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T-Mobile: Merchandising Rail, Ontario, Calif.
 Design David Milne Design Associates, Toronto
Fixtures Hamilton Fixture, Hamilton, Ohio,
Retailer T-Mobile, Bellevue, Wash.
Photography Glenn MacKay, Glenn MacKay Photography, Toronto, Ont., Canada
In the Beginning
"Our challenge is to represent the client and the brand and make sure that the brand is being executed in a way that serves the client," Milne said. His design team found an immediate benefit with its relationship with Hamilton Fixture, he said. "These skilled tradespeople were as excited about this as we were. They couldn't wait for the next sketch, the next drawing."
Milne described three specific design needs:
The budget dictated a laminate program. "Nothing is worse than that brown phenolic line that you get when two pieces of plastic laminate meet, so we had to ask ourselves how we could do something that was cost-effective and minimized handling," Milne explained. The design team accomplished this by using a substrate for all the case goods, Baltic birch plywood. Adding the laminate on the top layer created another striation or line, which became an expressed detail. Everything within the store has this exposed, Baltic birch edging.
- T-Mobile's business is rate-driven, and sales programs change frequently. In the absence of company-sanctioned sales tools, store personnel tend to improvise. To help keep its employees current, T-Mobile uses in-store posters that are swapped out frequently. The design had to facilitate this.
- In addition, the product category is prone to frequent change. Products have a short lifespan, and with convergence of technology, T-Mobile ends up merchandising a device or an element for maybe three months and then swapping it for another component. "We had to think of a way to change merchandising capabilities within the store easily," Milne said.
The Process of Great Design
The design team examined the core components of the system-the castings, profile extrusions, etc. "They tend to be cold and sterile, so we asked ourselves how we could warm them up, give them personality, and have fun with them," Milne said. The result: skateboard wheels as adjustable levelers or feet for all of the fixtures and in-line blade wheels to roll fixtures along the tracks and serve as standoff devices.
After the initial conceptual sketches, the team developed a computer-generated walk-through. This helped the client visualize the space and understand the concept and gave the fabricator a tool to work from with a clear picture of the design intent. The ensuing mathematical development led into the engineering drawings, Milne said.
"Our next step was to develop a system to be rolled out to hundreds of locations in the shortest possible time. We felt it was critical to develop a prototype model where the client could kick the tires, test it out, make sure it worked, and make any necessary adjustments so that we could go right into production," he said.
The solution was a model store in loading bays 29 and 30 of the Hamilton Fixture West facility. "We did sprinkler heads to HVAC diffusers to an ADA-compliant washroom and inventory cage. Everything was included, even the closure grill," Milne recalled. "We spent significant time developing P.O.S. stations. Knowing the amount of equipment, materials, and consultation to take place, we came up with a unique pod fixture that allows them to change any component of the sales process in the store, right down to price item cards on the fixturing."
The flexibility of the system was evident immediately. During the presentation of the prototype, Milne was called away briefly. While he was gone, the team's careful placement of fixtures went out the window as the client reconfigured the store. "It was evident that they were able to manipulate the program on the fly. And because it was such a tangible model for them to trial and kick around, there was minimal adjustment after the fact," Milne said.
The Milne team worked with approximately a dozen architects in various locations to draft the 780 stores. "We started with model stores, but every space is different. You'll get a 400-sq.-ft. space with 12 columns and no frontage on it. So how do we deal with stuff like that? We consult on almost a daily basis with all of the architects and help troubleshoot," he said.
The Final Creation: Award-Winning Fixtures
Store flow was important to T-Mobile, so the designers used the fixturing to delineate, define, and add character to the space. With a magenta line (a color dictated by T-Mobile) across the back, the system is modular. "We can do three or four units, put them all together, or subtract or add them to accommodate all sorts of footprints," Milne said.
The fixtures and devices hang or mount off an extruded aluminum rail running from front to back on both sides of the walls. This allows for the creation of specialized applications for merchandising elements and enables the Milne team to do remote development for T-Mobile. For instance, the team began adding fixtures for wireless internet access and for camera phones early this year.
The project was successful on all fronts. "We were able to do it well, fast in that the client has 780 locations that are open and operating in less than nine months, and smart because we thought the process through from the outset.
"The collaborative effort was there from the beginning. I went into this thinking that it was going to be an adversarial relationship, typical designer vs. fabricator, but it turned out to be a wonderful, rewarding experience, and the client is happy. To date, they have more than 10 million subscribers on their network, 780 stores and kiosks, and the stores install, after site work, in less than eight hours. It is exceeding all of their sales expectations."
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