudi conglomerate, realized a retail opportunity. It created the United Electronics Co. (UEC) that launched the electronics retail chain called exTra, which is comparable to Best Buy in the United States. The chain proved successful, but Al Fozan wanted to create a separate, higher-end consumer electronics concept that would only feature new-to-market, best-in-class products. “Al Fozan and our UEC subsidiary division challenged Winntech to develop and execute a really bold new retail strategy based around connecting the very best digital convergence products and services with ‘A-market,’ upscale customers who fit the ‘tech geek,’ ‘early adopter’ and ‘technology fashionista’ demographic spectrums,” says Anis Dayya, interim CEO and deputy general manager of Zonik. The final result is an edgy electronics boutique with N an interactive store environment created by Kansas City, Mo.-based Winntech. Al Fozan committed more than $8 million for the store design, custom interactive merchandising system and build-out of the flagship prototype. With four flagship stores and an additional 11 affiliated partner stores currently opened, Zonik is projecting more than $150 million in volume for 2009. With a tagline of “Modern, Connected, Energetic and Fun,” Zonik’s prototype flagship in Jeddah has a dark, nightclub-like atmosphere with splashes of brilliant colors and lights throughout. The inspiration for the design partially came from automotive design. “The interiors of Zonik stores include many of the same materials and fabrication techniques you’d find in modern luxury vehicles: hand-rubbed gloss paint, real leathers with French stitching and sleek, highly polished steel accent trim,” says Barrett Prelogar, Winntech’s founder and CEO. “Then we add the savvy element by juxtaposing the bright Zonik brand colors against this shiny and expensive-feeling, deep-gloss black architectural environment, and the brand really pops.” The two-level store features products on the lower level and a digital download café on the upper level. Interactive, high-tech fixtures on the lower level showcase the products, which include wireless handsets, handheld audio and video multimedia players, laptops and micro PCs, home theater systems, digital cameras and camcorders from manufacturers including Sony, Pioneer, Bose, Polk Audio, Apple, Klipsch and Panasonic. Demo-Go-Round kiosks engage customers with their ability to merchandise multiple products compactly, allowing users to test the products without encountering the typical wall of glass. Customers can actually spin the wheels on the kiosk to select between 40 live, functional products to get information, compare products hands-on and discover bundled offers and other services. These kiosks also allow customers to create a digital shopping basket, which travels with them throughout the store. When customers are ready to check out, they can proceed to the service counter, where staff will retrieve their items from the stockroom. The two Laptop Ferris Wheel fixtures in the store turn on three different axels—while giving power to the laptops. The spinning wheels change the lighting in the corresponding accessory cases on the walls. Accessory www.ddimagazine.com February 2009 Photos: Courtesy of Winntech, Kansas City, Mo. http://www.ddimagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Display & Design Ideas - February 2009

Display & Design Ideas - February 2009
From the Editor
Contents
News Watch
Book Report
Editor's Choice
Cover Story: Channel Focus: Toy Retail
Zu + Elements
Zonik
Weathering the Storm: Part 1
Right Light
Product Spotlight
GlobalShop Preview
GlobalShop Products
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Think Tank

Display & Design Ideas - February 2009