VMSD - July 2017 - 17

FOOD AND BEVERAGE/CONSUMABLES

"LEVEL UP"

BEST IN SHOW

THE HIGH ROAD DESIGN STUDIO, TEMPE, ARIZ.

Cannabis dispensaries - both medical and
recreational - are becoming a unique facet of the
retail scene at large. Megan Stone, founder, principal, interior designer, The High Road Design Studio
(Tempe, Ariz.), has been at the forefront of dispensary design since 2013, using her skills to transform
the expected "stoner/hippie" aesthetic of these
built spaces into an upscale, classy ambience.
Level Up (Scottsdale, Ariz.), a medical marijuana
dispensary, was already aiming to get ahead of its
competition as it prepared to translate its trailer-operated outpost into
a storefront in the affluent Scottsdale, Ariz., area, where medical use
is allowed, but recreational use is
still illegal. Located in a small shopping center near a private airport,
the retailer wanted to convey a sense
of decadence and style, catering to
baby boomers and those around
or under 40, without alienating its
younger customer base, which consists of 18- to 25-year-olds.
The result is a space that exudes
a masculine, high-end vibe with aviation iconography, chrome accents, black leather,
stacked stone, lush green hues and a felt feature wall.
As Stone puts it, the store needed to communicate
a sense of European luxury - not like an "American
muscle car, but like a Jaguar."
A customer's journey starts by checking in with
the receptionist in the lobby. They are then led to
the waiting area to wait for an available "budtender."
After selecting their product, they exit back into the
lobby, creating a full circular path.
That journey is supported by the dispensary's
atypical merchandising system, which caught the
attention of VMSD's 2017 competition judges.
"We went to great lengths to keep the merchandising modular," Stone explains about the display
cases, which feature extendable shelving so product
is easily readjusted, as needed. Various risers and
platforms were designed to sit atop the shelves and

house leather jar holders for organizing plant product, transdermal patches and edibles.
"We couldn't display any of the products [in reach
of customers] that contain cannabis, which is 98
percent of what the store sells," Stone says. "We had
to somehow get the product on display in an attractive way so people could view it, and we had a limited
space to do that." Stone notes that instead of product
going up and down the full length of the cases, their
depths were utilized, so product is more viewable.

"Education and discovery are the name of the
game," says Stone. "Most people come in expecting
to buy a joint, and then they realize this is the 'Willy
Wonka's Chocolate Factory' of cannabis. Being able
to display the product and make sense of it, concisely
show the necessary information next to it - all of those
basic merchandising techniques are so challenging
right now because of the nature of the product."
As Brent Hodge, director, merchandising and
creative, Bromwell's (Cincinnati) - and one of
VMSD's 2017 judges - puts it: "This redefines what
you would expect for the medical marijuana user."
Joe Baer, co-founder, ceo, creative director of
ZenGenius (Columbus, Ohio), and another 2017
judge, echoes his sentiment, "The merchandising
is great for a new market. What's the goal of merchandising? To elevate product. It doesn't feel like a
hippie shop!"

VMSD.COM

JULY 2017

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