Vans - Store Evolution

One of the things I liked best about my job at Vans was all the growing and learning I did. When I was put in charge of store design, there were multiple legacy store formats in operation, the insides of the stores were dark and cluttered, both from too many fixtures and from over merchandising. My first job was to build out a new store format we could start to test in region immediately. I wrote a strategic brief, got buy in from all the regional marketing partners, the head of DTC, and GMs, and then approached the problem using everything I'd learned about brand design in my previous career experience. Seven years later, we had a fleet of new stores, a comprehensive DTC segmentation strategy with five tiers of stores, from boutique all the way down to outlet, and we had evolved our stores from purely commercial vehicles to brand experiences where Vans' values were on display with the integration of music, art, and action sports into the store experience. (please roll over photos for captions/explanations)

Brand showcase in Seoul, Korea. The façade was designed to be skateable

Downstairs hosted a pirate radio station with Seoul Community Radio

Boutique in Shanghai, China showing the Vault line

Carefully merchandised pinnacle level product from Vans and collaborators

Assuring that skateboard culture is well represented in all stores.

The DTLA brand showcase has a skate shop upstairs and a collection of relevant art books for sale

Each brand showcase store had a different, locally relevant skate image behind the cash wrap

The Covent Garden boutique in London, England hosted a gallery space downstairs

Brand campaign elements at the 5th Avenue store in NYC

The OFF THE WALL/ON THE AIR sign in Seoul illuminated "ON THE AIR" during pirate radio broadcasts

An in store build out for a collaboration with photographer Jim Goldberg

An in store build out for a Sponge Bob collaboration

An in store display for a Vivienne Westwood collaboration

An in store build out in our Vault pop up in the Bowery for a Juxtapoz collaboration

In store build out for the MTE collection of outdoor wear

A second store build out for the MTE collection of outdoor wear

Store take over in Santa Monica for the Era, the first shoe designed for skateboarding by skateboarders

Entryway to the 5th Avenue store dedicated to the Era

Improved messaging on the footwear wall with an understandable visual hierarchy

Improved way finding in the stores (Pro Skate Apparel) with clear categories called out for consumers

Improved way finding in the stores (Women's Apparel) with clear categories called out for consumers

Merchandising in Vault pop up, refocusing the attention on the product by greatly simplifying the fixtures

A shopable timeline in Seoul brand showcase showing each of Vans classics in historic and cultural context

Simpsons capsule in Shanghai boutique focusing on the product

Product description on wall in Vault pop up, the Bowery, NYC

Merchandised apparel and footwear table in DTLA brand showcase

Merchandised footwear wall in Meat Packing District boutique

Merchandised Vault collection wall in Covent Garden boutique

Partner store with Worksout, a high end Korean streetwear shop

Store interior showing modular plywood fixtures designed to be easily rearranged in many configurations

Main footwear display

View to the courtyard in Hongdae

These are the "before photos," the stores when I started: lots of visual clutter, dimly lit, lots of dark wood

These are the "before photos," lots of bulky, dark fixtures, too much competing for consumer's attention

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