Size matters. Experts discuss the optimal retail space for shoe retail

Reducing the size of retail space is a definite trend. Currently, this trend has affected stores of cosmetics and perfumes, accessories. For example, the company Yves Rocher recently announced a decision to change the format of its retail in the direction of reducing the retail space of stores. If earlier the stores of the French cosmetic brand were located on 60-80 square meters, now the retailer starts opening retail outlets with an average retail area of ​​20 square. meters.

The main reason for this decision of the French company is cost optimization. The development of online commerce and omnichannel services, which allow the client to familiarize themselves with the goods in the online store, make an order and purchase it in real retail, are pushing for a change in the format of traditional retail ...

Shoes Report asked participants of the Russian footwear market to comment on the situation. To the question "To what extent can the trend towards a reduction in retail sales area affect the shoe retail sector in the near future?" General Manager of GEOX Russia Sergey Shuvalov and General Director of CAMPER Russia & Ukraine Maxim Zharkov are responsible.

Sergey Shuvalov - General Manager of GEOX Russia.

“It is impossible to answer this question unambiguously. Of course, I would like to save on retail space, pay less rent and reduce staff costs. However, in everything you need to know when to stop and clearly assess the situation. First of all, it is necessary to correctly assess the status of a shopping complex or a particular site in street retail. It is necessary to take into account the traffic of a given point, the quality of customer traffic, the potential for growth in sales, the surroundings of neighboring stores, the capacity of the site for presenting product lines, and much more. There is a certain danger of losing a sufficient share of sales when the store space is reduced, or loss of quality of service when staff is reduced. Therefore, before changing the format of the existing retail, it is necessary to make careful calculations, taking into account all the factors above. It is also important to understand what percentage of the profit will meet your expectations. You also need to take into account the economies of scale, since the area of ​​the store and the number of staff also depends on the number of outlets, all this will affect P&L in retail as a whole.

If we are talking about a monobrand, it is important to consider the number of SKUs presented in the collection and the seasonality of the collection. For example, the new concept of the X-store of GEOX stores means an average of 120-130 sq. square meters, although in the previous format shops with an area of ​​60-70 sq.m were allowed.

We do not stand still developing new formats of stores and taking into account the wishes of our customers to present the collection on the trading floor and to provide information on products, new technological services. That is why we use educational touch screens, lightboxes and plasma panels in our stores. This requires a larger area, but the effect is obvious - in the new format, GEOX sales increased by 30-32%.

The format of a multi-brand store depends on the number of brands presented, the segmentation of collection products and the concept of the store itself. If, for example, a multi-brand store uses the concept of presentation of corners (shop-in-shop) in its space, then obviously the area of ​​the store should be significantly larger than when using some single conceptually format for all brands.

According to my feelings, if there are 7-10 brands presented in a single unified format, the area of ​​a multi-brand store should be from 100 to 140 square. meters. But, of course, it is also necessary to take into account the depth and width of the presentation of each brand on the trading floor.

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Most likely, with the development of online sales, traditional retail will also change. First of all, retail stores should think about providing additional services to their customers, this will keep customers from constantly making purchases over the Internet. Many consumers like to try on products first, and they may also be interested in getting some benefits and quality service. Retail stores are likely to want to look more modern, technologically advanced and attractive in terms of involving end customers in their loyalty programs, which may somehow overlap and compete with online store programs. I cannot comment on the development of all retail projects, but for example, GEOX is now at the stage of developing very interesting ideas. "

Touch dashboard at the Geox X-Store in St. Petersburg

Maxim Zharkov - General Director of CAMPER Russia & Ukraine.

“Due to the peculiarities of purchasing shoes, saving on the floor space, if you do not plan to cut down on the assortment of your brand, is not possible. For a high-quality presentation of each individual pair, a certain place is required, as well as for storing the minimum required size range. In addition, the buyer’s comfort when trying on plays an important role in making a purchase decision, therefore, in this case, you also cannot cut this zone below an acceptable minimum. The organization of regular deliveries does not give an advantage, since during non-working hours the cost of logistics increases, especially if the store is located in the shopping center.

The optimal store floor space for Camper stores is 55-65 sq. meters, since we present our customers women's, men's and children's collections in several areas: sports, casual and classic, this requires a certain presentation space. In each specific case, the company chooses for itself, depending on positioning and, accordingly, on the layout format, a larger or smaller sales area and a warehouse area that corresponds to the planned sales volumes, if it is located in the same room.

As for multi-brand retail, at today's rental rates and taking into account the above factors that directly affect any format of a shoe store, the optimal format is in 150-180 sq. meters. This statement is true if we are talking about the middle price segment and above. In such an area you can place from 10 to 20 brands without compromising the convenience of customers and the comfortable work of the staff. For shoes of the lower price segment and discounters, the approach to space planning is different by definition and the sites are usually much larger.

The Internet, for all the speed of development, does not yet fully appreciate the comfort, quality and appearance of a particular pair of shoes, and on the other hand, the buyer, having a huge selection, is becoming more and more demanding. Therefore, having decided to spend the amount from 100 to 300 EURO in the middle segment, he wants to be sure of the correctness of his choice, so you can’t do without trying! Therefore, if you provide your customers who have made an order online, the opportunity to try on, part of your sales will certainly be realized via the Internet, but traditional retail will still remain in approximately the same format. That is, if a large part of your audience nevertheless makes an off-line purchase, you cannot ignore the customer’s need for comfort and the need for a certain amount of warehouse to meet demand directly in the store. 

Shoes - a seasonal product, quite laborious in production and requires a certain level of comfort when purchasing it. And although shoes are not such an intimate thing as underwear, the buyer has to take off his shoes in a public place, for many this is a rather personal procedure and requires appropriate personal space. ”

Interior of Camper store in St. Petersburg