At the end of December 2014, I partnered with the store manager for the REI at Settler's Ridge to create a new floorset for the store as well as work out the process of making the move. I was initially pulled into this project as a consultant. We first explored the available space and the discussed some of the critical moves that would need to happen to transition the store from winter into spring. Next, we discussed areas that he, as store manager, felt needed to be freshened up and redesigned. Through analysis of the store's sales based on department, we determined that the "Optics" department contains the highest revenue products, which are also some the smaller products available, as well as products that are currently in high demand and trending (i.e. activity trackers). We concluded that moving this department from the back of the store to the front would drive sales and potentially draw in more customers.
Based on these conclusions, the store manager sketched out a rough map of the first floor and to where he would like to see the departments and associated fixtures moved. After, asking for the original store floor plan, which I edited to remove unnecessary or distracting information, I provided the store manager with this more structured format for him to sketch out the designs we had discussed. I took this more refined sketch and, using illustrator, drew in the new fixtures and departments keeping the objects to scale, resulting in a final floorset. Additionally, I set up the file to allow for future iterations and, eventually, the move from fall to winter.
